Customer Reviews

Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 8)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

Joanna Brady returns in DEVIL'S CLAW, and as usual, things are really hopping in Cochise County, Arizona. Joanna and Butch are getting married in a week, and the mother of the bride is finally able to plan the wedding of her dreams for her daughter. Normally all the hoopla would drive Joanna crazy, but she's turned all the wedding details over to Butch so she can concentrate on clearing her desk so they have have a real honeymoon (destination: Top Secret). When a teenager disappears and a woman is found near death, Joanna has even more work than she anticipated.

When the investigation into the woman's death reveals that she's the missing teenager's ex-convict mom, Joanna finds herself becoming more and more involved in the case. Compounding her stress, Joanna meets Butch's parents for the first time and has to deal with assorted pre-wedding parties. I especially enjoyed the side plot involving Joanna's secretary, Kristin.

As in all the Joanna Brady stories, Judy Jance provides the reader with a real-life look at southern Arizona. Since she grew up in the Bisbee area, Judy really knows the area well. I look forward to the next book in this exciting series.

I'm probably not going to get any of those "helpful review votes" here, but I just wanted to say that when I read the Joanna Brady mysteries, I picture the actress Sela Ward as Joanna and sportscaster Howie Long as Butch. (P.S. Well-I guess I really DO want those Helpful review votes after all, so here's a short critique of the book as well.) I really enjoyed Devil's Claw, as I have every book in the series so far. The mystery storylines were great; I'm starting to "know" all the secondary characters better, especially the detectives; Joanna was calm, cool and clearthinking, as usual (except when her horrible new mother-in-law pressed all her buttons!) and Butch is the biggest sweetie around. He's gonna make her a great wife, ooops! I mean husband! I love the slow, easygoing sundrenched atmosphere that pervades every book. Bravo, J.A Jance!

Having just returned from two weeks in Tucson, this mystery hit the spot (and wrecked other weekend plans). The place names added a greater touch of credibility for me. I also just read a Fairstein and a Paretsky book, and much as I enjoy their characters and writing, the coincidences in their storylines become a bit absurd. Jance, on the other hand, weaves a well-connected plot in which everything is well meshed (like the Devil's Claw in basketweaving) without stepping over the line into fantasyland. The only thing a bit hard to fathom is how Sheriff Brady gathered what seems to be the country's best law enforcement staff in her somewhat remote area of Arizona (and one with pervasive budget problems, as documented many times throughout the book). If those characters are based on real life officers, that does it -- I'm moving to Cochise County when I retire!

Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady series has been the highlight of many a rainy night for this reader. Devil's Claw is by far one of the best Joanna Brady books to date! The characters take on an added depth in this tale of a young girl, her pet hawk, and a riveting tale of time and tragedy that transcends mere mystery.

A recent, Sheriff Brady-inspired pilgrimage to Bisbee, Arizona proves that Jance knows her stuff. The Copper Queen is the best restaurant in town, the streets of old Bisbee are curvy and narrow, and the sheriff's office is at the farthest reaches of town.

Now if only Sheriff Brady could arrest all of the outlaw ranchers threatening to shoot illegal immigrants in Douglas, Arizona, we could all sit down and enjoy a good book!

Devil's Claw is another in the Joanna Brady series written by J.A. Jance and was released to little publicity. I'm not sure why the advertising was limited because it's a great addition to her on-going saga.

We're once again taken to Bisbee, Arizona and given a peek into the life of Joanna Brady, the only Arizona female sheriff. In the first book in this series, Desert Heat, Joanna's husband, a sheriff officer, had been killed in the line of duty, which left her alone to raise their young daughter, Jenny. Joanna was then elected Sheriff of Cochise County. It's much more involved than that, and I strongly urge you to read it - it's filled with wonderful descriptions, character depictions and a few plot twists that leave you holding on to your chair! In this book, we find Joanna preparing for her upcoming wedding to Butch. Not only is Joanna trying to get ready for the nuptials, she's having to deal with her over-bearing mother who wants more of a grand ceremony than Joanna desires. Along with those quandaries, is a murder case dumped into Joanna's lap that needs to be solved before she leaves on her honeymoon.

An ex-con is killed when returning to her mother's home near Cochise Stronghold (on the reservation near the mountains outside of Bisbee) and her young daughter, Lucinda, witnesses the crime. Lucinda runs away believing her life is in danger leaving her grandmother and the officials wondering if she is a suspect or an innocent bystander. Sound typical? It's not when you throw in the fact that Lucinda has a red-tailed hawk as a pet, and runs away on the Indian Reservation that she's called home for the past 7 years.

Typical of Jance's style, there are a few subplots thrown into the mix. Clayton Rhoades, Joanna's elderly neighbor that she pays to help feed her animals, dies and his obnoxious, egotistical daughter shows up blaming Joanna for killing her father by working him to death. We also have a small story about Kristen, Joanna's secretary, and her latest boyfriend, who happens to be part of Joanna's K-9 team.

The main plot is well developed, and the usual cast of characters we've come to expect don't let us down with their antics and interactions. It's a very good story but I found it less than the fantastic event I've come to expect from a new Joanna Brady book. If I had to describe it in one word, that word would be anti-climatic.

So much more could have been done with these story lines. For example, the final interaction between Joanna Brady and Clayton Rhoades daughter left me wondering what I missed - it was as if Jance was rushed and just ended it. It could have been so much more...

The wedding had little details and was written almost as an afterthought - in fact, it was written as the epilog. Huh??? Many of the wedding details had been minimal, including a bridal shower in which several of the characters from previous books make appearances. The wedding and honeymoon were glossed over.

After I finished reading the book, I let my mind wander and thought about "what could have been" with the ending. Rather than write the wedding as an epilog, it could have been a fantastic way to catch the reader up on what has been going on with the characters to which we've grown attached. A perfect example of this would be Angie Kellogg - ok, she was the maid of honor, but what's been going on with her and her English boyfriend who is the parrot man? Nothing else was said except she was the maid of honor. Gee, where's the details for which Jance is famous?

One of the big negatives I found in this book was the lack of editing. There were many typographical errors and I recommend that Ms. Jance fire her current editor so her next book can flow. Her devoted readers deserve better than the glaring mistakes that should have been found and omitted before publication.

This is one of the few books in which J.A. Jance left loose ends. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book tremendously and would highly recommend it. It just wasn't up to the level I've come to expect from Jance!

This whole series is really a joy to read. The author can take Joanna from introspection to inspection of a crime scene in a few pages with very little problem in the transition. Although each book can be read on it's own as a stand alone novel, I have had much satisfication of reading them in order and watching the characters grow and change in each book.

This book lives up to the reputation of the author.

Joanna is planning her wedding, Butch is really, and chasing the bad guys at the same time. A young girl is missing, her mother, recently out of jail is murdered and the story begins.

The characters are believable and the story is tightly woven and thrilling. Well worth reading.

I wasn't particularly interested in reading another story about a missing computer disc, but I stayed with this story because I liked the characters. There were plenty of side stories to keep interest alive while the main plot evolved. When the facts surrounding the missing disc finally are revealed, the pace picks up quite a bit. This is a fairly lightweight mystery, but the character of Sheriff Joanna Brady carries the day.