Dead Wrong

May 8, 2006
The solid 12th entry in bestseller Jance's lively crime series (Exit Wounds
, etc.) to feature Joanna Brady, sheriff of Cochise County, Ariz., finds Joanna newly reelected and about to have her second child. When the cops learn that a murdered man with a sordid personal history has links to one of Arizona's most prominent judges, Joanna's investigation turns up a connection to an early case of her late father's, an honored sheriff. Next, the brutal beating of Jeannine Phillips, an Animal Control officer, leads the sheriff's department, its staff already stretched thin, to a confrontation with a notorious ranching family and suspected illegal immigrants. Then Joanna's obnoxious in-laws arrive for the imminent birth. In a heart-stopping climax, Joanna shoots a suspect as he tries to kidnap two children. Subplots dealing with social issues such as alcoholism and dysfunctional family relationships lend moral weight. As usual, Jance deftly brings the desert, people and towns of southeastern Arizona to life. Author tour.

Starred review from July 1, 2006
It is always a pleasure to meet Sheriff Joanna Brady in a new adventure. Here, she is nine months pregnant when the mutilated body of an unidentified man is found in the desert. Then Jeannine Phillips, one of the Animal Control officers on a stakeout, is so severely beaten that her prospects for survival are uncertain. Soon Joanna's life becomes even more complicated when her in-laws arrive uninvited for the birth of their grandchild. Jance, author of 11 other Joanna Brady mysteries as well as the J.P. Beaumont series, tells a top-notch story, drawing readers into the world of an Arizona law enforcement officer who must juggle her job and her personal life while awaiting the birth of her second child. Jance excels in her portrayal of how people cope with life. For other mysteries about women in the Southwest, try Sue Henry's "The Tooth of Time" and Betty Webb's Lena Jones mysteries. Jance lives in Seattle and Tucson. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 4/1/06.]

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