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Joanna Brady #4
Dead To Rights
A woman is cruelly cut down in a remote corner of Arizona, killed on her nineteenth wedding anniversary by a drunk motorist.? A year later, the driver himself dies badly, and all suspicions point to the slain woman's still-grieving husband as his murderer. But the truth is rarely black and white in the long Southwestern shadows, and one law officer is not rushing to condemn the tragic widower so Joanna Brady, Sheriff of Cochise County. Brady's convictions, however, are leading her on a twisted trail through inhospitable country—and setting her on a path that will bring her face-to-face with cold, calculating death in the high, lonely desert.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1996
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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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 327 reviews
July 6, 2024
It’s been a while since I last hung out with Joanna Brady and the gang: daughter, Jenny, and their pups Tigger and Silvy along with Joanna’s mother, Elinor and her in-laws Eva Lou and Jim Bob. These stories were written back in the 90’s and there are good and bad things about stories in this period that I like and dislike. It makes me wonder if this is just some questionable character development of some of the characters or if it’s reflective of Jance’s true feelings and opinions.
Anyway, the book summary lays out the primary storyline of the death of a man who a year earlier, while driving drunk, had killed a woman while walking across the street, holding the hand of her husband of 19yrs. What the book summary doesn’t say is that the drunk driver was the local veterinarian, Bucky, who only spent two months in jail and paid a fine for vehicular manslaughter. The husband, Hal, of the woman that Bucky killed, was found in the barn where Bucky’s body was found and is considered the prime suspect.
There is also a storyline of Joanna and her chief deputy, Voland, still butting heads with each other over everything and anything. Voland was Joanna’s opponent in the election for Sheriff and is now constantly trying to tell her what to do and Joanna has to remind him that she is the Sheriff, not him. There’s another storyline of Joanna and Elinor, who are also still butting heads with each other too. Throughout the whole series, Joanna and Elinor have never seemed to get along with each other.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of Bucky’s death. As far as Joanna is concerned, there are one or two other suspects other than Hal, but, of course, Voland is dead set on Hal. Clashes and arguments ensue – again! Personally, the identity of the killer wasn’t a surprise or ever in question (at least for me); I knew who it was from pretty much the get-go.
The continuing character development of Joanna and the rest of the cast of regular characters was questionable. The pacing was fine and the story was interesting enough to at least finish it. The writing was questionable in some spots and actually getting a little irksome in other spots. In other words, not the best installment of the series so far. Don’t even get me started on the narrator. What started as just a little melodramatic (in the first installment), three installments later, the narration has now become really annoying. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.3 that will be rounded down to a 3star rating. I’m probably going to give this series a long break before I decide whether or not I’ll continue with it.
Anyway, the book summary lays out the primary storyline of the death of a man who a year earlier, while driving drunk, had killed a woman while walking across the street, holding the hand of her husband of 19yrs. What the book summary doesn’t say is that the drunk driver was the local veterinarian, Bucky, who only spent two months in jail and paid a fine for vehicular manslaughter. The husband, Hal, of the woman that Bucky killed, was found in the barn where Bucky’s body was found and is considered the prime suspect.
There is also a storyline of Joanna and her chief deputy, Voland, still butting heads with each other over everything and anything. Voland was Joanna’s opponent in the election for Sheriff and is now constantly trying to tell her what to do and Joanna has to remind him that she is the Sheriff, not him. There’s another storyline of Joanna and Elinor, who are also still butting heads with each other too. Throughout the whole series, Joanna and Elinor have never seemed to get along with each other.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of Bucky’s death. As far as Joanna is concerned, there are one or two other suspects other than Hal, but, of course, Voland is dead set on Hal. Clashes and arguments ensue – again! Personally, the identity of the killer wasn’t a surprise or ever in question (at least for me); I knew who it was from pretty much the get-go.
The continuing character development of Joanna and the rest of the cast of regular characters was questionable. The pacing was fine and the story was interesting enough to at least finish it. The writing was questionable in some spots and actually getting a little irksome in other spots. In other words, not the best installment of the series so far. Don’t even get me started on the narrator. What started as just a little melodramatic (in the first installment), three installments later, the narration has now become really annoying. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.3 that will be rounded down to a 3star rating. I’m probably going to give this series a long break before I decide whether or not I’ll continue with it.
October 1, 2024
3 Stars for Dead to Rights: Joanna Brady Series, Book 4 (audiobook) by J. A. Jance read by Nancy Lee-Painter.
Joanna Brady, the Sheriff of Cochise County is having trouble juggling a murder investigation and taking care of her daughter. She is having to call in favors to help watch her daughter as she is called to check out remote parts of Southern Arizona.
This is definitely an older recording. There was a lot of background noise on it. I could hear someone writing as the narrator was talking at times. And the name of a small town was mispronounced. Definitely not my favorite book by the author.
Joanna Brady, the Sheriff of Cochise County is having trouble juggling a murder investigation and taking care of her daughter. She is having to call in favors to help watch her daughter as she is called to check out remote parts of Southern Arizona.
This is definitely an older recording. There was a lot of background noise on it. I could hear someone writing as the narrator was talking at times. And the name of a small town was mispronounced. Definitely not my favorite book by the author.
December 27, 2012
I have mixed feelings about the fourth book in the Joanna Brady series. Since the book is older, (and I suspect few people will be looking at this review), I am just going to touch briefly on my thoughts.
On a positive note, I found the plot in this novel to be much more involved than earlier ones in the series. There are also several subplots that occur in addition to the main one and Jance does a good job tying them altogether to make an interesting story. The reader also gets more detailed knowledge about Joanna's struggle to balance work and family life and why she feels it is so important to succeed as Sheriff. Finally, Jance provides the reader with a more in-depth look at some of the supporting characters' personal lives which is fantastic. Up to this point in the series, it seems the character focus has been primarily on Joanna and her daughter Jenny. It was nice to get a better understanding about Joanna's friends Marianne and Jeff, as well as a peek at what is behind the tumultuous relationship she has with Chief Deputy Richard Voland.
On the flip side, there was one thing that REALLY bothered me. Jance portrays her protagonist as moderately progressive. In addition, the character is always defending the rights of others and viewed as always taking the moral high road. So I was shocked when the main character uses quite a derogatory term more than once to refer to a group of immigrants involved in a motor vehicle crash. This language was so out of character that I thought I must have misread it. I feel I must give an example from this book as to why I found this problematic. In the beginning pages of this book, Joanna explains how she became so close to her best friend Marianne. Basically, in their middle school years, someone at school calls Marianne a "half-breed" and Joanna was so upset by the "casual indifference" that the comment was delivered with that she immediately takes to her defense and they become life-long friends. So why then would Joanna feel it is okay to use derogatory slang, especially in the workplace?
With that said, I will continue reading the series. I am hoping that the remarks were nothing more than an oversight by Jance and that they will not be present in the future.
On a positive note, I found the plot in this novel to be much more involved than earlier ones in the series. There are also several subplots that occur in addition to the main one and Jance does a good job tying them altogether to make an interesting story. The reader also gets more detailed knowledge about Joanna's struggle to balance work and family life and why she feels it is so important to succeed as Sheriff. Finally, Jance provides the reader with a more in-depth look at some of the supporting characters' personal lives which is fantastic. Up to this point in the series, it seems the character focus has been primarily on Joanna and her daughter Jenny. It was nice to get a better understanding about Joanna's friends Marianne and Jeff, as well as a peek at what is behind the tumultuous relationship she has with Chief Deputy Richard Voland.
