Birds of Prey: A Novel of Suspense [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Judith A. Jance (Author) "HIT ME AGAIN," DR. KENNETH GLASS SAID as the bartender walked past..." (more)
Key Phrases: Margaret Featherman, Marc Alley, Naomi Pepper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
After 20 years in the Seattle Police Department, J.P. Beaumont has been put out to pasture. The hero of 14 J.A. Jance crime novels has called it quits after the murder of his partner. But if Beau is out to pasture, what is he doing out at sea? Beau is on the Starfire Breeze, an Alaskan cruise ship, "for one reason and one reason only: to serve as my newlywed grandmother's chaperon."

He's also getting mistaken for a gold-digging gigolo by a band of middle-aged divorcées, led by one Margaret Featherman, who carries an anything-but- featherlight grudge against her ex-husband, successful neurosurgeon Harrison Featherman. Is it just a coincidence (as both claim) that Margaret and Harrison are on the same cruise ship? Or that Margaret is doing her best to seduce one of her husband's patients, who in turn has a crush on the good doctor's daughter?

But the biggest potential coincidence of all is a horrific one, when Margaret is pushed overboard into the icy Alaskan waters. The only witness to the murder is an Alzheimer's victim. But when Beau starts poking around (after mistaken identity issue number two, in which the captain conveniently assumes he's an FBI agent), he discovers that Harrison was himself the target of a conservative medical ethics group with a deadly agenda. As the ship moves slowly amidst the icebergs, Beau finds out that there's a lot hidden under these particular waters.

When Jance concentrates on the mechanics of her story, this Beaumont novel is perfectly entertaining. But when she strives for sentiment (or humor), her style tends toward an aw-shucks ham-handedness. Here's Beau talking about his partner, killed by an abusive ex-husband: "Her sons are orphans, and no amount of psychobabble from Dr. Majors is going to change that. No amount of talking it over and 'getting it out of my system' will alter the fact that Sue won't be there to see her boys graduate from high school or college. She'll never be the mother of the groom at a wedding or have the chance to cradle a newborn grandchild in her arms." If Beau is thinking about coming out of retirement, one hopes he'll stick to the basics. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Those who found Jance's previous suspense thriller, 2000's Kiss of the Bees, too strong to stomach can rest easy, as this latest is a crowd-pleaser featuring her series character J.P. Beaumont. The retired Seattle homicide detective has joined a luxury cruise to the Alaskan glaciers at the request of his honeymooning octogenarian grandmother, who fears there may be mischief aboard. The unattached middle-aged women at his table assume Beau is along to land a rich widow or divorc‚e. Beau soon finds he has to be particularly wary of the group's formidable ringleader, Margaret Featherman, whose surgeon ex-husband has invented a procedure that vastly improves the lives of brain-damaged patients. When the ship's video monitor later catches Margaret falling to her death off the stern, the only witness is Alzheimer's patient Mike Conyers, who noticed that Margaret's mouth was taped shut. Beau starts a murder investigation centered on Leave It to God, a religious organization whose members believe that "God put sickness and disease on this earth as a lesson in suffering for everybody" and so disapprove of Dr. Featherman's work. When during a port call someone pushes Mike off the back of a mountain railway car, it seems more than coincidence. Jance, author also of the Joanna Brady series, uses the leisurely pace of the cruise for her hero to reexamine past wounds as well as to display his customary dry wit. Travel buffs and Jance fans are in for a great mini-vacation. 5-city author tour; simultaneous HarperAudio and Harper Large Print edition. Agent, Alice Volpe of the Northwest Literary Agency.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380716542
• ASIN: B00006F7JJ
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,720,811 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 15 in The J.P. Beaumont Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not one for the birds, March 30, 2001

By	Norm Harris "Writer" (Kent, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of Prey: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

I was born, raised, and currently reside in the Pacific Northwest. I go out of my way to find and read fiction stories about the Pacific Northwest especially when J A Jance writes the story. I like to read about my house. J A Jance writes about my house, she lives there too. Actually she lives in a more expensive part of the house. Just the same I consider her to be my neighbor. (We both belong to the same writer's association so I really do see her around the house on occasion.)

