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J.P. Beaumont #6
A More Perfect Union
A shocking photo screamed from the front pages of the tabloids--the last moments of a life captured for all the world to see. The look of sheer terror eternally frozen on the face of the doomed woman indicated that her fatal fall from an upper story of an unfinished Seattle skyscraper was no desperate suicide--and that look will forever haunt Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont. But his hunt for answers and justice is leading to more death, and to dark and terrible secrets scrupulously guarded by men of steel behind the locked doors of a powerful union that extracts its dues payments in blood.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1988
568 people are currently reading
1350 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Jance
117 books4,174 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 256 reviews
September 4, 2024
4 Stars for A More Perfect Union: J. P. Beaumont, Book 6 (audiobook) by J. A. Jance read by Gene Engene.
Beaumont faces off with a Union as ironworkers start dying mysteriously.
Beaumont faces off with a Union as ironworkers start dying mysteriously.
July 24, 2024
Another great entry in the series. These books are like M&Ms to me, as soon as I finish one I'm craving another!
March 24, 2015
I'm going to end up repeating myself with Beau's reviews. I love the entire series. I'm a Seattleite and have been able to follow where the stories all go, from when the freeways had dead ends, to the commute across the lake. Even when he's tripped to Arizona, I can follow as I have traveled there too. JA Jance is an author whose books I feel can be picked up in any order and read as-is. you may not get all the references to occurrences in the past, but it doesn't detract from the story telling.
JP Beaumont's stories are worth reading again and again. I even think of them in terms of 'JP's books'; same as I do with JA Jance's other series. They are all strong series and books. LOVE THEM. You can't go wrong.
JP Beaumont's stories are worth reading again and again. I even think of them in terms of 'JP's books'; same as I do with JA Jance's other series. They are all strong series and books. LOVE THEM. You can't go wrong.
September 26, 2022
Beaumont finds himself baby sitting the filming of a movie as a technically advisor and hating it. The discover of a body halts the production and gives Beaumont something to sink his teeth into even though he know he shouldn't.
This is another well written mystery with characters that I have really become very fond of. I am doing my best to finish all the books in this series this year - luck for me they are really quick listens.
This is another well written mystery with characters that I have really become very fond of. I am doing my best to finish all the books in this series this year - luck for me they are really quick listens.
September 1, 2019
J.A. Jance's Beaumont series still feels a bit dated (because, of course, it is). The lack of technology and scientific knowledge is frustrating to me. I really enjoy modern mysteries for the crime-solving techniques of the world of Forensics. And because I am still at the point in the series that was written in the 1980s and 1990s there is a lot that is missing. But worse than that is the older attitudes... the macho world of policing was so blatant at that time and although it is still an issue in 2019 it is far less a problem now than it was nearly 30 years ago.
But onto the positives. J.P Beaumont is a dedicated, loyal and dogged detective. When a murder happens in his city he is intrigued. He is ready to work. And he won't let go of it until he finds the culprit. I like this aspect of his personality so much. And, luckily, he hasn't bedded a murder suspect in the last couple volumes because that was a huge problem for me.
I am still hopeful that this series will be even better once we start seeing a time that feels more modern.
But onto the positives. J.P Beaumont is a dedicated, loyal and dogged detective. When a murder happens in his city he is intrigued. He is ready to work. And he won't let go of it until he finds the culprit. I like this aspect of his personality so much. And, luckily, he hasn't bedded a murder suspect in the last couple volumes because that was a huge problem for me.
I am still hopeful that this series will be even better once we start seeing a time that feels more modern.
July 5, 2013
My least favorite of the series so far.
October 4, 2025
Another new Author. It was a good read 👍
August 7, 2018
Beaumont continues to keep me captivated.
April 17, 2017
A shocking photo screamed from the front pages of the tabloids—the last moments of a life captured for all the world to see. The look of sheer terror eternally frozen on the face of the doomed woman indicated that her fatal fall from an upper story of an unfinished Seattle skyscraper was no desperate suicide—and that look will forever haunt Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont. But his hunt for answers and justice is leading to more death, and to dark and terrible secrets scrupulously guarded by men of steel behind the locked doors of a powerful union that extracts its dues payments in blood.
This was a good story but nothing truly exceptional happened. Finally got to met Paul Kramer, an ass from the very beginning.
This was a good story but nothing truly exceptional happened. Finally got to met Paul Kramer, an ass from the very beginning.
October 7, 2019
Continuing on my quest to get caught up on the Beaumont series. Super fast reads. At times I glaze over the names of this street intersecting with that one...The biggest chuckle I got was near the end. In a matter of a few pages Beau went from phoneless in his car to having a cell phone. Did I miss something? Does Beau ever get his twice busted nose seen to? Ahhh. Might be some of the links between books. 🤔🤔
August 14, 2019
Detective Beaumont is a Detectives Detective. Despite his tendency to indulge in too much Canadian Whiskey.
His experience as a long time Detective grants him access to often restricted places other less resourceful officers must patiently wait to access. And thus speed up the on-going investigation at least a smidgen.
While the dated resources or lack there of for law enforcement in the 80’s and 90’s continues to frustrate me as a reader and avid fan of modern Forensics to help solve crimes, the mystery itself is often well laid out with many a potential suspect. I’ll keep reading and eagerly await Detective Beaumont’s emergence into the 21st Century and it's crime fighting technology. Like cell phones, and facial recognition software.
