Payment in Kind (Mass Market Paperback)

by J.A. Jance (Author) "The first thing I noticed that morning was the quiet, the deathly quiet..." (more)
Key Phrases: logbook sheets, school district office, Pete Kelsey, Detective Kramer, Maxwell Cole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In his ninth appearance, Detective J. P. Beaumont of the Seattle Police is swamped with problems: a pair of corpses at the public school district office, and the unwelcome assistance of self-promoting Detective Paul Kramer. Marcia Kelsey, a district employee, and Alvin Chambers, a security guard, are found partially naked, legs entwined, dead of gunshot wounds. A note found nearby says, "A, See you tonight at the usual time. M." When Pete Kelsey learns that his wife may have been having an affair with Chambers, he calmly observes that she had always had "outside interests." Kramer is itching to pin the murders on Kelsey, and when the husband's name and identity turn out to be fake, the overly ambitious detective is ready to press charges. But Beaumont learns how 20 years of mostly innocent deceit have finally come to bear deadly fruit. This entertaining work moves along at a sprightly pace, sprinkling delicious clues along the way, but readers may conclude that Jance ( Minor in Possession ) isn't playing quite fair--Beaumont misses a crucial identification that a peripheral character makes easily late in the book. Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Solid Entertainment"--" Kirkus Review"Believable And Intense"--" West Coast Review of Books"Jance's Artistry Keeps The Reader Guessing -- And Caring."--" Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380758369
• ISBN-13: 978-0380758364
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #141,700 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 9 in The J.P. Beaumont Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jance Does It Again!, April 5, 1999

By	D.J. Maloney "James J. Maloney" (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

J.A. Jance's "Payment in Kind" is a great story. Again featuring one of the author's main protagonists, J.P. Beaumont, Jance weaves a spellnbinding trail that keeps the reader on edge and suspecting almost all of the characters in the story at one point or another; just as you are absolutely sure you know who did it -- you discover it wasn't them! Keeps you moving to the very last chapter.

One of the finest mystery writers today; a wonderful charcter (literally and figuratively) in Beaumont!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent book in the Beaumont series, March 30, 2006

By	KGANNON "kgannon" (Lake Forest, IL United States) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this book. Like the others in the Beaumont series, this was a quick read. The plot was entertaining. Just when you thought you knew who the killer was there was another slight twist. I also enjoyed learning more about J.P. Beaumont as the story was peppered with a few more details about his character. I would definately recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid entertainment, January 5, 2004

By	K. L. Obrien (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First I must say in response to an earlier review, no the villian is not revealed early on! I don't know how she knew, but I didn't know until the very end! This was a good book and a fast pace read. I'm not usually a big mystery reader, but I really like Jance's style and most of all I like J.P. Beaumont. He is a great main character.