Fire and Ice

J.A. Jance

Another body is found in the Washington State forests. This is the sixth woman who has been found who was killed, then her body burned. This one is different, though. The earlier victims' teeth had been pulled to prevent identification. This woman's teeth are still in her skull. J.P Beaumont and his wife, Mel Soames, are called back from a short vacation to follow up the case.

In southern Arizona a call comes in to Sheriff Joanna Brady's office about a dead body no one can approach. There is a dog guarding it. Besides the homicide detective and herself, Joanna sends the animal control person as well. The man had run a local ATV adventure spot. No one knew how he had died.

After going through her different aliases, J.P. and Mel finally learn the woman's true identity. They discover the woman's husband had been killed in a California prison. She had a teen aged son. And her brother is a homicide detective in Cochise County, Arizona. J.P. has been there before. He still remembers his encounter with Joanna Brady, the sheriff there. They had worked a case together and nearly died together. That adds an extra twist to the case for him.

When he calls her to reach her detective, Joanna remembers him, as well. How often does a person find herself in a shoot out beside a detective from Washington State? She sends her detective, Jaime Carbajal, to Washington on grief leave. When he gets there, he becomes an interpreter on J.P.'s case. That's when even more menacing factors come into play.

There are multiple story lines going on in J.A. Jance's Fire and Ice. Because of Jaime's sister, both the Washington and Arizona story lines tie together. The two threads in Arizona, though, are left incomplete. The reader can deduce what happens next, but a twist could still show up later. Jance is good at that.

The twists and turns in the Washington story keep the reader guessing. There are red herrings that may not be, after all. Fire and Ice is a good mystery.

J.P. Beaumont's voice is different in this one. Over the series arc he has been through a lot, and his life has had a lot of ups and downs. Now he is happily married to a fellow officer, with a bit more understanding of women. It softens J.P. a bit but doesn't take off his detecting edge. In fact his wife Mel gives him more of one.

Notice:  Non-graphic violence

Until Proven Guilty
Injustice For All
Trial by Fury
Taking the Fifth
Improbable Cause
A More Perfect Union
Dismissed With Prejudice
Minor in Possession
Payment in Kind
Without Due Process
Failure to Appear
Lying in Wait
Name Withheld
Breach of Duty
Birds of Prey
Partner in Crime with Joanna Brady
Long Time Gone
Justice Denied
Fire and Ice with Joanna Brady
Betrayal of Trust