His experience as a long time Detective grants him access to often restricted places other less resourceful officers must patiently wait to access. And thus speed up the on-going investigation at least a smidgen.
While the dated resources or lack there of for law enforcement in the 80’s and 90’s continues to frustrate me as a reader and avid fan of modern Forensics to help solve crimes, the mystery itself is often well laid out with many a potential suspect. I’ll keep reading and eagerly await Detective Beaumont’s emergence into the 21st Century and it's crime fighting technology. Like cell phones, and facial recognition software.
January 3, 2024
a good installment in the series...interesting angles and not just a reinserted version of previous books. I think I struggle with the gruff side of J.P. I think it doesn't feel authentic. I think the stories are interesting for sure. Hope to read more of this series in the future.
May 9, 2020
Enjoyable easy read.
April 12, 2021
Two-haiku review:
Body floats ashore
Not Beau's case but he wants in
Union workers die
Beau drinks way too much
Other than that I like him
He charms the ladies
Body floats ashore
Not Beau's case but he wants in
Union workers die
Beau drinks way too much
Other than that I like him
He charms the ladies
September 21, 2021
Very interesting & entertaining.
It amuses me to see how dated the setting is: no cell phones. Landlines & voice msg recorders in homes. Microfiche data storage. To Name a few.
Wow! We’ve come a long way, baby!
Nevertheless, the story line remains timeless. Corruption in high places. Police brutality & falsification of report. Discrimination against the handicapped.
The good guys win & so I totally enjoyed it.
It amuses me to see how dated the setting is: no cell phones. Landlines & voice msg recorders in homes. Microfiche data storage. To Name a few.
Wow! We’ve come a long way, baby!
Nevertheless, the story line remains timeless. Corruption in high places. Police brutality & falsification of report. Discrimination against the handicapped.
The good guys win & so I totally enjoyed it.
April 14, 2023
A jolly read with familiar characters but not much of a mystery
May 25, 2023
It was decent. I enjoy JP Beaumont 😊
October 3, 2023
A J P Beaumont novel. I liked it, but not this author's best.
September 3, 2021
This is #6 in the JP Beaumont series. I started with #24 because my daughter gave it to me. I enjoyed it so much I went back to #1 to read the series in order. I’ve finished the first 6, then went back to read the prologue in #24, which takes place about 30 years later. Characters grow, develop and change, and JA Vance does a nice job of reminding you how JP Beaumont and everyone else got to where they eventually wind up. That prologue was worth the re-read. The story in this book develops nicely while still providing a baffling case that only JP can figure out. I don’t think that counts as a spoiler, but the book is hard to put down. Now I’m on to #7.
June 23, 2022
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: (1998) 12/1/1992 ; 9780727843613; Seven House Pub Ltd; 224 pages)
*Audio: 2/19/2008; 9781581161670; Books in Motion; duration 08:27:59 (7 parts); Unabridged.
(Film: No).
SERIES
J. P. Beaumont Book 6
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
J. P. Beaumont - Seattle PD Detective
Manny Davis - Seattle PD Detective
Paul Kramer - Seattle PD Detective
Mayor Dawson - The Mayor who requests Beaumont’s consulting service
Cassie Young - movie director’s assistant
Samuel Goldfarb - Mayor Dawson’s old roommate / movie director
Woody Carroll - retired Lake Union Drydock employee
Derrick Parker - Celebrity
Merrilee Jackson - Seattle PD Officer
Phil Baxter - Seattle PD Officer
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: I still like the series, so this was the next in line.
What it’s about: Beaumont has been assigned to consult on the set of the making of the movie, “Death in Drydock” when “the body” shows up too soon–that would be because it is truly dead. The plot involves a couple of murders with an ironworkers union theme.
What I thought: This was another good episode with an interesting plot.
AUTHOR:
J. A. Jance:
“Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent.
Jance attended University of Arizona, graduating with a bachelor's degree in education in 1966, then a master's in library science in 1970. In 2000, University of Arizona awarded Jance an honorary doctorate.[3]
In July of 2018, Strand Magazine gave Jance its Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize her contributions to the field of crime fiction.[4]
She lives part of the year in Arizona and part of the year in Seattle.[5] Jance uses her initials for her pen name because a publisher told her that disclosing her gender would be a liability for a book about a male detective. At signings, Jance asks bookstores to donate a percentage of their earnings from her appearances to various causes. Over the past 10 years, she has raised more than $250,000 for charity.” __Wikipedia
NARRATOR:
Gene Engene:
“Gene Engene is an award-winning reader with an astounding catalog of audiobooks to his credit. He is best known as J.P. Beaumont in the J.A. Jance mystery series. Gene is a veteran stage actor, director, and is a retired Professor of Drama at Eastern Washington University. Gene Engene Audiobooks” __ Books in Motion
Gene does an excellent characterization for the protagonist, JP Beaumont, but I have to admit many of the voices he gives the other characters make me cringe and stab at the volume control. They are screechy, loud, and staccato-fast. In this episode the characters who are hard to listen to are Paul Kramer & Samuel Goldfarb.
