Customer Reviews

Partner in Crime (Beaumont and Brady Novels)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first heard that one of my favorite authors, J.A. Jance, had written a book that had the very different characters from her two very different mystery/detective series appearing in one book, I was skeptical. How could tough J.P. Beaumont from Seattle possibly interact with Sherriff Joanna Brady down in Bisbee, Arizona? And, having read and loved all of the Joanna Brady books but only two of the J.P. Beaumont series, would I really want HIM crashing the party down in Arizona?

I shouldn't have worried: in the hands of a master like J.A. Jance, characters can and do travel to different locales and interact with each other without readers getting frustrated or feeling lost. In fact, the results in this book are simply WONDERFUL. Like all of Jance's books, this one has a strong plot, well-developed characters, and a suspenseful ending. Jance never takes the easy way out of a mystery; part of the joy of this book is watching her NOT take the easy way out of the interactions between Beaumont and Brady ---that alone is worth the price of the book. It's simply one of her best, whether you're a Beaumont fan or a Joanna Brady fan, although most of the action does take place in Arizona. Highly recommended!

In "Partner In Crime", the author did something almost impossible. She combined the activities of her two great series characters in one believable and intriguing story. Between the characters, their sex, age, marital status and lifestyle are different, their backgrounds about as different as can be, and even her writing style (person) differs between the two series. I delayed reading this book because I feared it would harm my enjoyment of one or both of the series. I WAS WRONG! Although I wasn't crazy about the romantic complication near the end (I didn't like Joanna's jealousy in the previous book either.), I think I could honestly say this is my favorite of all. Thank you, J. A. Jance, for another winner!

I expected suspense. Of course, if you've read the book you know there's precious little suspense to be found. In fact, you could almost say there was none at all.

I've come away from this book with the feeling that it was more about Model Trains and Family Pets than anything resembling crime and/or suspense. I'm not sure who was more bored plodding through this tale, me or (it would seem) Joanna Brady.

The denouement was obviously thrown together in a caffiene-free marathon writing session 3 hours before the publishers' deadline. Good enough that you won't want your money back, unless you have high expectations, in which case - keep the reciept.

Keep in mind that this book is part of a series, and that I haven't read the lead-ins. In any case, I believe books should be able stand on their own, not just as chapters of a larger series. This one does not.

I've been waiting for this book for months, having read all of the previous Joanna Brady and JP Beaumont novels. After going to Jance's local signing I wasted no time digging and in devouring the book.

Jance works her magic beautifully, creating a compelling murder mystery while merging her two series into one. It was very interesting that Beaumont was written from a first person point of view while Brady was written in the third person. I thought that the switching back and forth actually added to the novel rather than being a distraction.

If I had to have one complaint, I'd have to say tha the main villain's demise is a bit disappointing but that didn't take anything away from an otherwise fabulous novel. If you're a fan of Beaumont or Brady, you'll love this one.

This was a fast paced interesting crime drama that caught the listener a few minutes in to the story and you had to finish it. The story starts with Rochelle putting up the pictures for her first ever "one woman showing" and at the same time deciding that it is no longer safe to keep involvement with the people she has come to care for in Cochise county.

But before the night is over she will have died a horrible death for unknown reasons. But, as they delve into her identity they find that she is not who she says she is and is in fact a protected witness. This throws Joanna Brady (sheriff) into a fast paced murder mystery. The Washington State attorney also sends along some help for her.... JP Beaumont is back and wants to help.

I really enjoy the two readers of this story as it helped to envision the different characters. Also the voice of JP is perfect :)

When I first obtained Partners in Crime by J.A. Jance, I had no idea the story was taking place in Bisbee, in Cochise Co., Arizona, which only added delight to my reading enjoyment. I lived in Sierra Vista which is also in Cochise Co. a few years ago, and I must say the descriptions were pretty much to the location. For me it was a step back in time. Which made it a 5 star for me.

I came in contact with sodium azide when my vehicle ran into a brick wall, which was a choking situation. Maybe it will serve a purpose if everyone would contact their state representatives about how the substance is being left in discarded vehicles.

It was refreshing to find a female sheriff in Bisbee, AZ, it being a macho town like so many of the border towns. However Sheriff Joanna Brady does very well being a newcomer investigating a murdered Rochelle, who was in the witness protection program; a second murder, and having to share the investigation with Beaumont.

I enjoyed the mystery; it was a quick read with wonderful memories for me.

As always Jance writes fluidly and enticingly, with engaging characters, and some very evocative descriptions of landscapes. Unfortunately, this book is marked by three weaknesses. First, the technique of combining two points of view, corresponding to two different protagonists, is a tricky one and Jance does not avoid the danger of repetition which does not advance the story, Second, the immediate villain's skill in handling a highly toxic substance is implausible, as is both his recruitment to commit the crime and his actions. This is made worse by the very shaowy nature of the movers behind the crime. Finally, the romantic element developed does not correspond at all well to the poersonalities and values of the characters as developed. My recommendation is that one is better to try one of Jance's other books -- though if you are hooked already, you will probably want to try this one anyway.

