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Joanna Brady #9
Paradise Lost
When Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Joanna Brady's daughter Jenny goes off on a Memorial Day weekend Girl Scout campout in nearby Apache Pass, Joanna trusts that her twelve-year-old daughter will behave.
But with boy-crazy Dora Matthews as a tentmate, Jenny is seduced into taking a late night unauthorized hike into the wilderness where instead of smoking a clandestine cigarette she and Dora stumble upon the body of a murdered Phoenix woman.
Knowing that her little girl will be traumatized by her experience, Joanna must balance concern for Jenny with the demands of her new marriage and possible bid for reelection.
But when young Dora Matthews herself turns up dead two days later, Joanna's concern turns to terror. For if Constance Haskell's killer is murdering potential witnesses, Jenny may be next.
But with boy-crazy Dora Matthews as a tentmate, Jenny is seduced into taking a late night unauthorized hike into the wilderness where instead of smoking a clandestine cigarette she and Dora stumble upon the body of a murdered Phoenix woman.
Knowing that her little girl will be traumatized by her experience, Joanna must balance concern for Jenny with the demands of her new marriage and possible bid for reelection.
But when young Dora Matthews herself turns up dead two days later, Joanna's concern turns to terror. For if Constance Haskell's killer is murdering potential witnesses, Jenny may be next.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 7, 2001
468 people are currently reading
1593 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Jance
117 books4,173 followersJudith 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
Series:
* J.P. Beaumont
* Joanna Brady
* Ali Reynolds
* Walker Family
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 318 reviews
April 17, 2017
Good one, but the scene with Joanna losing her mind with Butch was incredibly annoying and made her seem about as mature as Jenny.
December 19, 2013
This story takes a shot at motherhood, and it is not a bad story. There were parts that I found hard to swallow. The immediate assumption of infidelity on Butch's part and the mad dash out of the hotel seemed to me to be a bit melodramatic as did the eventual reunion. Both happened to quickly and easily. The conclusions of these stories is almost some act by Joanna, when she had deputies around her who could have handled the problem.
But they continue to be familiar characters and they do have some ups and downs, and so I will stay with them for a few more.
But they continue to be familiar characters and they do have some ups and downs, and so I will stay with them for a few more.
January 13, 2011
Sheriff Joanna Brady is another of my favorite crime solvers, but in Paradise Lost she's a prime example of why I would never attempt to write about a crime solver who is married and has a child. In this novel Brady is newly married to Butch Dixon, her second husband, and her daughter Jenny is now 12 years old. Both are struggling a bit with issues that are the result of being married to or the daughter of a county sheriff.
This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. She is sneaking back into their room at the hotel at 1 am after playing poker with other sheriffs and beating her least favorite one out of about $700. Butch understands but later admits the convention was difficult for him as the only husband of a sheriff. Wives of course have gone through this since the Stone Age but it's different for a guy.
Then Jenny has problems camping with the Girl Scouts and trying to be just one of the kids. Then she and her pup tent mate find a body and the plot is off and running and so is Joanna. It's one of those novels that leaves you breathless because it goes so fast, there's so much danger, and Joanna is also dealing with family issues.
By the way, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, is the most aggravating character ever devised by a novelist. I'd say more but you just have to meet her yourself.
Actually that's the best feature of Jance's novels - the characters. They're unique and they're understandable in their lives and their actions, if a little quirky at times but aren't we all? The characters are really busy in this tale with a short-handed sheriff's department, three murders, and a lot of miles to cover during the investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is in the wedding of one of his former employees, Jenny is upset, Eleanor is very upset, and Joanna needs to be in about three places at once. What a crazy mess, but of course it all tends to work out.
I can't tell you any more without spoiling the book for you, except that a recurring theme is motherhood. I hope you'll read this one. It's a keeper.
This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. She is sneaking back into their room at the hotel at 1 am after playing poker with other sheriffs and beating her least favorite one out of about $700. Butch understands but later admits the convention was difficult for him as the only husband of a sheriff. Wives of course have gone through this since the Stone Age but it's different for a guy.
Then Jenny has problems camping with the Girl Scouts and trying to be just one of the kids. Then she and her pup tent mate find a body and the plot is off and running and so is Joanna. It's one of those novels that leaves you breathless because it goes so fast, there's so much danger, and Joanna is also dealing with family issues.