GENRE:
Fiction; Mystery
LOCATIONS:
Seattle, Washington
TIME FRAME
Contemporary (1998)
SUBJECTS:
Iron workers union, police procedure, crime detection, murder
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter One
"You can’t do that, Detective Beaumont," he roared back. "You can’t bring cops in here and order me to clear out my people."
"Watch me," I said. I turned to Woody. "Do it."
He did, quickly and effectively, leaving Sam The Movie Man Goldfarb hopping from foot to foot in total frustration.
"Cassie, can’t you stop this?" he wailed. From bellowing one minute, Goldfarb was reduced to whining the next. "Robert Dawson’s going to hear about this," he continued to me. "I’ll see you fired before the day’s over."
Hizzoner can stick it in his ear, I thought. I said, Be my guest. You do that."
Seattle’s Medic One has some of the best response times in the country. An aid car was the first emergency vehicle to appear on the scene. It rattled noisily over the wooden planks and jerked to a stop. I hurried to meet it and directed the medics to the stairs. "The woman’s up there, I said, pointing. On the wingwall."
"Great," the driver replied, shading his eyes and evaluating the perpendicular wall with its steep wooden staircase. "What’s wrong with her?"
"Fainted probably."
He drove the aid car as close as he could to the bottom of the steps. He and his partner leaped from their vehicle just as a Seattle P.D. squad car pulled up on the dock behind me. Two uniformed officers got out, a man and a woman.
The man was a guy named Phil Baxter. I had seen him around the department before, although I had to check his name tag before I could remember his name. The woman was a young black with the name Jackson pinned to the breast pocket of her blue uniform. She was new to me.
"What’s going on here?" Baxter demanded of no one in particular. "Who’s in charge?"
"Looks like he is," Goldfarb said disgustedly, pointing at me.
I answered with no further prompting. "A body," I told Phil. "Over there. In the water."
Baxter walked to the edge of the dock and looked down. Sheer force of habit made me follow. It was still there, slapping against the wooden piling as the wake of a landing float plane rippled across the lake.
As the body rose and fell, a large decorative brass belt buckle glinted briefly in the sun, just under the water’s surface. There was a design on it of some kind, and some printing as well. I squinted my best middle-aged squint. Try as I might I couldn’t make out the letters.
"Can you read what it says on that buckle?" I asked Baxter.
He too squinted. "Not from here, he answered."
I hadn’t noticed, but his partner, Officer Jackson, had followed us. "It says ‘Ironworker,’ she remarked quietly."
I glanced back at her in some surprise. She was several feet farther away than I was, and she was able to read it when neither Baxter nor I could. "My vision’s twenty-ten," she explained with a smile that made me feel ancient.
For the first time Officer Baxter looked me full in the face. "Why, excuse me, Detective Beaumont. I didn’t recognize you. How’d homicide get here so fast? I was just getting ready to call you guys."
"Go ahead and call," I told him. "I’m not here representing homicide."
"You’re not?"
I didn’t want to go into all the gory details of why I was there. "Trust me on this one," I said. "Call Harbor Patrol and have them send somebody out."
Baxter turned to his partner. "Do that, would you, Merrilee?"
With a nod, Officer Jackson headed back toward the patrol car.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned, there was Derrick Parker. "Hey, Beau. What’s going on?" he asked tentatively. "Hannah really got an eyeful. She fainted dead away."
"How is she?
"Hyperventilating. She was coming around, but she had a relapse as soon as the medics showed up. Hannah’s got the hots for guys in uniform."
Derrick Parker wasn’t the least bit fond of his female costar. He and I had chummed around together some while he had been in Seattle. We shared similar tastes, although his ran to Glenlivet rather than MacNaughton’s. He seemed to enjoy slumming in some of my favorite watering holes. The waitresses at the Doghouse still hadn’t tumbled to the fact that he was a genuine celebrity. Parker said he wanted to keep it that way.
"Who was he?" Parker asked, nodding toward the water.
"The dead man?" I shrugged. "That’s up to the medical examiner and the detectives on the case."
"But you’re a detective, aren’t you? Parker objected."
"This isn’t my case. I’m doing a movie, remember?"
Officer Jackson came back to where we were standing. She gave Derrick Parker a small, tentative smile. I’m sure she recognized him, but when she spoke, Merrilee Jackson was strictly business. "They’re all on their way."
"All?" I asked.
"Someone’s coming from the medical examiner’s office. So are two detectives. Davis and Kramer."
It wasn’t exactly by the book, but Officer Jackson had taken a little initiative, and calling everybody at once would probably save time.
I nodded. "Good," I said. "By the way, we haven’t been introduced. I’m Detective J. P. Beaumont, and this is Derrick Parker."
She held out her hand. "Merrilee Jackson," she said, shaking my hand, but flashing Parker a wide grin. "I’m glad to meet you."
Merrilee Jackson didn’t comment aloud on Derrick Parker’s star status, and neither did Baxter. They had other things to worry about. A crowd of movie crew members was edging closer. "We’d better get these people moved back out of the way," Baxter said. "The M. E.’s van will need to pull up close to the water."
They had barely turned their attention to crowd control when another car with lights flashing and siren blaring pulled onto the dock. Detective Manny Davis got out on the rider’s side and strode over to me while Detective Paul Kramer stopped to talk with Officers Jackson and Baxter.
"How’s it going, Beau?" Manny asked with a chuckle. "How soon are we going to see your name in lights?"
