Partner in Crime

J.A. Jance

4/1/2006

Rochelle Baxter is an artist that had moved to Naco in southern Arizona in the past few months. Her first show is opening the next evening at an art gallery in Old Bisbee. Dee Canfield has just opened the gallery and is excited to be showing Shelly's work. Rochelle is dubious but has reluctantly agreed to put out all her work. One has been sold. Rochelle had created one painting of LaMar Jenkins, the man she has been seeing. He bought it immediately but has agreed to let it be shown.

The show never happens. After LaMar leaves her home that evening, she gets violently sick, calls 911, and is dead on arrival at the hospital. The first assumption is she died from natural causes. But the medical examiner isn't certain. He tells Sheriff Joanna Brady to treat Rochelle's home as a crime scene. After visiting Rochelle's home the next morning, the sheriff visits LaMar Jenkins. Jenkins appears to be shattered. Then he learns that Dee still plans on holding the art show that evening. He storms to the art gallery. Sheriff Brady arrives in time to prevent LaMar from injuring Dee. The show is still on with prices raised. LaMar feels the show should be stopped until Rochelle's family can be notified and given a chance to look at the paintings.

But Rochelle Baxter wasn't who the people around Bisbee thought she was. She was involved with the Washington State witness protection program. Latisha Wall had been a witness in a corporate fraud case that the State of Washington was pursuing. The Washington State Attorney wants one of his people down in Arizona. The newest member of the Special Homicide Investigation Team is sent to Arizona on his birthday. J.P. Beaumont soon finds himself on a plane to the birthplace of his dead second wife - the one he had had to kill on their wedding day.

Joanna Brady is furious. How dare those people in Washington State decide her department wasn't trustworthy! How dare they think her department is incompetent? They don't know her department or her people. That Beaumont man is persona non gratis in her realm. In the meantime she has a case to solve. Instead of holding the art show, the gallery remains closed and Dee Canfield and her boyfriend have disappeared. Is their disappearance related to Rochelle Baxter's death?

J.A. Jance brings together her two mystery series protagonists in Partner in Crime. She does it well, too. She is able to keep both Joanna's and J.P.'s personalities intact as they interact. Joanna is dealing with her family, her job, and the politics within her department. J.P. is his brusque self taking on his first case for the special team. His portion of the book are told in first person just as his series is. Joanna's portion is told in third person, as is her series. Joanna and J.P. strike sparks before they develop a mutual respect. Joanna doesn't want to admit it, but J.P. is a good investigator. She realizes he would be a valuable asset to her team.

Beside that, the mystery is good. I was able to figure out the murderer by elimination but that didn't diminish my enjoyment. But I didn't figure out the mystery. The twist at the end was unforseen. If you've read either of Jance's two series, you'll find this one fits in. If you haven't, you're in for a treat.

You can find more about this book at .

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
Long Time Gone
Justice Denied