By the way, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, is the most aggravating character ever devised by a novelist. I'd say more but you just have to meet her yourself.
Actually that's the best feature of Jance's novels - the characters. They're unique and they're understandable in their lives and their actions, if a little quirky at times but aren't we all? The characters are really busy in this tale with a short-handed sheriff's department, three murders, and a lot of miles to cover during the investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is in the wedding of one of his former employees, Jenny is upset, Eleanor is very upset, and Joanna needs to be in about three places at once. What a crazy mess, but of course it all tends to work out.
I can't tell you any more without spoiling the book for you, except that a recurring theme is motherhood. I hope you'll read this one. It's a keeper.
April 28, 2014
While Joanna and Butch are at the annual Sheriff’s convention, Jenny has to go on a Girl Scout Camping trip she’d prefer to skip. It doesn’t help that, through the un-luck of the draw, she’s the tent-mate of a girl that smells, is abrasive and no one likes. But at lights out Dora wants to sneak a cigarette, getting Jenny to try one. So begins a disturbing set of events as the girls take a hike they know they shouldn’t and come across a dead woman whose murder is brutal enough to disturb even the medical examiner.
Lots of things are going on in the homefront too and there is plenty of anger and emotion to go around for a number of reasons. All of it is a learning experience for Joanna who must also decide if she wants to run for re-election and how it would affect her family.
Every once in a while it’s easy to guess the whodunit fairly early in the story, even as threads take you in different directions before revealing a much larger story. That’s not the case in this tale as the overworked/understaffed Sheriff’s department work three homicides. Joanna’s handling of capturing one of the murderers has her staff impressed with not only how she pulls off the last minute coordination from different departments, but her compassion in dealing with the perp’s needs; something you wouldn’t expect to see from others in her position.
More than an administrator, Joanna involves herself in every homicide, and since they’ve only got two detectives, she and her Chief Deputy are also taking on more of her detectives’ duties when investigations begin piling up. She’s in an interesting position as she’s learned about being a cop and a detective through being involved, and yet she’s able to see things from a different, sometimes larger perspective as she’s looking at both the forest and the trees.
Lots of things are going on in the homefront too and there is plenty of anger and emotion to go around for a number of reasons. All of it is a learning experience for Joanna who must also decide if she wants to run for re-election and how it would affect her family.
Every once in a while it’s easy to guess the whodunit fairly early in the story, even as threads take you in different directions before revealing a much larger story. That’s not the case in this tale as the overworked/understaffed Sheriff’s department work three homicides. Joanna’s handling of capturing one of the murderers has her staff impressed with not only how she pulls off the last minute coordination from different departments, but her compassion in dealing with the perp’s needs; something you wouldn’t expect to see from others in her position.
More than an administrator, Joanna involves herself in every homicide, and since they’ve only got two detectives, she and her Chief Deputy are also taking on more of her detectives’ duties when investigations begin piling up. She’s in an interesting position as she’s learned about being a cop and a detective through being involved, and yet she’s able to see things from a different, sometimes larger perspective as she’s looking at both the forest and the trees.
August 5, 2008
I vote for sheriff Joanna Brady! She rocks!
I really don’t read a whole lot of murder mysteries (I guess I prefer story lines where the epic struggle is to try to prevent/survive disaster rather than try to find the bad guy after the fact) but I would guess that J.A. Jance’s writing is well regarded within the genre. The tale was gripping and complex and compelling. But mostly I just LOVED Joanna Brady! I know this is but one of many Joanna Brady books by Jance, but it was MY first introduction to her, and the opening scene where she has just cleaned everyone out at a cutthroat poker game with fellow members of the Arizona Sheriff’s Association almost brought tears to my eyes!
This reaction is probably colored by the fact that I am revisiting Twilight and Joanna’s amazing yet believable competence has been SUCH a huge relief, such a breath of fresh air as I find myself more and more disgusted by Belle’s chronic damsel-in-distress helplessness. Phew!
(By the way, it’s always nice to read a novel set in one’s home state!)
Okay… now I better go find a copy of Milton’s Paradise Lost, just to round out my reading.
