Mystery Series- Joanna Brady

J.A. Jance (Creative Commons)

Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. The Joanna Brady series features a female sheriff of Bisbee, Arizona. These are fairly straight-up police procedurals, but there is enough of the personal touch to keep them interesting, and there are always two or three things going on at the same time.

The books usually begin with a prologue which might be an incident that is obviously tied to the plot, or it might be some seemingly unrelated event. But it always ties up in the end.

Recurring characters of note:
Joanna Brady- Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona
Eleanor Lathrop Winfield- her mother
D.H. Lathrop- her father, Sheriff of Cochice County until his death
George Winfield- her stepfather (married Eleanor after Lathrop died), ME of Cochice County
Bob Brundage- Joanna's full brother who was given up for adoption at birth, but has found her as an adult
Andy Brady- Joanna's first husband
Jim Bob and Eva Lou Brady- the parents of Andrew Brady, now deceased, who continue to help Joanna and treat her children as if they were their own grandchildren
Jenny- her oldest daughter
Butch Dixon- her second husband
Dennis- Joanna and Butch's young son

#1 Desert Heat (1993)

#2 Tombstone Courage (1994)

#3 Dead to Rights (1996)

#4 Skeleton Canyon (1997)

#5 Rattlesnake Crossing (1998)

#6 Outlaw Mountain (1999)

#7 Devil's Claw (2000)

#8 Paradise Lost (2001)

#9 Partner in Crime (2003)

#10 Exit Wounds (2004)

#11 Dead Wrong (2006)
Joanna is nearly at full term in her pregancy with Dennis. But police business doesn't slow down for babies. The prologue tells how a man was arrested two decades previously for the murder of his pregnant wife. He can't remember what happened to her, and he pleads guilty. He spends 20 years in jail.

Now he's released, working in prison ministries, and seems to have his life really put together. Suddenly, he is murdered and his body is mutilated to prevent fast identification and dumped. When they do identify him, the story gets deeply complex as discoveries lead to nuances of that past crime.

The sub-plot is two brothers who run a puppy mill and host illegal dog fights. The new Animal Control Officer can't leave the case alone, despite Joanna's order to stay far away from their property.

#12 Damage Control (2008)
It's an exceptionally busy weekend in Cochise County. An older couple, for reasons unknown, make a suicide pact and drive their car off a mountain overlook. A trailer fire takes the life of a bedridden man, but his wife and their two grandsons escape unharmed. A neglected teenager, whose uncle is a deputy, finds the remains of a body in a plastic bag in the desert.

The two estranged daughters of the couple feud continually after they show up to deal with arrangements for the funeral, getting into a bar fight and being arrested.

The body in the desert turns out to belong to a mentally deficient woman who was living in an institution who had been reported as missing several months previously but some of her last words were to ask about her friend Wayne.

Joanna's ongoing disagreements with her mother lead to changes in the family dynamic. Butch is an author on the brink of becoming well-known. Although he's happy as Mr. Mom to baby Dennis, his publisher wants him to do a two-week book tour, and there is no one available to care for the baby. As always, much of the strength of this series is the many ordinary struggles and interactions between the characters.

#13 Fire and Ice (with J.P. Beaumont) (2009)

#14 Judgment Call

#15 Remains of Innocence (2014)

#16 The Old Blue Line (novella) (2014)

#17 No Honor Among Thieves (novella) (2015)

#18 Random Acts (novella- crossover with Ali Reynolds) (2016)
Joanna Brady's mother and stepfather are in a horrific crash in their RV. Both die from their injuries. However, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, manages to convey one clue as to what really happened just before she dies. Ali and Joanna had previously met, and Ali helps Joanna find out what caused the crash.

#19 Downfall (2016)
The bodies of two women are found at the base of a local mountain with one steep cliff. They have fallen to their deaths, but no one can find any connection at all between the two. One was a respected researcher, the other was the wife of a local pastor who seems to have been stepping out on him.

#20 Field of Bones (2018)

#21 Missing and Endangered (2021)

#22 Blessing of the Lost Girls (2023)

#23 The Girl from Devil's Lake (2025

Mystery/Thriller Series - Ali Reynolds

J.A. Jance (Creative Commons)

Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. Alison Reynolds is the protagonist in this series. She begins the series as a news reporter for a TV station in the Los Angeles area.

Recurring characters of note:
Alison Reynolds, Ali
Edie, her mother
Bob, her father- her parents run a restaurant in Sedona
Christopher, her adult son.

#1 Edge of Evil (2006)

#2 Web of Evil (2007)
A man is left on railroad tracks in the trunk of a car where he is subsequently killed by the train. Ali passes the emergency vehicles in the middle of the night, having no idea what the commotion is. She is on her way to a meeting of all parties to finalize her divorce proceedings from Paul Grayson. Paul needs the divorce to go through because he's scheduled to marry the next Mrs. Grayson the very next day. That woman, April, is 8 1/2 months pregnant with Paul's child. But Paul does not show up for the meeting.

