[(Trial by Fury)] [by: J A Jance]

J.P. Beaumont #3

by J.A. Jance

The dead body discovered in a Seattle dumpster was shocking enough—but equally disturbing was the manner of death. The victim, a high school coach, had been lynched, leaving behind a very pregnant wife to grieve over his passing, and to wonder what dark secrets he took to his grave. A Homicide detective with twenty years on the job, J.P. Beaumont knows this case is a powder keg and he fears where this investigation will lead him. Because the answers lie on the extreme lethal edge of passion and hate, where the wrong kind of love can breed the most terrible brand of justice.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Procedural, Suspense

Paperback

First published December 1, 1986

About the author

Judith Ann Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

Series:
* J.P. Beaumont
* Joanna Brady
* Ali Reynolds
* Walker Family

Reviews

[L Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written in 1986 so it was very dated in the technology sense.
It is fun to read things from a time of pay phones and answering machines. The most interesting thing is that the murder and the detective work is the same as now. The only difference is there is more leg work without the computers and cell phones.
The mystery and story were really good. I enjoyed the flow of the writing and the characters.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading some of the newer Beaumont novels, I went back with a list to the library and began reading the early ones. Jance certainly knows what she's doing, and has consistently provided an exciting story, plot development and character development.

This one is showing its age, though. Imagine fumbling through your pocket for quarters for the pay phone, or driving to the state capitol to get a motor vehicle registration printout. Makes you wonder how we got along without the internet...

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series of police dramas but I got turned off by the narration in the audiobook and switched to large print book instead. In this book J.P. Beaumont is investigating what appears to be a lynching of a black basketball coach in a primarily white school in Seattle. On closer investigation there is a lot more going on. I gave it 4 stars.

I previously read this book in Dec. 2010 but didn't realize it until well into the book.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Trial by Fury: J. P. Beaumont, Book 3 (audiobook) by J. A. Jance read by Gene Eugene.

Things seem to get more complicated as Detective Beaumont investigates the homicide of a high school coach.
It’s fun to jump back in time before cellphones and computers. Back when detectives had to go places and talk to people. I think I saw that this was set in 1986, It’ll be interesting to see if this series makes it into the 90’s when technology starts taking over.

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grabbed this book at random because they were all out of romance paperbacks at the tiny public library across from the high school where I substitute teach. I'm so glad I got a look at JA Jance!

J.P. Beaumont is such a great guy. He's not Sherlock Holmes, that's for sure. He's not a genius, and he says right up front that he doesn't like to work too hard. He gets angry a lot, and he always makes time for stuff like eating and sleeping. Things I really care about! But when there's a murder he really digs into it, and when he's talking to lustful cheerleaders and two-faced teachers he really sticks it right to them. Over and over.

I loved the first two thirds of this mystery, where all the clues pointed to massive orgies, lust fueled murder, and cheerleaders being humiliated over and over for stirring up the lust of older men. But after a while I got tired of Beau rounding up "the usual suspects" and foaming at the mouth about the lustful secrets of attractive teenage girls. It was like Beau got traumatized reading "the Crucible" and kept trying to imitate John Proctor. "Your lust led to this GOOD MAN'S downfall. Now confess, foul strumpet. Confess!!!" Talk about high school drama!

Now I took a star off at the end because the last forty pages or so really jumped the shark. I didn't buy any of who the killer was, how they did the killings, or anything else. Stop hear if you don't want to see spoilers about the real killer's identity!

MANY VITAL SPOILERS ARE BELOW!

So I guess I'm glad the cheerleaders were all innocent. But the school guidance counselor? Really? I just kept trying to visualize the cute redhead drugging guys, dragging them to her pickup truck, throwing them off balconies, zooming over cliffs, and all the other crazy stuff. I never believed any of it, and it never made any sense. And the victim! A hard working black coach has a black wife, a secret white girl friend, and he's been leading a double life for years? Sure, it's an every day thing in every high school. All the best teachers are like that. And then for no reason he decides he has to have sex with a cheerleader? JA Jance may be too dumb to know it, but the image that comes across is that of a lustful black buck who'll sleep with any white woman who asks, because . . . he's a lustful black buck. So minus one star for you, Judy Ann! And next time, be nicer to the cheerleaders.

[Dyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeh - this book is the 3rd in the series and the 1st one where Detective J.P. Beaumont doesn't fall in love with a deranged female murderer. Someone else in the book does. If the reader has read future books in the series, this is the book where we find out how Beau's partner, Ron Peters, becomes paralyzed.

A nude black High School coach, Darwin Ridley, is discovered behind a dumpster at a Seattle grocery store. He was the basketball coach at a prestigious all-white high school on Mercer Island. Peters suspects the very pregnant wife, Joanna Ridley, of committing the murder. Beau thinks she is too pregnant to have committed the murder. After discovering a despicable yearly tradition passed down among the cheerleaders, Beau begins to suspect someone from the school - could it be the principal, faculty advisor, a cheerleader, someone on the basketball team, or one of the parents?

In the meantime Beau is finalizing a contract so he can move into his new apartment, the Bell Town Towers. This brings his inherited lawyer (his former murdering rich wife's lawyer) to town. They have become friends and Ralph Ames is there when Beau needs support after Peter's accident. Ames is always trying to bring Beau up to speed with the latest technology but it's "black heel marks" all the way with Beau - this time it's an answering machine. Peters has two small girls to be looked after, and it looks like it will be Beau to the rescue while Peters is in the hospital.

We are left with a cliff-hanger at the end of the book as Peters is still precariously injured and in the hospital. Also, what will happen to his two daughters if he dies? Will Beau become a "father" by default?

I liked the character development in this book and the police procedural during the investigations. But Beau is still an independent curmudgeon and likes to work a case his own way. A good read.

[Megargee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the only fictional detectives who log more time in their vehicles than Beaumont and Peters are Tony Hillerman's Navajo tribal policemen Leaphorn and Chee and they have to cover the whole Navajo nation. Part way through this third novel in the Beaumont series, my wife and I downloaded a map of the Seattle are so we could follow their paths as they shuttled back and forth across the lake interviewing witnesses (always in restaurants) and following various leads as they investigate the apparent lynching of a black Mercer Island high school basketball coach targeted for seduction by the cheerleading squad. He leaves behind a pregnant widow Peters suspects may be responsible. However, other faculty as well as students come under suspicion before Jance finally cuts to the chase.
BTW, Jance herself plays a cameo role. In a recent interview, the author revealed that the single mother and her daughter who provide useful information while selling Beau cases of Girl Scout cookies were were based on Jance and her daughter before she became a best selling author.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

JP and Peters are fast becoming one of my favorite detectives. Published in 1986 the book shows its age but they are old fashioned detective stories and the crime is solved on the street rather than in a lab.
This book starts with the discovery of a body in a dumpster what follows is jar dropping. There is a little of everything in the book and I struck by how relevant some of the topics covered are even today. Well worth reading.

[Dalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.P. Beaumont and his partner find a list that tells everything. I haven't read J.A. Jance for quite a while. I really enjoy the character Beaumont. This read has several moments where I laughed out loud and other moments that were thought provoking. Very good mystery story.

[John Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder of the high school basketball coach leads Beau all through The Seattle area looking for who what and where! Cheerleaders as blackmailers? Fathers as murderers or wife 8 1/2 months pregnant as murderer? Missing partner of Beau with two small children drugged with the killer in an accident. He has a spinal cord injury and the killer is dead. Suspenseful and mysterious.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third J.P. Beaumont mystery was written in 1986 and is so extremely outdated, tech wise, that it makes you want to scream. Beau is fighting against his first home answering machine, bought and installed for him by a colleague, and finding it only somewhat useful. If he'd had a cell phone and computer, the crime would have been solved much sooner and spared everyone a lot of grief. We've come a long way.

The mystery involves an apparent lynching, naughty high school cheerleaders, irate parents and partners and a very pregnant woman.

It would have been helpful to have read the two previous books, but I got the gist of the characters and plot from context. Basically, hard drinking, wealthy, impulsive detective, J.P. Beaumont, has a soft spot for little kids.

[Linda Lpp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely enjoyed this third book in the series featuring Detective Beaumont. The books flow nicely, the pace is enough to keep your interest. Enough mystery. Character development is sufficient to make the book humorous at times. All told I'm already to start #4 in series. There is a huge pull for me to take the story further and learn what happens next...