I really don’t read a whole lot of murder mysteries (I guess I prefer story lines where the epic struggle is to try to prevent/survive disaster rather than try to find the bad guy after the fact) but I would guess that J.A. Jance’s writing is well regarded within the genre. The tale was gripping and complex and compelling. But mostly I just LOVED Joanna Brady! I know this is but one of many Joanna Brady books by Jance, but it was MY first introduction to her, and the opening scene where she has just cleaned everyone out at a cutthroat poker game with fellow members of the Arizona Sheriff’s Association almost brought tears to my eyes!
This reaction is probably colored by the fact that I am revisiting Twilight and Joanna’s amazing yet believable competence has been SUCH a huge relief, such a breath of fresh air as I find myself more and more disgusted by Belle’s chronic damsel-in-distress helplessness. Phew!
(By the way, it’s always nice to read a novel set in one’s home state!)
Okay… now I better go find a copy of Milton’s Paradise Lost, just to round out my reading.
March 21, 2015
Joanne juggles family & work. New husband Butch is a blessing, support. Jenny has a tough time with death of fellow Girl Scout, she didn't really like. Joanna & her mom finally find some commond ground. Tough mysteries/murders get solved.
Not my favorite, but still liked the continuing characters, growth, respect & Joanna realizes thos is the job she's ment to do & will run for reelection.
I did not like thr Walker series.
Not my favorite, but still liked the continuing characters, growth, respect & Joanna realizes thos is the job she's ment to do & will run for reelection.
I did not like thr Walker series.
August 31, 2015
I think this was a 3-1/2 star book. I tore through it, but I wouldn't say I liked it enough to give it a full fourth star--there were parts of the book that were a little too easy to predict or figure out. Still, if you like crime novels and feisty female investigators, then I think you'll like Joanna Brady. She's a redhead through and through!
August 3, 2018
This is a very complicated story with surprising conclusions. As always the regular cast makes for an interesting read.
May 15, 2025
Not one of the better books in the series. The personal and family parts of the book were much better than the mystery part.
April 15, 2025
This is one of the lesser-quality mysteries. While this one is great in terms of character development, the actual crime, while heinous, was not as exciting to read about and was more of a series of headlines with minimal development.
I liked the character development, and a unique way for Joanna to see that her daughter is growing up, but I wanted more from the case.
3 Stars
I liked the character development, and a unique way for Joanna to see that her daughter is growing up, but I wanted more from the case.
3 Stars
March 19, 2020
Joanna is trying to decide if she will run for sheriff again, when she is faced with a big problem. Her daughter, Jenny, is on a camping trip and gets paired with a girl, Dora, she can’t stand. Dora has troubled home life and she convinces Jenny to sneak off. They find a dead body. Dora runs away and is found dead so Joanna has two murders to solve. Very interesting how everything pulls together.
November 13, 2012
I missed this one as I was working my way through the series...I enjoy them immensely...characters are rich and the setting wonderful...I love the high desert...Sheriff Brady has a lot on her plate, as usual and must solve a number of deaths, including a classmate of Jenny's...great red as usual
August 10, 2015
Although the several threads in the plot converge very well, I was deeply disappointed at Jance's try to give some tension to Joanna's marriage. It was resolved so quickly, cleanly and easily that it just brought to attention the fact that Butch is a little too perfect to be credible.
September 17, 2013
Part of me is getting a little tired of the Joanna Brady books. But a larger part of me still loves the characters and is a sucker for any light-read mystery :)
June 27, 2023
Two-haiku review:
Jenny finds body
With friend on Girl Scout campout
Then friend disappears
Enjoyed it a lot
Really liking this series
Just right for my taste
Jenny finds body
With friend on Girl Scout campout
Then friend disappears
Enjoyed it a lot
Really liking this series
Just right for my taste
May 14, 2021
The ninth book in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series by J.A. Jance and I am still very much enjoying them.
This book covers a time of 3 murders within a week in the normally anything but so violent, lowly populated county of Cochise in Arizona. Sheriff Brady's own daughter, Jenny, and another girl scout are the ones who find the first victim, a naked woman dumped in the desert and at least several days dead. While on a scouting camping weekend, the two girls sneak away from their tent to smoke a cigarette. Jenny notices the too familiar smell of a carcass. Assuming an animal they follow the smell, then are forced to tell the scout leader and confess why they were out there.
The girl Jenny wandered off with was a girl she didn't even like and when the two girls are to be sent home, the other girl's mother can't be located. While staying at Jenny's home, Child Services is contacted. When the girl runs away from the foster home, she is found dead next. Could they possibly be connected? Could Jenny also be in danger?
