Juggling a family and a career is never easy -- and it's becoming a real challenge for Sheriff Joanna Brady. Coping with the impending delivery of her second child as well as a staff shortage, the last thing Joanna needs are two serious crimes.
First, the body of an unidentified man is found in the desert, all ten of his fingers savagely severed. Following the scant clues, Joanna learns that the victim was an ex-con who had served twenty years in prison after confessing to the murder of his pregnant wife. In his last days he was seen following and photographing a young woman.
Then one of Joanna's officers is brutally attacked and left for dead while on an unauthorized stakeout. Because she's one of their own, the department throws its resources into finding the officer's attacker.
But the murder haunts Joanna. Being a sheriff is no longer an empty title she wants to achieve -- somehow it has become what she is. Her job is to avenge man's inhumanity to man, and finding out who the victim was and why he is now dead is what she has been summoned to do with her life. Strapping on a bulletproof vest, she'll risk everything to see that justice is done.
About the Author
J. A. JANCE is the New York Times-bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, and three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
Reviews
People
Praise for J.A. Jance:“Jance delivers a devilish page-turner.”
Publishers Weekly
In Jance's 12th Joanna Brady novel, the sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, is faced with two major professional cases: the murder of a self-confessed wife killer recently released from jail and the brutal rape and beating of an animal control officer. She's also dealing with new and unproven deputies and trying to finding a home for a python snake and way too many confiscated killer pit bulls. In addition, she is about to give birth to her second child, an event that precipitates the unwanted arrival of her in-laws. Sheriff Brady's problems pose no great difficulty for reader Ericksen. She lets Jance's event-packed plot do most of the heavy lifting while she reads the story simply and effectively. Ericksen prefers to differentiate speakers, be they men, women or children, by attitude and pacing rather than pitch. She can push her vocal interpretation when appropriate, providing several unique, credible south of the border accents, for example, or indulging in a little heavy breathing when the very pregnant Sheriff Brady faces danger while strapped in a confining Kevlar vest. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Reviews, May 8). (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
In her latest offering, Jance presents another strong female protagonist who endures seemingly impossible circumstances. Joanna Brady is the sheriff of a desert town in Arizona, and she also happens to be nine months pregnant. As she is supposed to be preparing to slow down and begin her maternity leave, she is presented with two major cases that need immediate attention. One of her officers is almost killed investigating a dog-fighting ring, and a man, previously sentenced to prison for killing his pregnant wife, has been found dead. Add to the mix Joanna's teenage daughter, meddling mother, husband, irritating in-laws, and a motley crew of officers, and our sheriff has her hands full. Despite only a slightly above-average plot, the writing is decent, and the production is really quite good. Susan Ericksen gives a fine and engaging performance, handling the multiple characterizations very well. Not an essential purchase, this is best suited for fiction and/or mystery collections in large public libraries.-Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Cochise County, Ariz., sheriff Joanna Brady (Partner in Crime, 2002, etc.), nine months pregnant and almost too big for her Kevlar vest, solves one of her father's old cases. Although his pregnant wife's body was never found, Bradley Evans, who thought he might have killed her in a drunken blackout, confessed to her murder and spent 25 years in prison for it. Released, sober and a lay member of the prison ministries, Evans lasts only two years on the outside before someone kills him and cuts off his fingers. The homicide falls to Joanna, but she's short-staffed-one deputy has prostate cancer, another's in ICU from a near-fatal beating-and sidetracked by the nasty O'Dwyer brothers' dog-fighting ring, the swarms of illegals crossing the Mexican border and her mother and mother-in-law, who brandish words like swords in disapproval of her. When she discovers Evans had been stalking a young woman who was the spitting image of his wife, she exhumes her father's case files and journals. Was Mrs. Evans alive? Did she give birth to a daughter? Was Bradley Evans framed? The resolution will involve DNA testing for Huntington's disease, a close look at several marriages and divorces and a marginally plausible baby swap. Typical Jance fare: lots of plotting, not all of it well-thought-out, and a generous helping of schmaltz. Congrats are in order, however, on the birth of Joanna and Butch's son Dennis.
Entertainment Weekly
"Taut . . . entertaining."
Orlando Sentinel
"Credible and entertaining."
Dallas Morning News
"Suspenseful, action-packed."
Washington Times
"J.A. Jance does not disappoint her fans."
Booklist
"Jance deftly combines personal and professional stories in this twelfth Brady mystery."