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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I love the Joanna Brady books and have always enjoyed them more than Jance's JP Beaumont books and this one has me worried.
Both this one and book 14, the 2nd Brady/Beaumont crossover, have me wondering what is going on with an author I used to love. In the last two books there have been multiple plots introduced and the resolution was far too simple both times. Additionally, everything else in Joanna's life is just a little too perfect. One of the things that has always made her interesting has been how she dealt with the issues of personal and professional and discrimination in law enforcement, and a lot of those problems seem to have just melted away lately.
I think the story of her father's murder should have carried over another book (not as the main mystery) -- they wrapped a 20yo cold case in the last 18% of the book and it felt unrealistic.
The resolution of Joanna's issues, with her mom, her dad's murder, etc, has me wondering if Jance is planning to bring the series to an end.
Both this one and book 14, the 2nd Brady/Beaumont crossover, have me wondering what is going on with an author I used to love. In the last two books there have been multiple plots introduced and the resolution was far too simple both times. Additionally, everything else in Joanna's life is just a little too perfect. One of the things that has always made her interesting has been how she dealt with the issues of personal and professional and discrimination in law enforcement, and a lot of those problems seem to have just melted away lately.
I think the story of her father's murder should have carried over another book (not as the main mystery) -- they wrapped a 20yo cold case in the last 18% of the book and it felt unrealistic.
The resolution of Joanna's issues, with her mom, her dad's murder, etc, has me wondering if Jance is planning to bring the series to an end.
I think this is the last in the Joanna Brady series. It was a good one, and revisited some of her father's death. Good mystery read, as always.
I listened to the audio version of this book. Some of the pronunciation was off, but the best one was how the narrator mispronounced Bowie when, in the previous book in the series, one of the characters, specifically went over how to pronounce it! Overall, I enjoyed this one very much.
4 stars for the first part, 3.5 for the last 1/4.
I have read every Beaumont title and now all in the Brady series, and have to admit I still prefer the Beaumont series. That being said, I thought for the most part this was a solid mystery with Joanna and her gang performing good thorough investigative skills.
The 3.5 stars comes in after the main mystery was solved and I realized there were still many pages left to read, which the author used to wrap up a personal mystery that started in the first book (although we never realized there was a murder to solve) and became entangled with one introduced in this book. Then the story seemed to drag on for a while and while the ending was satisfying with most loose ends tied, it got a little repetitive (one personal observation made during the first part of the book was repeated in the last part like it had never been mentioned or we might have forgotten about it).
However, I always enjoy how Jance keeps developing and advancing the lives of her characters, and for this reason alone I will keep reading all of her books.
I have read every Beaumont title and now all in the Brady series, and have to admit I still prefer the Beaumont series. That being said, I thought for the most part this was a solid mystery with Joanna and her gang performing good thorough investigative skills.
The 3.5 stars comes in after the main mystery was solved and I realized there were still many pages left to read, which the author used to wrap up a personal mystery that started in the first book (although we never realized there was a murder to solve) and became entangled with one introduced in this book. Then the story seemed to drag on for a while and while the ending was satisfying with most loose ends tied, it got a little repetitive (one personal observation made during the first part of the book was repeated in the last part like it had never been mentioned or we might have forgotten about it).
However, I always enjoy how Jance keeps developing and advancing the lives of her characters, and for this reason alone I will keep reading all of her books.
I've read all of this series and this book is no better or worse than any of the others. All are enjoyable and quick reads. This book 'closed' an issue and this was interesting in itself.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Typical J. A. Jance. Very enjoyable continuation of Sheriff Joanna Brady's life. Old mystery of how her father died is solved.