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good mystery by Jance. The Beaumont character is so different from Johanna Brady. I like the setting and both characters, and will continue with both series.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good installment in the series. It had a lot of interesting elements regarding the crime angles. I like the characters and will continue reading this series. I like to see how JP is developing and hope there aren't any patterns. I like the twists and surprises.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beau and his partner are attempting to solve the murder of a high school teacher. When the murderer tries to kill one of them, they try to quickly solve the case!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dead body discovered in a Seattle dumpster was shocking enough—but equally disturbing was the manner of death. The victim, a high school coach, had been lynched, leaving behind a very pregnant wife to grieve over his passing, and to wonder what dark secrets he took to his grave. A Homicide detective with twenty years on the job, J.P. Beaumont knows this case is a powder keg and he fears where this investigation will lead him. Because the answers lie on the extreme lethal edge of passion and hate, where the wrong kind of love can breed the most terrible brand of justice.
I have come to the conclusion, I like the current Beau to the old one. The books are still good, but his attitude definitely needs work. I am glad that the read the more current books first.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seattle homicide detective Beaumont and partner are called to the scene of a dead body. The facts are he was a black basketball coach with a pregnant wife. Suspicions arise from the appearance of pictures arriving of him in a clinch with a white high school cheerleader.

Suspects and motives abound, with our hero putting in the miles on the road in this pre-cellular time.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! A J.P. Beaumont novel that I like. The writing has definitely improved since the first 2 books. I’ve read some of the author’s later work, so I know what she’s capable of.

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dead body of a black man is found near a dumpster in an alley in Seattle, Washington. He was found to be killed in a horrifyingly gruesome manner, he was lynched. The victim was a high school basketball coach who left behind a school full of grieving kids, as well as a very pregnant wife. There must have been some pretty dark, sinister things going on to cause someone to perpetrate such a grisly act. JP Beaumont, Beau, is a 20 year veteran homicide detective tasked, along with his partner, with figuring out what happened. Beau is leery of uncovering the details that will surely be uncovered throughout the investigation. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. The plot and the intrigue kept me reading. The ending was a bit anticlimactic for my personal taste, but it was still an enjoyable read for me. rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, my favorite so far! Despite the little whiff of homophobia halfway through:

I'm no homophobic, exactly, but I confess to being prejudiced. I don't like gays. I had never met one I liked. Or at least hadn't knowingly met one I liked.

After getting to know his new interior decorator a little, Beau was singing a (slightly) different tune:

By then my opinion of Michael Browder had come a long way from my preconceived notion of what he'd be like, but once the recliner was loaded, he declined an invitation to come back up to the apartment for a drink.

I read this book in two days, which I don't do very often. The last fifty or so pages had me on the edge of my seat. On to the next book!

[Бранко · Rating 2 out of 5]

A police detective story. Straightforward plot with moderately likeable main character, a quick read that is easy to forget.
It was written in 1985, when I was in my late twenties, so it was interesting to go back in time when there were no computers, mobile phones, answering machines were a new thing etc.
I might read another book by the same author, since this one was good for killing time when I could not sleep.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author. She's been writing for decades. Even though this one was written in the mid 1980's, the story line was always in motion....dated....but interesting.

I like the narrator of the audios, but he can't do female voices well. Not only do the men all sound like grumpy old men, but so do the women. Not a deal breaker because it's kind of funny.

Entertaining....so 4 stars.

[Edward Amato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theses books are especially enjoyable because they remind of the Seattle of the 1980s. This volume includes a visit to Mama's Mexican Kitchen, a favorite place of mine in Lower Queen Anne that is long gone. The story is fast paced and even though I read these decades ago I still appreciate them.

[Momma-Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

If not for a couple of "far stretches" that challenge the imagination I would have given it 5 stars.

[Bonnie Dieffenbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

J P Beaumont and his partner are investigating the murder of a young high school coach with a pregnant wife. I always like this author's books and this one did not disappoint.

[Jillian Ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A school coach is found dead and the case sets students, his pregnant wife, and the victim’s past acquaintances as potential murders.

[Don Faulk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Inger Faherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

These continue to get better (I was happy there were no drawn out, awkward sex scenes in this one), and either the narrator is also improving, or I'm getting used to his rhythm.

[Lillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Judy Evenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read the JP Beaumont books in helter skelter fashion and it’s time to go back and read those missed. Looking forward to filling in the gaps. This one took on a lot of current issues that still surface in high school and beyond it’s stood the test of time in terms of relevance .