Customer Reviews

Queen of the Night: A Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Although crimes are committed and investigations are conducted in Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance, the book is primarily about its characters -- what happened and is happening to them, the ways they are connected or become connected, how events in one charcter's life parallel those in another's.

The story takes place in Arizona, where Brian Fellows, happy in his roles as father, husband, and cop, follows the trail of a killer while his idol Brandon Walker pursues a new lead in a cold case at the request of a dying friend. Brandon's wife, Diana, seeing ghosts and worrying over her deteriorating health, anticipates her own approaching death while at the beginning her life, Angelina Estalante survives a cold-blooded slaughter only to be labeled a Ghost Girl by relatives who refuse to care for the four-year-old. Dr. Lani Walker, one of the Desert People and Brandon and Diana's adopted daughter, knows what it is like to be rejected by family, but her reluctance to make personal commitments influences her empathy for Angelina. Half-Apache border patrolman Dan Pardee, who rescues Angelina and was orphaned at a young age, knows what it is like to be an outsider, particularly in the land of the Tohono O'odham, the Desert People and cannot cast off his feeling of responsibility for the child.

The murders in the book take second place to the lives of these and other characters. The cold case subplot, in fact, is anti-climactic and not terribly engaging. What is engaging are the sections of the book that focus on the legends and traditions of the Tohono O'odam (Desert People), including that of the Queen of the Night, a cereus that blooms only one night a year.

Although Jance's technique of switching focus among characters can be disconcerting, even at times confusing, their stories are interesting enough to make it worth the effort to keep up with and untangle all of the threads. In the end, it is possible to understand that one of Jance's themes is probably how interconnected we all are. And, if the reader tires of the human element, there is always Bozo, a scene-stealing dog.

"Queen of the Night" is the latest mystery/suspense thriller by Southwestern/Western sleuth-writer extraordinaire, J. A. Jance. Set in Arizona, with scenes of fear unfolding within the Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation boundaries, "Queen of the Night" stars familiar Dr. Lani Walker, a Tohono O'odham physician and a new character, Dan Pardee, an Apache Iraqi war veteran who has become a Shadow Wolf, an unorthodox Native American Border Patrol group. Along with his canine companion and guard, Bozo, Dan intervenes to rescue a lost child from a terrible multiple murder scene set in the beautiful Arizona desert on the night of the blooming of the Queen of the Night, the night-blooming cereus. The pace never slackens, as more players from different races and official agencies become involved in the investigation of the multiple murders and the wrenching decision regarding the placement of the four-year-old child witness to the murders. Tribal customs, traditions, and history are woven into the story line skillfully, with many inner conflicts surfacing to confuse the hunt for the murderer. The human touch is all, in Jance's narratives. Readers will be unable to stop turning pages whether electronically or physically, as "Queen of the Night" approaches its final resolution, engaging all race, all issues, all senses, all attention. There is a message of interconnectedness, acceptance and human compassion in the mystery novels of J. A. Jance that transcend the genre, taking it to realms beyond pure entertainment.

"Queen" is a departure from Jance's more famous J.P Beaumont and Joanna Brady mysteries (and thankfully not another in the more "modern" Ali Reynolds set) -- it is the fourth entry in the Walker family series. Set in Arizona, shades of Tony Hillerman, to whom this book is dedicated, the light mystery is as much an excuse to illuminate the culture of the Tohono O'odham Nation (native Indians) as it is to serve up a mild police procedural. That the author reveals the perp about halfway through, and the capture of same turns out to be a fairly mundane affair, means this story is more about the characters, of which there are plenty, and their relationships and tribulations, than the mystery per se.

We've read the prior three novels in this series, and at this point will probably pass on any future additions, preferring to stick with the more suspenseful plots of Jance's two main "stars". So while "Queen of the Night" (a once-per-year flowering cactus) is pleasant enough, it may well disappoint those expecting a crisper, more entertaining mystery thriller.

In 1959, ASU coed June Lennox travels with Sully from the Tempe, Arizona campus to Southern California for spring break. She never returns to school as she is left dead in the desert.

In 2009 in Tucson, retired Pima County homicide detective Brandon Walker visits his dying pal former Pinal County detective "Geet" Farrell at the hospice; they worked a serial killer case together back in 1975. Geet got Brandon a job with TLC (The Last Chance) entity that works cold cases. Hs current case is the homicide of June Lennox.

At the same time, Brandon's wife Diana Ladd Walker still struggles with "visits" from the dead in her nightmarish past. They are Andrew Carlisle who tried to rape her, her late odious first husband Garrison Ladd III who set her up to be raped, and serial killer Mitch Johnson who kidnapped her adopted daughter Lani. At the same time, Pima County Homicide Detective Brian Fellows and Border Patrol agent Dan Pardee track a killer on the land of the desert people, the Tohono O'odham.

