Breach of Duty (J. P. Beaumont Series #14) » (Reissue)

You might call J. A. Jance a true town and country novelist, since she writes one series set in Seattle and one in small-town Arizona as she shuttles between the two in real life. In big-city homicide detective J. P. Beaumont and in small-town sheriff/mom Joanna Brady, Jance has created two mega-popular mystery franchises.

J. A. Jance brings back her sleuth J. P. Beaumont to investigate crime in her new mystery, Breach of Duty. Native-American shamans, the death of an elderly woman who stuffed a fortune in her garage, and the Jance touch make for compelling reading.

Publishers Weekly

In his 14th outing (and first in three years), Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont (Name Withheld, etc.) finds, along with his new partner, Sue Danielson, that seemingly ho-hum investigations grow in grim complexity even as personal distractions multiply. The pair has been assigned to investigate the arson death of Agnes Ferman, a woman disliked by just about everyone; the more than $300,000 found tucked away in her garage points to plenty of suspects. In Seattle's Seward Park, meanwhile, a group of costumed, role-playing teens have been using human bones in their games. Beau is warned that the bones may be those of Quinault shaman David Half Moon, and that anyone handling them is in grave danger. Beau scoffs, but when some of those associated with the investigation meet violent ends, he and Sue develop open minds. Adding texture to the doings are Sue's troubles centering around the sudden reappearance of her violent ex-husband, who, uncharacteristically, wants to take their sons on a dream trip to Disneyland. A coincidence--that most of the Seward Park suspects regularly congregate at one of Beau's haunts--stains the narrative, but otherwise Jance, as usual, relates a clean and tightly woven plot distinguished by authentic dialogue, honest emotions and characters readers will care about. (Feb.)