Girls' Night Out: A J. P. Beaumont Short Story

J.P. Beaumont #25.5

by J.A. Jance

An e-original short story from New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance, featuring a sneak peek of the next J. P. Beaumont novel, Den of Iniquity! When Twinkle Winkleman finds herself in a dangerous, life-threatening situation, and love forces her to confront the near-impossible.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Novella, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

1 pages, Audio CD

First published July 23, 2024

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

[Teju A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this authors writing style, while I'm not familiar with this series; i don't think you need to be to read this.
Quick read!

When a women's daughter in law goes missing, she takes investigation into her hands to find her!

Solid 5 stars

[Dez the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a super fun short read.

I listened to this on audiobook and loved the narrator. It was a quick little cozy mystery where the FMC was a spitfire and highly likable character.

I know novellas are sometimes hard to throw together with the valve required for a good book, so this one had a little less mystery than I would have preferred.

A great listen and perfect palette cleanser for my heavier, longer reads.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrators:
Hillary Huber
Mike Ortego

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl's Night Out by J.A. Jance is a great little short story about a strong and independant woman in Alaska. J.P. Beaumont doesn't appear much in this story but he plays a vital part. I have been a fan of Jance for a number of years now and I'm glad to see that she has more books coming this year. She is a great storyteller.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

As for novellas, I'm not really a fan.....but I liked this one. Twinkle Winkelman was a fun character to get to know and I'd love to see her in a series of her own.

The setting is Anchorage, Alaska which is where I am from. The trip down memory lane about Alaskan culture was fun. This had a bit of a Janet Evanovich feel to it....with the quirkiness and humor. That worked well with Twinkle and I loved her bear blanket. So 4 stars.

[Sylvia Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short story

Cindy doesn't come home one night. Her mother in law goes looking for her and finds her car with purse inside.
Her mother in law traces her air tag and sees her being captured in a route cabin

[Debbe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a short story where we never heard the voice of J.P. Beaumont. Total waste of time. Also included was a preview of Beaumont’s next mystery which I chose not to read. I’ll wait for the novel.

[kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written short mystery will have you rooting for the terrific very well developed characters.

[Jack Durrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alaska women as tough as the. State

I liked the first-person narrative. As with all my favorite writers, the settings are the foundations of the story, and J. A. Jance is the first among equals of my top favorites. The details about the settings are always well researched, so if I want to check them out, I can easily do that, and feel like I stepped directly into the story(I have actually done that on several occasions). As a graduate of the University of Arizona and now, in retirement, living between Seattle and the Canadian border, being the NUMBER ONE FAN of J.A. Jance, I could relate to the characters in this story. The first line of this story reminded me of the song "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash, was vintage J. A. Jance. Great Book!!!

[Kevintipple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the billing, Girl’s Night Out: A J.P. Beaumont Short Story is not J.P. Beaumont tale. He is referenced, but he never is actually in the tale. That fact was annoying and very disappointing as that is why I purchased the read.

The novella revolves around Twinkle Winkleman who as last seen in Nothing to Lose (also reviewed by Aubrey here). After considerable backstory regarding her life, we eventually get to the fact that her daughter in law, Cindy, has gone missing after being out for the evening with female friends. Cindy went out anyway, as she does every weekend, even though her best friend, Leslie, wasn’t going make it. This is shortly after Cindy had told Twinkle some concerning news about Leslie’s current boyfriend.

James is abusive and controlling. He could be a problem, not just for Leslie, but anyone around her. The fact that Cindy hasn’t come home by long after midnight, or answer her phone, is a worry. Twinkle soon finds Cindy’s car at where she was supposed to be though the club is dark and locked up tight. Cindy’s car is the only vehicle in the cold and desolate parking lot. The vehicle is unlocked and Cindy’s purse is inside. Then she finds Cindy’s cellphone under the car.

Clearly something bad is going on. With the Anchorage P.D. of no help, Twinkie goes on her own to find Cindy before it’s too late.

While this heavily narrated tale with very little dialogue was somewhat interesting, once it actually got going, the absence of J.P. Beaumont was disappointing. To me, I feel misled by the publisher, Witness Impulse, as Beaumont is not in the read.