The latest extended Walker Family mystery (see Hour of the Hunter and Kiss of the Dead) is a great entry as J.A. Jance deftly balances her myriad of leads, their cases, the present day culture of the People and the geography. The multiple plots connect by the Walkers and company who diligently work at what they do best. Ms. Jance is at her best with this terrific mystery that blends past and present Tucson, Southern California and the Tohono O'odham Nation into a powerful thriller.

Harriet Klausner

First Line: They say it happened long ago that a young woman of the Tohono O'odam, the Desert People, fell in love with a Yaqui warrior, a Hiakim, and went to live with his people, far to the South.

Every summer in the Tohono O'odam Nation, the flowering of the night-blooming cereus-- the Queen of the Night-- is celebrated, but this year a man and his wife are murdered during their own private celebration, and a little girl loses the only family she's ever known.

To the little girl's rescue come Dr. Lani Walker, who sees similarities to her own childhood trauma in Angie, and Dan Pardee, an Iraq war veteran and a member of an unorthodox border patrol unit called the Shadow Wolves. With the aid of Pima County homicide detective Brian Fellows, they must keep the child safe while tracking down a killer.

Meanwhile retired homicide detective Brandon Walker-- stepfather to both Dr. Lani Walker and Detective Brian Fellows-- is investigating a cold case involving the murder of an Arizona State University coed. These two cases have the power to tear three families to shreds.

I have long been a fan of Jance's Joanna Brady series set in Bisbee, Arizona. Jance grew up in Bisbee, and her knowledge and affection infuse the setting with a very special quality. The Walker family series (Hour of the Hunter, Kiss of the Bees, Day of the Dead, Queen of the Night), set in Tucson and the Tohono O'odam Nation, reflect another stage in the author's life when she taught on the reservation.

Once again Jance deftly weaves together the two plot lines, imbuing both with a palpable sense of urgency and danger. Her characters in this series are not ten feet tall and bullet-proof; bad things can and do happen to them, and this adds to that sense of danger. One of the highlights of this series for me is the way that Jance incorporates Tohono O'odam teachings and legends into her storylines.

Yes, this book is the fourth in a series, but it's not necessary to read the first three in order to make sense of what's going on in Queen of the Night. Don't be surprised, however, if you read this book and then immediately want to find the others. They are always on my list of recommendations for anyone who wants to read well-crafted mysteries that give a true sense of southern Arizona.

Okay, okay, there are a lot of characters buzzing around in this book, but anyone who has read the entire Walker/Bees series will already know most of them, and those who've followed them closely will also follow this story without confusion. However, DON'T expect to fully enjoy or appreciate this book unless you've already read the others in the Walker series, because much of the the narrative is spent introducing new readers to a rather convoluted series of family/tribal relationships. For the reviewer who questioned the Sully & June thread, I believe that it served merely to keep active the presence of the TLC (The Last Chance) organization, for its potential reappearance in future installations. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but have rated it four rather than five stars due to the somewhat predictable ending, which was clearly designed to lead into future adventures with the protagonists.

This is the worst book by J.A. Jance I've ever read. There are so many characters, locations, confusing names, and stories within the story, it wore me out trying to keep track of everyone and everything. I found myself going back to look up names and places.

I love her Brady and Beaumont series, but will pass on these.

I rate it B+. Another good book in the Walker Family series by J.A.Jance. There are 2 murders in the past that all connect to the present day which has many more murders. There is quite a bit of Indian lore in this story. The Queen of the Night is a cactus bloom that only happens one night once a year. When it blooms it is a time for great celebration. This bloom plays significantly into the plot of the story. Well worth the read.

I was so disappointed in this book. It was confusing, unfocused and boring. I am sorry to say that I did not finish it. i have read all of Jance's books and liked them all, but this is a waste of time.

This novel was my first J.A. Jance and I obviously made a mistake starting out with Queen of the Night as the continuity of the novel was so jagged and the plot amazingly thin and transparent.

Perhaps if I had read other better reviewed books of hers I would be far more familiar with the continuing family, however if you are a writer doing a family saga, you need to update the new reader as to the identities of the cast with each book that you write. I felt Jance did not do this at all well in this book.

I did struggle to the bitter (and I do mean bitter) end which frankly left me completely cold.

The book was a highly predictable read, boring; draged and the cold case murder introduced in the beginning could have been far more suspenseful but fell flat on its face when abruptly it was solved by no real sleuthing at all.

The reasons behind the psyco going on his killing spree seemed challenging in realism; to say the very least.

The jumping back and forth from character to character was confusing and had little or no smooth transition.

Frankly, as disjointed as this novel was with the story line so fragmented and the ending so trite that I will never revisit Ms. Jance as an authoress again.

Better luck next time, however I for one will not know if she does a more comprehensive job.

I do not recomend this book at all unless you have trouble sleeping. Pick this up and you are guaranteed to be snoring away in minutes!

Diane H.