On the flip side, there was one thing that REALLY bothered me. Jance portrays her protagonist as moderately progressive. In addition, the character is always defending the rights of others and viewed as always taking the moral high road. So I was shocked when the main character uses quite a derogatory term more than once to refer to a group of immigrants involved in a motor vehicle crash. This language was so out of character that I thought I must have misread it. I feel I must give an example from this book as to why I found this problematic. In the beginning pages of this book, Joanna explains how she became so close to her best friend Marianne. Basically, in their middle school years, someone at school calls Marianne a "half-breed" and Joanna was so upset by the "casual indifference" that the comment was delivered with that she immediately takes to her defense and they become life-long friends. So why then would Joanna feel it is okay to use derogatory slang, especially in the workplace?
With that said, I will continue reading the series. I am hoping that the remarks were nothing more than an oversight by Jance and that they will not be present in the future.
October 12, 2018
I started this series really late. I started it at the beginning. I really enjoyed this book. J. A. Jance is very good at story telling. This book made me think too that my 4 stars ratings have the biggest range in it. This book is at the very top of the four star range for me.
Joanna Brady is newly widowed and recently elected as Cochise Country Sheriff in Arizona. She has a young daughter Jenny, loving in-laws and a mother who likes to interfere. The mystery was very good. A local vet has been found murdered in a burning barn. A man who was protesting the vet is suspect.
Joanna is learning on the job. She make judgement calls. She is being closely observed by the people is over. She is a brave independent thinker. She is a true leader.
This is the fourth book in the series. There are many more books to read until I catch up with the series. I have a lot of very good reading ahead. I enjoyed this book very much due to the story telling, the location and the characters.
Joanna Brady is newly widowed and recently elected as Cochise Country Sheriff in Arizona. She has a young daughter Jenny, loving in-laws and a mother who likes to interfere. The mystery was very good. A local vet has been found murdered in a burning barn. A man who was protesting the vet is suspect.
Joanna is learning on the job. She make judgement calls. She is being closely observed by the people is over. She is a brave independent thinker. She is a true leader.
This is the fourth book in the series. There are many more books to read until I catch up with the series. I have a lot of very good reading ahead. I enjoyed this book very much due to the story telling, the location and the characters.
June 28, 2021
This is now the fourth entry of the Sheriff Joanna Brady series.. light easy reading which I enjoy partly for having lived in the border lands.
Joanna is a recent widow and single mom of Jenny; both are doing as well as can be expected in the grief recovery process, with lots of support from her in-laws but unfortunately not from her own mother. Joanna still lives on the small family ranch miles from town in the high AZ desert and puts in extremely long hours on the job. At work she has established herself somewhat but her judgment is still frequently tested and the number of homicides in the area has increased. The local veterinarian, Buckwalter, has been found dead in the aftermath of a fire set by arsonists and local officials believe he was murdered by a man who was protesting against the dr. outside the clinic. (Why? Buckwalter was the drunk driver responsible for the death of his wife). Joanna doesn’t buy into this and moves ahead to find the real killer.
Joanna is a recent widow and single mom of Jenny; both are doing as well as can be expected in the grief recovery process, with lots of support from her in-laws but unfortunately not from her own mother. Joanna still lives on the small family ranch miles from town in the high AZ desert and puts in extremely long hours on the job. At work she has established herself somewhat but her judgment is still frequently tested and the number of homicides in the area has increased. The local veterinarian, Buckwalter, has been found dead in the aftermath of a fire set by arsonists and local officials believe he was murdered by a man who was protesting against the dr. outside the clinic. (Why? Buckwalter was the drunk driver responsible for the death of his wife). Joanna doesn’t buy into this and moves ahead to find the real killer.
September 26, 2018
3.5 stars rounded up
This is a solid series that should be read in order. I'm still really enjoying it and will continue with the next book in the series.
This is a good series for those who like crime/murder plots and like to get to know the recurring characters.
This is a solid series that should be read in order. I'm still really enjoying it and will continue with the next book in the series.
This is a good series for those who like crime/murder plots and like to get to know the recurring characters.
June 30, 2024
What you think is the central mystery is almost more of a subplot that comes back around.
Joanna was a bit cringy in her racism in this one with the "half-breed" talk. It's hard to tell how it was intended. We were less offended in the 90s, so it could have been a joke, but the passage's tone didn't feel that way. Suffice it to say that parts of this book didn't age well.
Overall, I still enjoy this series, and it was great to get a bit more introspection, but the pacing wasn't super speedy.
I'm stuck at a 3 star
Joanna was a bit cringy in her racism in this one with the "half-breed" talk. It's hard to tell how it was intended. We were less offended in the 90s, so it could have been a joke, but the passage's tone didn't feel that way. Suffice it to say that parts of this book didn't age well.
Overall, I still enjoy this series, and it was great to get a bit more introspection, but the pacing wasn't super speedy.
I'm stuck at a 3 star
November 2, 2013
Jance is an old hand at writing strong mystery plots. For me, though, her real magic lies in her series set in her native Seattle. When she takes up with characters in the desert southwest, she still spins a good tale, and yet the heart of the matter is different. There are subtle language changes that imply a different sense toward undocumented workers than my own, one that is lacking in tolerance or a sense of ambiguity.
Are Seattle's cops angels? Not so much. But Jance is able to create an alternate universe that I buy into so that I believe they are, at least while I'm reading, and until the story ends.
When Joanna Brady wears the badge, we can almost hear her gossiping at the cafe about all those pesky "illegals".
I read her work because she writes good mysteries, but this series makes me gag now and then. I won't pay full jacket price for any of the Brady series. Sometimes I find it absorbing, but then I'll turn a page and feel my breakfast roll over in my stomach. It's not a good feeling.
Are Seattle's cops angels? Not so much. But Jance is able to create an alternate universe that I buy into so that I believe they are, at least while I'm reading, and until the story ends.
When Joanna Brady wears the badge, we can almost hear her gossiping at the cafe about all those pesky "illegals".
I read her work because she writes good mysteries, but this series makes me gag now and then. I won't pay full jacket price for any of the Brady series. Sometimes I find it absorbing, but then I'll turn a page and feel my breakfast roll over in my stomach. It's not a good feeling.
April 5, 2020
Joanna is still trying to fit in at the sheriff's office and be a single mother. She takes on a case where she is sure the person they picked is innocent. Bonnie is killed by a drunk driver on her and Hal's 19th anniversary, he vows revenge and when the drunk driver is murdered a year later, he is the first suspect.
March 21, 2021
Dead To Rights is J.A. Jance's fourth book in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series and once again has delivered a good mystery with a main character balancing single motherhood, a male dominated department with it's inherent prejudices, and her own self doubts. The characters are rich and believable and I have found these books easy to lose myself in.
Dead To Rights is centered on the surprising death of the local Veterinarian who is found in the barn of his clinic after it burns to the ground. The Vet had been the target of a picketing man; a man who lost his wife a year ago when the Vet drunkenly ran them down while in Phoenix; a man who was found just inside the door of the barn, also injured, and pulled from the fire in time. The conflict between the two men makes the investigation easy to center on who the prime suspect should be. But, again, Joanna Brady's instincts makes her wonder if the investigation might be ignoring other possible leads in the department's haste to solve the crime.
In the meantime, of course, Sheriff Brady's life is also consumed by friends and family pulling her in various directions. One of the reasons i seem to enjoy these books is how the life of the Sheriff is depicted so real with real life issues beyond the crime to include tensions within the department, family, and surroundings.
If J.A. Jance continues with the other books similarly, I will be enjoying many more of these to come. I may find myself moving to her homicide detective in Seattle after that ....
Dead To Rights is centered on the surprising death of the local Veterinarian who is found in the barn of his clinic after it burns to the ground. The Vet had been the target of a picketing man; a man who lost his wife a year ago when the Vet drunkenly ran them down while in Phoenix; a man who was found just inside the door of the barn, also injured, and pulled from the fire in time. The conflict between the two men makes the investigation easy to center on who the prime suspect should be. But, again, Joanna Brady's instincts makes her wonder if the investigation might be ignoring other possible leads in the department's haste to solve the crime.
