Shoot, Don't Shoot

J.A. Jance

Sherriff Joanna Brady is in Phoenix to start a six week course on how to be a policeman. She has left Jenny at the ranch with her in-laws. It is Thanksgiving week so they will come Wednesday evening to join her for the weekend before returning to Bisbee.

Before she leaves a woman pleads with her to discover who really killed her ex-daughter-in-law. She is certain her son was not the murderer. While in Phoenix, Sheriff Brady follows up even though she does not believe the man is innocent. Yet the more she digs, the more she begins to wonder.

Between her crash course in police work and her investigation into the woman's murder, Thanksgiving week becomes very interesting. Her instructor is a bigoted "good 'ol boy" cop who knows law enforcement. A witness in the domestic case is a bartender who quotes poetry and knows his clientelle. One of her classmates is a young woman who is excited to be in police enforcement. And to complicate things, her mother has a secret.

This is another excellent Sheriff Brady novel. She is not the light hearted woman policeman or detective I often read like Stephanie Plum (by Janet Evanovich) or Temple Barr (Carole Douglas Nelson). She is serious about her work and serious about justice. If you have not read these novels, read the first in the series to start, Desert Heat. These build up the family and character relationships between books.

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