Dead Wrong [Audio CD]

Prolific is too weak a word to describe New Times bestselling author J. A. Jance. Her store of scenarios for mysteries is seemingly as vast as the Arizona desert (a state in which she has a home). She has penned the popular Joanna Brady series, the J. P. Beaumont series plus three thrillers with the Walker family as lead characters. Much to her credit each story is fresh and new, with characters bearing little similarity to others she has introduced.

With Dead Wrong Joanna Brady takes the spotlight. She has just been re-elected Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona and is about to have her second child. Impending motherhood has to be set aside when a man is found murdered in the desert. He's one of those nameless unfortunate souls with no identification. The only thing that differentiates him from other unidentified bodies is that all of his fingers have been cut off.

As it turns out, he was a pretty despicable character - served prison time for the killing of his pregnant wife. And once released from jail he apparently stalked a young woman. Joanna's persistent digging turns up a connection between this man and one of her late father's cases.

However, before she has a chance to pursue that any further Animal Control Officer Jeannine Phillips is beaten near death during a stakeout. Obviously, all hands and energy are poured into discovering who did this to one of their own.

Leave it to Jance to craft another can't-put-down mystery and leave it to voice performer Susan Ericksen to deliver a five star narration. She's a stage and television actress whom many may remember for her readings of the J. D. Robb stories. Mysteries seem to be her bailiwick and she narrates them with sureness and an articulation that emphasizes suspense.

- Gail Cooke

It's always a treat to open a new Joanna Brady novel! Author Jance keeps getting better, maintaining suspense right to the end, melding elements of past volumes with Joanna's present.

Authors who marry off their heros take a risk: our edgy favorites tend to get tamer and we lose the twists and turns of romance. Jance has avoided this trap by giving Joanna a husband, Butch, who in turn gives her space while introducing his own set of obnoxious parents.

Joanna investigates two crimes: the killing of Bradley Evans, an ex-con found in a gruesome state, and a violent attack on an over-eager female animal control officer.

From the prologue, many readers will be way ahead of Joanna and her staff as she investigates the first murder. Although Joanna gets clues from her father's newly-found diaries, she rightly uses her own detective skills to elicit the truth from present-day witnesses. The second crime gets treated more like a police procedural than a detective story, allowing a very pregnant Joanna to combine her commonsense, human empathy and professional police skills.

Two odd notes in the book: Why does this family have to be so nice to the in-laws? OK, perhaps a good daughter is expected to tolerate an occasional snide reference to her looks or appearance, maybe even her child-rearing. But no family should allow any visitor to insult disabled people or dogs. Visitors who snoop should be directed to their trailer (or the nearest motel) with access to the home only when the family is present. Teenaged Jenny has the right idea.

Joanna also seems surprised to find a lesbian couple right under her nose in Bisbee. I spent four years in Silver City, New Mexico, just over the border, where gay couples lived openly and, for most of the town, it was no big deal. Everybody socialized together most of the time. I've heard Bisbee is more conservative, and police officers in most locations tend to traditional views.

So while these minor twists seemed odd to be, it's possible that Jance has captured the values and belief systems of the folks she portrays, who are indeed different from many of her readers.

This installment in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series was hard to put down. I liked the way the author had Joanna's Dad's diaries as part of the plot. We got to "know" him as well as see into the past. Joanna is a role model for all women. If you work hard enough you can have it all. You might even be able to work until you go into labor. Interesting twists and turns makes this book my favorite in the series so far. If you like action, mysteries, and reading about current social problems you will like this series and this novel.