One of the reasons that I enjoy J.A. Jance’s Joanna Brady series is the same reason that I like to watch the old episodes of Law and Order, Special Victims Unit on TV. Each book/episode is a complete mystery, yet the perennial characters remain the same. And they age a bit with each new edition and as situations change. I suppose it’s a kind of literary soap opera, but much better than the ones shown on the boob tube.
#11 “Exit Wounds” (2003, 390 pages in paperback format) finds Sheriff Joanna Brady in the middle of a re-election campaign against her former deputy, approaching the big Fourth of July celebration, participating in two parades and several community picnics, and supporting her daughter Jenny in her first barrel-racing event on her horse Kiddo at the rodeo.
Joanna not only has to cope with all of the above, but there’s a heat dome hovering over Bisbee. Then Carol Mossman is found shot to death and locked in her house, surrounded by 17 dogs. The dogs have died from the heat and lack of food and water. However, one tiny puppy was left behind when the older dogs initially ran into the house. Now, Joanna not only has to solve the crime, but she has also adopted the puppy, much to Jenny’s delight.
#12 “Dead Wrong” (2006, 437 pages in paperback format) begins with Sheriff Joanna Brady, now nine months pregnant, expecting her second child at any moment. But that doesn’t interfere with the intrepid law enforcer from dealing with two major crimes. First, a dead man is found in the desert with all of his fingers cut off. Second, one of her employees, an animal control officer, has been brutally attacked and left for dead at the site of an unauthorized stakeout. The ACO was trying to verify that highly illegal dog-fighting contests were taking place at a ranch that sort of straddles the Arizona-New Mexico border.
The investigation leads to an examination of family histories and a possible swap of babies many years ago. Author J.A. Jance keeps us intrigued all the way to the delivery room.
#13 “Damage Control” (2008, 436 pages in paperback format). With a new baby in her life, Sheriff Joanna Brady gets little relief during her “maternity leave.” A sweet, loving elderly couple enjoy a picnic at their favorite overlook. When they finish lunch, the 91-year-old husband backs away from the edge, takes holds of his wife’s hand, and guns the engine. There is a suicide note, signed by both, in the glove box of the demolished car.
Elsewhere in Cochise County, a boy finds a human skull in a garbage bag. Then, a fire consumes a mobile home, taking the life of a disabled man. Although Joanna has a husband and — unbelievably — a mother to help out at home, one wonders how she will manage to keep all the balls in the air.
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Puede contactar a Jim Glynn en j_glynn@att.net.