Skeleton Canyon

J.A. Jance

Sheriff Joanna Brady and her department are called in on a missing person. The local wealthy couple's teen aged daughter is not where she told her parents she would be. Indications seem to be that she is meeting an illicit boyfriend. The father will not accept that she is somewhere else and will return when she said the following day. Since it has been less than twenty-four hours, the sheriff's department does not investigate.

Unfortunately, Brady feels in her soul that the girl is dead. She does not have any basis for the feeling. She has just left her daughter at camp for two weeks and will be alone at their home. Her mother and mother's boyfriend, the local coroner, are acting strangely. Her new friend, Angie, is having problems with a man, and would like Brady's help. Plus Brady accidentally discovers a possible smuggling operation trafficking through her territory.

The teenager's body is found. Everything else is put back while the investigation takes place. The illicit boyfriend is found. He claims he was attacked while he tried to find the girl. The parents do not want to believe the life their "perfect" daughter may have been hiding from them. Brady needs to discover who killed the girl and why. Hopefully the missing journal will give some clues.

Once again Jance has pulled together an intriguing novel featuring Joanna Brady. The personal interests storyline continues to add color to the ongoing saga of the series. Yet again, this novel can be separated from the others for its mystery. It has twists and turns that only become obvious to the reader as the sheriff also is figuring out what may be happening. I could see the Arizona background, the mountains, and the flash floods as the summer storms start pouring. And, like Brady, I was glad she had not had a chance to go clothes shopping after all.

Notice: Suggestive dialogue or situations

Desert Heat
Tombstone Courage
Shoot Don't Shoot
Dead to Rights
Skeleton Canyon
Rattlesnake Crossing
Outlaw Mountain
Devil's Claw
Paradise Lost
Partner in Crime w/ J.P. Beaumont
Exit Wounds
Dead Wrong
Damage Control
Fire and Ice w/ J.P. Beaumont