In the meantime, of course, Sheriff Brady's life is also consumed by friends and family pulling her in various directions. One of the reasons i seem to enjoy these books is how the life of the Sheriff is depicted so real with real life issues beyond the crime to include tensions within the department, family, and surroundings.
If J.A. Jance continues with the other books similarly, I will be enjoying many more of these to come. I may find myself moving to her homicide detective in Seattle after that ....
February 4, 2010
In this the fourth showing of sheriff Joanna Brady she has her hands full locking horns with experienced detectives on the case and budget cutting county supervisors. When veterinarian Amos Buckwalter is murdered by arson, deputies immediately suspect Hal Morgan, whose wife, Bonnie, was recently killed by a drunken Buckwalter in a car accident. Morgan, himself an ex-cop, had been picketing Buckwalter's animal hospital, handing out Mothers Against Drunk Driving literature just before the vet's body was found in a burning barn. Joanna lets her own grief keep her from suspecting him and almost loses sight of the whole cases. Besides, the widow Buckwalter is strangely stoic, even getting a makeover and playing golf on the day after her husband's death.
I enjoyed this more than the first three, we are starting to get a good idea of how Joanna is handling being a single mom, she is starting to see her relationship with her mother in adult terms even while being green with envy that her Mother is getting her own life.
I enjoyed this more than the first three, we are starting to get a good idea of how Joanna is handling being a single mom, she is starting to see her relationship with her mother in adult terms even while being green with envy that her Mother is getting her own life.
September 2, 2020
I have enjoyed the Joanna Brady mystery series on audio and in print. Sheriff Brady is coming to terms with widowhood, single parenting and her law enforcement career. I enjoy seeing how she does that in 1990's Arizona.
April 8, 2019
Book 4 in the series is my least favorite so far, but I am still giving it 3.5 stars rounded up. Joanna Brady continues to be likable, strong and smart. And the supporting cast continues to be developed well. I also feel that the series is doing a good job of illustrating the uniqueness of Arizona.
January 4, 2019
Joanna Brady, elected sheriff of Cochise County for 4 months, has a lot on her hands: the murder of a local veterinarian, looming budget cuts, infighting in her department, perpetual criticism from her mother and a young daughter still grieving her father’s murder. Joanna herself is still grieving her husband’s sudden, violent death, which affects her concentration and her sleep patterns.
As others have pointed out, while this book has a more complicated plot than the previous ones, the book is still primarily about understanding who Joanna is & how she relates to others. Bisbee is a small town, & Joanna’s observations are informed by gossip & small town prejudices. Her use of the term “wetback” was jarring, though, & seemed out of character. Leaving her daughter with a new male friend took was either very trusting, naive or dangerous. I suspect Joanna will continue to grow as a sheriff, a mother, a daughter, a friend and more (hello, Butch Dixon!) as the series progresses.
As others have pointed out, while this book has a more complicated plot than the previous ones, the book is still primarily about understanding who Joanna is & how she relates to others. Bisbee is a small town, & Joanna’s observations are informed by gossip & small town prejudices. Her use of the term “wetback” was jarring, though, & seemed out of character. Leaving her daughter with a new male friend took was either very trusting, naive or dangerous. I suspect Joanna will continue to grow as a sheriff, a mother, a daughter, a friend and more (hello, Butch Dixon!) as the series progresses.
January 2, 2015
http://books.ofearna.us/jance.html is where you can find an article written about the drunk-driver aspect of this novel.
March 31, 2023
One of the women in my local book group encouraged me to try this series a couple of years ago, and I’m glad for the nudge – and I’m glad I have so many books still to read.
I like Joanna, the MC, a lot and empathize with her struggle to do her job – and do it well – while also being a single mom to her young daughter. She gets help from her in-laws, her mother and her friends, but the responsibility still falls squarely on her shoulders, and she doesn’t take it lightly, even when things go haywire at work. Other than Kinsey Milhone, I don’t remember a lot of other strong female leads in mystery/detective series published at this time, which makes me like this series even more.
The murder in this book set the stage for everything else, and there were a lot of people who wanted the victim dead. My list of possibilities kept changing as more clues were discovered, but I wasn’t able to figure out whodunnit until the confrontation scene at the end of the investigation. Given the character involved, the motive made sense, and is something I probably should have figured out earlier.
I like Joanna, the MC, a lot and empathize with her struggle to do her job – and do it well – while also being a single mom to her young daughter. She gets help from her in-laws, her mother and her friends, but the responsibility still falls squarely on her shoulders, and she doesn’t take it lightly, even when things go haywire at work. Other than Kinsey Milhone, I don’t remember a lot of other strong female leads in mystery/detective series published at this time, which makes me like this series even more.
The murder in this book set the stage for everything else, and there were a lot of people who wanted the victim dead. My list of possibilities kept changing as more clues were discovered, but I wasn’t able to figure out whodunnit until the confrontation scene at the end of the investigation. Given the character involved, the motive made sense, and is something I probably should have figured out earlier.
September 22, 2017
Recently widowed, even more recently Sheriff, Joanna Brady battles her mother, her daughter, her deputy, and her lack of investigative experience to solve a few murders, kidnappings, and life problems. That sounds dull, but outside of a vague annoyance that intuition is just as important as knowledge when one works in law enforcement, this wasn't bad, even starting with book 4 of the series. I guess I don't mind amateur detectives, but amateurs serving in elected office are a touchier subject.
July 27, 2020
The Joanna Brady series is police procedural light. Joanna is the newly elected Sheriff for Cochise County in Arizona. Her husband, Andy, was the previous sheriff until his death. Unlike Andy, Joanna had zero policing experience until she was elected sheriff. She's trying though and bringing some forward thinking ideas to the male dominated force. The books are somewhat dated and occasionally, there is language or themes that are very much out of sync with today's world. Much of the narrative focuses on Joanna's personal life, although the last part of this book was more mainstream procedural. These books are great reads for long walks with their folksy tone.
December 2, 2020
Two-haiku review:
Local vet was drunk
Killed woman, husband is here
Looking for justice
Really like series
Characters developing
Interesting plots
Local vet was drunk
Killed woman, husband is here
Looking for justice
Really like series
Characters developing
Interesting plots
September 29, 2024
“Dead to Rights” by J. A. Jance
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
PRINT:
© 1996, January 1978-0380973941; Avon Books; First Edition; 373 pages; unabridged (Info from Amazon)
DIGITAL:
© 2009, October 13; William Morrow, Reprint edition; 384 pages; unabridged. (info from Amazon)
(this one)-AUDIO:
© 2010, January 11; HarperAudio; 12:00:00 duration; unabridged. (info from Amazon)
FILM:
No.
AWARDS:
CHARACTERS: (Not Comprehensive)
Joanna Brady-Protagonist-became sheriff after her husband died.
Jenny Brady-Joanna’s daughter
Eleanor Lathrop-Joanna’s mother
D. H. Lathrop-Joanna’s late father
Tigger – Family dog (golden retriever-pit bull mix)
Sadie – Family dog (female bluetick hound)
Andy Brady (Joanna’s late husband)
Marianne Maculyea-A pastor of Hispanic and Irish decent, Joanna’s friend since 7th grade
Jeff Daniels-Marianne’s husband
Amos (Bucky) Buckwalter-county veterinarian, victim.
Terry Buckwalter-Bucky’s wife
Frank Montoya-Chief Deputy-Joanna’s information officer
Bonnie Morgan-Deceased
Hal Morgan-Grieving husband of the deceased Bonnie
SERIES: Joanna Brady Book 4
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
SELECTED:
We’ve been following the J.P. Beaumont series, and needed to catch up with the Joanna Brady series that Ms. Jance began writing simultaneously.