Based on the ratings and reviews I have seen many folks did not have that issue with the read. If I was doing the stars/cups of coffee/flaming suns/whatever deal here, I would go with three stars—at best. If I could have returned it for a refund, I would have, and I never do that.

My recommendation would be either to read it for free via your local library, if they get it, or wait for the free book sale when they do it through Amazon.

The final quarter of this eBook is publicity material and an excerpt from the next Beaumont series, Den of Iniquity, currently scheduled to be released in September. Based on the synopsis, it would appear that Beaumont is actually in that book.


My reading copy was a wasted purchase by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2024

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great novella written in typical J. A. Jance style. Twinkle Winkleman is quite a character. She lives in Alaska and is very independent and capable of taking care of herself. She owns an auto mechanic garage and drives her own style of Uber with her late father’s 1973 Travelall called Maude. One night her daughter-in-law doesn’t come home from her night out at karaoke. So Twinkle takes it upon herself to find her no matter what. But she’s a smart cookie and leaves her friend, J. P. Beaumont, a voice message about where she is, just in case. This spunky gal is one I would enjoy reading more about. She’s quick thinking and not afraid of anything. Well done!

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novella focuses on auto-mechanic Twinkle Winkelman of Anchorage, Alaska. Her daughter-in-law, Cindy, has lived with her for the past 15 years or so after the death of her son Tad. Cindy plans to spend an evening with her best friend, but becomes unreachable by phone. Indeed, Twinkle finds Cindy’s car unlocked with her purse inside and her phone beneath the car. She calls the police and they shake off her urgency.

However, Twinkle is one tough lady and decides to find Cindy herself. And yes, Cindy IS in trouble. J.P. Beaumont is never present but he does make a major contribution to the plot! Enjoy!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story (aka novella) is supposedly a preview of a J. P. Beaumont novel, Den of Iniquity, but I didn't get the connection. Twinkle Winkleman (what a name!) is from Anchorage, Alaska and has had a tough life - growing up without her mom, divorcing her husband, and grieving the loss of both her father and her son Tad. But, her dad taught her lots about fixing cars and bequeathed to Twinkle his 1973 International Harvester Travelall (aka "Maude").

Twinkle's daughter-in-law, Cindy, decides it would be great fun to hang out with her friend, Leslie, at a karaoke bar. Cindy goes MIA, and sadly the police don't care whatsoever. Twinkle goes rogue to try and find her daughter-in-law.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Visit with Twinkle in Alaska

With suspense, a missing person and J.P. Beaumont as her backup, Twinkle Winkleman goes alone to find out what happened to her missing daughter-in-law and may have bitten off more than she can chew. It helped that I had read the Beaumont series because I was familiar with Twink’s quirky behavior and attitude. Good characterization and engaging suspense. Fast read and can easily be finished in one sitting. I checked out a copy of this book from my library using the Libby App. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many books on my kindle so it’s time to start weeding these out. Girl’s Night Out is a short novella to be read before Den of Inquity. Twinkle Twinkleman (Beau’s driver in Anchorage) is concerned her daughter in law didn’t come home last night. Granted, she’s an adult widowed woman however it’s not like her to check in with Twinkle. Twinkle takes matters into her own hands after the local police won’t let her file a missing person report for another 12 hours. Quick read; less than 60 pages.

[Ricki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure why this is billed as a JP Beaumont since he's only mentioned in passing a few times toward the end of this short short story.

The main character Twinkle Winkelman was JP's driver in a previous book. She's eccentric, odd and self-sufficient. This one, Twinkle is looking for her missing daughter-in-law who didn't come home after a Girls' Night out. It short, odd and can be skipped.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love J.A.Jance!

I’ve been a long time devotee of J.A. Jance and highly recommend every book she’s written. Readers who enjoy trying to figure out mysteries ahead of others, those who cheer for the good guys and those who read quickly to outsmart the bad guys will be hooked. Beginning with the curmudgeonly J.P. Beaumont, and on through Jance’s other characters, I feel like I’m conversing with good friends from page #1.

