Fire and Ice

First Line: Ken Leggett wasn't what you could call a warm and fuzzy guy.

Seattle investigator J.P. Beaumont is working a series of murders in western Washington in which six young women have been wrapped in tarps, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. At the same time, two thousand miles away in the Arizona desert, Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady is investigating the homicide of a caretaker of an ATV park. A breakthrough in Beaumont's case leads him right to Cochise County, and for the second time (after 2002's Partner in Crime) these two will be working together.

I've read the first two or three books of Jance's Beaumont series and have to admit that I never took to J.P. On the other hand, when I picked up the first book of the show more Joanna Brady series, it was love at first sight. When Jance first put her two crime fighters together, I was wondering how it would work out. I should've known that with two professionals like J.P. and Joanna (and a consummate writer like Jance), it would go well. Fire and Ice is even better than Partner in Crime.

Until the end of the book, J.P. and Joanna stay in their own jurisdictions to work their cases, and both characters are more comfortable that way. It's interesting to see how the two cases eventually link together.

J.P. seems to have made quite a few changes in his life; so much so that I might just try reading about him again. Joanna's life is the usual hectic blur of being sheriff in a county that's larger than some states, of being the wife of a writer who has to go on book tours, of being the mother of an infant and a teenager. J.P. has always been a bit of a loner. Joanna Brady is surrounded by family and friends and co-workers, many of whom have their own story lines woven seamlessly into the narrative.

In both series, Jance has created characters that, after a few books, can easily feel like members of your own family. Jance's plots are always interesting and flow smoothly, and her settings are close to perfection. Fire and Ice is yet another winner for J.A. Jance. When she stops writing books, I think I'll cry. show less

Beau again works with Joanna Brady in this mystery. Six murdered women have been found, wrapped in tarps, burned beyond recognition, and with their teeth removed. The detectives caught a break in the last murder, when that corpse was found with teeth intact. Joanna is also working on a hit-and-run case that looks like deliberate murder. It will be up to this duo, along with Beau’s wife and fellow detective, Mel, to tie all the loose ends together. It’s a pretty good mystery. It’s interesting to see Beau and Joanna work together, since their styles are so different. The plot may be be a bit contrived, bringing in cops from Beau’s past, and the ending doesn’t quite tie up all the loose ends, but it’s still an exciting and show more entertaining tale. show less

Another interesting crossover between Jance's two main series -- the Seattle-set J.P. Beaumont series and the Arizona-set Joanna Brady series. The story, itself, is fairly strong -- definitely character driven, with the harder-edged Beaumont investigating the latest victim in a series of prostitute murders, and Sheriff Brady involved with both a rural murder of an ATV park caretaker and growing evidence of malfeasance at an Alzheimer's care facility. However, when Beaumont's latest victim turns out to be the sister of one of Brady's officers, the separate casts of characters get the chance to interact. The Beaumont series is written in first person limited and the Brady series in third person omniscient, and for this audio adaptation show more Hillary Huber does the Brady sections and Erik Davies does the Beaumont. Both are very competent narrators. However, my only two complaints are that there were far too many plot threads left hanging at the end of the story; and I found myself vaguely put off by Davies' attempts to "feminize" the female characters' voices -- it sounded very fake. Overall, though, a good adaptation of a very good novel.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec10-02.htm show less

Another series crossover story between Special Investigator J P Beaumont out of Washington and Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady in Arizona. Each is investigating homicides in their own areas, but it’s pretty far into the book before any connection is made between the two.

On Joanna’s end we’ve got a man who manages an ATV park, found dead after purposely being run over a number of times. Detective Jaime Carbajal is having a difficult time with the nephew he took in when Jaime’s sister disappeared. Elder abuse is another topic when an Alzheimer’s patient goes missing from a private facility. And Joanna is nervous as she’d promised to be the Best Man at her former chief deputy’s upcoming wedding.

On Beau’s end there’s show more a possible break in the case of unidentified women found wrapped in a tarps in the woods with their bodies burned. The latest body is different in that the killer didn’t pull all of her teeth, allowing them to make an identification, which provides the tie-in to Joanna’s area.

The story is told jumping back and forth between what’s going on in each area. I’ve been doing a marathon read of Joanna’s series and if I didn’t have at least familiarity of at least one of these series, I’m not sure I would have liked this story as much as I’ve enjoyed the others. As it is I’ve read a prior crossover book between these series, so it’s not as jarring.

As always, the character building is well done and the investigations and twists are interesting. I love following what’s happening in Joanna’s personal life as well as the challenges she faces with different personnel through work.

But unfortunately we’re missing a conclusion to the homicides as well as the elder abuse case. We do learn who killed the last victim in Washington and why, but don’t get to witness a takedown, which as it turns out will be handled by the DEA, which doesn’t happen by the end of the book. Perhaps that thread is picked up in the next book? But I was left with a feeling of being cheated that none of the things being investigated included an arrest.

Read from a library book. show less

This novel combines two of Jance's series into one when J.P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady meet for the second time. (No sparks fly this time!) The case revolves around a murdered former prostitute whose remains are found deep in a Washington forest. While Joanna's family does not play as much of a role as usual in this novel, they are present, hovering in the background. I suppose covering a plot from two different parts of the country doesn't leave space for a whole lot of subplots, although there are a few. It's a good read, but I have to say that I found the constant going back and forth between Brady and Beaumont a little distracting. Rather than doing it chapter by chapter, Jance chose to divide it via sections within chapters. That a show more lot of switching. But still, it's a winner. show less

I've always loved J.P. Beaumont, the irrascible go-it-alone detective in Seattle, and I also have enjoyed the Joanna Brady series about the sheriff in Arizona. In a previous story, Partners in Crime, author Jance had the two of them working together in a story that was very exciting. This 2nd attempt to have them work together just doesn't do as much for me. I found it very off-putting when each chapter switches back and forth between in Seattle and Arizona.

Beaumont is investigating the brutal murders of 6 unidentified (and badly burned) females, while Joanna is trying to solve the murder of an ATV park manager. I could see almost from the beginning where the story was going, but Jance took so much time backfilling the history of each show more of the protagonists, that the story almost took a back seat.

Her characters seemed almost cardboard in this one, and the story seemed contrived to try to fit them together. These two characters are strong, likable, and have great stories to tell on their own. I hope Jance sticks to two separate series and doesn't try to force this relationship too much in the future. show less

This was a fairly good book but not my favorite by Jance. I love the Joanna Brady books but like the Beaumont ones less. However Jance's first try at combining her two characters (Partners in Crime) did work very well. This one seems less successful, not because of the particular mystery involved, but because the excessively frequent shifts between Brady and Beaumont made the novel rather choppy. Recommended mostly for readers who have been following one or both series.