ABOUT:
Joanna Brady is still new to being a Sheriff, but she’s pretty much in control of things as she investigates the murder of a local vet.
OVERALL OPINION:
I enjoyed the first three of this series, but this one just seemed a little cheesy to me. I wish I could say why. I’m leaning toward the narration. Maybe I’m just not accustomed to this narrator with this particular series. Or, maybe there wasn't much heart in this one--no warm moments. Or maybe the Joanna character wasn't driving this one, and the other characters didn't hold much interest. I'm really not sure. It had me thinking maybe I wouldn’t try to follow all of the series at once in the chronological order they’ve been written after all. I may not continue with this series.
AUTHOR:
J. A. Jance: (From Wikipedia)
Judith Ann (J. A.) Jance (born October 27, 1944) is an American author of mystery novels. She writes three series of novels, centering on retired Seattle Police Department Detective J. P. Beaumont, Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady, and former Los Angeles news anchor turned mystery solver Ali Reynolds. The Beaumont and Brady series intersect in the novel Partner in Crime, which is both the 16th Beaumount mystery and the 10th Brady mystery.[1] They intersect again in Fire and Ice.
Biography
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 2018, The 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.
NARRATOR: C. J. Critt
From C.J. Critt.com_
“CJ Critt is an award winning performing artist and the creative force behind numerous musicals, stage shows, cabaret and spoken word collections that champion the works of others, from the bleak world of RockBound at the South Street Theater on 42nd st. in NYC, to the pop-rock beat of The Pollinators! at the Wild Detectives in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas, Texas.
Whether a hired hand or at the helm, CJ brings 30 plus years of professional experience and excellence to broadcast, stage, studio and class room, believing it a privilege to serve up the words of the Author, Playwright, Copywriter or Screenwriter.
A graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she accepted her award for Excellence in Stage Speech from American stage icon, Rosemary Harris.
She has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional Theater stages and performed in Literary venues coast to coast. This helped her establish herself as the “Voice of the Author” for multiple NY Times Best selling writers, with over 200 titles of popular fiction as ace narrator, CJ Critt, earning an Audie Nominee, a Best Voices nod from Audio File Magazine along with plenty of Earphones award citations for favorite authors such as Joan Hess, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Maron and Barbara Robinson. “
*ME: This narration wasn’t working for me. It may be about emphasis on words feeling over dramatized, or it may be that the rendition of the character, Earnie Chapman, was too hard on my ears. I’m just not sure.
GENRE:
Mystery; Police Procedurals; Women Sleuths; Fiction; Crime
SUBJECTS (Not comprehensive):
Homicide; Murder; Police procedure
TIME PERIOD
Present Day (1996)
LOCATIONS
Bisbee, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona
DEDICATION:
“This book is dedicated to M.A.D.D., Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for making possible the constructive use of pain and anger. It is also dedicated to W.I.C.S., Widowed Information Consultation Services of King County, for providing a place for the mending of broken hearts.”
EXCERPT
From the Prologue:
“HAL AND Bonnie Morgan wended their way through the crowded, overheated movie-theater lobby into the cool air of a midwinter Phoenix night. Once outside the theater doors, the aroma of popcorn quickly gave way to a haze of smoke from a dozen hastily lit cigarettes. As they moved across the open-air patio, Bonnie reached out, took her husband’s hand, and squeezed it.
In response, Hal leaned toward her. “The name’s Bond,” he whispered, “James Bond.” Bonnie and Hal had just finished seeing Golden Eye for the third time. Hal’s imitation of Pierce Brosnan’s accent and delivery was so dead-on that Bonnie giggled aloud.
“You’re good enough that they should have made you the new James Bond,” she told him.
A passion for James Bond movies was something the two of them had shared in common when they met twenty years earlier. And now, after a celebratory dinner in honor of their nineteenth wedding anniversary, they were on their way back to the Hyatt Regency two blocks away. They came to Phoenix each February to celebrate both Saint Valentine’s Day and their wedding anniversary. Once a year, they would splurge and pretend, for that one evening at least, that they, too, were a pair of carefree snowbirds.
On their anniversary trips they made a conscious effort to put aside all day-to-day concerns. Hal would do his best to forget whatever crisis might be brewing in the small trailer park he managed up in Wickenburg while Bonnie turned her back on the petty small-town grievances simmering in the Wickenburg Post Office where she worked as a part-time clerk. For that single day, they concentrated on each other and on the miracle that had brought them together in the first place, one that had given them the blessing of nineteen wonderful years.
Riding down on the outdoor escalator, Bonnie breathed deeply. As the pall of cigarette smoke dissipated, a sweet, delicate scent permeated the air. “Smell those orange blossoms,” she said. “It’s like every year God gives us my wedding bouquet all over again, except now it’s free. We don’t even have to pay for it.”
Bonnie had carried a bouquet of orange blossoms to their Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony in front of a curmudgeonly Justice of the Peace in Palm Springs. They had gone to Palm Springs to marry in hopes Bonnie’s recently divorced ex-husband wouldn’t get wind of the ceremony and try to screw things up.
“You were a very beautiful bride,” Hal said with a sudden catch in his throat. He was still as smitten with his wife as he had been the first day he laid eyes on her, as she had walked along the beach with her little niece and nephew in tow.
Before meeting Bonnie, Hal Morgan had already had a disastrous first marriage blow up in his face. In the lonely aftermath of his divorce, he had thrown himself into his work as a police officer with single-minded dedication. He had been the one who always volunteered to take those unpopular Sunday-afternoon and holiday shifts. What little spare time was left to him he had spent prowling around dusty used-book stores.
From the moment he and Bonnie had struck up a casual conversation outside a snow-cone stand, all that had changed. Bonnie had come into his life bringing both her radiant smile and her sunny disposition, either of which would have been enough to melt Hal Morgan’s heart. Her spontaneous joy of living had caught him up and carried him along like the current in a swiftly moving babbling brook. Even now he sometimes couldn’t help but marvel at his great good fortune.
“You were beautiful then,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “And nineteen years later, you still are.”
Bonnie looked up at him and smiled. As usual, Hal Morgan’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
They reached the intersection of Third and Van Buren just as the light changed from red to green. At nine o’clock at night, downtown traffic was almost nonexistent. Still, Hal checked in both directions before they stepped off the curb.
There were a few headlights coming toward them in the right-hand, west-bound lanes, but they were a block away, stopped at the next light as Hal led Bonnie into the marked crosswalk. They were in the middle of the street when Hal heard the squeal of rubber as a car came careening around the corner, coming the wrong way on Third and then skidding into a wrenching right-hand turn onto Van Buren. The speeding vehicle, a late-model full-sized Chevy pickup of some kind, bounced over the edge of the sidewalk and then slid, spinning out of control, into the intersection.
Hal jumped back out of the way and tried to pull Bonnie with him, but he was too late. One moment Hal was holding Bonnie’s hand; the next she was yanked from his grasp. He stood there frozen in stunned silence as she flew away from him, up into the air, seeming to float above him like a rag doll someone had tossed out of the window of a moving vehicle. The pickup was still doing a 180 when Bonnie Morgan started back to earth. She crashed to the pavement just to the left of the spinning truck, hitting the ground back-first with an awful, bone-crushing impact and then disappearing completely beneath the body of the truck as it finally came to rest, landing on its side.
Almost at once there were horns honking. Within seconds a crowd gathered out of nowhere, but Hal Morgan heard nothing, saw no one. He vaulted forward, reaching the truck at almost the same time it stopped moving. Several passerby, most of them fellow moviegoers who had followed Hal and Bonnie down the escalator, joined him an instant later.
