Ring in the Dead

J.P. Beaumont #20.5

by J.A. Jance, J.R. Horne (Narrator)

J. P. Beaumont may be an old homicide hand now, but back when he was a rookie working with his first partner, Milton Gurkey - a.k.a. Pickles - things took a turn for the worse . . .

One day, at the end of Beaumont and Pickles's shift, a stop at the Doghouse restaurant quickly turns deadly. Not feeling well, Pickles steps out into the parking lot for a breath of fresh air and stumbles into a crime in progress. Suffering from a heart attack, he is found unconscious, with a dead woman on the ground nearby and the murder weapon in his hand.

With Pickles under investigation from Internal Affairs, it's up to the new kid on the block, J. P. Beaumont, and his friends on the force to find out the truth.

©2013 J. A. Jance (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

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

Audible Audio

First published July 2, 2013

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

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy a good detective/mystery story. This one was decent and a nice way to pass some time.

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out just from the cover and title. It was deceiving 🤣 I thought it was about a zombie apocalypse and it was far from it. First it was a novella. And second it was a mystery. It wasnt a bad read. I would be a interested to see if he writes actual novels. I liked his writing style.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. It was a really good insight into JP and his past.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another novella by J A Jance. I first have to say that I like the MC, J.P. Beaumont. He is endearing. So I appreciated the rewind in time to his roots as a rookie detective. But this started off a little wonky to throw the story back in time. It was a personal history written my his former partner. And it was read out loud.... I thought, 'Oh no.' But it didn't last forever because soon the MC started reminiscing and thus we get our short story. I wasn't sure if it was self reflection on his part or him talking to someone. It was a little weird.

[Cindy (BKind2Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella starts on New Year's Eve and Beau is confronted by the daughter of his first homicide partner. She brings him some pages written by Pickles Gurkey concerning a case that occurred when Pickles had his first heart attack and was suspected of murder. It's interesting to see a younger Beau.

Quote to remember:

Don't worry about the money. Spend the time.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short little story where Beau is visited by the daughter of his first partner, which causes him to revisit and reminisce about an old case. This was my next one in the series to read and when I realized recently that it takes place at New Year's, I knew it would be a perfect book to read on January 1st.

[Kathy kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novella on kindle. It is primarily a flashback to his rookie days on Seattle PD. Have read all of this series. Enjoyed them all. I am also reading Second Watch, the newest and it goes hand in glove with Ring in the Dead. Good read.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

J P gets a visit from the daughter of a former partner, one who has blamed him for her father's death all these years. She finds a diary that goes over the old case and the reason that J P wasn't at fault.

[Gigi Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. P. Beaumont may be an old homicide hand now, but back when he was a rookie working with his first partner, Milton Gurkey—a.k.a. Pickles—things took a turn for the worse . . .

One day, at the end of Beaumont and Pickles's shift, a stop at the Doghouse restaurant quickly turns deadly. Not feeling well, Pickles steps out into the parking lot for a breath of fresh air and stumbles into a crime in progress. Suffering from a heart attack, he is found unconscious, with a dead woman on the ground nearby and the murder weapon in his hand.

With Pickles under investigation from Internal Affairs, it's up to the new kid on the block, J. P. Beaumont, and his friends on the force to find out the truth.

My Thoughts...

Sitting here this evening I wondered what can I read to finish out the month of July. Then I remembered this novella provided to me by the publisher to read and review.

J. P. Beaumont’s had his share of mysteries to solve in his career. Now, J. A. Jance delves into his early years as a rookie homicide detective in her first e-original novella "RING IN THE DEAD." Working with seasoned detective Milton Gurkey—a. k. a. Pickles—didn’t exactly start off as a solid partnership. Disgruntled at being stuck with a rookie, Pickles felt it was his duty to give Beaumont a hard time. But, when Pickles is suspected of murder, there’s only one person who can help him.

RING IN THE DEAD is filled with mystery and personal reflection as J.P. Beaumont remembers his first years as a detective. Jance’s first e-novella does not disappoint. The J.P. Beaumont series continues with forthcoming novel SECOND WATCH, in September 2013.

Thanks to the publishers for this quick fun book to read and give an honest review. I enjoyed it and awarded it 3 stars. This book is now part of my Kindle library.

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and four interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona. Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very shot book, but worth the read. J P is visited by his bold partners daughter, her mother has just died and in going through her things found an old manuscript of her fathers. She gave it to Beaumont. He begins reading, then remembering, an old case.

[Russell Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having either read all of the J. P. Beaumont series or almost all of them - I have lost track - I wasn't sure how much I would like a book going all the way back to when Beau started in Homicide. I shouldn't have worried. It was a great book, even if it was too short. It was good enough that I read it from start to finish and stayed up way too late in the process.

A lady calls Beau and brings him some papers. It turns out to be the daughter of Beau's first partner. Her mother had died and the daughter had been going through her things. She found a book her father had been working on about police life when he died of a massive heart attack five years after he and Beau became partners. It had a section about Beau, so she brought it to him as part of her Eight Step in Narcotics Anonymous (NA). It was a way to make amends, since she blamed Beau for what she thought was Beau being the reason her dad died because her dad stayed on the force after his first heart attack instead of retiring. When she read her father's writing about Beaumont she realized she had been wrong.

Beau's first partner in Homicide has the unfortunate last name of Gurkey so everyone calls him Pickles. Beau has spent a couple of years on Patrol and was able to get a position in Homicide when Pickles' partner is kicked upstairs. He works with Watty and Powell for a week until Pickles gets back from vacation. It is interesting to see Watty and Powell at lower ranks than in the other books. They make sure Pickles breaks Beau in well. Pickles is determined to do that and hopes Beau decides to go back to Patrol under the pressure. Beau turns out to be tougher than that and stays.

One of Beau and Pickles first cases together turns out to be a murder-suicide. The wife is bed-bound and her husband takes care of her. It turns out he gets cancer and sees no medical support or finances for her when he dies. He doesn't want her to go through that so he shoots her in her bed and then turns the gun on himself. No one notices the grass is tall in the yard, mail and papers haven't been picked up, no one has made an appearance, etc. By the time someone comes to the house he smells the very bad odor and calls the police. The case, such as it is, really affects Pickles because he wonders what will happen to HIS wife and daughter if he were
to die right then without much of a pension. So when the first heart attack happens he decides to stay on the force to build up his pension to his wife and daughter are taken care of when he dies. Five years later and the big heart attack happens and he doesn't make it. All this time he never told his wife and daughter that he was staying on the force to provide for them when he died. Without the facts they made the wrong assumption that Pickles stayed on the force working with Beaumont as a partner to help him because of what Beau did for him.

One day after work they go to the Doghouse and we learn what it was like in the early days. We also learn where it was supposedly located in Seattle. During dinner Pickles isn't feeling well, (due to an impending heart attack) so he goes outside where he attempts to stop the murder of a waitress who followed two customers out who skipped out without paying for their meal. Pickles pulls out his gun and then realizes he is feeling the symptoms of his first heart attack so he backs up to fall against a wall so he won't have so many injuries. Soon he is on the ground, weapon still out. He cannot function. One of the freeloaders grab's Pickles gun and the waitress is history. He then places the gun in Pickles' hand so the only fingerprints on the gun are Pickles. Since he had gone with Beau to the firing range earlier in the day he had firing residue on his hand also.

When Beau hears the shots he runs out of the Doghouse and he sees the waitress has been murdered. The two creeps are long gone. Pickles isn't exactly coherent at this point but Beau with only a little time in the saddle with his partner Pickles, believes he didn't do it. He goes into the restaurant, has someone call 911 for Pickles, and then starts interviewing the witnesses about the two murder suspects and what they were like before they left the Doghouse. The ambulance takes Pickles to the hospital, where he is admitted, and Internal Affairs plans to charge Pickles with murder just as soon as he is discharged from the hospital.