[Dale E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, I thought I would try out a new mystery writer who has an extensive catalog of books. What I found was a Hallmark mystery without the ending kiss. Writing is sophomoric. Plot, such as it was since this was a novella, was transparent from the beginning; once all the excessive background descriptions of the family history were done. Glad this was short so I didn’t waste too much time . Guess I need to stick to Baldacci, Horowitz, Coben for good, exciting mysteries.

[annapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little short story about a side character in the J.P. Beaumont series. JP himself is not really in it, the protagonist is Twinkle Winkleman, an Alaskan mechanic. When her daughter-in-law goes missing and the police brush her off, Twinkle sets out to find her herself. Nice kick-ass female character!

[Pam Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as always
J. A. Jance is always a blind buy for me. Any of her many series have given me hours of reading pleasure. Twinkle Winkleman is a great character. Very nice story. Highly recommend. You can read it as a standalone, and when you love it, find the J. P. Beaumont series and read, read, read.

[JoAnn Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a shocker! Beau's friend in Alaska is surprised to find her daughter in law has not arrived home from her Girls Night Out with her best friend and goes on the hunt. She finds the jeep but not her daughter in law; she contacts the cops who don't care. She ventures out and finds danger so she texts Beau with in case of emergency message then heads into danger. She distracts the dangerous menace who kidnapped her daughter in law and friend just in time for the cops to show. Who called them? Why Beau! he got the message while waiting in the hospital with his wife and kids while his grandson undergoes surgery and was disturbed enough to contact an acquaintance in a nearby Alaskan town. Wouldn't ya know a cop she knows has an interest in the daughter in law so she will be trying to set them up - when the girls get out of the hospital of course!

[Gracie N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twinkle knows something is up when her daughter in law doesn’t come home at the time she said she would.

After pinging her location she sees her phone is still at the bar she said she was going to, upon arriving she finds the car and purse, but the bar is closed.

She remembers the AirTag on the keys and finds her actual location and manages to save her.

Real quick read.

[Beverly Letarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this Novella. It depicted a strong women who was prepared for any emergency.
A bit unreal that a women alone would go out in a snowstorm to find her missing daughter-in-law
A short but easy read and Beaumont was not really visibly in the story but his presence in helping state troopers to the scene was plausible

[Catie Schauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know how to rage this book 😩 it wasn’t a bad book at all. It was actually a nice “reset” book. It was a pretty fast read, but didn’t feel rushed. I liked the quirky little humor throughout the book too. I felt it was predictable, but I still enjoyed. Don’t go in expecting an intense mind boggling thriller though. All in all, I did like the book 🙂

[Michelle | Simply in the Moment · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was fine but to call this a J.P. Beaumont short story is a long shot. He was not in the book. His name was mentioned a couple of times but that was it. It was disappointing because I thought it was going to be a J.P Beaumont short story. If you’re a Beaumont fan I would skip this one and read the next one in the series. His character is actually in that book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fine short story… The plot wasn’t very complicated or mysterious. It was pretty straightforward. The ending I guess had a cute little twist, but the introduction was kind of drawn out. Didn’t need to know quite a bit of the information could’ve cut out quite a bit of that and added more Twist and turns to the rising action and climax.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twinkle Winkleman is a skilled mechanic and she stands up for herself and others. Her son died just after marrying. Cindy is her daughter in law who lives with her. Cindy finds out after her husband's death that he was married to another woman so her marriage was void. When Cindy doesn't come home one night, Twinkles is determined to find her.

[Sharon Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whose Twink and Maude? Only the incomparable J A Jis theance knows.

A great in the middle of the night story by J A Jance. Twink

is a wonderful, colorful character And Maude is too. Great story . Don't miss it.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read almost all of the Jance books. A huge fan from the beginning. The only thing wrong with this book is that this short story is not long enough. I remember this character from Alaska from a previous book.

[Debbie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

short story but really good from beginning to end!

I have never read a short story from J A Janice but love this author. JP Beaumont wasn’t seen in this book but his prescience was definitely a life saver in this story!