The engine was still running.
“Turn the damned thing off before it catches fire,” someone shouted. “For God’s sake, turn it off!”
Knowing the danger, Hal did what years of police training had taught him. He scrambled in through the smashed passenger side window, into a fog of spilled booze and across a seat slick with whiskey-laced vomit. The driver, cushioned by the now deflated air bag, was still strapped inside.
“Whazza matter?” he was asking. “What the hell happened?”
Ignoring him, Hal managed to reach across the seat far enough to turn the key in the switch. Then he clambered back outside.
The swelling crowd stood together in stricken silence. All that was visible of Bonnie Morgan were the graceful fingers of a single hand protruding from underneath the pickup’s crushed driver’s side. On one of those fingers the gold from Bonnie’s wedding band glinted in the glow of a streetlight.
It was then Hal noticed there was someone standing next to him—a young black man in torn jeans and a ragged shirt with a baseball cap perched on a thicket of dreadlocks.
“Help me,” Hal choked. “Maybe we can lift it off her.”
“Sure thing, man,” the kid said. “No problem.”
As the two of them set to work, several of the passersby joined in. They knelt together alongside the fallen pickup. Then, on the count of three, they lifted it, rolling it back upright, pushing it onto its wheels. Uncovered, Bonnie Morgan lay inert. In the lamp-lit dusk, a thin dribble of blood, tinted purple by the mercury vapor lights, leaked out of the corner of her mouth and ran downward into her ear and hair.
Hal rushed to his wife’s side and threw himself down on the pavement beside her. As he took her wrist to check for a pulse, a hushed silence once again drifted over the crowd of onlookers. That was broken suddenly by a frantic pounding from inside the truck.
“Hey, somebody!” the trapped driver yelled. “Lemme out! The door’s stuck. I can’t get it open. Get me out of here.”
Gently, as if the bone might shatter, Hal Morgan placed his wife’s still wrist back where he had found it. Then, with a groan that was more rage than anything else, he sprang to his feet and headed for the truck once more. Of all the people gathered around at that moment, only the kid in the torn jeans read the murderous look on the other man’s face.
“Leave him be, man,” the kid said, taking hold of Hal’s shoulder, forcibly restraining him. “Let the cops take care of the stupid jerk.”
Seemingly on command, the cops showed up just then, arriving in a cacophony of sirens and a blinding flash of lights. Hal barely noticed. His whole being remained fixed on his wife’s crushed body and on the spot of pavement where the trickle of blood had become a puddle.
Burying his face in his hands, Hal subsided once again next to his wife’s body. The ambulance and fire trucks might be coming, but he knew that whatever aid they brought would be too little, too late. Bonnie Genevieve Morgan—Hal’s beloved Bonnie Jean—was dead at the age of fifty-two.
A uniformed police officer burst through the crowd. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. “What happened?”
“He killed her,” Hal Morgan murmured brokenly into his cupped hands. “That rotten, drunken son of a bitch murdered her.”
“Are you okay?” the cop asked. “Were you hit too?”
“I’m fine,” Hal insisted. “He hit her, not me.”
Reassured, the cop turned away and fixed his attention on Bonnie. As he did so, Hal tried to rise to his feet, but there was something holding him down, some unfamiliar weight on his shoulder that made it almost impossible to stand. Grunting with effort, he managed to struggle himself upright. Only then did he realize that the extra weight came from a hand gripping his shoulder—a hand that belonged to the kid with the torn jeans and dreadlocks. Tears streamed down the young man’s face. He seemed incapable of letting Hal go. “I’m sorry about your wife, man,” he managed to say.
“I’m really sorry.”
Hal nodded. “Thanks,” he said. “Thanks for everything.”
When he said thanks, he meant it, because he knew in his soul that had it not been for the restraining weight of that powerful grip, Hal Morgan, too, might have killed someone that night. If the kid hadn’t held him back when Hal started for the truck, the son of a bitch of a driver would have been dead, too. Right then and there. Of injuries inflicted after the incident itself.
Feeling suddenly weak and shaky, Hal limped back over to the edge of the street and sank down on the cold concrete curb. He sat there quietly, knowing all too well what would come next. There would be a world of inquiry—of investigators and paperwork, of questions and answers. In the long run, none of it would make a single whit of difference. Whatever the cops decided in determining how to fix the blame, it wouldn’t bring Bonnie back. She was dead. Gone forever. Nothing any well-meaning cop could do would restore her to him.
As Hal sat there with unnoticed tears streaming down his face, an uncontrollable tremor assailed his whole body. Another concerned police officer hurried over to him. Kneeling beside him, the cop shone a flashlight into Hal Morgan’s eyes.
“How did it happen?” the officer asked.
“The guy creamed us,” Hal answered through chattering teeth. “The bastard in the pickup was driving the wrong way up Third. He came screaming around the corner on two wheels and smashed into us right in the middle of the crosswalk.”“
RATING:
3 stars.
STARTED-FINISHED
8/28/2024-9/27/2024
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
PRINT:
© 1996, January 1978-0380973941; Avon Books; First Edition; 373 pages; unabridged (Info from Amazon)
DIGITAL:
© 2009, October 13; William Morrow, Reprint edition; 384 pages; unabridged. (info from Amazon)
(this one)-AUDIO:
© 2010, January 11; HarperAudio; 12:00:00 duration; unabridged. (info from Amazon)
FILM:
No.
AWARDS:
CHARACTERS: (Not Comprehensive)
Joanna Brady-Protagonist-became sheriff after her husband died.
Jenny Brady-Joanna’s daughter
Eleanor Lathrop-Joanna’s mother
D. H. Lathrop-Joanna’s late father
Tigger – Family dog (golden retriever-pit bull mix)
Sadie – Family dog (female bluetick hound)
Andy Brady (Joanna’s late husband)
Marianne Maculyea-A pastor of Hispanic and Irish decent, Joanna’s friend since 7th grade
Jeff Daniels-Marianne’s husband
Amos (Bucky) Buckwalter-county veterinarian, victim.
Terry Buckwalter-Bucky’s wife
Frank Montoya-Chief Deputy-Joanna’s information officer
Bonnie Morgan-Deceased
Hal Morgan-Grieving husband of the deceased Bonnie
SERIES: Joanna Brady Book 4
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
SELECTED:
We’ve been following the J.P. Beaumont series, and needed to catch up with the Joanna Brady series that Ms. Jance began writing simultaneously.
ABOUT:
Joanna Brady is still new to being a Sheriff, but she’s pretty much in control of things as she investigates the murder of a local vet.
OVERALL OPINION:
I enjoyed the first three of this series, but this one just seemed a little cheesy to me. I wish I could say why. I’m leaning toward the narration. Maybe I’m just not accustomed to this narrator with this particular series. Or, maybe there wasn't much heart in this one--no warm moments. Or maybe the Joanna character wasn't driving this one, and the other characters didn't hold much interest. I'm really not sure. It had me thinking maybe I wouldn’t try to follow all of the series at once in the chronological order they’ve been written after all. I may not continue with this series.
AUTHOR:
J. A. Jance: (From Wikipedia)
Judith Ann (J. A.) Jance (born October 27, 1944) is an American author of mystery novels. She writes three series of novels, centering on retired Seattle Police Department Detective J. P. Beaumont, Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady, and former Los Angeles news anchor turned mystery solver Ali Reynolds. The Beaumont and Brady series intersect in the novel Partner in Crime, which is both the 16th Beaumount mystery and the 10th Brady mystery.[1] They intersect again in Fire and Ice.
Biography
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 2018, The 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.
