Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 8) [Mass Market Paperback]

J.A. Jance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2001

In the night-still canyons of the Arizona desert, a girl is on the run. Alone but for her beloved red-tailed hawk, she flees from the dark shadows of her young life, the horror she has witnessed and the terror that now stalks her.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A missing teenager and an octogenarian found dead of apparently natural causes are pretty run-of-the-mill cases in Bisbee, Arizona, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is focusing on the last-minute details of her upcoming wedding. In this latest outing in Judith Jance's Brady series, the connection between the two events is a thin one. In the author's capable hands, however, it's enough to drive this well-plotted mystery to a credible conclusion.

Fifteen-year-old Lucy Ridder dreads her mother's release from prison, eight years after she was convicted of killing Lucy's beloved father. Lucy is aware that her mother's priority is not a family reunion but the retrieval of a mysterious diskette entrusted to Lucy by her dad shortly before his death. After inadvertently witnessing her mother's brutal slaying by a stranger who's also hot after the diskette, Lucy vanishes. It takes most of the novel for Joanna to figure out that Lucy's disappearance is tied to her mother's murder, and for good reasons. Besides the distraction of her pending nuptials, the sheriff has been accused of killing her elderly, beloved neighbor for financial gain. Because the reader knows the truth of both situations very early in the game, Joanna's delayed awareness doesn't pack as much wallop as it might. The greater mystery is whether she'll strangle her wedding-obsessed mother before she and her too-good-to-be-true fiancé make it to the altar. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Southwestern mysteries continue to grow in popularity, with Jance's series, set in southern Arizona, one of the strongest entries in the subgenre. The new novel to feature Sheriff Joanna Brady opens at the entrance to a desert canyon called the Cochise Stronghold, where Sandra Ridder, who is part Apache, is trying to retrieve an item she buried eight years ago, before going to prison for killing her husband. The next day hikers find her corpse, while Sandra's 15-year-old daughter, Lucinda, and the girl's pet red-tailed hawk go missing. Could Lucinda, who seems to be a troubled loner, have killed her mother as revenge for her father's murder? Joanna starts to investigate shortly before she's to be married. Then Clayton Rhodes, the neighbor who helps feed Joanna's animals, dies suddenly, and unexpectedly bequeaths his ranch to her. Clayton's estranged daughter feels she should have inherited the property. Unreasonably and viciously, she blames Joanna for exerting undue influence over her father. The tangled threads of Joanna's personal life come close to overwhelming her professional one, and she has to exercise all of her time management skills to keep the murder inquiry on track. Her fianc?, Butch Dixon, comes off as way too perfect to be human, but his parents, in an amusing touch, are seriously dysfunctional. Sometimes the dialogue is stiff, but generally this is a solid installment in a worthy series. The Arizona desert, as usual in Jance's mysteries, plays an unforgettable part in this atmospheric tale. Mystery Guild dual main selection. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Avon; 1st ptg. edition (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380792494
• ISBN-13: 978-0380792498
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,024 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

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet in this great series, July 1, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

Joanna Brady is the sheriff of Chocise County, Arizona, but she is also a woman getting married in eight days. She is struggling to clear her calendar so she can enjoy a honeymoon. However, instead of a carefree time, Joanna is under siege in both her professional and personal lives.

Her mother is driving her crazy with wedding details. Her daughter fears that Joanna will no longer love her. Joanna's own psyche fears that marriage will destroy a great relationship.

A teenager, taking her pet hawk with her, has run away from home on the same night that the girl's mother is released from prison. She apparently observed someone murdering her mother and fled the scene with the computer disc that led to her mother's death. Joanna's next door neighbor dies and leaves the sheriff his ranch. The man's daughter is furious over the will and seeks evidence that Joanna killed her father. When another murder connected to the runaway occurs, Joanna knows she is up against a powerful adversary who will go to any length to make sure that past deeds stay buried.

DEVIL'S CLAW is a great mystery as well as a heart wrenching family drama centering on a terrified teen with no one to turn to for help. In spite of being in a most harrowing predicament, the adolescent acts as a heroine with much inner strength. J.A. Jance does a brilliant job of showcasing Joanna as both a law enforcement official, a woman, and a mother. The three roles turn her into a delightful, vulnerable person just like you and me.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder and mayhem, August 28, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

Sheriff Joanna Brady is preparing for her wedding to Butch Dixon. As usual, though, nothing is simple in the life of this working mother. Two homocides plus a runaway teenager make life difficult for Joanna in the week preceding the ceremony. Added to this are the complications of guests who are arriving, especially Butch's mother who rivals Joanna's own mother when it comes to tactlessness and nosiness. Through it all, Joanna manages to keep her composure, with the help of her soon-to-be groom. This book has all the elements of plot and character which make for a very good read. Jance has hit her stride in this addition to the series and it will be interesting to see how it progresses after Joanna and Butch are married.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE THIS SERIES, August 29, 2000

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

J. A. Jance's Joanna Brady series is one of my absolute favorites. Probably helps that I got to have lunch (one on one) with J. A. Jance last year.

Joanna Brady is a Sheriff in Arizona. She is also a widow and single mom. I like the way J. A. Jance has developed Joanna's 12 year old daughter. She has gone through a lot but yet isn't an obnoxious child, nor is she a wimp. Joanna has gone through a lot as well. In this book she is to marry Butch. Her neighbor and friend Clayton dies. He used to help her feed her animals after Joanna's husband was killed by drug dealers (in a previous book). She always has a lot to deal with -- running the Sheriff's Dept., taking care of her daughter, keeping peace with her mother (a full-time job), getting to know Butch (in the past books), and trying to solve various murders and crimes.

Lucy has run away because her mother is getting out of prison. Her mother killed her father and Lucy has been living with her grandmother. She doesn't want to see her mother so she and her red-tailed hawk Big Red run away.

I normally don't like books where it isn't told in first person, but this is one series that it works well for.

I really enjoy this series and am always waiting for the next installment.