Jance weaves another interesting multiple murder mystery while maintaining the reality the Sheriff Brady is still a newly married woman with a maturing daughter. The pull of a personal life and professional life is well told in this series and illustrates the added tension and conflict that can exist in the lives of officers of sparse desert counties or dense cities.
This book covers a time of 3 murders within a week in the normally anything but so violent, lowly populated county of Cochise in Arizona. Sheriff Brady's own daughter, Jenny, and another girl scout are the ones who find the first victim, a naked woman dumped in the desert and at least several days dead. While on a scouting camping weekend, the two girls sneak away from their tent to smoke a cigarette. Jenny notices the too familiar smell of a carcass. Assuming an animal they follow the smell, then are forced to tell the scout leader and confess why they were out there.
The girl Jenny wandered off with was a girl she didn't even like and when the two girls are to be sent home, the other girl's mother can't be located. While staying at Jenny's home, Child Services is contacted. When the girl runs away from the foster home, she is found dead next. Could they possibly be connected? Could Jenny also be in danger?
Jance weaves another interesting multiple murder mystery while maintaining the reality the Sheriff Brady is still a newly married woman with a maturing daughter. The pull of a personal life and professional life is well told in this series and illustrates the added tension and conflict that can exist in the lives of officers of sparse desert counties or dense cities.
January 21, 2023
I just re-read this story, and it is just as exciting the second time. I rarely re-read, but I had forgotten what happened in this one. How I forgot, I don't know, because it was definitely a page-turner! In this story, Joanna's daughter and her friend find a dead body when they are on a Girl Scout camping trip. When more bodies turn up, Joanna is afraid that the killer is coming for her daughter. This is definitely a good read!
June 3, 2018
This was another interesting story. It was filled with three murders and all the investigation it takes to solve them. There are surprises for sure in who is guilty. It's not always who you might think. Read it and find out.
June 28, 2023
Engrossing suspense, good read.
Read
March 2, 2018Another 2 day mystery. 'Nuff said.
April 12, 2015
THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY
more like 3 .5
In this book, Joanna Brady's daughter goes to camp with a bunch of girls. She gets paired off with a rather smelly older girl, who obviously doesn't fit in with the rest of the girls. This girl kind of dares Jenny, Joanna's daughter, to leave their tent late at night and go off into the desert to smoke a cigarette, and since Jenny doesn't want to be seen as a goody-two-shoes, she does just that. While out there the girls stumble across a dead body...and they run and tell the lady in charge.
That brings in the calvary. Including Jenny's grandparents, because Joanna is in another city for a meeting. Needless to say, Jenny is in big trouble...for the smoking, for wandering off on her own, and for involving herself in a murder. The strange girl is brought back to Jenny's house temporarily, then put in a foster situation. When she runs away from that, she is later found murdered...and this concerns Joanna, for the possibility it might put Jenny at risk.
******************
Sheriff Joanna Brady is another of my favorite crime solvers, but in Paradise Lost she's a prime example of why I would never attempt to write about a crime solver who is married and has a child. In this novel Brady is newly married to Butch Dixon, her second husband, and her daughter Jenny is now 12 years old. Both are struggling a bit with issues that are the result of being married to or the daughter of a county sheriff.
This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. She is sneaking back into their room at the hotel at 1 am after playing poker with other sheriffs and beating her least favorite one out of about $700. Butch understands but later admits the convention was difficult for him as the only husband of a sheriff. Wives of course have gone through this since the Stone Age but it's different for a guy.
Then Jenny has problems camping with the Girl Scouts and trying to be just one of the kids. Then she and her pup tent mate find a body and the plot is off and running and so is Joanna. It's one of those novels that leaves you breathless because it goes so fast, there's so much danger, and Joanna is also dealing with family issues.
By the way, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, is the most aggravating character ever devised by a novelist. I'd say more but you just have to meet her yourself.
