Justice Denied

J.P. Beaumont #18

by J.A. Jance

The murder of an ex-drug dealer ex-con --- gunned down on his mother's doorstep --- seems just another turf war fatality. Why then has Seattle homicide investigator J.P. Beaumont been instructed to keep this assignment hush-hush? Meanwhile, Beau's lover and fellow cop, Mel Soames, is involved in her own confidential investigation. Registered sex offenders from all over Washington State are dying at an alarming rate --- and not all due to natural causes.

A metropolis the size of Seattle holds its fair share of brutal crime, corruption, and dirty little secrets. But when the separate trails they're following begin to shockingly intertwine, Beau and Mel realize that they have stumbled onto something bigger and more frightening than they anticipated --- a deadly conspiracy that's leading them to lofty places they should not enter ... and may not be allowed to leave alive.

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

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 23, 2007

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

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this 18th book in the 'J.P. Beaumont' series, the Seattle police detective looks into a cold case and a murder. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

The Washington State Attorney General, Ross Alan Connors - who's preparing for an election - wants to beef up his record and get some cases solved. Thus Connors creates the 'Special Homicide Investigative Team' (SHIT), composed of a group of reliable, discreet detectives. The SHIT squad includes detective partners J.P. Beaumont and Melissa (Mel) Soames, who also happen to be a romantic couple.



(Note: In my opinion, SHIT is a ludicrous acronym. Can you imagine newspaper headlines screaming 'SHIT gets a commendation from the Governor.')

Beaumont is looking into an old missing persons case when Connors gives him an additional assignment: to investigate the deliberate shooting of LaShawn Tompkins. Tompkins, a former drug dealer convicted of rape, was imprisoned for seven years before being cleared by DNA analysis. Tompkins was doing good works at the King Street Mission at the time of his murder, so who would want him dead? Connors suspects 'people with connections', and tells Beaumont to conduct VERY hush hush inquiries.



For his missing persons case Beaumont is looking into the disappearance of Anthony David Cosgrove, an aircraft engineer who vanished 25 years ago - on the day Mount St. Helen's erupted. Though Cosgrove's death was tentatively attributed to the volcanic explosion, no trace of his remains were found in the debris.





Cosgrove's daughter still hopes her dad will be found, but the engineer's former wife and her (now) husband DON'T WANT the case re-opened. This seems suspicious to Beaumont, and much drama ensues.

Meanwhile, inquiries into the LaShawn Tompkins murder brings Beaumont to the home of LaShawn's grandmother, Etta Mae Tompkins - a fierce, wheelchair bound lady who dearly loved her 'Shawny.' Though Etta Mae applauded her grandson's good works at the mission, she doesn't think much of its founder, Pastor Mark.



Etta Mae's feelings seem justified when Beaumont tries to interview employees at the mission and a lawyer shows up to shut him down.....while Pastor Mark stands by with a satisfied smile.

While Beaumont goes about his business, Mel Soames is looking into the suspicious deaths of men who committed sex crimes, most of whom were registered sex offenders. These scumbags are dying at an alarming rate, sometimes from outright murder.....and sometimes from 'accidental causes.' Suspecting vigilante justice, Soames is determined to nab the killer.



In addition to their detective duties, Beaumont and Soames have personal concerns. Beaumont's beloved grandmother Beverly just died, and a funeral is being planned; Beaumont's daughter Katie, mother of a newborn, is behaving oddly; and Mel Soames is being secretive about her reasons for joining an organization dedicated to convicting sex offenders. Beaumont is especially apprehensive about Mel, since he's had disastrous relationships with women in the past - and actually had to shoot his first wife.