"Cut the comedy, Manny."
"But I heard you were enjoying the movie business."
I glowered at him.
"Okay, okay," he said. "No big. What have we got, fish bait?"
"That’s right. A floater."
Manny sauntered over to the edge of the dock and looked into the water. "He’s been in the water awhile," Manny observed. As if to confirm his words, the wind shifted just then and the pungent odor of putrid flesh wafted over us like an ill-smelling cloud. Fortunately, Goldfarb had led Cassie away by then. Had she been within range, I’m sure she would have barfed again.
One whiff and Derrick Parker’s engaging smile vanished completely.
"Jesus," he said with a grimace. "That’s awful." He started to back away, but Manny stopped him.
"Hey, wait a minute. Aren’t you…" Manny paused, searching for the name, then broke off, embarrassed.
"Derrick Parker?" Parker finished for him. He sighed. "Yes, that’s me," he said, and held out his hand.
Manny shook it wonderingly. "You know, my wife’s crazy about you, your pictures, I mean," he said. "She was pissed as hell that Beau got this assignment and I didn’t." Manny groped in his pocket for the small notebook he carried there. He found it at last and tore out a page which he handed to Derrick. "Could I have your autograph? For my wife, I mean. She’d be thrilled."
Obligingly, Derrick took the paper. Using the back of Manny’s notebook as a writing surface, he scrawled his name. He was just giving the autographed sheet of paper back to Manny when Paul Kramer showed up.
Manny Davis has been around the department for years. The last time I had worked with him had been several years earlier on a bum-bashing case. Paul Kramer was the new kid on the block, and I use the word kid advisedly. He was thirty years old and had just moved up to homicide from robbery. His rise to detective had been meteoric, but word was out around the squad that working with Kramer was a royal pain in the ass.
Kramer arrived just in time to see Manny taking the piece of paper from Derrick and stuffing it in his pocket. He looked from Derrick to Manny and back again.
"Witness?" Kramer asked.
Manny glanced in my direction then shook his head. "It’s nothing," he said. "I was just lining Beau and his friend here up for a friendly game of golf."
Partnerships, like some marriages, aren’t always made in heaven. Manny and Kramer’s working relationship was evidently an uneasy one.
I understood the situation. So did Derrick. We both had sense enough to keep our mouths shut."
RATING:
4 stars.
STARTED-FINISHED
5/28/22 - 6/10/22
(Print: (1998) 12/1/1992 ; 9780727843613; Seven House Pub Ltd; 224 pages)
*Audio: 2/19/2008; 9781581161670; Books in Motion; duration 08:27:59 (7 parts); Unabridged.
(Film: No).
SERIES
J. P. Beaumont Book 6
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
J. P. Beaumont - Seattle PD Detective
Manny Davis - Seattle PD Detective
Paul Kramer - Seattle PD Detective
Mayor Dawson - The Mayor who requests Beaumont’s consulting service
Cassie Young - movie director’s assistant
Samuel Goldfarb - Mayor Dawson’s old roommate / movie director
Woody Carroll - retired Lake Union Drydock employee
Derrick Parker - Celebrity
Merrilee Jackson - Seattle PD Officer
Phil Baxter - Seattle PD Officer
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: I still like the series, so this was the next in line.
What it’s about: Beaumont has been assigned to consult on the set of the making of the movie, “Death in Drydock” when “the body” shows up too soon–that would be because it is truly dead. The plot involves a couple of murders with an ironworkers union theme.
What I thought: This was another good episode with an interesting plot.
AUTHOR:
J. A. Jance:
“Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent.
Jance attended University of Arizona, graduating with a bachelor's degree in education in 1966, then a master's in library science in 1970. In 2000, University of Arizona awarded Jance an honorary doctorate.[3]
In July of 2018, Strand Magazine gave Jance its Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize her contributions to the field of crime fiction.[4]
She lives part of the year in Arizona and part of the year in Seattle.[5] Jance uses her initials for her pen name because a publisher told her that disclosing her gender would be a liability for a book about a male detective. At signings, Jance asks bookstores to donate a percentage of their earnings from her appearances to various causes. Over the past 10 years, she has raised more than $250,000 for charity.” __Wikipedia
NARRATOR:
Gene Engene:
“Gene Engene is an award-winning reader with an astounding catalog of audiobooks to his credit. He is best known as J.P. Beaumont in the J.A. Jance mystery series. Gene is a veteran stage actor, director, and is a retired Professor of Drama at Eastern Washington University. Gene Engene Audiobooks” __ Books in Motion
Gene does an excellent characterization for the protagonist, JP Beaumont, but I have to admit many of the voices he gives the other characters make me cringe and stab at the volume control. They are screechy, loud, and staccato-fast. In this episode the characters who are hard to listen to are Paul Kramer & Samuel Goldfarb.
GENRE:
Fiction; Mystery
LOCATIONS:
Seattle, Washington
TIME FRAME
Contemporary (1998)
SUBJECTS:
Iron workers union, police procedure, crime detection, murder
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter One
"You can’t do that, Detective Beaumont," he roared back. "You can’t bring cops in here and order me to clear out my people."
"Watch me," I said. I turned to Woody. "Do it."
He did, quickly and effectively, leaving Sam The Movie Man Goldfarb hopping from foot to foot in total frustration.