When I had the chance meeting of J.A. Jance years ago in a bookstore in Palm Desert, California, she had told me she was in the process of creating a new series, which came to be known as the Sheriff Joanna Brady series. She had felt she needed a break from her J.P. Beaumont detective series. Over a decade later, she has the two characters meet in her latest novel, Partner in Crime.

Partner in Crime is set in Bisbee, Arizona, the home of Sheriff Joanna Brady. A newcomer to town, Rochelle Baxter, is getting ready to have her first ever art exhibit. Unfortunately, the day before the show Rochelle is poisoned with a chemical known as sodium azide. This compound has no taste, no smell, is hard to trace, and is readily available (sounds like the perfect murder weapon to me!). And so, the hunt for the killer begins. But when the next of kin notifications are taking place, Sheriff Brady discovers that Rochelle Baxter is really Latisha Wall, a lady placed in Bisbee by the Washington State Attorney General's office's witness protection program. And the tale twists into a mystery involving two states, two law enforcement officers used to being in charge, and two very strong personalities.

Sheriff Brady has her hands full trying to find the killer, when J.P. Beaumont arrives in town to "observe the investigation". Seems Beau is now with the Washington State's S.H.I.T. (Special Homicide Investigative Team) and since their witness is now dead, they feel a need to see who really killed her.

Sheriff Brady is not too happy having a "watch dog" at her heels while she and her detectives are trying to solve this crime. Not only does she have to deal with Beau, but she also has to handle the never ending problems that go with being a sheriff: budget cuts, Marliss Shackleford (the annoying newspaper columnist who has a grudge against her), balancing work and home, among other things.

I have to admit the joining of these two characters was a bit confusing. Only a handful of supporting characters originated in Seattle with the majority of them hailing from Bisbee. It was almost like urbanite Beaumont was tossed into the middle of the wild, wild west complete with a chase on horseback! A bit on the strange side for Jance, but nevertheless, it was still enjoyable.

We're again given glimpses into the lives of Jenny (Joanna's daughter), Butch (Joanna's husband), Frank Montoya, Jaime Carbajal, and a few others typically in the Brady series-supporting cast. We're given a very brief glimpse into Beau's life, with a few pages on new love interest, Naomi Pepper and on his working relationship with his supervisor, Harry I. Ball (now that was funny!). But to me, it was completely unnecessary unless Jance is planning something in the future and is laying the groundwork for the next book. The focus could have centered on Bisbee and the characters there with only mentions of the Seattle crew.

The story line was great and the character development was her usual standard of excellence. The hardest part while reading was the switching back and forth of writing style. Jance wrote the Beaumont series in a first person writing style, while the Brady series is in the third person style. So which did she choose for Partner in Crime? She combined them, thus switching back and forth depending on which character she was currently focusing. This sometimes resulted in a shaking of the head to keep from jumping the track.

The part of the book that made me really think was the Author's Note in the back of the book. Jance tells her reading audience that she first heard about sodium azide while reading her alumni magazine from the University of Arizona. It seems this deadly chemical is readily available and the public is unaware of the potential hazards. Sodium azide is used to inflate air bags found in vehicles from about 1995 on. Once it ignites an air bag, the substance becomes "a harmless nitrogen based gas." However, how many vehicles are in junkyards with air bags still intact and these canisters with a deadly compound sitting right there? And no one regulates this chemical and anyone can obtain it easily. Now that's a scary thought! Maybe a letter to your legislative representatives is in order, before murders are committed using this lethal compound. At least that's the suggestion of Jance.

Thanks for reading; I'm off to write my congressman...