The book wasn’t just a detective solving a case, it was J.P. Beaumont, a recently minted detective who is trying to solve a case that his new partner could take the fall for, and time is running out.

This was a very good book. As I said above, it was good enough that I read it from start to finish and stayed up way too late in the process. I found the murder-suicide portion very realistic. The only thing that bugged me in the book WAS the murder-suicide part, but it bugged me for personal reasons. It hit a little too close to home. I would never kill my wife and I hope I would never commit suicide. We just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary last weekend and are looking forward to many more loving anniversaries to come. However, my wife is mostly bed-bound and I have quite a number of painful medical problems. We have discussions on how we are going to prepare for the others welfare if we go first, but we haven't come to a completely satisfactory plan yet.

I am so looking forward to the next J P Beaumont novel coming out in paperback.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pickles Gurkey case.
There was a pause with me, standing in the rain while she heaved a stack of assorted junk from the front seat to the back. That’s what happens when you spend most of your driving time in a car all by yourself. The passenger seat morphs into a traveling storage locker. (page 7)
Mel & Beau have meaningful New Year’s celebration.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read any of the other J.P. Beaumont books, but this one, in my opinion, was a good and quick introduction into the work relationship between Beau and Pickles. I really liked how the Beau character reacted to the situation he was dealt, and how he solved the case. I want to start the main series after reading this novella.

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jance is a matriarch in the world of detective novels, or in this case, the novella. She has four different series that she prodigiously juggles and maintains. The others take place in Arizona and don’t interest me as much as this series, her first, whose protagonist is a Seattle cop named JP Beaumont.

It takes a good writer to make me buy the premise here, namely that the SPD are mostly hard-working, good-hearted citizens who joined the police department out of a sense of civic duty. The reality is very different; Seattle’s cop force was recently named the most violent in the entire USA. Cops here are legendary for their gratuitous use of brute force. They develop vendettas against individual citizens. My own middle-class neighborhood recently met with the chief of police to let him know that we are comfortable policing ourselves, and he can take those cops he says are too few to do the job, and assign them somewhere else. Anywhere else. Please. Just get them out of here!

So while the FBI knocks its collective head against the brick wall of SPD intransigence, trying to find some way to rein in these mad dogs before the city goes completely nuts and becomes another Ferguson, I read this engaging little novella, and for the brief time it lasted—a single evening—I could forget reality and buy Jance’s premise of brother officers doing good things. That isn’t easy to do.

The fifth star is denied simply because of the brevity of the work. There must surely be a definition that separates the short story from the novella, but I am darned if I know what it is. When reading a digital work it’s not a bad idea to skip to the ending first, so you’ll know when it’s coming. I was glad I did that, because this one ended 67% of the way through its brief length. A full third of its space was devoted to plugging another novel. (I was too annoyed by this to remember the title of the work-to-come, so I guess the teaser didn’t work for me.)

The novella focuses on a long-ago case when Beau was a newly-promoted detective. His partner, known as Pickles, died of a heart attack, and his daughter found some papers when she was cleaning out the family home. She comes to talk to Beau and to give him the papers, which relate to a case he had worked. In a nut shell, the story reminds us that time is short, and that we should spend ours on things that count.

I look forward to Jance’s next Beaumont novel. I just hope it’s full length. I obtained this novella from our public library, but if I had paid for it, I would have felt robbed. Get it free or cheap, or keep your plastic put away.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story/novella featuring J.P. Beaumont. This was a July 2013 release.
Beaumont is contacted by one of his old partner's daughter. She found some old papers in the basement of her childhood home after her mother passed away and thought Beaumont would like to have them.
"Pickles" was Beaumont's first partner when he was promoted to homicide. The two of them got off to a rocky start, but had a good five year run together before Pickles died of a heart attack.