"Cassie, can’t you stop this?" he wailed. From bellowing one minute, Goldfarb was reduced to whining the next. "Robert Dawson’s going to hear about this," he continued to me. "I’ll see you fired before the day’s over."
Hizzoner can stick it in his ear, I thought. I said, Be my guest. You do that."
Seattle’s Medic One has some of the best response times in the country. An aid car was the first emergency vehicle to appear on the scene. It rattled noisily over the wooden planks and jerked to a stop. I hurried to meet it and directed the medics to the stairs. "The woman’s up there, I said, pointing. On the wingwall."
"Great," the driver replied, shading his eyes and evaluating the perpendicular wall with its steep wooden staircase. "What’s wrong with her?"
"Fainted probably."
He drove the aid car as close as he could to the bottom of the steps. He and his partner leaped from their vehicle just as a Seattle P.D. squad car pulled up on the dock behind me. Two uniformed officers got out, a man and a woman.
The man was a guy named Phil Baxter. I had seen him around the department before, although I had to check his name tag before I could remember his name. The woman was a young black with the name Jackson pinned to the breast pocket of her blue uniform. She was new to me.
"What’s going on here?" Baxter demanded of no one in particular. "Who’s in charge?"
"Looks like he is," Goldfarb said disgustedly, pointing at me.
I answered with no further prompting. "A body," I told Phil. "Over there. In the water."
Baxter walked to the edge of the dock and looked down. Sheer force of habit made me follow. It was still there, slapping against the wooden piling as the wake of a landing float plane rippled across the lake.
As the body rose and fell, a large decorative brass belt buckle glinted briefly in the sun, just under the water’s surface. There was a design on it of some kind, and some printing as well. I squinted my best middle-aged squint. Try as I might I couldn’t make out the letters.
"Can you read what it says on that buckle?" I asked Baxter.
He too squinted. "Not from here, he answered."
I hadn’t noticed, but his partner, Officer Jackson, had followed us. "It says ‘Ironworker,’ she remarked quietly."
I glanced back at her in some surprise. She was several feet farther away than I was, and she was able to read it when neither Baxter nor I could. "My vision’s twenty-ten," she explained with a smile that made me feel ancient.
For the first time Officer Baxter looked me full in the face. "Why, excuse me, Detective Beaumont. I didn’t recognize you. How’d homicide get here so fast? I was just getting ready to call you guys."
"Go ahead and call," I told him. "I’m not here representing homicide."
"You’re not?"
I didn’t want to go into all the gory details of why I was there. "Trust me on this one," I said. "Call Harbor Patrol and have them send somebody out."
Baxter turned to his partner. "Do that, would you, Merrilee?"
With a nod, Officer Jackson headed back toward the patrol car.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned, there was Derrick Parker. "Hey, Beau. What’s going on?" he asked tentatively. "Hannah really got an eyeful. She fainted dead away."
"How is she?
"Hyperventilating. She was coming around, but she had a relapse as soon as the medics showed up. Hannah’s got the hots for guys in uniform."
Derrick Parker wasn’t the least bit fond of his female costar. He and I had chummed around together some while he had been in Seattle. We shared similar tastes, although his ran to Glenlivet rather than MacNaughton’s. He seemed to enjoy slumming in some of my favorite watering holes. The waitresses at the Doghouse still hadn’t tumbled to the fact that he was a genuine celebrity. Parker said he wanted to keep it that way.
"Who was he?" Parker asked, nodding toward the water.
"The dead man?" I shrugged. "That’s up to the medical examiner and the detectives on the case."
"But you’re a detective, aren’t you? Parker objected."
"This isn’t my case. I’m doing a movie, remember?"
Officer Jackson came back to where we were standing. She gave Derrick Parker a small, tentative smile. I’m sure she recognized him, but when she spoke, Merrilee Jackson was strictly business. "They’re all on their way."
"All?" I asked.
"Someone’s coming from the medical examiner’s office. So are two detectives. Davis and Kramer."
It wasn’t exactly by the book, but Officer Jackson had taken a little initiative, and calling everybody at once would probably save time.
I nodded. "Good," I said. "By the way, we haven’t been introduced. I’m Detective J. P. Beaumont, and this is Derrick Parker."
She held out her hand. "Merrilee Jackson," she said, shaking my hand, but flashing Parker a wide grin. "I’m glad to meet you."
Merrilee Jackson didn’t comment aloud on Derrick Parker’s star status, and neither did Baxter. They had other things to worry about. A crowd of movie crew members was edging closer. "We’d better get these people moved back out of the way," Baxter said. "The M. E.’s van will need to pull up close to the water."
They had barely turned their attention to crowd control when another car with lights flashing and siren blaring pulled onto the dock. Detective Manny Davis got out on the rider’s side and strode over to me while Detective Paul Kramer stopped to talk with Officers Jackson and Baxter.
"How’s it going, Beau?" Manny asked with a chuckle. "How soon are we going to see your name in lights?"
"Cut the comedy, Manny."
"But I heard you were enjoying the movie business."
I glowered at him.
"Okay, okay," he said. "No big. What have we got, fish bait?"
"That’s right. A floater."
Manny sauntered over to the edge of the dock and looked into the water. "He’s been in the water awhile," Manny observed. As if to confirm his words, the wind shifted just then and the pungent odor of putrid flesh wafted over us like an ill-smelling cloud. Fortunately, Goldfarb had led Cassie away by then. Had she been within range, I’m sure she would have barfed again.
