The newest thrilling Beaumont suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance, in which Beaumont is approached by a visitor from the past and finds himself drawn into a missing person's case where danger is lurking and family secrets are exposed. Years ago, when he was a homicide detective with the Seattle PD, J. P. Beaumont's partner, Sue Danielson, was murdered. Volatile and angry, Danielson's ex-husband came after her in her home and, with nowhere else to turn, Jared, Sue's teenage son, frantically called Beau for help. As Beau rushed to the scene, he urged Jared to grab his younger brother and flee the house. In the end, Beaumont's plea and Jared's quick action saved the two boys from their father's murderous rage.Now, almost twenty years later, Jared reappears in Beau's life seeking his help once again—his younger brother Chris is missing. Still haunted by the events of that tragic night, Beau doesn't hesitate to take...

A gripping tale of hatred, lies, and deadly tradition featuring Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont from the New York Times bestselling author of Betrayal of Trust J. A. Jance Dismissed with Prejudice The blood at the scene belies any suggestion of an “honorable death.” Yet, to the eyes of the Seattle police, a successful Japanese software magnate died exactly as he wished—and by his own hand, according to the ancient rite of seppuku. Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont can’t dismiss what he sees as an elaborate suicide, however, not when something about it makes his flesh crawl. Because small errors in the ritual suggest something darker: a killer who will go to extraordinary lengths to escape detection—a fiend with a less traditional passion . . . for cold-blooded murder.

Juggling a family and a career has never been easy for Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady. Now the impending birth of her second child only adds to her burden, especially when two brutal crimes fall under her jurisdiction. A corpse is discovered in the Arizona desert with the fingers severed from both hands—the body of an ex-con who served twenty years for a murder he claimed not to remember. Soon after, one of Joanna's female officers is savagely assaulted and left for dead while on an unauthorized stakeout. Since the victim is one of their own, the department directs the bulk of its resources toward finding her attacker. But the desert slaying haunts Joanna as well, and neither her pregnancy nor family concerns will keep her from doing her duty, no matter how perilous. Because justice must be served. And enforcing the law has become more than what Joanna Brady does—it's what she is.From Publishers WeeklyIn 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. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistSheriff Joanna Brady has a full plate. Not only is she investigating the murder of an ex-con and trying to find out who beat one of her animal-control officers nearly to death, she is also spectacularly pregnant. The question isn't whether she will solve these two crimes, but whether she will do it before or after she gives birth to her second child. While most of the police force is focused on the case of the animal-control officer, it's the ex-con's death that occupies Joanna's mind because--in addition to the tantalizingly bizarre fact that all of the victim's fingers are missing--the murder provides a link to one of her father's old cases. Jance deftly combines personal and professional stories in this twelfth Brady mystery. Readers familiar with the movie Fargo (which also features a very pregnant, very likable small-town sheriff and combines on-the-job with at-home elements) may note some similarities to this novel, but rather than seeming derivative, Jance's story offers an entertaining embellishment on a still-fresh theme. A solid entry in this popular series. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady's professional and personal lives collide when her college-age daughter is involved in a missing persons case in this evocative and atmospheric mystery in J. A. Jance's New York Times bestselling suspense series, set in the beautiful desert country of the American Southwest.When Jennifer Brady returns to Northern Arizona University for her sophomore year, she quickly becomes a big sister to her new roommate, Beth Rankin, a brilliant yet sheltered sixteen-year-old freshman. For a homeschooled Beth, college is her first taste of both freedom and unfettered access to the internet, and Jenny is concerned that she is too naive. With Beth at war with her parents, Jenny asks to invite Beth home for Christmas, and Sheriff Joanna Brady says yes. After all, what could go wrong? Within hours, however, Joanna's department is sucked into a complex officer-involved shooting that places two vulnerable young children in jeopardy. When...