Actually that's the best feature of Jance's novels - the characters. They're unique and they're understandable in their lives and their actions, if a little quirky at times but aren't we all? The characters are really busy in this tale with a short-handed sheriff's department, three murders, and a lot of miles to cover during the investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is in the wedding of one of his former employees, Jenny is upset, Eleanor is very upset, and Joanna needs to be in about three places at once. What a crazy mess, but of course it all tends to work out.
more like 3 .5
In this book, Joanna Brady's daughter goes to camp with a bunch of girls. She gets paired off with a rather smelly older girl, who obviously doesn't fit in with the rest of the girls. This girl kind of dares Jenny, Joanna's daughter, to leave their tent late at night and go off into the desert to smoke a cigarette, and since Jenny doesn't want to be seen as a goody-two-shoes, she does just that. While out there the girls stumble across a dead body...and they run and tell the lady in charge.
That brings in the calvary. Including Jenny's grandparents, because Joanna is in another city for a meeting. Needless to say, Jenny is in big trouble...for the smoking, for wandering off on her own, and for involving herself in a murder. The strange girl is brought back to Jenny's house temporarily, then put in a foster situation. When she runs away from that, she is later found murdered...and this concerns Joanna, for the possibility it might put Jenny at risk.
******************
Sheriff Joanna Brady is another of my favorite crime solvers, but in Paradise Lost she's a prime example of why I would never attempt to write about a crime solver who is married and has a child. In this novel Brady is newly married to Butch Dixon, her second husband, and her daughter Jenny is now 12 years old. Both are struggling a bit with issues that are the result of being married to or the daughter of a county sheriff.
This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. She is sneaking back into their room at the hotel at 1 am after playing poker with other sheriffs and beating her least favorite one out of about $700. Butch understands but later admits the convention was difficult for him as the only husband of a sheriff. Wives of course have gone through this since the Stone Age but it's different for a guy.
Then Jenny has problems camping with the Girl Scouts and trying to be just one of the kids. Then she and her pup tent mate find a body and the plot is off and running and so is Joanna. It's one of those novels that leaves you breathless because it goes so fast, there's so much danger, and Joanna is also dealing with family issues.
By the way, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, is the most aggravating character ever devised by a novelist. I'd say more but you just have to meet her yourself.
Actually that's the best feature of Jance's novels - the characters. They're unique and they're understandable in their lives and their actions, if a little quirky at times but aren't we all? The characters are really busy in this tale with a short-handed sheriff's department, three murders, and a lot of miles to cover during the investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is in the wedding of one of his former employees, Jenny is upset, Eleanor is very upset, and Joanna needs to be in about three places at once. What a crazy mess, but of course it all tends to work out.
March 30, 2012
Sheriff Joanna Brady’s daughter Jenny finds a dead body when she and another girl Dora sneak out into the desert during the night at a Girl Scout camp out. Dora and Jenny, both 13, could not be more different. Jenny is well-parented, while Dora’s mother is a drug dealer and Dora lives in a meth house. Dora is also pregnant. Jenny was paired against her wishes with Dora at the campout and it was Dora’s idea to sneak out into the desert to smoke. Both girls are questioned by officers who wonder if the girls might have seen something that will help find the murderer. Dora is placed in foster care because her meth-dealing mother cannot be located. Dora quickly runs away from foster care. In the midst of all this, Sheriff Brady is trying to find out who killed the woman found in the desert and also trying to keep her marriage together and her daughter on the right track. Sheriff Brady does have a melt-down about her marriage that was bit histrionic and hard to listen to (audio book). It didn’t seem characteristic of her, but I’ve not read enough of her books to be sure. In the Brady books I’ve read, I’ve always appreciated that Joanna is usually on an even keel. I now wish I had started reading the Brady books from the beginning, in sequential order. I’ve tucked in randomly, which can be a bit, well, random. In Paradise Lost, Joanna juggles several cases, as sheriffs do. The cases aren’t always connected. But I like the reality of that.
October 5, 2010
Paradise Lost is the 9th installment in the Joanna Brady series set in Bisbee, Arizona. This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. While Joanna is off playing cards with the rest of her brethren and winning money, Butch meanwhile finds that he is stuck with the wives of the various sheriffs’. He understands why but later admits that the convention was difficult for him.
Then, there is the exploits of 12 year old Jennifer Brady. Joanna's teenage daughter and her bad-girl tent mate Dora sneak away from Girl Scout camp and stumble across a woman's battered body. Only days later, Dora is also murdered, which makes Joanna logically fear that her daughter will be next.
