Customer Reviews

Taking The Fifth

5 star:		(11)
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3 star:		(2)
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My aunt has been an avid reader of J. A. Jance ever since she met the woman. She has read everything by Jance and has been begging me to read something by her. So, when Christmas rolled around, guess what I found in my stocking? _Taking the Fifth_ by J. A. Jance. I read a little of it, and was immediatly intruiged. For the next day, my parents could not pull me away from the book.

_Taking the Fifth_ is the fourth book in the J. P. Beaumont series. Beaumont lives a detective life in Seattle. Even though when his rich girlfriend died a couple of years ago he inherited a fortune and was set up for a comfortable life, Beau didn't stop working. He loves what he does, and he does it well. So, one night by the Pike Place Market, a man is found stabbed to death. It is strange because they are not knife wounds, and the police are stumped as to what caused them. But, around the crime scene, there is found a colbat blue, stiletto heeled shoe with blood all over it. Beau feels that if he can find the owner of the shoe, he will find the murderer. As Beau gets more involved with the murder, many aspects are involved including drugs, AIDS, homosexuals, homeless people, smuggling, deceit, and a sexy little blond who looks more and more like the ring leader of the whole thing. Can Beau keep his head and find out who is commiting all these atrocities, or will time run out for our belevoed detective?

You may be wondering why, if I read _Taking the Fifth_ around Christmas, I'm still talking about it now. Well, I havn't been able to get it out of my head! Jance wrote Beaumont so well that I felt like I got to know him throughout the book. He was startlingly three demensional, and I often times felt like I was looking over his shoulder at some evidence. I cared about him so much that by the end of the book I was sad to let him go. The mystery was utterly genius and I was kept guessing until the end. There were so many suspects with many motives that it was very fun to guess who the culprit was. Seattle is my favorite setting (okay, I'm a little biased because I live here), and I was very pleased with Jance's research of our city. It all was acurate, and I love reading about my hometown. I could smell the familiar saltyness of Lake Union and I could picture the familiar Fifth Avenue Theater (a major landmark in the book where half of the action takes place) and it's intricate Chinese design.

_Taking the Fifth_ is entertainment from cover to cover, and when you are finished you will want to rush out and buy all of Jance's stories. The plot is believable and intense, you will find yourself holding your breath more then once. I was rooting for Beau out loud! Jance's writing skills shine throughout this book; she is a true artist that makes you feel for the characters. She is my favorite mystery writer. So, if you love mystery, buy _Taking the Fifth_ by J. A. Jance and you won't be dissapointed.

I love Jance's way with a series. Not only is she faithful to her main character, but each book also brings us deeper into the lives of Beaumont's surrounding circle of friends and associates. JP is called in on another homicide. This one involves a young gay who told his mother he worked for the DEA but the Seattle DEA has no record of him. Along the way to the solution, Beaumont finds himself involved with a lovely chanteuse out of rehab on the comeback trail and a drug ring whose territory covers the West Coast. Jance lets you think you know what's going on, then she pulls the rug out from under you. Another great job from Jance.

I feel that the fans of J.P. Beaumont will love this one. It is so typical J.A. Jance. I enjoyed every page of this one. Another reviewer has done a wonderful job of outlining the plot, so I will not repeat what is obvious. Jance's character developement (this author's strongest skill) holds very true to form with this work and we learn more and more of her detective Beaumont. We also get a look at the drug culture in that part of the country (Seattle of course) and some of the alternative life styles found their. This work has some fascinating twists (no spoilers here) and as one reviewer points out, just when you have things figured out, you get the rug pulled from under you. Of course, the book will be much better for those who have read the preceeding books dealing with this seattle Cop, but the book is also able to stand on it's own and is simply a good read. Recommend this one highly.

Buy this book and all the others.
If you want a great read Start with the first JP Beaumont book, and read them in succession.
I love JP Beaumont!

I love JP Beaumont!
Sometimes we are taken on a fast paced ride to certain disaster.
And sometimes we are taken to extreme forms of human pain.
But if you want to live a life of a Detective/PI, then you have picked a good character to delve into.
Beau is my favorite Cop.
Get all the books about Beau and his cases.
You will not be disappointed.

i was excited to read this based on the great reviews but ended up quite disappointed. i found it boring and i even skimmed the end just to get through it.

J.P. Beaumont is one of the most likable and intriguing characters in the mystery genre. He is a divorced detective who has a daughter in college and enough money that he does not need to work, but he enjoys his job. J.P. is the proud owner of a long list of failures with women, not all of which were his fault. It starts with his divorce, and then follows with women with which he gets involved and who end up either dead or on the guilty side of a crime. Whenever I start a new book in this series I ask myself: will it be different this time?

This time around, the case involves a dead man by the tracks and a woman's shoe near the body with blood on its stiletto heel. This is complemented by another dead man, apparently from natural causes, in the house of the first victim. J.P. gets the case and he immediately suspects foul play in the case of the second body. And the discovery of a pack of cocaine in the victim's pillow adds timber to the fire. From then on, the plot starts moving full speed and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep our interest at a maximum level.

All of the usual players are present in this story. We have the femme fatale, the annoying Maxwell Cole, who hates Beau's guts, and a new partner. Beau's new sidekick is Big Al Lindstrom, but we will soon see his old partner, Peters, help from the hospital. Peters is there due to a broken vertebrae, and after a period of depression he decides to start "living" again and pulls a "Lincoln Rhyme".

J.A. Jance has done it again. She delivers another novel that moves at a fast pace and that keeps us guessing as to what is really going on until the last few pages. The author shows how good she is at varying her style, and the contrast between this series and the one featuring Joanna Brady could not be clearer. She does a fantastic job in both series though.

I recommend this book to everyone that loves a good mystery, but I just want to give you a word of advice. Do not start this novel close to the end of your day, or you will find yourself reading well into the night. There is no letting go; trust me, I learned this from experience!

Great book by a great author. I love her writing and anyone buying her books needs to look at her website and read the books in order.

Sometime back I was looking for something different to read, although I admit to being a mystery buff. My first Jance book was a Beaumont/Brady mystery. I got hooked. I like the twists and turns in the plots. I also like the way she keeps track of her characters lives as the books progress. Sometimes mystery writers have a habit of forgetting about the quirks they gave a character just for the sake of the story line. Great stuff. I intend to read all of the series.

Love a good detective/police procedural mystery, step into the world of J.P. Beaumont. The pace of TAKING THE FIFTH by J.A. Jance rockets through the pages of a finely crafted story.
Twists and turns deluged the reader from the time one man's body is found by the tracks with a bloody woman's shoe nearby. The police enter the man's home to discover the body of a second man dead from natural causes.
J.P. has his troubles after his previous partner has been taken off the rooster adjusting to the style of Big Al, but Peters is determined to stay in the game.
Enjoy the genre at its finest with TAKING THE FIFTH.
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