One whiff and Derrick Parker’s engaging smile vanished completely.
"Jesus," he said with a grimace. "That’s awful." He started to back away, but Manny stopped him.
"Hey, wait a minute. Aren’t you…" Manny paused, searching for the name, then broke off, embarrassed.
"Derrick Parker?" Parker finished for him. He sighed. "Yes, that’s me," he said, and held out his hand.
Manny shook it wonderingly. "You know, my wife’s crazy about you, your pictures, I mean," he said. "She was pissed as hell that Beau got this assignment and I didn’t." Manny groped in his pocket for the small notebook he carried there. He found it at last and tore out a page which he handed to Derrick. "Could I have your autograph? For my wife, I mean. She’d be thrilled."
Obligingly, Derrick took the paper. Using the back of Manny’s notebook as a writing surface, he scrawled his name. He was just giving the autographed sheet of paper back to Manny when Paul Kramer showed up.
Manny Davis has been around the department for years. The last time I had worked with him had been several years earlier on a bum-bashing case. Paul Kramer was the new kid on the block, and I use the word kid advisedly. He was thirty years old and had just moved up to homicide from robbery. His rise to detective had been meteoric, but word was out around the squad that working with Kramer was a royal pain in the ass.
Kramer arrived just in time to see Manny taking the piece of paper from Derrick and stuffing it in his pocket. He looked from Derrick to Manny and back again.
"Witness?" Kramer asked.
Manny glanced in my direction then shook his head. "It’s nothing," he said. "I was just lining Beau and his friend here up for a friendly game of golf."
Partnerships, like some marriages, aren’t always made in heaven. Manny and Kramer’s working relationship was evidently an uneasy one.
I understood the situation. So did Derrick. We both had sense enough to keep our mouths shut."
RATING:
4 stars.
STARTED-FINISHED
5/28/22 - 6/10/22
May 19, 2024
Beaumont is now dabbling in the film industry as another murder needs his attention.
July 13, 2015
Beaumont is assigned to oversee a movie shoot along the docks when a body turns up. He shuts down production and eventually learns the body is a member of the Iron Workers Local, which Beau is investigating. Beau finesses his way onto the case has frequent verbal battles with his arch enemy on the police force, Kramer.
April 22, 2011
A good yarn to read on a rainy afternoon, interesting characters, but nothing too earth shattering, I actually thought Beaumont was a woman, and thought this to be a lesbian story, well that is not the case
July 24, 2012
Great book by a great author. I love her writing and anyone buying her books needs to look at her website and read the books in order.
February 15, 2021
J.A. Jance is one of my favorite authors, and the early books in the Beaumont series have a noir feel about them. This #6 is another police procedural featuring J.P. Beaumont who works for the Seattle Police Dept. Homicide Squad. He is an independent curmudgeon who is principled, loyal, tenacious, and dedicated. He likes to work a case his own way. He is also newly wealthy. His fellow policemen call him the "Playboy cop" because of his money, living in a penthouse in a luxury building he owns, and his red Porsche. It infuriates him. He has enough money to retire early, but he loves the job way too much! He also leaves "black heel marks" when encouraged to use technological advances. In this book he wishes he had listened and installed a car phone - he could have used one twice!
This book begins with Beaumont on special assignment for the Mayor's office and acting as technical advisor on a movie set. His main duty is to make sure that the director doesn't portray the Seattle Police Dept. as "a bunch of stupid jerks." He is not having much luck and is becoming bored. They are filming on the docks of Lake Union when a corpse is found floating in the water. Detective Paul Kramer is assigned to the case. Kramer is an intense, territorial person who can't stand having other people set foot on his private turf. He is on a fast tract toward becoming Captain. Beaumont is just itching to investigate also, but is told to continue with the movie - stay out of it. Beaumont can't help himself and begins to investigate on his own time.
Beau sees a front page photo of a 28 year old woman apprentice iron worker plunging from the top of a skyscraper being built. When he learns that the corpse in the water was a member of the local Iron Workers Union also and how he died, Beau begins to put two-and-two together and figures the union is involved somehow. Kramer finds out he is investigating, feathers fly, and Beau is told to stay off the case. The dead man's girlfriend, Linda Decker, another apprentice iron worker, and her two children disappear. Since Kramer thinks both the dead people died from accidents, Beau is compelled to check out a lead and almost dies from pursuing it. Linda's house with her mother and brother inside is burned down. His next move is to convince Kramer to let him in on the case - that takes a little finesse. It turns out that the head of the union is Martin Green who lives in Beaumont's apartments. He becomes one of many suspects. And somebody is definitely looking for ledgers from the union.
Subplots include:
- Beau's former partner, Ron Peters, is still in the hospital and paralyzed. He is about to marry his physical therapist, Amy Fitzgerald. He still likes to keep his hand in Beau's cases and helps out if he can by using telephone and computer.
- Beau becomes good friends with the lead male actor in the movie, Derrick Parker. One of his duties is to keep Derrick in line and get him to the set on time. Derrick takes a shine to Merrilee Jackson who is the 1st policeman on the scene when they discover the corpse.
