Trial by Fire, J. A. Jance

When I went to the library this week, I just couldn't resist picking up a new-to-me J. A. Jance and this one is as good as, if not better, than all of the others I've read. It's the fourth novel in the Ali Reynolds series.

As usual, Jance grabbed me with the first page which begins, "She awakened to the sound of roaring flames and to searing heat and lung-choking smoke. Maybe she was already dead and this was hell, but why would she go to hell?"

The woman realizes finally that she is alive because she knows her leg is burning. Something, a beam maybe, is holding her leg down and when she tries to move it, her hand catches fire too. This poor woman doesn't know how she got there or why, where "there" is, or even who she is. Then she sees a creature coming through the flames. He's yellow or possibly orange and he picks her up to carry her away. She thinks he's Satan and she is in hell after all, but of course he's a fireman who has entered the burning house under construction and saved her.

She awakens in the hospital in horrible pain which disappears into a cloud only when a kind nun pushes the button to give her a dose of morphine. The nun seems always to be there.

Meanwhile, Ali Reynolds has been recruited to be a temporary media relations consultant for the Yavapai Sheriff's Department in Prescott. She lives in Sedona but won't have to go to Prescott very often. Trouble is, her predecessor has been fired and no one in the department wants her there. She is called out to the fire to handle the media and at the site she notices someone has painted ELF in giant letters on one of the burning houses in this new development. The Environmental Liberation Front is an echo of a real life group that has made headlines in the western states for the last two decades or more so this is drawn right from the headlines.

Ali follows the victim to the hospital in Phoenix where she is asked to stay in the waiting room to see what develops, and incidentally to protect the victim because the person who tried to kill her is still at large and for that matter, unknown. She discovers, as I have many times, that if you sit quietly in a hospital waiting room reading (or in her case typing on a laptop), you sort of disappear into the woodwork as far as other visitors are concerned. She also becomes a confidante of Sister Anselm, the caregiver for the victim.

This wonderful story grabbed me by the collar yesterday, got me through an evening when my husband insisted on watching American Idol (ugh), and wouldn't let me go today until I finished it. The characters are real as life, and although I figured out whodunit before the end, it certainly didn't spoil finding out how Ali solved it or what became of the characters at the end. I do recommend this suspense novel.

J. A. Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady

Sheriff Joanna Brady is another of my favorite crime solvers, but in Paradise Lost she's a prime example of why I would never attempt to write about a crime solver who is married and has a child. In this novel Brady is newly married to Butch Dixon, her second husband, and her daughter Jenny is now 12 years old. Both are struggling a bit with issues that are the result of being married to or the daughter of a county sheriff.

This story begins with Joanna and Butch attending an Arizona Sheriff's Association convention. She is sneaking back into their room at the hotel at 1 am after playing poker with other sheriffs and beating her least favorite one out of about $700. Butch understands but later admits the convention was difficult for him as the only husband of a sheriff. Wives of course have gone through this since the Stone Age but it's different for a guy.

Then Jenny has problems camping with the Girl Scouts and trying to be just one of the kids. Then she and her pup tent mate find a body and the plot is off and running and so is Joanna. It's one of those novels that leaves you breathless because it goes so fast, there's so much danger, and Joanna is also dealing with family issues.

By the way, Joanna's mother, Eleanor, is the most aggravating character ever devised by a novelist. I'd say more but you just have to meet her yourself.

Actually that's the best feature of Jance's novels - the characters. They're unique and they're understandable in their lives and their actions, if a little quirky at times but aren't we all? The characters are really busy in this tale with a short-handed sheriff's department, three murders, and a lot of miles to cover during the investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is in the wedding of one of his former employees, Jenny is upset, Eleanor is very upset, and Joanna needs to be in about three places at once. What a crazy mess, but of course it all tends to work out.

I can't tell you any more without spoiling the book for you, except that a recurring theme is motherhood. I hope you'll read this one. It's a keeper.

Queen of the Night by J. A. Jance

I got this Jance mystery from the library even though it's part of her Walker series rather than my favorite Brady or Beaumont series. Maybe because I don't follow the series, I had trouble sorting everyone out for the first quarter or so of the book. Lots of things happening in various places and being introduced to so many new people was quite a trip.

Then I finally got into the story and although it took me until almost the end to be absolutely certain who everyone was and how they fit into the big picture, I did enjoy the book. Since I dislike going back to try to find out who's who, I just bumbled along until the story line got me straightened out.

The book, set mostly in Arizona, centers on a desert plant that flowers only once a year and just as quickly the blossom fades. It's a time for celebration, to admire the sight and smell of this flower. Most of the story happens during the weekend that the flower blooms and you follow the various people, some Anglo, some Indian, as the hours go by. There are also several different story lines; is one of the characters getting senile, will a little girl find someone to love her, and so on?

I finished the book Thanksgiving morning and thanked heaven I have such an uneventful life. There are times when "boring" is good and this is one of them. We ate alone yesterday so we settled on a turkey breast (God bless Butterball) and an afternoon of football, with a nap of course. Today we have leftovers and more football - NO SHOPPING!

If you have left the hectic life behind, this is a good book to capture your interest and also make you grateful for your life. If you like the Walker series and already know the characters especially, you will love this one. (I am an Amazon Associate.)