Improbable Cause

J.A. Jance

J.P. Beaumont is a homicide detective in Seattle. When this book opens he is with his partner, Al Lindstrom, at the scene of the murder of a dentist. There has obviously been a fight. But then the man was left in his chair and stabbed in the throat with a dental pick. Two days later his receptionist discovers the body.

Beaumont and Lindstrom first have to find Dr. Nielson's family. They finally discover his mother is in the hospital recovering from a broken hip after a fall. His wife has disappeared with the children into the women's shelter system. His aunts protect his mother and won't reveal which hospital is caring for her. They don't know where his wife is, either.

They quickly learn that Dr. Nielson was a abusive, controlling man. When Beaumont finally meets the widow, he learns that she had had a confrontation with him the day he died. He had promised her money. There had been a carpet installer there as well who also had an argument with the dentist. The carpet wasn't being laid to his precise specifications.

Improbable Cause has an surprising twist at the end. Jance brings the feel of Seattle to life as Beaumont travels around the city. This novel is part of the ongoing series I enjoy. It is not as strong as some of her others I've read, but it still is an entertaining read.

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