Cold Betrayal

January 12, 2015
Two cases engage Ali Reynolds and her new husband, tech guru B. Simpson, in bestseller Jance’s lively 10th novel featuring the former L.A. TV newscaster now living in her hometown of Sedona, Ariz. (after 2014’s Moving Target). The first one involves Ali’s daughter-in-law, Athena, whose grandmother is being pushed off her Minnesota farm. The second begins when pregnant teen Enid Tower escapes from a secretive polygamous cult and is badly injured after being hit by a car on an Arizona highway. As a result of the accident, she gives birth prematurely to a girl. Sister Anselm, nun extraordinaire and patient advocate, attends to Enid and her baby in the hospital. The investigation of the cult leads to horrendous violence, which doesn’t quite pass the believability test. Anselm’s scenes—low-key but compelling—are the best thing in the book. But the prolific Jance knows how to tell a story, so series fans won’t be disappointed. Agent: Alice Volpe, Northwest Literary Agency.

February 15, 2015
A pair of problems needs the attention of Arizona sleuth Ali Reynolds. First, Ali's daughter-in-law, Athena, asks for help for her widowed grandmother in Minnesota, whose charges of being the victim of attempted bodily harm are discounted because of her age and possible mental deterioration. Then Ali's dear friend, Sister Anselm, involves her in something bigger. A young pregnant girltrying to escape from a repressive polygamous cult called the Familyis injured in a car accident, and the nun is called to be the patient advocate for both mother and infant. Ali follows the money in both cases, although getting information about the Family is like turning over a rock and finding something ugly. Breaking up the moneymaking scheme at the center of the Family eventually involves Interpol and law-enforcement agencies on all levels, and ends with a bloodbath that leaves Ali and Sister Anselm with feelings of responsibility. Jance's tenth Ali Reynolds entry (after Moving Target, 2014) is more sobering than many, but with the well-drawn characters, brisk prose, and skillful plotting that mark this dependable series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)