There are some mild surprises in the book, and satisfactory resolutions of all the mysteries. I enjoyed the suspense part of the book but got bored with the minutiae related to the detectives' romance - the wining, dining, loving gazes, little tiffs, etc. To me this seemed extraneous to the story and I could have done without it. I know some readers like this kind of thing, though, so 'nuff said. 🙂

I'd recommend the book to readers who like mysteries, especially fans of J.P. Beaumont.

https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you might guess from the rating, I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was one of J A Jance's best. I read it on my husband's Kindle, after he purchased it for me. I think that J P Beaumont is the best of Jance's main characters. He has a long back story, having been married, divorced, and widowered--is that the right term? Now he is partnered with Melanie as they work on what used to be called 'cold cases,' but things heat up as they also take on the murder of a former convict, now religious mentor. The setting is Seattle and Bellevue, mainly, with a few side trips. I found it to be most enjoyable--like meeting an old friend.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it's happened and in the words of Adrian Monk it's a blessing and a curse. I had read this book years ago but enjoyed it again this week. Can you say dementia? An entire new world in my reading life is opening but I don't want to admit why :(
I really, really like J.P.Beaumont and how he deals with his demons while dealing with the bad guys. In fact, he's my fave character of Ms. Jance's. And she is one of my fave authors. If you've met her, you know why I say this. Extremely talented and such a nice human being.

[Gunnar Wiskoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how she weaves multiple murders of ex-cons together for JP and Mel to work on. As usual, you can visualize the areas of Seattle so well in her books. Excellent detail.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book to read on the plane ride home, and instead found myself finishing it less than a day after I bought it. Thus is the power of JA Jance - and my father saying "so, you're leaving that to read for me, right?"

This is another JP Beaumont novel, and is actually earlier than the first novel I read with Beau as the main character, so it was interesting to see how all of the characters fell into the places where I know them - the character's lives felt connected and real, and reading about my beloved Seattle is always a treat. (Display and Costume used to be located in the Denny Regrade? Who knew?!)

As for the story, something I really appreciate about Jance is how she can carefully construct her story. I am a fan of mystery, suspense, and forensic science-focused books, and with some authors you can see where the story is going (and how it will get there) from a mile away. With Jance, while it's possible to leap ahead in bits and pieces, the entire story and how it all hooks together isn't clear until Jance makes her reveal.

All in all, I highly recommend this novel!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

Mission worker shot
Released criminals are dead
In all kinds of ways

Great add to series
Very interesting plot
Justice or vengeance?

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished in one weekend :)
Puzzling start .. missing persons for Beau & Mel is researching released sexual predators.
Beau & Mel are cohabiting with benefits .. carpooling to work.
Todd Hatcher is introduced in this book.
A marriage proposal AND Las Vegas wedding for
B&M is at the end of this book.
Beau’s Grandmother passes at the start leaving Lars solo but he has a friend, Iris R who attends the wedding at the end.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is no secret I love JP and this was another great instalment in the series.
There was a new narrator for this one that I didn't warm to straight away. Overall a good book.

[Emily Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.P. Beaumont is a homicide detective in Seattle. He and his partner, Mel Soames, (Work partner and life partner) are investigating cold cases. The have found a pattern to some of the cases they are investigating. What they discovered is shaping up to a long term effort to remove sexual offenders from society.

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 2 out of 5]

J. P. Beaumont is an investigator for the attorney general's office. When he's asked by the attorney general, Ross Connor to look into the murder of a recent exonerated prisoner who was shot dead in his mother's house. He's instructed to keep this investigation under the radar of other co-workers.

It finally dawns on him, Ross & J. P.'s partner Melissa that the cases are intertwined. Through an independent investigation, they uncover a slew of murdered convicts in different parts of the country. Who could want these people dead?

The story takes you through different avenues and down through a variety of scenarios before it delivers the information to complete the mystery. There are several separate stories within this one. I didn't enjoy this book until the last chapters of the book. All the footwork, studying abstracts in their research, talking to witnesses and suspects still left me wanting more from the story.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

JP is investigating an ex con’s murder, it seems straight forward but some thing don’t add up. Jp’s partner Mel is in a group of women against sex offenders, she is given a hush-hush assignment to look into registered sex offenders and finds several are dying as soon as they get out of prison. The only clue tying them together is the sighting of a nun. A really good story about investigations.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one.

