'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about. I love doing this, letting the 'word' spread about authors and series that I enjoy. Hope you'll stop by often and see what I'm 'waiting' on.
The book I'm 'waiting on' this week is the 21st in one of the mystery series written by J. A. Jance. I read the first book in the series, Desert Heat, back in 1995. Since that time, I've read 6 or 7 others and then, after a gap of quite a while, have read the latest two books. These books are set in Arizona and the main protagonist is Sheriff Joanna Brady. Joanna comes to that profession after her husband, Andy, who had been the sheriff, is killed. In the first book, Joanna and Andy have a daughter who is 9 years old. This latest book relates that the daughter, Jenny, is graduating from the police academy. Time has past for sure. As you guys know, I love mystery series. I have not been able to keep up with all the ones that I sample though. Lately, I have been trying to catch up on several. Some I've reread the previous books and am now current. Some, like this one, I'm just skipping ahead in order to get current. Have you ever read any books by J.A. Jance? As I said, she has more than one series. See what you think about this one.
Publication Date: September 30
Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady solves her biggest case yet, from a body in the desert to crimes spanning decades and countries, in the thrilling latest installment in the New York Times bestselling suspense series.
Sheriff Joanna Brady is looking forward to the holidays with her busy family, and to celebrating her daughter Jenny’s graduation from the police academy. But the family is interrupted when a body is discovered beneath a flooded bridge in the Arizona desert, and Joanna is called onto the case. A young boy was murdered, and the details of the crime scene tell Joanna two things: This was not the killer’s first murder. And it’s only a matter of time before he kills again.
As Joanna digs deeper into the case, she begins to understand this murder is just one piece of a much, much bigger puzzle. She uncovers unlikely connections between cases of mysterious deaths and missing persons, having long since gone cold, that extend far beyond the confines of her small town and include the discovery of a body near Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. To get justice for the victims and to save the town of Bisbee from a predator, Joanna must chase down every dangerous lead.
Meanwhile, as a dogged journalist is circling the case and privileged information is leaked, Joanna can’t be sure who to trust. Could a prolific killer be hiding in plain sight? And how far will that person go to keep his many crimes hidden?
IT sounds so interesting to be able to follow a series.
ReplyDeleteMystica - thanks for coming by! Nice to see you. I will admit that I am very partial to mystery series. Kind of like a 'never-ending-story' - ha!
DeleteI've never read anything by J. A. Jance or John J. Nance, but I've been curious about both these authors because their last names are so close to mine.
ReplyDeleteDeb, hadn't thought about the fact that her last name and yours are similar. She's been writing for a long time.
DeleteI sometimes wonder if these are pen names. They have a catchy sound.
DeleteYes, they could definitely be pen names. Many, many authors use those I think.
DeleteThese long series are always so interesting, especially when you can tell that time is actually passing - the daughter going from 9 years old to graduating herself is awesome!
ReplyDeleteYes, I love series because you usually get to know the protagonist(s) and also the other characters better as the story continues book after book. This is one that shows that a lot as Joanna Brady and her daughter have dealt with lots of changes in their lives (without me sharing spoilers - ha!).
DeleteIt's been awhile since I last read a J.A. Jance book. I fell in love with her J.P. Beaumont series and then transitioned into her Joanna Brady series. I did try some of her other books, but they didn't stick as well as the other two series.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've never read any of the J.P. Beaumont books. Not really sure why. Those have a setting of Seattle or at least Washington State, right? I think that the author lives part of the year in Washington and part in Arizona.
DeleteI haven't read any of Jance's books, though I've definitely seen them around. She seems to be a very popular author.
ReplyDeleteLark, she's been around for a long, long time. Over 30 years. And, yes, I think her mysteries have been quite popular.
DeleteSounds very interesting. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada ❤️ 😊 🇨🇦
ReplyDeleteLinda, thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI've seen Jance's books pop up on blogs since I started but still haven't tried one. One of these days...
ReplyDeleteMary
She definitely has a few very long-running mystery series. I like her Arizona setting in this particular series.
DeleteJance used to be one of my absolute favorite authors years and years ago but I got distracted by newer shinier books and haven't read anything by her in years. I really need to give her another try and pick this one up.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I totally understand what you said here. That has been my experience with a bunch of series and authors. There are always new books to try and I just can't seem to keep up with all the authors I'm attached to. LOL
Delete