Day of the Dead

Since Brandon Walker had retired from being Pima County Sheriff, he had felt restless. Having something to do, something to investigate was just what he needed and what he finally had again. Being invited to be part of ‘The Last Chance’ (TLC - a group dedicated to finding answers to older, cold cases) was just the ticket. When Fat Crack sent a still grieving mother to him because of his connection to the group, Brandon jumped in and found a lead that brought him to suspect a connection between his 30 year old case and an on going case that Brian Fellows was currently investigating. The ex-cop had a gut feeling and followed up with it leading to more than he had ever expected to find.

Book 3 ….. Being the third of the series, I have show more gotten used to the Indian legends and stories intermixed in the book, but this time the it didn’t seem to have quite as good of connection to the story as they usually do. I have also noticed that the author tries to re-cap the previous books during the story telling, the refresher is nice, but does not replace reading the actual book and so I don’t recommend reading these out of order. There are tidbits that are very helpful to have about several of the characters. This story progressed at a fast pace, even though the set up for the story made it fairly obvious who done it, it was still a very intense and dramatic. The combination of characters and the continued evolution of the characters is wonderful to see and I am so glad that I have read these in order. There is another one, (Queen of the Night) and I look forward to reading this book too. show less

good — a little quirky sex crime

Young girls are being spirited away from an orphanage deep in Colonial Mexico -- told they're traveling to a loving adoptive family in southern Arizona, their hopes are high. But the fate that waits for them is truly horrifying: when death comes, it will be a blessing....

Former Sheriff Brandon Walker is living the life of a reluctant retiree. Playing golf while his wife, Diana Ladd, continues to write her bestselling tales of true crime, he desperately misses the action and sense of usefulness from days gone by. When he’s invited to join the Last Chance Club to review and attempt to solve long-cold cases, he little imagines the first case to cross his path will be one he may have botched back when he show more was sheriff. And when the case from all those decades past becomes entangled with a current murder, it seems a serial killer with a very long and shocking track record may be back in business... show less

A thirty year old cold case leads to a pattern...found 30 years later. No one wants to believe the trail leads to the town's upstanding couple and their sick relationship. Everything comes together as the newest medicine "man" uses her intuition and understands what is happening. This book does skip around in time over the last 30 years, but the characters are distinct enough to keep everything straight. Loved this book and now resolve to read more of her books.

A young Mexican girl is raped then murdered to cover up the crime. Two really evil people find that they enjoyed doing these crimes. The wife is wealthy and the husband is an MD, so they start a foundation that enables them to import continual replacements from Mexico for their savagery.
Brandon Walker is asked by the mother of the first girl to solve the crime through TLC, The Last Chance, a group of retired law persons dedicated to solving old and cold crime cases. Jealous, when her young lover decides to move on, the female culprit kills in haste then frames the boyfriend. Her hasty coverup creates slips that ultimately causes their downfall.
A strong aspect of the book is how it portrays the world of the Tohono O"odkam

The third installment of Jance’s Walker series focuses on retired Sheriff Brandon Walker. The regular characters of Diana, Davy and Lani return, but only in very minor roles.

In completing his first case for The Last Chance, an organization that solves cold cases through the talents of ex-law enforcement personal, Brandon must identify the murderer of a small child in a homicide that happened 30 years ago. As the plot develops, it becomes apparent that many unsolved cases are all inter-related. The story enters its climactic finish when Brandon makes all of the connections that lead him to the suspect; someone that’s been a friend of the family for years.

Keeping with the rest of this series, Jance has developed some truly evil show more villains. The level of violence and brutality they employ far exceeds that used in her other series. Fortunately, most is implied and only helps to increase the level of danger placed upon the main characters.

This book continues to intertwine Papago legend and mythology into the writing, but not to the same degree as the first two books. It’s also interesting how this story highlighted some inconsistencies within the Tohono O’odham people’s beliefs. From older plot lines, we know that killing is abhorred by these people. If they kill another, they must undergo a 15 day purification ritual. However, during the death investigation, a body must be exhumed. You would imagine that there would be a taboos against dealing with a corpse, but an elderly woman delivers the corpse by hand to speed up the investigation.

I’m really enjoying this series. I hope Lani and Davy have more active parts in future releases. Based on the ending of this book, that may be a necessity. show less

Jance intermingles Indian myths from the Tohono O'odham with a rather unbelievable tale of grisley sex and violence committed by a prominent Tucson woman abetted by her husband. There are a number of "good guys" including Brandon Walker, the ex-sheriff of Pima County, and his long-time Tohono O'odham friend, Gabe "Fat Crack" Ortiz, who is also the tribal leader. Although the story certainly contained suspense, the elements that comprised it seemed ludicrous. Tie-ins to Tucson were not well-integrated and clumsy. The plot was over the top. A prominent woman constantly in the media spotlight committing some forty grisly, unsolved murders of young undocumented alien girls after she and her husband (also a prominent doctor) were done show more torturing and sexually abusing them? Magic crystals that showed the face of the murderess? The tribal leader going by the name Fat Crack? Her good guys are likable, but her writing is very sophomoric. (JAF) show less

Day of The Dead
By JA Jance
2005

After retiring, former Sheriff Brandon Walker is invited to join the Last Chance Club, a club dedicated to solving Ling dead cold cases. He accepts, and the first case on his desk is from a case he was involved with years ago, and may have botched when he was Sheriff. This is incentive for him, to help him fight the boredom of retirement and to right a wrong he may be responsible for.
Young girls are being taken from an orphanage from deep in Colonial Mexico with the promise of a loving adoptive family in southern Arizona.
What awaits them is pure terror.....evil to the nth degree...Gale Stryker and her husband are so long in their scheme of debachery that they do not realize how close to being revealed they show more have become. Their secrets are realized and brought to justice, with Walkers help.
Walker is the kind of guy you would want on your side, never letting go or giving up. His case work uncovers the brutality that has long been hidden. ...
This is the third book in The Walker Family series. Highly recommended. show less