NARRATOR: C. J. Critt
From C.J. Critt.com_
“CJ Critt is an award winning performing artist and the creative force behind numerous musicals, stage shows, cabaret and spoken word collections that champion the works of others, from the bleak world of RockBound at the South Street Theater on 42nd st. in NYC, to the pop-rock beat of The Pollinators! at the Wild Detectives in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas, Texas.
Whether a hired hand or at the helm, CJ brings 30 plus years of professional experience and excellence to broadcast, stage, studio and class room, believing it a privilege to serve up the words of the Author, Playwright, Copywriter or Screenwriter.
A graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she accepted her award for Excellence in Stage Speech from American stage icon, Rosemary Harris.
She has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional Theater stages and performed in Literary venues coast to coast. This helped her establish herself as the “Voice of the Author” for multiple NY Times Best selling writers, with over 200 titles of popular fiction as ace narrator, CJ Critt, earning an Audie Nominee, a Best Voices nod from Audio File Magazine along with plenty of Earphones award citations for favorite authors such as Joan Hess, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Maron and Barbara Robinson. “
*ME: This narration wasn’t working for me. It may be about emphasis on words feeling over dramatized, or it may be that the rendition of the character, Earnie Chapman, was too hard on my ears. I’m just not sure.
GENRE:
Mystery; Police Procedurals; Women Sleuths; Fiction; Crime
SUBJECTS (Not comprehensive):
Homicide; Murder; Police procedure
TIME PERIOD
Present Day (1996)
LOCATIONS
Bisbee, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona
DEDICATION:
“This book is dedicated to M.A.D.D., Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for making possible the constructive use of pain and anger. It is also dedicated to W.I.C.S., Widowed Information Consultation Services of King County, for providing a place for the mending of broken hearts.”
EXCERPT
From the Prologue:
“HAL AND Bonnie Morgan wended their way through the crowded, overheated movie-theater lobby into the cool air of a midwinter Phoenix night. Once outside the theater doors, the aroma of popcorn quickly gave way to a haze of smoke from a dozen hastily lit cigarettes. As they moved across the open-air patio, Bonnie reached out, took her husband’s hand, and squeezed it.
In response, Hal leaned toward her. “The name’s Bond,” he whispered, “James Bond.” Bonnie and Hal had just finished seeing Golden Eye for the third time. Hal’s imitation of Pierce Brosnan’s accent and delivery was so dead-on that Bonnie giggled aloud.
“You’re good enough that they should have made you the new James Bond,” she told him.
A passion for James Bond movies was something the two of them had shared in common when they met twenty years earlier. And now, after a celebratory dinner in honor of their nineteenth wedding anniversary, they were on their way back to the Hyatt Regency two blocks away. They came to Phoenix each February to celebrate both Saint Valentine’s Day and their wedding anniversary. Once a year, they would splurge and pretend, for that one evening at least, that they, too, were a pair of carefree snowbirds.
On their anniversary trips they made a conscious effort to put aside all day-to-day concerns. Hal would do his best to forget whatever crisis might be brewing in the small trailer park he managed up in Wickenburg while Bonnie turned her back on the petty small-town grievances simmering in the Wickenburg Post Office where she worked as a part-time clerk. For that single day, they concentrated on each other and on the miracle that had brought them together in the first place, one that had given them the blessing of nineteen wonderful years.
Riding down on the outdoor escalator, Bonnie breathed deeply. As the pall of cigarette smoke dissipated, a sweet, delicate scent permeated the air. “Smell those orange blossoms,” she said. “It’s like every year God gives us my wedding bouquet all over again, except now it’s free. We don’t even have to pay for it.”
Bonnie had carried a bouquet of orange blossoms to their Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony in front of a curmudgeonly Justice of the Peace in Palm Springs. They had gone to Palm Springs to marry in hopes Bonnie’s recently divorced ex-husband wouldn’t get wind of the ceremony and try to screw things up.
“You were a very beautiful bride,” Hal said with a sudden catch in his throat. He was still as smitten with his wife as he had been the first day he laid eyes on her, as she had walked along the beach with her little niece and nephew in tow.
Before meeting Bonnie, Hal Morgan had already had a disastrous first marriage blow up in his face. In the lonely aftermath of his divorce, he had thrown himself into his work as a police officer with single-minded dedication. He had been the one who always volunteered to take those unpopular Sunday-afternoon and holiday shifts. What little spare time was left to him he had spent prowling around dusty used-book stores.
From the moment he and Bonnie had struck up a casual conversation outside a snow-cone stand, all that had changed. Bonnie had come into his life bringing both her radiant smile and her sunny disposition, either of which would have been enough to melt Hal Morgan’s heart. Her spontaneous joy of living had caught him up and carried him along like the current in a swiftly moving babbling brook. Even now he sometimes couldn’t help but marvel at his great good fortune.
“You were beautiful then,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “And nineteen years later, you still are.”
Bonnie looked up at him and smiled. As usual, Hal Morgan’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
They reached the intersection of Third and Van Buren just as the light changed from red to green. At nine o’clock at night, downtown traffic was almost nonexistent. Still, Hal checked in both directions before they stepped off the curb.
There were a few headlights coming toward them in the right-hand, west-bound lanes, but they were a block away, stopped at the next light as Hal led Bonnie into the marked crosswalk. They were in the middle of the street when Hal heard the squeal of rubber as a car came careening around the corner, coming the wrong way on Third and then skidding into a wrenching right-hand turn onto Van Buren. The speeding vehicle, a late-model full-sized Chevy pickup of some kind, bounced over the edge of the sidewalk and then slid, spinning out of control, into the intersection.
Hal jumped back out of the way and tried to pull Bonnie with him, but he was too late. One moment Hal was holding Bonnie’s hand; the next she was yanked from his grasp. He stood there frozen in stunned silence as she flew away from him, up into the air, seeming to float above him like a rag doll someone had tossed out of the window of a moving vehicle. The pickup was still doing a 180 when Bonnie Morgan started back to earth. She crashed to the pavement just to the left of the spinning truck, hitting the ground back-first with an awful, bone-crushing impact and then disappearing completely beneath the body of the truck as it finally came to rest, landing on its side.
Almost at once there were horns honking. Within seconds a crowd gathered out of nowhere, but Hal Morgan heard nothing, saw no one. He vaulted forward, reaching the truck at almost the same time it stopped moving. Several passerby, most of them fellow moviegoers who had followed Hal and Bonnie down the escalator, joined him an instant later.
The engine was still running.
“Turn the damned thing off before it catches fire,” someone shouted. “For God’s sake, turn it off!”
Knowing the danger, Hal did what years of police training had taught him. He scrambled in through the smashed passenger side window, into a fog of spilled booze and across a seat slick with whiskey-laced vomit. The driver, cushioned by the now deflated air bag, was still strapped inside.
“Whazza matter?” he was asking. “What the hell happened?”
Ignoring him, Hal managed to reach across the seat far enough to turn the key in the switch. Then he clambered back outside.
The swelling crowd stood together in stricken silence. All that was visible of Bonnie Morgan were the graceful fingers of a single hand protruding from underneath the pickup’s crushed driver’s side. On one of those fingers the gold from Bonnie’s wedding band glinted in the glow of a streetlight.
It was then Hal noticed there was someone standing next to him—a young black man in torn jeans and a ragged shirt with a baseball cap perched on a thicket of dreadlocks.
“Help me,” Hal choked. “Maybe we can lift it off her.”
“Sure thing, man,” the kid said. “No problem.”
As the two of them set to work, several of the passersby joined in. They knelt together alongside the fallen pickup. Then, on the count of three, they lifted it, rolling it back upright, pushing it onto its wheels. Uncovered, Bonnie Morgan lay inert. In the lamp-lit dusk, a thin dribble of blood, tinted purple by the mercury vapor lights, leaked out of the corner of her mouth and ran downward into her ear and hair.
