Birds of Prey

November 15, 2000
Jance takes a break from Sheriff Joanna Brady with the story of J.P. Beaumont, a former homicide detective who accompanies his newly married grandmother on a honeymoon cruise and finds himself investigating murder aboard the ship.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2001
Retired Seattle cop J.P. Beaumont accompanies his newlywed, eightysomething grandmother and her crusty hubby, Lars Jenssen, on an Alaskan cruise to act as a chaperone of sorts, but no one expects murder served up with the tony cuisine. The jaded protagonist is inadvertently forced to masquerade as an FBI agent when Dr. Harrison Featherman's shrill blonde wife Margaret is tossed overboard, and the crime is captured on ship security cameras. A group of religious extremists calling themselves "Leave It to God" appear to be targeting Featherman, along with his colleagues and patients, aboard the Starfire Breeze for a conference. As J.P. learns of the weirdly convoluted family dynamics among the Feathermans and their close friends, he realizes that numerous passengers had motives for killing Margaret. Throughout this 15th installment (after Breach of Duty), new readers and series fans alike will appreciate this sardonic and mature narrator's appeal. Recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/00.]--Susan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.