The victim is a middle-aged former spinster who's lost her fortune to a fortune-hunting husband, who's now apparently lured her to her death, or at least that's what everyone thinks. Joanna works her way through the mystery, interviewing witnesses and suspects, and listening to reports from detectives and so forth who do more of the same.
Although the conclusion is predictable, I still enjoyed Joanna’s character. We’ve watched her go from a grieving wife of a murdered deputy sheriff, to remarrying and trying to find a new life with Butch. Naturally, the annoying one is back as well. Her mother.
Then, there is the exploits of 12 year old Jennifer Brady. Joanna's teenage daughter and her bad-girl tent mate Dora sneak away from Girl Scout camp and stumble across a woman's battered body. Only days later, Dora is also murdered, which makes Joanna logically fear that her daughter will be next.
The victim is a middle-aged former spinster who's lost her fortune to a fortune-hunting husband, who's now apparently lured her to her death, or at least that's what everyone thinks. Joanna works her way through the mystery, interviewing witnesses and suspects, and listening to reports from detectives and so forth who do more of the same.
Although the conclusion is predictable, I still enjoyed Joanna’s character. We’ve watched her go from a grieving wife of a murdered deputy sheriff, to remarrying and trying to find a new life with Butch. Naturally, the annoying one is back as well. Her mother.
May 17, 2014
I really enjoy these books by Jance, especially when I want to get away from heavy reading such as my microbiology, neuroscience, for my classes. In this book, Joanna Brady's daughter goes to camp with a bunch of girls. She gets paired off with a rather smelly older girl, who obviously doesn't fit in with the rest of the girls. This girl kind of dares Jenny, Joanna's daughter, to leave their tent late at night and go off into the desert to smoke a cigarette, and since Jenny doesn't want to be seen as a goody-two-shoes, she does just that. While out there the girls stumble across a dead body...and they run and tell the lady in charge.
That brings in the calvary. Including Jenny's grandparents, because Joanna is in another city for a meeting. Needless to say, Jenny is in big trouble...for the smoking, for wandering off on her own, and for involving herself in a murder. The strange girl is brought back to Jenny's house temporarily, then put in a foster situation. When she runs away from that, she is later found murdered...and this concerns Joanna, for the possibility it might put Jenny at risk.
These books are great for light summer reading. Most of the time, they are fairly well-written. They don't qualify as great literature, but I always find the stories are good enough to keep me interested. And most of all, I like the characters that Jance has woven stories around.
That brings in the calvary. Including Jenny's grandparents, because Joanna is in another city for a meeting. Needless to say, Jenny is in big trouble...for the smoking, for wandering off on her own, and for involving herself in a murder. The strange girl is brought back to Jenny's house temporarily, then put in a foster situation. When she runs away from that, she is later found murdered...and this concerns Joanna, for the possibility it might put Jenny at risk.
These books are great for light summer reading. Most of the time, they are fairly well-written. They don't qualify as great literature, but I always find the stories are good enough to keep me interested. And most of all, I like the characters that Jance has woven stories around.
October 28, 2011
This was a great who done it murder mystery! Here's the scoop, there's a dead woman, a missing husband, and loads of cash missing. Joanna's daughter Jenny and her friend Dora find a dead body during a girl scout camping trip. If the girls would never have left the campsite after lights out they would never have found the dead body. Now Joanna fears for the girls lives since it seems the murder has just occured.
Joanna sends her daughter and Dora to Jenny's grandparents house while she tries to sort things out and find Dora's drug addict mother. Joanna finds the sister of the deceased and a message from the missing husband on the answering machine at the couples home that would indicate he knows where she is at. Did he take his wife's money, kill her and run? Or was it her crazy sister that is upset that she married this man?
Meanwhile she finds a strange woman in the house of the deceased passed out from too much booze with a loaded gun at the strangers side. What is she to do?
This is a real page turner, just when you think you've found the killer you are dead wrong. You won't be able to put this book down, I'm dead serious!
Joanna sends her daughter and Dora to Jenny's grandparents house while she tries to sort things out and find Dora's drug addict mother. Joanna finds the sister of the deceased and a message from the missing husband on the answering machine at the couples home that would indicate he knows where she is at. Did he take his wife's money, kill her and run? Or was it her crazy sister that is upset that she married this man?
Meanwhile she finds a strange woman in the house of the deceased passed out from too much booze with a loaded gun at the strangers side. What is she to do?