When Beaumont begins to read the memoirs of Pickles, it takes him back to a case that almost ended Pickles life and career and how Beaumont helped him through a bad time.

After walking down memory lane, Beaumont is reminded of the important things in life.

I love Beaumont. He is my favorite character of the three series by J.A. Jance. Now that Beaumont is getting older, his work is different and his life has changed a lot since we first met him. So, it was fun to go back and see how Beaumont was when he first joined homicide. This is prelude to the new full length novel- "Second Watch". There are a few chapters included at the end of this story. I'm looking forward to it!
Over all a B+

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a flashback book to a time when J. P. Beaumont was a rookie and paired with an old hand works off the books to clear him of suspected murder and an IA investigation. The episode is brought to life when the old partners daughter gives Beau the beginning of a memoir her father was writing before he died. Set in Seattle as are most of the Beaumont series, one of the characters I enjoy reading about.

[BJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable novella, part of the J. P. Beaumont series, of which I haven't read very much. This takes Beau back to the beginning of his career as a detective with his first partner, Pickles. It tells the story of how Pickles has a heart attack in a restaurant parking lot and is investigated by IA and arrested for the murder of one of the waitresses. It was a well-written and engrossing short read.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great to listen to while driving home. It held my interest and the story-line was great. I did't feel like I was missing any of the story even though it's #20.5. The main character was killer and I loved how the author wrote it in a way that I wasn't board with it. I'll definitely be picking up more books by J.A. Jance. is the first book I've read/listened to from this author and I'm glad I did.

[Shirley Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a later book read out of order. It is very short, only 67 pages. Although written later in the series it is a look back when Beau first move to the ranks of Detective. It is about his first partner, Pickles Gurkey. This partner put Beau through the ring as he did not want a rookie partner. This all ended some time later with Pickles first heart attack. It story ends on New Years Eve thus the title Ring in the Dead.

[Shaundel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Ring in the Dead, you came at the perfect time. Since I jumped into the series on book 21, you gave me some quality background (and a few great reasons to love Beau for the crusty curmudgeon he is. I hope that as I go back through and catch up on the back story, I get to have more time getting to know Pickles...an Beau’s families before Mel...although I do enjoy her a ton!

[Dave Delsigne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going thru some of the short story's on my to read list ... I enjoyed this little guy. J.P. Beaumont has been a reading friend of mine for awhile. I am familiar with the area of where he lives and Ashland, Oregon where his son lives! So ... I can actually visualize the action in the story. I wish it was longer ... It came to a screeching halt just as I was settling in.

[Clwseattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ring In the Dead is a New Years Eve 'look back' for J. P. Beaumont and an insight into his early days as a SPD detective for the rest of us. In as much as J. P. Beaumont is my favorite Jance character, I can find little fault.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for a 5 1/2 hour airplane trip from Newark to San Diego. Just wish it were longer.

A good police procedural where following up on leads solved the crime and a good man was not convicted.

[Dick Ulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story flashback to J.P. Beaumont and his first police partner. The partner is set up to take the rap for a murder, and J.P. must solve the crime to save his partner.

Often it is a challenge to find audiobooks of these short stories available from the library.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is a short sweet story of how J P. Beaumont met his first detective partner. I give it four out of five stars.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love JP

I've read,l of the JP Beaumont stories. This was,a. Ice short one about his past. It tied a few things together

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story from JP's early days

[gwen graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Novella

Ordinary I'm not crazy about novellas, but this wasn't bad, in fact I enjoyed it. Of course I like J. P. Beaumont and I feel this the best character of Janice's.

[Deb Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.P. Beaumont is a memorable character. He is a detective that has heart. This small taste was my second helping and I enjoyed him again. JA Jance is an excellent writer.

[Marianne Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick insight into J.P. Beaumont ... fast, short novella, easy read ...