Hal rushed to his wife’s side and threw himself down on the pavement beside her. As he took her wrist to check for a pulse, a hushed silence once again drifted over the crowd of onlookers. That was broken suddenly by a frantic pounding from inside the truck.
“Hey, somebody!” the trapped driver yelled. “Lemme out! The door’s stuck. I can’t get it open. Get me out of here.”
Gently, as if the bone might shatter, Hal Morgan placed his wife’s still wrist back where he had found it. Then, with a groan that was more rage than anything else, he sprang to his feet and headed for the truck once more. Of all the people gathered around at that moment, only the kid in the torn jeans read the murderous look on the other man’s face.
“Leave him be, man,” the kid said, taking hold of Hal’s shoulder, forcibly restraining him. “Let the cops take care of the stupid jerk.”
Seemingly on command, the cops showed up just then, arriving in a cacophony of sirens and a blinding flash of lights. Hal barely noticed. His whole being remained fixed on his wife’s crushed body and on the spot of pavement where the trickle of blood had become a puddle.
Burying his face in his hands, Hal subsided once again next to his wife’s body. The ambulance and fire trucks might be coming, but he knew that whatever aid they brought would be too little, too late. Bonnie Genevieve Morgan—Hal’s beloved Bonnie Jean—was dead at the age of fifty-two.
A uniformed police officer burst through the crowd. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. “What happened?”
“He killed her,” Hal Morgan murmured brokenly into his cupped hands. “That rotten, drunken son of a bitch murdered her.”
“Are you okay?” the cop asked. “Were you hit too?”
“I’m fine,” Hal insisted. “He hit her, not me.”
Reassured, the cop turned away and fixed his attention on Bonnie. As he did so, Hal tried to rise to his feet, but there was something holding him down, some unfamiliar weight on his shoulder that made it almost impossible to stand. Grunting with effort, he managed to struggle himself upright. Only then did he realize that the extra weight came from a hand gripping his shoulder—a hand that belonged to the kid with the torn jeans and dreadlocks. Tears streamed down the young man’s face. He seemed incapable of letting Hal go. “I’m sorry about your wife, man,” he managed to say.
“I’m really sorry.”
Hal nodded. “Thanks,” he said. “Thanks for everything.”
When he said thanks, he meant it, because he knew in his soul that had it not been for the restraining weight of that powerful grip, Hal Morgan, too, might have killed someone that night. If the kid hadn’t held him back when Hal started for the truck, the son of a bitch of a driver would have been dead, too. Right then and there. Of injuries inflicted after the incident itself.
Feeling suddenly weak and shaky, Hal limped back over to the edge of the street and sank down on the cold concrete curb. He sat there quietly, knowing all too well what would come next. There would be a world of inquiry—of investigators and paperwork, of questions and answers. In the long run, none of it would make a single whit of difference. Whatever the cops decided in determining how to fix the blame, it wouldn’t bring Bonnie back. She was dead. Gone forever. Nothing any well-meaning cop could do would restore her to him.
As Hal sat there with unnoticed tears streaming down his face, an uncontrollable tremor assailed his whole body. Another concerned police officer hurried over to him. Kneeling beside him, the cop shone a flashlight into Hal Morgan’s eyes.
“How did it happen?” the officer asked.
“The guy creamed us,” Hal answered through chattering teeth. “The bastard in the pickup was driving the wrong way up Third. He came screaming around the corner on two wheels and smashed into us right in the middle of the crosswalk.”“
RATING:
3 stars.
STARTED-FINISHED
8/28/2024-9/27/2024
May 28, 2025
The woman who performed this book has a wonderful voice.
September 4, 2025
The Joanna Brady series just keeps getting better and better!
November 21, 2018
I am on my second time around reading through one of my favorite series. Later on it becomes more of a police procedural, but the earlier books concentrate more on character development and growth. It has been 4 months since Joanna Brady's husband was murdered and 2 months since she was elected Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. She is dealing with a new job as she learns all about law enforcement, is still reeling with grief from the death of her husband, and trying to raise her 9 year old daughter, Jenny, alone. Understaffed since she has been elected, assaulted with budget woes, and dealing with personnel, Joanna and her staff are working long hours and are exhausted. "Joanna Brady is an engaging heroine, vulnerable but determined to meet the challenges in her personal and public life".
The book opens with Hal and Bonnie Morgan visiting Phoenix on their 19th wedding anniversary. Returning to their hotel, they are crossing a street when a pickup comes careening around the corner on two wheels, spins out of control into the intersection killing Bonnie, the love of Hal's life. The driver gets off with little more than a "slap on the wrist". The next chapter flashes forward to Bisbee where Joanna discovers an altercation while taking her dog to the vet. The confrontation is between Dr. Amos "Bucky" Buckwalter, the local veterinarian, and Hal who is outside his clinic picketing and handing out M.A.D.D. literature. It turns out Bucky was the drunk driver who killed Hal's wife. Diffusing the situation, Joanna leaves but is called out later when Bucky is found murdered by a pitchfork inside a burning barn. Hal is unconscious by the door. Hal is, of course, the logical suspect. Dick Voland, Chief Deputy for Operations, and a prickly thorn for Joanna with his good-old boy mentality, is positive they have their guy. Joanna's intuition and sympathy for Hal (she also lost her husband on their anniversary) leads Joanna to believe his is innocent.
Another suspect is Bucky's wife Terry. Terry doesn't seem to care that Bucky is dead. She sheds no tears, plays golf the day after he is murdered, and already has plans in the works to sell the veterinary business and become a golf pro. Hal Morgan disappears from the hospital and confirms everyone's suspicions that he is Bucky's murderer and on the run. Joanna even has her doubts now.
A few other subplots include:
- Marianne Maculyea who is Joanna's Methodist minister and best friend is worried about her husband who has flown to China to pick up a little girl for adoption. Jeff Daniels contacts his wife and says he needs more money, but can't tell her why because of monitored telephone conversations.
- Joanna has a contentious relationship with her mother Eleanor Lathrop and is in for a surprise when she finds out her mother has been secretly dating Dr. George Winfield, the Cochise County Coroner.
- A man named Reed Carruthers has been found murdered in Sunizona. His daughter, Hannah Green, is the suspect but has disappeared. Later she turns up at Joanna's house holding Jenny hostage. Joanna blames herself for what happens to Hannah when she is jailed.
- Bebe Noonan, Bucky's veterinary assistant, declares she is pregnant with his baby. She confronts Terry for money to take care of her and the baby. Is she a suspect? Joanna ends up giving her some valuable advise.
- Eighteen adults were locked in a speeding van that flipped over near the Tombstone Municipal Airport. They turn out to be illegal aliens. Dealing with the prisoners and injured proves to be a logistical nightmare.
- Joanna's daughter Jenny is lobbying to get Tigger, Bucky's horse, for her birthday. Joanna feels too overwhelmed to consider adding one more animal to her responsibilities.
- Butch Dixon from a previous book shows up in town on his motorcycle. He says he is checking out the scenery in the area, but is he really checking out Joanna?
Other recurring characters include Frank Montoya, Chief Deputy for Administration; Ernie Carpenter, Joanna's sole homicide investigator; Deputy Jaime Carbajal, Marliss Shackleford, reporter for the Bisbee Bee; Eva Lou & Jim Bob Brady, Andy's parents; Kristen Marsten, Joanna's secretary; Angie Kellogg, the reformed prostitute; and Deputy Dave Hollicker. There are several twists and turns and a red herring or two. Recommend reading the series.
