Remains of Innocence

July 14, 2014
A seeming stroke of good fortune for Liza Machettâfinding $147,000 in $100 bills squirreled away by her late motherâproves quite the contrary in bestseller Jance's absorbing 16th in the series featuring tough but tender-hearted Sheriff Joanna Brady (after 2012's Judgment Call). As Liza, a Great Barrington, Mass., assistant restaurant manager, tries to stay a step ahead of the arson and murder that start to erupt around her in the wake of her windfall, not to mention hometown cops who consider her a person of interest, there's also a mini crime wave sprouting on Sheriff Brady's turf in Cochise County, Ariz. Right on the heels of the suspicious death of a developmentally disabled senior, found with the remains of mutilated animals, a member of Brady's own teamâwith a link to Lizaâis tortured and murdered. As the dual story lines crisscross and the body count mounts, Jance hits her stride with a suspenseful plot that will keep readers flipping pages until the surprising, if overly convoluted, finale. Agent: Alice Volpe, Northwest Literary Agency.

In this installment of the Joanna Brady mystery series, narrator Hillary Huber once again portrays the sharp-witted but softhearted sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. Brady is saddened when a mentally disabled family friend dies in an apparent accident, but Huber projects Brady's steely professionalism as she quietly begins to suspect the possibility of murder and investigate. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, a woman discovers that her estranged elderly mother has hidden cash in her horribly cluttered home. Huber exhibits the daughter's confusion and growing concern as terrifying events make her wonder about the money, and whether her own life is in danger. As the stories converge, Huber's clear portrayals of the two women reveal their initial distrust and eventual collaboration. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine