Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel (Beaumont and Brady Novels) [Hardcover]

J. A. Jance (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beaumont and Brady Novels | Publication Date: July 21, 2009

Seattle investigator J. P. Beaumont is working a series of murders in which six young women have been wrapped in tarps, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. Their charred remains have been scattered around various dump sites, creating a grisly pattern of death across western Washington.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Arizona desert, Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady is looking into a homicide in which the elderly caretaker of an ATV park was run over and left to die. All the man has left behind is his dog, who is the improbable witness to some kind of turf warfare—or possibly something more sinister.

Then a breakthrough in Beaumont's case leads him directly to the Southwest and into Brady's jurisdiction. When the two met on a joint investigation years earlier, sparks flew. Under different circumstances, both of them admit, even more could have happened.

But here, as the threads of their two seemingly separate cases wind together, Beaumont and Brady must put aside echoes of their shared past as they are once again drawn into an orbit of deception. Except this time it's not just their own lives that are in danger but those of the people closest to them as well.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Jance brings together her two most popular characters, Seattle homicide investigator J.P. Beaumont and Cochise County, Ariz., sheriff Joanna Brady, for a gripping tale that's easily one of her best. While their first dual outing, 2002's Partner in Crime, stagnated with clichéd professional and sexual tension, this time the combination excels with a focus on parallel investigations that naturally—and chillingly—intersect. In Seattle, Beaumont looks into the burned bodies of six unidentified women. In Arizona, Brady handles the murder of an ATV park caretaker. Beaumont and Brady pool their information when a murdered woman links back to the missing sister of Jaime Carbajal, one of Brady's detectives. While Brady stays in Arizona, Carbajal's arrival in Washington sets off a chain of events with fatal consequences. Brady's side investigation of a substandard nursing home adds punch. 10-city author tour. (Aug.)
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Review

“Clever story...Fans of both characters will be pleased.” (Booklist )

“A gripping tale that’s easily one of [Jance’s] best.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“For readers who have followed Jance’s characters on their separate journeys—Beaumont’s from alcoholism to sobriety and Brady’s into marriage and motherhood—the much-heralded reunion is surely a treat.” (Washington Post )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1ST edition (July 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061239224
• ISBN-13: 978-0061239229
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,047 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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reviewing: "Fire And Ice" by J. A. Jance, September 28, 2009

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel (Beaumont and Brady Novels) (Hardcover)

For J. P. Beaumont of the Washington State Attorney General's Special Homicide Investigation Team, the latest body might be the break in the case they have needed. Up until now the charred remains of several young Hispanic women have been missing their teeth making identification impossible. The latest body found in the melting snow near Ellensburg matches the other cases except for the fact that this body has her teeth. The fact that she still has them gives J. P. Beaumont and the team a way of identifying her and working the case.

Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona has a puzzling case of her own at a local all terrain vehicle campground. The caretaker is dead in what at first appears to have been an accident, but was actually murder. With his dog as the only witness and nearly worthless surveillance equipment, the case isn't going to go any where fast. That is until J. P. Beaumont comes back to Cochise County pursing leads in his case, the DEA gets involved, and human nature in the form of vengeance rears its ugly head, among other things.

Shifting in viewpoint between J. P. Beaumont, Joanna Brady, and others, the novel works its way to a satisfying conclusion. While that works, what doesn't work so well for the reader is the fact that frequently the povs of Sheriff Brady and Investigator Beaumont are placed together in the same chapter with little used to mark the differences between them. Gone are the days found in the early Beaumont books of his very own distinctive style. As the read makes clear, these days the main style or voice is with the Brady character with Beaumont coming across more and more like Brady.

Despite the quibble, overall the read is a good one. J. A. Jance seems to be following the herd of highly successful authors who have forced two of their signature characters together in the same novel. Ostensibly, it is a marketing ploy that is used to introduce readers to characters they nay not have read before. The results are often mixed from a reader perspective but in this case it seems to have worked fairly well.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is There A Missing Chapter?, December 27, 2009

By 

Catman (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel (Beaumont and Brady Novels) (Hardcover)

I've read a number of Jance's J.P. Beaumant and Joanna Brady novels. The author writes a very readable, compelling story that never feels strained or contrived. This book shares those qualities and I read, eagerly awaiting a final resolution of the main and secondary stories. The elder abuse investigation at Caring Friends was, unfortunately, left hanging. Was the owner put on trial? Prosecuted? Was the home shut down? Did the doctor who listed patients cause of death as "sepsis" despite ample evidence of abuse confronted? We never learn. To add insult, the reader who has invested hours and 300 plus pages finds the main story's conclusion hanging as well. Did the feds manage to take down the Mexican Cervantes Cartel? Did J.P. Beaumont and Jamie Carbajal's visit to Miguel Rios' home and their lame excuse for being there blow the feds case? The story ends short of an answer.

Her books are very readable, as is this one, but I felt cheated by the ending .. or its lack. The final chapter seems to be missing.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks the Fire of Previous Titles, August 31, 2009

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel (Beaumont and Brady Novels) (Hardcover)

FIRE AND ICE by J.A. Jance lacks the fire and tension of her previous novel that brings together her two main protagonists, J.P. "Beau" Beaumont and Joanna Brady. They two actually meet late in the novel and then for only a few moments at a funeral. All the little bits of guilt for an almost relationship are tired and worn out.
This is true of J.P., he just doesn't make the grade in tension and obsessive dedication to his work, that drew readers to endure his long bout with alcoholism. Joanna lacks for fire of her hair and isn't even allowed to finish a poker game at which she excels. The new medical examiner in Cochise County is a very bad joke that the reading public doesn't deserve. Dump him somewhere in the back county and forget him.
Maybe next time the sparks and tension will be back on track for this excellent author; her fans are still loyal.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.