This is a real page turner, just when you think you've found the killer you are dead wrong. You won't be able to put this book down, I'm dead serious!
October 10, 2016
Paradise Lost is billed as "A Novel of Suspense," but for me it wasn't all that suspenseful because it did not have that sense of impending menace that a good suspense novel should have. The only suspense was the issue of whether the newly married Joanna Brady, nearing the end of her first term as Sheriff, should run for a second term. Since this is the 9th in a series that already numbers at least 17 novels, it is a pretty sure bet how she will decide.
However, the voters should think twice. Since Joanna was elected (and Jance started the series) the murder rate in this rural desert county has reached astronomical proportions. In this entry alone there are three killings in about as many days by (spoiler alert) by as many different perpetrators, a homicide rate more like Chicago IL than Cochise County, AZ. Fear not. The intrepid Sheriff Brady resolves them all without even, for once, getting a ladder in her pantyhose.
P.S. If you are looking for any Miltonian poetry you will be disappointed. In this book Paradise is a small community in Southern Arizona. As always though, Jance's descriptions of the desert are well done if not exactly poetic.
However, the voters should think twice. Since Joanna was elected (and Jance started the series) the murder rate in this rural desert county has reached astronomical proportions. In this entry alone there are three killings in about as many days by (spoiler alert) by as many different perpetrators, a homicide rate more like Chicago IL than Cochise County, AZ. Fear not. The intrepid Sheriff Brady resolves them all without even, for once, getting a ladder in her pantyhose.
P.S. If you are looking for any Miltonian poetry you will be disappointed. In this book Paradise is a small community in Southern Arizona. As always though, Jance's descriptions of the desert are well done if not exactly poetic.
July 28, 2011
My knee jerk reaction to this book is to say it's boring, but a boring novel doesn't usually hold my attention as well as this did. As far as the storyline goes, there isn't enough action for it to be exciting, there's not enough clues for the reader to piece together like a mystery, and there's no real "pull" to finish the book.
What I DID enjoy is the complex look into the time, effort, and strategies used by law enforcement as well as the very likable characters. The story pretty much follows the main character around as she unravels a murder. What kept me interested though is the way she handles situations as they arise; I constantly found myself thinking, "That IS a smart thing to do..."
Overall, don't read this if you're looking for a good action or mystery novel, but if you have a bit of time to spare it might be short enough to hold your interest.
What I DID enjoy is the complex look into the time, effort, and strategies used by law enforcement as well as the very likable characters. The story pretty much follows the main character around as she unravels a murder. What kept me interested though is the way she handles situations as they arise; I constantly found myself thinking, "That IS a smart thing to do..."
Overall, don't read this if you're looking for a good action or mystery novel, but if you have a bit of time to spare it might be short enough to hold your interest.
October 26, 2012
It took awhile for me to fully get into this book, about a fourth of the way through, I was hooked. This was my first J.A. Jance book and I certainly plan on reading her others. I picked up a few of the Joanna Brady books at a local library book sale on a whim. I am certainly glad I did. J.A. Jance does an amazing job of describing scenes and allowing the reader to actually feel like they are there with the characters. Throughout the developments of the murders in Paradise Lost, I felt myself being able to piece together the crimes before the characters did due to the writing style of J.A. Jance. The biggest draw I had towards the Joanna Brady books was the fact that the main character was a female sheriff. It is so refreshing to read a book where the main authority figure is a female. If you're interested in murder mysteries, a female lead, and a quickly developing story line, J.A. Jance's Paradise Lost is for you!
December 19, 2015
I was interested in books that took place in AZ and I thought this one looked interesting. Some authors voices resonate with a reader and some just don't. This book didn't. I think Jance was trying to show that Sheriff Brady struggled with being in a man's world and still being true to her feminine qualities. It seemed Jance went out of her way to show Brady as a woman with situations that, in my opinion, showed the character as over-emotional. When her father-in-law called her during a murder investigation concerned about his missing wife, it seemed he was also, over emotional. I didn't like Brady's new whining spouse and how she worried about her daughter, but didn't speak a word to her in the last 1/3 of the story. The plot had many great twists and turns and the end moved quickly. Jance kept me guessing the whole time who the murderer was, which was great. I will refrain from deciding if I like Jance's style until I read another of her books, which I'm willing to do.
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