What a neat book!
Like the other reviewers, I cringed and was sure that J.A. Jance had jumped the shark when J.P. Beaumont got on the plane to Arizona to meet up with Joanna Brady. To the end of the book, the blending of the two characters is pulled off with nary a hitch. The characters stay true to their developed personalities, and act as foils to each other. I do hope this book is their last meeting -- future plot twists to bring them together would probably seem very contrived.
In large part, J.A. Jance breaks away from the trend of so many writers and _improves_ her books as the series goes on. The characters don't suddenly turn into narrow-minded profane caricatures of themselves (as Tom Clancy's do). Aside from getting weepy at a law enforcement funeral at the beginning -- memories of Andy coming back -- and one thought that she and J.P have the death of a spouse in common -- Andy stays well buried and Joanna doesn't go around reminding every person in Bisbee about Andy's death and her widowhood. Jance stays away from grisly death details.
Even when sorely tempted, Joanna and her force are "good cops." Unlike Leonard Goldberg's characters, Joanna Blalock and Jake Sinclair, Joanna and her deputies get warrants before searching private property. Witnesses and suspects are treated with respect and professionally interviewed, instead of being beaten and threatened with reprisals for non-cooperation, which Leonard Goldberg thinks is good police procedure. In Cochise County, citizens and suspects alike get a fair shake and value for their money from law enforcement.
There are a few bloopers and inconsistencies in the book. It's not credible that Joanna would even consider, much less obey, a high school principal's paranoid demand that Joanna not bring her gun on campus, when Joanna is there to speak to an assembly. Joanna would know that Arizona Statute 13-3102 states the "no deadly weapons on campus" law does not apply to peace officers.
It's very unlikely anyone, not even Serenity Granger, could finish law school in a year and half, with or without honors. Jance repeatedly has characters refer to the Arizona "DMV." California has a DMV. Arizona has a Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), which is part of the Az. Dept. of Transportation. Nor do I know of any state where the DMV/ Dept of Transportation keeps track of vehicle colors, as Jance provides.
Jance has town residents drive into Old Mexico to buy leaded fuel for their old cars -- yet there are commercially available bottled leaded fuel substitute additives. Nor would a fleeing suspect need to use leaded fuel in every tankful, as Jance's plot requires.
With regard to his pistol, Beaumont refers to "my wimpy backup handgun," also described as "my small backup Glock." There are no "wimpy" Glocks, of any size.
Jance has Rochelle Baxter ingesting a fatal dose of the poison sodium azide, and then continuing to peacefully paint 90 minutes later, and sleeping for another hour. Yet a large dose of sodium azide poisoning produces severe symptoms within 15 minutes.
These are minor blips in an otherwise wonderful book with well-developed multi-dimensional characters and a sensible plot.
The only major plot inconsistency is at the end of the book, where Joanna hugs J.P. to comfort him, and finds a mutual electricity. Joanna then feels rejected when J.P. turns down her offer to drive him to Tucson, lest they be tempted to go further. Now, Jance's Joanna may be forgetful and a bit inconsiderate, and not a little brusque at times, but the thoughts of being unfaithful to her husband Butch are totally out of character.

Think how much fun it would be if Grafton's Kinsey Millhone went to visit Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski and they solved a crime together. Jance has done it with her two leading characters! After 15 Seattle-based (Jance's home) Detective-extraordinaire J.P Beaumont stories, and 9 Arizona-based (Jance's former home) feisty Sheriff Joanna Brady stories, our author has brought the two crime solvers together in a suspenseful and complex plot spanning both locales, with most of the action in Bisbee AZ.

Early on, "Rochelle Baxter", an aspiring Bisbee artist getting ready for her first exhibit, suddenly turns up dead. As Sheriff Brady's team deploys, before long foul play is suspected. Soon it turns out Baxter is really Latisha Wall, in the witness protection program of the Washington State Attorney General. Enter Beaumont, who is now a member of the AG's special homicide team - he's sent to "observe" the proceedings in Bisbee and protect the interests of the Washington case. Of course, this goes over like a cement cloud with the whole Brady team and at first the hostilities between Jance's co-stars are pretty hilarious. Then as the investigations proceed, and another murder crops up, together with some sinister implications of a mole having led to the witness to begin with, Brady and Beaumont unite out of mutual respect and form an effective team. Some rather surprising developments at the end of the book, including a moment of pretty high romantic tension between our two leads, is plenty to keep even the skeptics entertained and turning pages rapidly throughout.

As icing on the cake, Beaumont's brief marriage to a woman hailing originally from (coincidentally) Bisbee is discussed and illuminated in considerable detail as a very intriguing human-interest sub-plot. Reprised from Jance's (and Beaumont's) "Until Proven Guilty" is Anne Rowland Corley. In "Partners", we get to learn all the background of this fascinating and unusual woman and what lead to the deaths she caused, including her own.

As yet another gem, the murder "weapon" turns out to be sodium azide, a horrible and deadly poison found in unexploded car air bags. Jance uses her story to lobby for controlling this substance, which at the moment is totally uncontrolled and hence readily available for acts of terror. She doesn't beat us over the head with this issue, but does create a compelling case for action, with a short plea in an "Author's Note" as an afterward that gets our attention.

We think this is one of Jance's greatest efforts. The only worry is that it looks a little like a swan song, bringing together her great stars, her great locales, and weaving a story hard to put down. Little wonder we hail this as a dream gift to the Jance fan club, which must number in legions anyway! Those that haven't spent 24 or so books rev'ing up for this one may not be quite as enthused, but we suspect we speak for those same legions in telling Jance thank you again and again for this 5-star outing!