Breach of Duty: A J.P. Beaumont Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

J. A. Jance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

Jonas Piedmont Beaumont has had it rough all his life. Raised by his hardworking, unmarried mother and disowned as a youth by his grandparents, he learned at a very early age how cruel life can be. Two marriages, a treacherous battle with the bottle, assorted midlife and moral dilemmas, and a few decades as a homicide detective haven't convinced him otherwise. When Beau and his new partner Sue Danielson are assigned the murder of an elderly woman torched to death in her bed, Beau finds himself distracted by Sue's difficulties at home. Distraction soon turns to terror as Beau and Sue find themselves caught up in a series of events that will leave them and their carefully constructed investigation shattered. For Beau, nothing will ever be the same again.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Breach of Duty, after a three year hiatus, J.A. Jance resumes her Seattle-based mystery series featuring homicide detective Jonas Piedmont Beaumont. The novel begins on Lake Chelan (in eastern Washington State) as Beau scatters his grandfather's ashes in the water. The reflective moment offers Jance a perfect opportunity to get new readers up to speed with her hero (and offers a quick refresher course for the many ongoing Jance fans). Beau has struggled through a hard life of alcoholism and two failed marriages, but now, just maybe, he's pulled things together. After his return to Seattle, his new partner, Sue Danielson, bombards him with two cases and a number of leads. A 67-year-old woman named Agnes Ferman burned to death in her bed. After $300,000 was discovered in her garage, the police rightly began to suspect murder. At almost the same time, a group of teenagers discovered the long-dead body of a Native American man--possibly connected to recent hate crime. Sue and Beau plunge into both cases while they begin to learn a bit more about each other.

One of the pleasures of Beau's narrative is his constant, unspoken (and often hilariously sarcastic) asides to the reader. Meanwhile, Beau's sensitivity to Sue and her personal struggles suggest great promise for this couple. In the end, a diverse collection of oddball characters, a comprehensive sense of Seattle and environs, and a strong pairing of mystery plots make this another winning installment in Jance's much-beloved series. The tale of J.P. Beaumont began with Until Proven Guilty in 1985, and has included award-winners Without Due Process and Failure to Appear among its 14 books. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From 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.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 412 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786247584
• ISBN-13: 978-0786247585
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.A. Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beaumont Must Get Over Anne Corley!, June 4, 2000

By 

Catherine Page "scarlette" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breach of Duty: A J.P. Beaumont Mystery (Hardcover)

J. A. Jance and her Detective Beaumont series are by far my favorite available at this point in time. Beau is not your average detective - not with his unlimited bank account and red Porsche that were the inheritance from both wife and murderess Anne Corley. Despite having enough money to spend the rest of his life on permanent vacation, Beau continues to work because putting away the bad guy and seeking justice for the good are what give his life meaning.

J. A. Jance always manages to weave personal touches and storylines into the lives of her characters while never slowing down the plot of her mysteries. In "Breach of Duty" we are treated with not one but two seperate mysteries, and an ending which will leave J. P. Beaumont looking at a whole new direction in his life.

Beau and his partner, Sue Danielson, are stuck with two mysteries: first, the discovery of old bones in Seward Park which end up belonging to a powerful Indian shaman some 10 years dead. Second, murder by arson of an older lady who happens to have $300,000 in cold, hard cash in her fridge. Beaumont and Danielson have to figure out where the money came from and where it should go to, as well as who might have murdered the old lady. Was it one of her poverty stricken relatives, or something to do with the rich and powerful Forrester family the lady once worked for?

As for the shaman's bones, they have been disturbed from their ancient burial grounds, and all those responsible and those who have been in contact with the bones are at the mercy of the shaman's curse. As the body count starts rising, can Beaumont solve the mystery and save those who have been affected?

The end of this story will bring about some dramatic changes in the life of J. P. Beaumont. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, to see where Beau's life leads him next, and to see if he can learn to let go of the responsibilities he's unfairly heaped on his own shoulders. I'm hoping that a new love interest for Beaumont - a real one with staying power and plenty of gumption and patience will turn up to reward Beau for all of the good he's done to everyone but himself. Come on Jance, let's give Beaumont the woman he deserves.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, but I'm afraid JP Beaumont won't be back!, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breach of Duty: A J.P. Beaumont Mystery (Hardcover)

I've loved the Beaumont books since discovering the series in 1989 ... read all of them and the Arizona ones, too. (Seattle wins, hands down.) This story, with two unrelated cases as well as personal events in the lives of the main players, is one of the best in the series. Please don't let this be JP's last case! The events of this story seemed to affect JP more than some of the others, and the reader couldn't help but share his feelings. As always, Jance takes me back for another visit to Seattle, probably my favorite place in the world. I hope she's busy on another Beaumont book ... I'm waiting!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopefully not the last of this series, July 21, 2000

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breach of Duty: A J.P. Beaumont Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

In this 14th. book in the J. P. Beaumont series, Beau and his partner Sue Danielson are investigating two separate cases. In the first one, an elderly women is found burned in her bed. Hints of blackmail and jealousy are turned up in the course of the investigation. The problem is deciding which one was the actual motive for the murder. The second case has to do with the bones of an Indian shaman which are discovered in a public park by some satanic, role-playing teenagers. There are many false leads and strange tales of fatal Indian curses which begin to have some basis in reality. In addition to working on these cases with Beau, Sue is dealing with an abusive ex-husband who is wooing their children with promises of a trip to Disneyland. When things don't go his way, he explodes into anger which effects both Sue and Beau in a life-changing series of events. This book has all the ingredients of a good mystery story, along with a developing relationship between two of its main characters. Faithful readers hope that Jance will continue this series with Beaumont headed in a new direction both professionally and personally.