J.A. Jance first arrived on my TBR (to be read) stack of books with one of her J.P. Beaumont mystery novels. Jance is a female author who writes this series from the POV of a male homicide detective, and she’s excellent in this genre.
“Until Proven Guilty” (1985, 306 pages in paperback format) is minimally procedural and mostly the wrenching story of a mother, Suzanne Barstogi, and very young daughter Angela who are under the spell of a cult leader, Michael Brodie. It soon becomes obvious that the cult members are isolated, forbidden to speak to anyone who is not a cult member, beaten, and scared to death of their messianic leader.
Beaumont (known as Beau) and his new partner, Ron Peters, catch the case when Angela is reported missing. Before Beau and Peters even get a hint about the situation, Angela is found on the side of a hill, her nightgown — which was used to strangle her — around her neck.