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beau and his girlfriend Mel are assigned undercover investigations of murders of ex-cons that seem to be connected to possible law enforcement. The fact that the victims are all registered sex offenders brings suspicion to a group to which Mel belongs. Are the women taking it upon themselves to wipe out offenders they believe have not been punished enough? As always, Jance weaves into the story continuing developments in Beau's private and family life, as well as introducing interesting new characters. I love her writing style!

[Susan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love J.A Jance. I have been reading J. P. Beaumont since the first one came out. I love all her books, but he will always be my favorite.
I read this one in 2 days, I can’t remember reading it before, and as always it just grabbed me.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

JP and Mel are on the hunt for a vigilant serial killer.

[Roe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow the ending was really rushed. And the conclusion to one of the cases was terrible and incomplete.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story. The book moves quickly and is well written. This is the first book by this author and I will probably read more of her books.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really annoyed me that a real nun was considered a suspect and a thread found was compared to different orders' capes, rather than the obvious that someone was dressed like a nun.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read one of the Beumont series. I found this interesting. Filled with a lot of action and twists and turns as J.P. and Mel try to figure out who is doing it and well as figure out their relationship. In the end the succeed of course.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to this book in audio format during an 800 mile road trip. It was a fine book for driving, made time pass and wasn't too complicated but had enough tension to hold attention. What I liked best about the book is the way in which Jance mixes the personal with the professional and makes his detective (J. P. Beaumont) seem like a real person, flawed but generally a nice guy. There were many parallel threads woven between his family life and the people he was investigating, young mothers, death and funerals, the life of the elderly, alcoholism, crumbling families, and redemption. In other words, he writes about the stuff of life. I also liked that no one important died or was killed. It was kind of a cozy mystery while some of the earlier books in this series are less so. What I struggled with is the fact that this is book 18 in the series, so there were lots of references to early tales and sometimes the references stirred up confusion rather than serving as an aid to understanding. This feature confirms my impulse to read books like this in order, which I normally do but I didn't choose this book for the ride so my persnickety approach was not followed. It was, nevertheless, good material to pass the time on a long drive.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justice Denied is book eighteen in the J.P. Beaumont series by J. A. Jance. Seattle homicide investigator J. P. Beaumont caught a case of the death of LaShawn Tompkins, and to ensure he keeps the investigation quiet, J.P.'s partner Mel Soames is also involved in a secret investigation into the murders of registered sex offenders in Washington State. However, both J. P. Beaumont and Mel Soames did not realise that their investigation will intertwine with each other in a manner that had dangerous consequences. The readers of Justice Denied will continue to follow the twist and turns in J. P. Beaumont and Mel Soames investigations to see what happens.

Justice Denied is the first book I have read by J. A. Jance, and I enjoy reading this book. J. P. Beaumont is another new series to add to my growing TBR list. I love J. A. Jance portrayal of her characters and the way they intertwine with each other. I like J. A. Jance description of the settings and the way the settings compliments this book. Justice Denied is well written and researched by J. A. Jance.

The readers of Justice Denied will learn about living in Seattle. Also, the readers of Justice Denied will learn about how the Seattle PD does law enforcement investigations.

I recommend this book.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jance writes two series in addition to other suspense mysteries. This title featured J. P. Beaumont, a gruff yet lovable investigator with the Washington State Attorney Generals Office.

In this novel Beaumont and his partner Mel Soames are tasked to investigate a bunchy of old, cold cases. While Beau looks into missing persons cases, Mel is investigating old sex assault cases. The two of them finally come together, but not nearly soon enough. Along the way, they are aided by a forensic economist who helps them uncover trends of their cases.

This book was not quite the same as her previous books. As Publishers Weekly put it, this was just not up to the caliber of Jance. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable.