Butch Dixon has been taken for a ride ...Not a jump in the car, see the sights kind of ride. He's been taken for everything he has. He's lost his house, his restaurant business, his savings, his car, his best friend, his faith—all to his conniving ex-wife. But that was seven years ago. He picked himself up, left Chicago, and started over in Peoria, Arizona, running the Roundhouse Bar and Grill. He doesn't look back on those bad years; there's no point. Not until two curious cops show up at the Roundhouse.Faith, Butch's ex-wife, has been murdered, and the evidence points to him. Stunned, Butch quickly realizes that the black-hearted woman is going to ruin him again, from her grave. Lucky for Butch, the Old Blue Line, a group of retired—but still sharp and tenacious—former legal and law enforcement coots, have taken it upon themselves, as a favor, to make sure he doesn't cross that thin line. After the dust settles, Butch's life is again...

In New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance's gripping new thriller, Man Overboard, two tech geniuses face off—one intent on saving lives, the other on ending them.Ro Cybersecurity expert Roger McGeary finally has his life back on track after years of struggling with depression. But when he falls from the balcony of his suite on an all-expenses-paid cruise, the police quickly dismiss it as "death by misadventure," a vague phrase leaving much to interpretation. Unsatisfied, Roger's tough-as-nails aunt, Julia Miller, is determined to find answers and closure. By contacting Roger's childhood friend Stuart Ramey to help her solve the mystery of his fate, Julia unwittingly sets up a collision course with a serial killer. Stuart, his sidekick Cami Lee, and journalist turned amateur sleuth Ali Reynolds put the full resources of cutting edge online security firm High Noon Enterprises into learning the truth about Roger's death. With...

A thrilling mystery from New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance starring Ali Reynolds, who finds herself working against the police to clear two innocent names…with deadly stakes.In Deadly Stakes, police academy-trained former reporter Ali Reynolds is contacted to investigate the grisly murder of a gold-digging divorcee on behalf of a woman accused of the crime. Lynn Martinson is dating the dead woman’s ex-husband, and she and her boyfriend Chip Ralston have been charged. Ali is simultaneously drawn to the case of A.J. Sanders, a frightened teen with secrets of his own. He’s the first to find the body in the Camp Verde desert when he goes to retrieve a mysterious buried box hidden by his absent father—a box that turns out to be filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in poker chips. When the body of an ex-con is discovered near the first crime scene, Ali struggles to determine if A.J. and Lynn’s cases are related. Though her friends in the police department grow increasingly irritated by her involvement with the cases, Ali must stop a deadly killer from claiming another victim…before she herself is lost in this game of deadly stakes.

J. P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker, two of New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance's most acclaimed series characters, join forces for the first time in one of the most suspenseful works of her career.Years ago, Amos Warren, a prospector, was gunned down out in the desert and Sheriff Brandon Walker made the arrest in the case. Now, the retired Walker is called in when the alleged killer, John Lassiter, refuses to accept a plea deal that would release him from prison with time served. Lassiter wants Brandon and The Last Chance to find Amos's "real" killer and clear his name.Sixteen hundred miles to the north in Seattle, Mel Shames is leaving the Special Homicide Investigation Team thanks to her new job as the Police Chief in Bellingham. Her husband, crack investigator J. P. Beaumont, is dealing with the realities of life as the "chief's spouse"—and the fact that S.H.I.T. has been unexpectedly and completely disbanded.Brandon Walker's search to...

The end of her high-profile broadcasting career came too soon for TV journalist Alison Reynolds -- bounced off the air by executives who wanted a "younger face." With a divorce from her cheating husband of ten years also pending, there is nothing keeping her in L.A. any longer. Cut loose from her moorings, Ali is summoned back home to Sedona, Arizona, by the death of a childhood friend. Once there she seeks solace in the comforting rhythms of her parents' diner, the Sugarloaf Café, and launches an on-line blog as therapy for others who have been similarly cut loose. But when threatening posts begin appearing, Ali finds out that running a blog is far more up-close and personal than sitting behind a news desk. And far more dangerous. Suddenly something dark and deadly is swirling around her life ... and a killer may be hunting her next.