The book opens with Hal and Bonnie Morgan visiting Phoenix on their 19th wedding anniversary. Returning to their hotel, they are crossing a street when a pickup comes careening around the corner on two wheels, spins out of control into the intersection killing Bonnie, the love of Hal's life. The driver gets off with little more than a "slap on the wrist". The next chapter flashes forward to Bisbee where Joanna discovers an altercation while taking her dog to the vet. The confrontation is between Dr. Amos "Bucky" Buckwalter, the local veterinarian, and Hal who is outside his clinic picketing and handing out M.A.D.D. literature. It turns out Bucky was the drunk driver who killed Hal's wife. Diffusing the situation, Joanna leaves but is called out later when Bucky is found murdered by a pitchfork inside a burning barn. Hal is unconscious by the door. Hal is, of course, the logical suspect. Dick Voland, Chief Deputy for Operations, and a prickly thorn for Joanna with his good-old boy mentality, is positive they have their guy. Joanna's intuition and sympathy for Hal (she also lost her husband on their anniversary) leads Joanna to believe his is innocent.
Another suspect is Bucky's wife Terry. Terry doesn't seem to care that Bucky is dead. She sheds no tears, plays golf the day after he is murdered, and already has plans in the works to sell the veterinary business and become a golf pro. Hal Morgan disappears from the hospital and confirms everyone's suspicions that he is Bucky's murderer and on the run. Joanna even has her doubts now.
A few other subplots include:
- Marianne Maculyea who is Joanna's Methodist minister and best friend is worried about her husband who has flown to China to pick up a little girl for adoption. Jeff Daniels contacts his wife and says he needs more money, but can't tell her why because of monitored telephone conversations.
- Joanna has a contentious relationship with her mother Eleanor Lathrop and is in for a surprise when she finds out her mother has been secretly dating Dr. George Winfield, the Cochise County Coroner.
- A man named Reed Carruthers has been found murdered in Sunizona. His daughter, Hannah Green, is the suspect but has disappeared. Later she turns up at Joanna's house holding Jenny hostage. Joanna blames herself for what happens to Hannah when she is jailed.
- Bebe Noonan, Bucky's veterinary assistant, declares she is pregnant with his baby. She confronts Terry for money to take care of her and the baby. Is she a suspect? Joanna ends up giving her some valuable advise.
- Eighteen adults were locked in a speeding van that flipped over near the Tombstone Municipal Airport. They turn out to be illegal aliens. Dealing with the prisoners and injured proves to be a logistical nightmare.
- Joanna's daughter Jenny is lobbying to get Tigger, Bucky's horse, for her birthday. Joanna feels too overwhelmed to consider adding one more animal to her responsibilities.
- Butch Dixon from a previous book shows up in town on his motorcycle. He says he is checking out the scenery in the area, but is he really checking out Joanna?
Other recurring characters include Frank Montoya, Chief Deputy for Administration; Ernie Carpenter, Joanna's sole homicide investigator; Deputy Jaime Carbajal, Marliss Shackleford, reporter for the Bisbee Bee; Eva Lou & Jim Bob Brady, Andy's parents; Kristen Marsten, Joanna's secretary; Angie Kellogg, the reformed prostitute; and Deputy Dave Hollicker. There are several twists and turns and a red herring or two. Recommend reading the series.
March 27, 2010
The next installment of the Joanna Brady mysteries. The book opens with a powerful opening scene of a deliriously happy couple torn apart on their wedding anniversary when a drunk driver kills the wife. Fast forward a year and the husband is out in front of the Vet Clinic owned by the driver protesting and handing out MADD flyers. The driver is later murdered and the suspect on hand is the husband. Despite much pressure to the contrary, Sheriff Joanna Brady insists on hunting for answers in an ever tangled web of lies and deception. I really enjoyed this book. I like the way things don't magically become easy for Joanna once she is Sheriff and that there are the very real little office power struggles going on. The interactions between Joanna and her daughter, Jenny, are absolutely fantastic. I think they are perfect for a young girl who lost her father violently and now her mother has gone into law enforcement as well. Not only does Jance capture their shifting family dynamic as they adjust to being two instead of three but she also captures how Jenny is adjusting to the change in career for her mother, shifting between pride and fear and anger. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book!
August 31, 2018
I enjoyed this book, but the exceptionally derogatory term used for the Mexican immigrants being smuggled across the border offended me greatly and kind of tarnished my enjoyment somewhat. I liked that there were lots of twists and turns to the plot with several layers double-crosses. I never would have expected that I would pick the correct villain right from the beginning, though. To heck with the 'first 48', I had it solved by the day following the murder. I prefer mysteries that I can’t solve quite that easily. I like Joanna. Really, I do. I’m just a little turned off by how much of a saint she comes across as when compared to everyone else around her. I’ve read novellas from deeper in the series. They lead me to believe that situation changes, so I’ll keep going and hope for the best.
July 22, 2010
Listening to this. The reader is irritating-swallows, pauses at strange places, & turns the pages loudly. Good grief.
7/20-this is taking forever to move along and the reader is amateurish. Will give it one more try before I move on to another audio.
7/22/10 too much time was spent with the protagonist reminiscing or going into detail on people or events in her personal life forsaking the actual plot development of the "mystery".. Also, it is not necessary to always use the characters entire name when discussing them. If there is only one Ernie in the book, then his last name doesn't always need to be provided whenever he's "in the scene" so to speak. I got really tired of this. The protagonist was nearly always referred to as "Sheriff Joanna Brady".
7/20-this is taking forever to move along and the reader is amateurish. Will give it one more try before I move on to another audio.
7/22/10 too much time was spent with the protagonist reminiscing or going into detail on people or events in her personal life forsaking the actual plot development of the "mystery".. Also, it is not necessary to always use the characters entire name when discussing them. If there is only one Ernie in the book, then his last name doesn't always need to be provided whenever he's "in the scene" so to speak. I got really tired of this. The protagonist was nearly always referred to as "Sheriff Joanna Brady".
March 29, 2013
Just finished listening to it. Sorry was good and gave us deeper insight into what makes Sheriff Brady tick.
Since this is and older book the recording is one of the first and has lots of flaws as stated by a previous reviewer. To me the most glaring was the mispronunciation of last names of Hispanic origin. I contacted Books in Motion , the company that Dodd the recording. They replied that when the book was recorded it was hard to get pronunciation info and that there was no way to fix the flaws in it .
Since this is and older book the recording is one of the first and has lots of flaws as stated by a previous reviewer. To me the most glaring was the mispronunciation of last names of Hispanic origin. I contacted Books in Motion , the company that Dodd the recording. They replied that when the book was recorded it was hard to get pronunciation info and that there was no way to fix the flaws in it .
December 28, 2016
This was all right. I like the characters in Jance's other series better. These feel a little forced and it never feels like the main character is that quick on the uptake which is very frustrating. On one hand she's smart and clever and then in another she's meek and slow. I don't get it.
The "Books in Motion" recording was awful. You could hear pages turning, the reader swallowing between words, and the reader mispronounced words (or pronounced them differently from how I ever learned them). I forced my way through it, but won't be listening to another of these. Yikes.
The "Books in Motion" recording was awful. You could hear pages turning, the reader swallowing between words, and the reader mispronounced words (or pronounced them differently from how I ever learned them). I forced my way through it, but won't be listening to another of these. Yikes.
September 26, 2008
DEAD TO RIGHTS - VG+
Jance, Judith A. - 4th in Joanna Brady series
Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona, finds herself in the midst of danger and deception when she attempts to exact revenge for the murder of her police officer husband.
This series is getting better. I liked this book best of those I've read so far.
Jance, Judith A. - 4th in Joanna Brady series
Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona, finds herself in the midst of danger and deception when she attempts to exact revenge for the murder of her police officer husband.
This series is getting better. I liked this book best of those I've read so far.
December 6, 2017
Wish the ending character roles had been better developed. More explanation and detail would have helped me put it together more completely.
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