#3 Hand of Evil (2007)

#4 Cruel Intent (2008)

#5 Trial By Fire (2009)

#6 Fatal Error (2011)

#7 Left for Dead (2012)

#8 Deadly Stakes (2013)

#9 Moving Target (2014)

#10 A Last Goodbye (novella) (2014)

#11 Cold Betrayal (2015)

#12 No Honor Among Thieves (novella) (2015)

#13 Clawback (2016)

#14 Random Acts (novella) (2016)

#15 Man Overboard (2017)

#16 Duel to the Death (2018)

#17 The A List (2019)

#18 Credible Threat (2020)

#19 Unfinished Business (2021)

#20 Collateral Damage (2023)

Mystery Series - J.P. Beaumont

J.A. Jance (Creative Commons)

Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. The Beaumont series features Jonas Pierpont Beaumont, a police detective from Seattle.

Technically, these are police procedurals, although Beaumont evolves through the series through various crime-fighting roles.

The Beaumont and Joanna Brady series converge in Partner in Crime, Fire and Ice, and briefly in Proof of Life.

Recurring Characters of Note:
Jonas Pierpont (J.P.) Beaumont, variously a policman, retiree, and private eye
Jonas Pierpont, J.P.'s grandfather
Mel Soames, his third wife
Ron Peters, a fellow detective
Ron's family, wife Amy, Heather and Tracie his daughters
Detective Kramer
Lars Jennsen, his AA sponsor

#1 Until Proven Guilty (1985)
#2 Injustice for All (1986)
#3 Trial by Fury (1986)
#4 Taking the Fifth (1987)
#5 Improbable Cause (1987)
#6 A More Perfect Union (1988)
#7 Dismissed with Prejudice (1989)
#8 Minor in Possession (1990)
#9 Payment in Kind (1991)
J.P. is teamed with detective Kramer because his own partner is ill. Kramer is obnoxious and self-serving. They are called to the scene of a double murder at a school administration building. A security guard and one of the staff are found dead in a janitor's closet, partially nude.

The woman's husband Pete is grief-stricken, but Kramer thinks he's a good suspect because the marriage seems to have been strained. J.P. doesn't quite agree, but he does think the man is lying about something.

Kramer continues to take all the credit for their successes in the case and blames J.P. for anything that goes wrong.

When Kramer manages to get Pete's fingerprints they learn that his name is not Pete Kelsey, and he deserted from the Army twenty years prior. But how does this give him a reason to kill his wife.

J.P. is reuninted with his grandparents after being estranged from them all his life.

This is an exceptionally clever and believable plot.

#10 Without Due Process (1993)
#11 Failure to Appear (1994)

#12 Lying in Wait (1995)

J.P.'s grandfather, from whom he gets the Pierpont name, has recently died. He is attempting to pay more attention to his grandmother.

A horrific death in a fishing boat fire turns out to be a torture murder, and the widow is a woman J.P. attended school with. Else was a cheerleader when he was a basketball player. Also living at the fishing marina is a man named Alan Torvaldsen, who was also a classmate. The dead man is Guntar Gebhardt, whose father was an S.S. officer in World War II. Guntar quietly honored his father's memory with a secret collection of toy German soldiers.

But when a woman on a nearby island dies in a similar manner, all previous conclusions seem to be wrong.

This is a fast-paced book with twists and turns at every juncture.

#13 Name Withheld (1997)
#14 Breach of Duty (1999)
#15 Birds of Prey (2002)
#16 Partner in Crime (2003)
#17 Long Time Gone (2005)
#18 Justice Denied (2007)
A young man who has been released from prison as a result of DNA testing that proved he was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted seems to be a model citizen. He is taking care of his grandmother who raised him when he is shot point blank and killed at her front door.

J.P. is living with Mel Soames, and they both work for a special task force created by the state Attorny General. Mel is looking at former sex offenders. A disproportionate number of them have died under various scenarios after being released. She's also on the board of SESAC, a group of women who are dedicated to tracking down rapists using DNA from old rape kits that have never been tested.

J.P. has been assigned to examine old missing persons files. One is particularly puzzling. A man went missing the same day Mount St. Helens exploded, but the claim that he was fishing in the area and was vaporized doesn't seem to hold up.

Mel is briefly on the hot seat as it is discovered that she was in Cancun at the same time as the man who abused her best friend as a child. That friend was the reason she had joined SESAC.

Suddenly, a mysterious connection between several of these cases materializes.

J.P.'s children are now grown and Kelly has two children of her own. They all come home for J.P.'s grandmother's funeral.

#29 Fire and Ice (2009)
#20 Betrayal of Trust (2011)
#21 Ring in the Dead (novella, 2013)
#22 Second Watch (2013)
#23 Stand Down (novella, 2015)
#24 Dance of the Bones (2015) (Brandon Walker crossover)

#25 Proof of Life (2017)
Beau has retired, had knee replacement surgery, and is living happily with his third wife, Mel Soames. She is Chief of Police in Bellingham, WA. While they are having dinner out, an acquaintance of theirs, Max, a journalist stops by the table and makes several cryptic statements. Since he and Beau were never on good terms, Beau doesn't pay much attention.

However, just hours later, Max is dead. A young woman, not a blood relative of Max's, but nevertheless one of his only friends and his heir asks Beau to look into the death. She suspects it is not an accident.

If you are a dog lover, this is a great book. Beau and Mel end up "temporarily" babysitting a black Irish Wolfhound. Not only is Lucy Rambo a loveable addition to the story, she plays a large role in the denouement.

#26 Still Dead (novella, 2017)

#27 Sins Of The Fathers (2019)
#28 Nothing to Lose (2022)
#29 Den of Iniquity (2024)