- Beau promises to take Ron's two little girls to Seattle Center for the annual Bumbershoot celebration. It is pouring rain and he has a broken nose and the bone spur on his foot is acting up. He is encouraged to have his hand stamped when leaving so he can get back in. It is a factor in his catching the murderer during the climax.
I like how the author continues to flesh out the characters and the story lines with each successive book. Beau needs to listen to his lawyer Ralph Ames, though, because Ames feels alcohol is becoming a problem for Beau. I think it's best to read this series in order because of the progression of the characters and the story lines. Recommended reading.
This book begins with Beaumont on special assignment for the Mayor's office and acting as technical advisor on a movie set. His main duty is to make sure that the director doesn't portray the Seattle Police Dept. as "a bunch of stupid jerks." He is not having much luck and is becoming bored. They are filming on the docks of Lake Union when a corpse is found floating in the water. Detective Paul Kramer is assigned to the case. Kramer is an intense, territorial person who can't stand having other people set foot on his private turf. He is on a fast tract toward becoming Captain. Beaumont is just itching to investigate also, but is told to continue with the movie - stay out of it. Beaumont can't help himself and begins to investigate on his own time.
Beau sees a front page photo of a 28 year old woman apprentice iron worker plunging from the top of a skyscraper being built. When he learns that the corpse in the water was a member of the local Iron Workers Union also and how he died, Beau begins to put two-and-two together and figures the union is involved somehow. Kramer finds out he is investigating, feathers fly, and Beau is told to stay off the case. The dead man's girlfriend, Linda Decker, another apprentice iron worker, and her two children disappear. Since Kramer thinks both the dead people died from accidents, Beau is compelled to check out a lead and almost dies from pursuing it. Linda's house with her mother and brother inside is burned down. His next move is to convince Kramer to let him in on the case - that takes a little finesse. It turns out that the head of the union is Martin Green who lives in Beaumont's apartments. He becomes one of many suspects. And somebody is definitely looking for ledgers from the union.
Subplots include:
- Beau's former partner, Ron Peters, is still in the hospital and paralyzed. He is about to marry his physical therapist, Amy Fitzgerald. He still likes to keep his hand in Beau's cases and helps out if he can by using telephone and computer.
- Beau becomes good friends with the lead male actor in the movie, Derrick Parker. One of his duties is to keep Derrick in line and get him to the set on time. Derrick takes a shine to Merrilee Jackson who is the 1st policeman on the scene when they discover the corpse.
- Beau promises to take Ron's two little girls to Seattle Center for the annual Bumbershoot celebration. It is pouring rain and he has a broken nose and the bone spur on his foot is acting up. He is encouraged to have his hand stamped when leaving so he can get back in. It is a factor in his catching the murderer during the climax.
I like how the author continues to flesh out the characters and the story lines with each successive book. Beau needs to listen to his lawyer Ralph Ames, though, because Ames feels alcohol is becoming a problem for Beau. I think it's best to read this series in order because of the progression of the characters and the story lines. Recommended reading.
November 11, 2019
Seattle detective JP Beaumont is on a brief hiatus from the homicide division as he serves as advisor to a movie company shooting a murder mystery film on the docks at Lake Union. Beau is itching to get back to homicide, so when a body is found in Lake Union, he can't resist doing some investigation. The mayor, who assigned Beau to the movie job, is not happy. And neither is the sergeant or the two homicide detectives assigned to the case.
As Beau continues to investigate on his own, it becomes clear that something is not right in the local ironworkers union. It is far from a "perfect union."
People are dying and Beau wants to find the killer.
For a 45 year old man who refers to himself as "an antique" and "an old war horse," Beau races through the streets and through a Seattle park to catch the bad guys despite having a broken nose and a painful bone spur.
This is the sixth installment in this series, and I think I liked it more than the fifth and definitely more than the first four. Beau drinks too much, but he cares about people and wants to keep everyone safe, even those he doesn't know or barely knows. He is also generous with the money he inherited. It bothers him that some people in the department refer to him as a playboy cop just because he owns a penthouse apartment in downtown Seattle and drives a red Porsche.
Since I read the seventh book first, I had planned to stop with this book. But I have changed my mind. This series is growing on me.
The plot, pacing, character development, and conclusion are all well executed. Jance is a very good writer, who uses descriptive writing when appropriate. Her plots are laid out in a straightforward manner. She rarely veers from the story itself, which means we don't get retellings of Beau's backstory. That is why it is important to read the books in order.
As Beau continues to investigate on his own, it becomes clear that something is not right in the local ironworkers union. It is far from a "perfect union."
People are dying and Beau wants to find the killer.
For a 45 year old man who refers to himself as "an antique" and "an old war horse," Beau races through the streets and through a Seattle park to catch the bad guys despite having a broken nose and a painful bone spur.
This is the sixth installment in this series, and I think I liked it more than the fifth and definitely more than the first four. Beau drinks too much, but he cares about people and wants to keep everyone safe, even those he doesn't know or barely knows. He is also generous with the money he inherited. It bothers him that some people in the department refer to him as a playboy cop just because he owns a penthouse apartment in downtown Seattle and drives a red Porsche.
Since I read the seventh book first, I had planned to stop with this book. But I have changed my mind. This series is growing on me.
