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Title: Desert Heat by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0-380-76545-4 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 04 May, 1999 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (14 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: It's Not a Dry Heat
Comment: In Desert Heat, J.A. Jance introduces us to Joanna Brady, a happily married young woman who sells life insurance in the town of Bisbee, Arizona. Together with her husband, Andy, who is a Cochise County sheriff's deputy, and their bright 9-year old daughter, Joanna leads a comfortable and happy small-town life - comfortable and happy, that is, until the night of her tenth wedding anniversary when she finds her husband lying shot and near death in a desert ravine not far from home.
Almost before he is transported to the hospital, rumors begin to circulate that Andy is a good cop turned bad and that he tried to commit suicide rather than to risk having his shady dealings with drug smugglers exposed. Of course, Joanna doesn't believe any of the rumors and sets out on a mission to find the true story and to find Andy's attacker.
This series debut manages to successfully combine a cast of very believable and well-developed characters with an intriguing mystery and a unique setting. The "whodunit" is solved early on, but the reader is left trying to understand the "why" until nearly the end. The story unfolds at a steady pace and there is little fever-pitch action or edge-of-your-seat suspense; however, that's actually an advantage as it makes the story quite believable and is consistent with life in a small town like Bisbee. Despite the deliberate pace, plenty of surprises throughout do keep the reader guessing and turning the pages.
Desert Heat is a quick and enjoyable read for those who enjoy a good mystery set in the desert southwest. With such a strong debut, I've definitely become a Joanna Brady (and J.A. Jance) fan and am looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
Rating: 4
Summary: Plucky heroine in a desert setting
Comment: In the first book of this series, we meet the heroine, Joanna Brady, who is waiting for her lawman husband, Andy, to come home for their 10th. anniversary celebration. Her world is shattered when he is found critically injured beside his wrecked vehicle. As she is keeping vigil at the hospital, we are introduced to Angie Kellogg who is kept a virtual prisoner by her gangster boyfriend. After Andy is accused of being involved in a drug ring, Angie becomes a key figure in Joanna's struggle to exonerate him. The two women meet, and the action picks up considerably as they are pursued by Angie's boyfriend plus some other surprising bad guys. For fans of the J.P. Beaumont series, set in Seattle, Joanna's southern Arizona home will be quite a contrast. Author Jance grew up in Arizona and she is as adept at using the desert setting as a background as she is at using Seattle.
Rating: 3
Summary: Hope for better
Comment: This is the first in the long Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County series. It shows the sad family events that initially pushed Joanna, as the wife of a deputy sheriff, into law enforcement. Joanna is a determined, able, and frank talking woman who must deal with an allegedly suicidal, drug-dealing, and cheating husband. It's not really a "suspense" novel, as personal threats are few and Joanna sorta backs into solving the crime. The story is set up well with empathetic family situations and loyalties, but towards the end the plot goes ratty, a couple of glaring holes in the plot conveniently appearing as Jance races to wrap up the story. I think Jance also severely underplays local Arizona color and ambiance: this novel could be happen anywhere, quite unlike the great specificity and plot drivers of Hillerman or McGarrity's novels that could only be set in New Mexico. I hope Jance gets better in later novels, for this one doesn't generate much heat. For some reason this Avon pb is printed in rather large print, which may contribute to why it's a nicely fast and easy read.
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Title: Tombstone Courage: A Joanna Brady Mystery by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0380765462 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Shoot Don't Shoot: A Joanna Brady Mystery by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0380765489 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Dead to Rights (A Joanna Brady Mystery) by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0380724324 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Skeleton Canyon: A Joanna Brady Mystery by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0380724332 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Outlaw Mountain: A Joanna Brady Mystery by J.A. Jance ISBN: 0380792486 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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