[Genie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes up where J. P. Beaumont has left the Seattle PD and gone to work for the state Attorney General's Office. He is still investigating homicides on the Special Homicide Investigation Team. Girlfriend, fellow investigator Mel Soames is a partner both on and off the job. Mel's straight-shooting, stick-to-it attitude is the greatest help on both investigations as well as family disputes (and there are plenty of both in this book).

What begins with the death of an ex-con, turns into an investigation into a series of similar murders all involving ex-cons who have served time for crimes against women. In between the twists and turns of the investigations, are numerous unresolved family issues.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

J. A. Jance created another winner in this J. P. Beaumont series.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have read just about all the books and this could be her best, although all are great reads. Briefly you will find that in Justice Denied detective J.P. Beaumont investigates the brutal murder of a man (Tompkins) that had been released from prison. At the same time Mel Soames, Beaumont's partner is investigating the suspicious deaths of sex crime offenders. And now the story takes off that gave me a gripping mystery with wonderful characters as it spirals and makes a lot surprises. The characters have depth and multiple dimensions and its a Gripping Mystery that draws your tensions tighter.
I'd gladly recommend this book to all my friends.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.P. Beaumont and fellow cop and live-in lover Mel Soames were working on two separate cases. J.P. was investigating the murder of LaShawn Tompkin while Mel was investigating the deaths of registered sex offenders. When the two cops realized their cases were related, they combined their investigative skills. When they suspected who might be involved, they knew they had to tread lightly.

I enjoy J.P. Beaumont series because the characters are life-like and the stories are ones that you can buy into. J.R. Horn’s storytelling put me in the mind of sitting in my granddaddy’s library listening to him tell war stories of his life as a homicide detective.

[Roxann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in this series I have read--well at least I don't remember ever reading about Detective J.P. Beaumont. Beau and his partner, Mel (also the woman Beau is involved with) are working for the State Attorney General's Special Homicide Investigation Team (I love the acronyms in the book S.H.I.T. wonderful-put a smile on my face). Each are asked by their boss to conduct an investigation, but not to let the other partner know. Of course they each end up finding out but they end up having to work together since the 2 investigations are really the same. Murder, family history, smart remarks, great way the author intertwined the stories together. Overall a good book.

[Marca · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.P. Beaumont and his “partner” Mel Soames are working on cold cases for the attorney general of Washington State when they encounter an anomaly in the stats of recently released prisoners. The prisoners are dying in a larger number than should be expected. This stat is discovered by a young economist working also working for the AG. Are the cold cases and the deaths related? Good mystery; competent characters. Some messy personal dramas in the midst, but J.P. Beaumont has as much patience as I do with hysterical adult relatives. As with the last Jance novel I read, “Trial by Fire,” there is a nun involved.

[LadyCalico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed the last four Beaumont books, even though I must say I greatly prefer Crais and Connelly novels, but I ran out of those, so I may not be giving Jance her fair shake. My main complaint is that the books tend to get too busy with too many subplots and characters, some of which are more interesting than others and some of which seem to get short shrift when everything gets sifted down in the ending. I find Beau a likeable aharacter and enjoy the parts about this personal life and observations more than the mysteries.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#18 in the J.P. Beaumont series. This series brings the flavor of law enforcement in Seattle - it's fascinating to think of a major city's travel links being dependent on bridge traffic and ferry schedules.

J.P. Beaumont works three cases. The murder of an ex-con, the disappearance of an engineer who vanished in 1980, and the deaths of several former felons. Mel Soames looks into the deaths of recently released sex crimes perpetrators. Unbelievably all assignments meld into one, except for the missing engineer. The detectives are helped by Todd Hatcher, a young economist.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read all of the books up to this one that J.A. Jance has written on her famous character J.P Beaumont a Seattle homicide detective. Most of them take place in Seattle so it is fun knowing all the places he is throughout the book. The audio versions don't hold my attention as well as her written word but I enjoy them while I am working as I have a job I can do this with.