The plot, pacing, character development, and conclusion are all well executed. Jance is a very good writer, who uses descriptive writing when appropriate. Her plots are laid out in a straightforward manner. She rarely veers from the story itself, which means we don't get retellings of Beau's backstory. That is why it is important to read the books in order.
January 7, 2024
I first began reading this series during the pandemic summer of 2020, and I’ve enjoyed reading the series in order sporadically since. This was a solid installment, but it was my least favorite of the six I’ve read so far.
Beaumont is a Seattle cop who came by a significant fortune in a previous book and doesn’t really have to work to get by. His ex-partner is a wheelchair user who is about to marry his physical therapist. The guy has two daughters to whom Beaumont is almost a second dad.
As the book opens, Beaumont draws the assignment to provide technical advice to a movie about the Seattle cops. The director and his assistant refuse to listen, so, he’s feeling useless.
That’s when the young woman falls from a skyscraper under construction. Her rictus of terror screams “this is not a suicide,” but that’s how the cops initially want to pass it off. But that horrified face haunts Beaumont, and he undertakes his own investigation into her death.
Before the book ends, Beaumont and his lawyer will be neck deep in examining records of a local ironworker union. The books aren’t what they seem, and the young woman who tumbled from that skyscraper isn’t the only one who dies to prevent the truth from outing.
Beaumont is a Seattle cop who came by a significant fortune in a previous book and doesn’t really have to work to get by. His ex-partner is a wheelchair user who is about to marry his physical therapist. The guy has two daughters to whom Beaumont is almost a second dad.
As the book opens, Beaumont draws the assignment to provide technical advice to a movie about the Seattle cops. The director and his assistant refuse to listen, so, he’s feeling useless.
That’s when the young woman falls from a skyscraper under construction. Her rictus of terror screams “this is not a suicide,” but that’s how the cops initially want to pass it off. But that horrified face haunts Beaumont, and he undertakes his own investigation into her death.
Before the book ends, Beaumont and his lawyer will be neck deep in examining records of a local ironworker union. The books aren’t what they seem, and the young woman who tumbled from that skyscraper isn’t the only one who dies to prevent the truth from outing.
November 4, 2018
. J.P. “Beau” Beaumont is one of my favorite literary detectives. I probably read this book a few years ago, but didn’t remember it. It belongs somewhere in the middle of the series. … Beau is grumbling at having been assigned to be a “technical advisor” to a crime movie being filmed at the docks in Seattle. During the filming, a body is discovered floating next to the dock. Beau notices an “Ironworker” belt buckle worn by the victim. Beau is told not to get involved but to stay with the movie. Later, another ironworker, a young lady, fell to her death. Meanwhile, Beau owns the upscale apartment building and one of his tenants has a complaint. He goes to talk to Mr. Green and finds a party going on. The party is filled with top union executives from several unions…. Mr. Green being the head of the Ironworkers Union. Beau suspects that all is not right in the union… but he is told to stay out of things and let two other officers handle things. ……… Of course, Beau couldn’t let it go.
December 19, 2024
Beau saves Linda and the kids
Jance delivers another good read. As J P Beaumont grudgingly works a movie production as a technical advisor, he becomes due to his stubborn character and devotion to solving crimes, involved in a case, not his, but assigned to a newly assigned homicide Detective Kramer and an old soul, Manny. There is an undertow of Kramer being an attention and willing to take credit when cases are solved even if not by him. Kramer s goal is to become Chief of Seattle PD and Beaumont is committed to finding truth..
Through a complicated mental maze, working through disconnected murders and attempted murders involving nefarious Iron workers Union, Beau ultimately solves the case but is almost fired and begins to contemplate what his life would be like if he resigned from Seattle PD.
This is another good read I'd Beau worked with Union Boss Martin Green to form a more perfect union. Readers who enjoy a good mystery will be well satisfied with this fast paced Novel.
Jance delivers another good read. As J P Beaumont grudgingly works a movie production as a technical advisor, he becomes due to his stubborn character and devotion to solving crimes, involved in a case, not his, but assigned to a newly assigned homicide Detective Kramer and an old soul, Manny. There is an undertow of Kramer being an attention and willing to take credit when cases are solved even if not by him. Kramer s goal is to become Chief of Seattle PD and Beaumont is committed to finding truth..
Through a complicated mental maze, working through disconnected murders and attempted murders involving nefarious Iron workers Union, Beau ultimately solves the case but is almost fired and begins to contemplate what his life would be like if he resigned from Seattle PD.
This is another good read I'd Beau worked with Union Boss Martin Green to form a more perfect union. Readers who enjoy a good mystery will be well satisfied with this fast paced Novel.
May 24, 2017
This is the 6th of author J.A. Jance's series featuring Seattle P.D. homicide detective J.P. Beaumontt. The "union" in the title is of the construction kind, one that is corrupt, and the bodies are starting to pile up. When the first one is found in the water days after a boating accident, it is quickly ruled an accident by a couple of ambitious young h0micide detective. Beaumont has his doubts, and since he was on the scene when the body floated to the surface, he decides to investigate on his own. As more and more people turn up dead, in seemingly accidental circumstances, all in the same way tied to the construction industry, the coincidences prove t0o numerous to rule them all accidental. The acti0n is fast-paced with all the requisite twists and turns of a good murder mystery. The hero detective is likable, and, just when you think you know who is behind the dead, the spotlight shifts to someone else. Another good summer read.
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