I will not review the plot of Birds of Prey. Everyone else has done that or will do that. I'm not going to say that J A Jance is a great writer or that she a wonderful storyteller. We already know this. What I am going to tell you is that when I read a book about my home I want it to be entertaining and I want it to be accurate. I know that J A Jance will never fail me in that regard and so I read her books.

My advice to you; from an author, an avid reader, and a Seattleite (that's what they call us web-footed moss backed humans up here) is to put Birds of Prey on your "must read" list. It is excellent

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This retired "Beau" really needs to find a job, September 22, 2002

By	"mary1anne2" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of Prey: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

After many years as a homocide detective with the Seattle PD, J.P. "Beau" Beaumont has now retired. In this addition to the series, he is on a cruise to Alaska as a chaperone to his 86 year old grandmother, Beverly and her 87 year old husband (and Beau's AA sponsor)Lars. Early in the cruise, a wealthy divorcee goes missing and a murder plot is suspected. Beau of course can't relax and immediately gets involved in several plots. There are a number of side plots involving cruise passengers and another murder. Lars' reminiscences of his Alaska days as a fisherman are also quite entertaining. It does seem to be a stretch that Beau as a civilian has as much access to crime scenes as a policeman. He is eager to help and get involved which shows he has not accomodated himself to the role of retired ex-cop.

The story proceeds at a fast pace and was entertaining but still was not of the higher quality of some of the earlier J.P. Beaumont series. I look forward to reading Partners in Crime, when Beau works for the Washington State Attorney General's office and teams up with Joanna Brady......

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Many Inconsistencies, Stretches, March 5, 2002

By	"zedfan" (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of Prey: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first J.A. Jance novel, and if I had only this to go on, I probably wouldn't read another. Fortunately, other readers here have indicated it may be weaker than her usual work, so I'll give her another shot or two.

First off, what is the reason for the title of the book? Okay, it's set on an Alaska cruise, and birds of prey (such as Bald Eagles) are abundant in Alaska. However, birds are not even mentioned in the book, and, as far as metaphors go, I don't believe any of the murder suspects on board could be thought of as predators.

Second, I didn't believe Beau's explanation for being on the cruise ship in the first place. His newlywed grandma wanted him there in case she or her groom took ill or something. Don't they have medical doctors on board (or in nearby ports) for that very reason? What more could her grandson provide? And even if you swallow that, why would Beau sit at a different table from the octogenarians at dinner? He says it's to give them their privacy, but heck, he's already on their honeymoon cruise with them, and it's not like they're not sitting with a bunch of other people anyway. Jance's explanations for things that have to be a certain way to further the plot are too thin -- I could see right through them. I wish she'd found another way -- surely Beau could have been seated separately due to a cruiseline screw-up or something.

Another thing: Beau takes an immediate dislike to Margaret Featherman, and it's hard to see why. He goes on and on about how obnoxious she is when they meet at dinner the first night (they're seated at the same table). But try as I did to find evidence of her awful behavior, all I could find her doing before Beau expresses his dislike is 1) ask him what he does for a living, and 2) indicate the empty chair next to him and ask if his wife will be joining them. How dare she! Margaret exhibits behavior later that is indeed questionable -- she just doesn't do so before Beau makes up his mind about her.

Finally, the reader who earlier questioned the ability of one victim to fall off a cliff from inside a tunnel was right on the nose. That IS how it happened. I wondered about it myself, but as logistical things are not my strong suit, I doubted my own conclusions.

This book is not without its charms, but it is flawed. I can recommend it, with reservations, to diehard Jance fans who never miss her work, and to readers who are interested in one of the settings (the cruise ship OR Alaska). Jance is not a very descriptive writer, but I enjoyed reading about these places anyway.