A cop lies dying beneath the blistering Arizona sun—a local lawman who may well have become the next sheriff of Cochise County.?The police brass claim that Andy Brady was dirty, and that his shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna Brady, his devoted wife and mother of their nine-year-old daughter, knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . and murder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to hunt down an assassin and clear her husband's name are placing Joanna and her surviving family in harm's way—because in the desert, the one thing more lethal than a rattler's bite . . . is the truth.
Desert Heat: Joanna Brady Series, Book 1 (Brady Novels)
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From Publishers Weekly
Jance ( Hour of the Hunter ) has created a taut and poignant mystery. Joanna Brady finds her husband, Andy, shot in the Arizona desert on the night of their tenth wedding anniversary. But this, and Andy's subsequent suspicious death in the hospital, is only the beginning of the destruction of the comfortable world of Joanna and her nine-year-old daughter, Jenny. The police decide that Andy, a sheriff's deputy, tried to commit suicide. He is further implicated as the hit man in a mob rub-out and fingered as a crooked cop with drug-cartel connections. Even his personal life is dragged through the mud, as allegations of an extramarital affair surface. Neither mother nor daughter is spared from the brutality of the accusations: the DEA comes after Joanna, while schoolmates taunt Jenny. All the while, Jance cross-cuts to the contract killer who shot Andy. The conclusion features a classic confrontation, but the post-showdown ending seems trite. Until that moment, however, Jance's tale crackles with tension. Joanna's struggle and pain are affecting; Jance writes with an understanding that character is destiny.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and four interrelated thrillers about the Walker family. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
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First Sentence
JOANNA BRADY stepped to the doorway of the screened back porch and stared out into the night. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
JOANNA BRADY stepped to the doorway of the screened back porch and stared out into the night. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Format:Mass Market Paperback
In Desert Heat, J.A. Jance manages to do several things very well: she establishes likeable primary and secondary characters ( ... and then there's Maude, er, Eleanor, Joanna Brady's mother, who's well-established and *dis*likeable); she makes a bold departure (both geographically and tonally) from the J.P. Beaumont Seattle series; and sets up a decent mystery (more Lifetime than HBO, though a couple scenes wouldn't be out of place on Cinemax). A few things aren't quite Grade-A, however: the plot itself is lightweight and Joanna has a tendency to ramble in her dialogue.
Although this is the first in the series, if you've read other Joanna Brady books first, go ahead and read this one too. The pace moves quickly and it's always good to read a character's origins firsthand.
While the bar - to a certain degree - is set low, the novel certainly doesn't disappoint. Because there is room for improvement, the other books in the series keep getting better and better
By tertius3
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the first in the long Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County series. It shows the sad family events that initially pushed Joanna, as the wife of a deputy sheriff, into law enforcement. Joanna is a determined, able, and frank talking woman who must deal with an allegedly suicidal, drug-dealing, and cheating husband. It's not really a "suspense" novel, as personal threats are few and Joanna sorta backs into solving the crime. The story is set up well with empathetic family situations and loyalties, but towards the end the plot goes ratty, a couple of glaring holes in the plot conveniently appearing as Jance races to wrap up the story. I think Jance also severely underplays local Arizona color and ambiance: this novel could be happen anywhere, quite unlike the great specificity and plot drivers of Hillerman or McGarrity's novels that could only be set in New Mexico. I hope Jance gets better in later novels, for this one doesn't generate much heat. For some reason this Avon pb is printed in rather large print, which may contribute to why it's a nicely fast and easy read.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Desert Heat in a nice introduction to the Joanna Brady series of books. Joanna Brady is a happily married mother of one, when her husband Andy, a local police officer, is shot on his way home. Determined to find out who killed Andy, and why his reputation is being destroyed by innuendo and gossip, Joanna sets out to solve the mystery of his death on her own.
The pace of the book is fairly fast, and there are an assortment of interesting characters throughout the story. Joanna Brady is also smart, and tough, but with a touch of vulnerability. The setting of the Arizona desert is almost a character in the book, with nice descriptions. The ending leaves you wanting to follow up on the further adventures of Joanna Brady and company.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Not a Dry Heat
In Desert Heat, J.A. Jance introduces us to Joanna Brady, a happily married young woman who sells life insurance in the town of Bisbee, Arizona. Read more
Published on Sep 27 2001 by Todd
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not my last Jance
I liked the Arizona scene-setting - birds and beasts and landscape nicely done. A good, and even useful, description of a family coping with grief. Read more
Published on Sep 21 2001 by D. P. Birkett
4.0 out of 5 stars
Desert Heat Is A Great Read!
Reading Desert Heat, the first volume in the JoAnna Brady series, is all it takes to make you a J. A. Jance fan. Read more
Published on July 11 2001 by Lori Rutledge
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plucky heroine in a desert setting
In the first book of this series, we meet the heroine, Joanna Brady, who is waiting for her lawman husband, Andy, to come home for their 10th. anniversary celebration. Read more
Published on July 24 2000 by Karen Potts
4.0 out of 5 stars
You will like Joanna Brady.
Joanna's sheriff husband dies and Joanna decides to track down his killer. She is plucky, tough, warm and fallible - motivated largely by the horror that her husband was possibly... Read more
Published on May 27 2000 by Helen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent series opener with Joanna Brady an engaging sleuth
Not as gritty as the J.P. Beaumont mysteries, yet recently widowed Joanna Brady is one tough and determined sleuth who juggles crime solving, the new demands of single parenthood,... Read more
Published on May 20 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this book!!!!
It's captivating and mysterious.Once i started reading it i could not stop!!!!!!!!!!
Published on April 5 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVE ALL OF THE JOANNA BRADY MYSTERIES
I'M FROM PHOENIX - AND LOVE BISBEE, AZ - I CAN RELATE TO THE LOCATIONS IN ALL OF THE JOANNA BRADY BOOKS. THANKS!
Published on Feb 27 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
It really pulled me in.
I'm from Tucson and related to the characters and settings. I went out and bought the entire series. She was really able to keep me on the edge of my seat.
Published on Feb 24 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
very good
This was the first book I read by J.A. Jance. I really enjoyed it and have since purchased several more of her books including the J.P. Beaumont mysteries. Read more
Published on Nov 27 1998
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