Mystery Women Authors
J. A. Jance
Biography
Judith A Jance was raised in Arizona. She now lives in Seattle, Washington where she has raised a family and created her two mystery series featuring J. P. Beaumont and Sheriff Joanna Brady.
Books
After the Fire
Lance Publications 1940
Hour of the Hunter
The acclaimed
author of the J. P. Beaumont mysteries presents a gripping novel of mysticism,
blood vengeance, and terror. A terrified young widow fears for her life and
that of her son, when the brilliant psychopath--against whom she testified at
a murder trial--is released from prison and begins stalking them. (From
Amazon.com)
Mass Market Paperbacks 1992
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of the Hunter from 
J. P Beaumont Mysteries
Until Proven Guilty (1st in the series)
Detective
Beaumont was certain he had little Angela Barstogi's killer when he first saw
the insane "Reverend" of Faith Tabernacle. But lurking in the corners
of this bizarre case was not just a demented mind obsessed with murder but secrets
so deadly that a street-tough cop could die guessing. In the course of his investigations
Beau falls in love with a wealthy woman, whom he marries. (From Amazon.com)
Republished Avon Books 1997
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Proven Guilty from
Injustice for All (2nd in the series)
Coming
to the rescue of a beautiful blonde, Beaumont finds a corpse at her feet, an
ex-member of the State Parole Board. When a politician gets involved in the
case and Beau is framed for the murder, Beau must find the killer quickly--before
it is too late. (From Amazon.com)
Republished Avon Books 1996
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For All from
Trial by Fury (3rd in the series)
The author
of Until Proven Guilty explores the nature of murderous violence as
Beaumont investigates the death of a high school basketball coach. Although
there is a wealth of suspects, Beaumont is determined that the real killer will
be brought to justice. (From Amazon.com)
Republished Avon Books 1997
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by Fury from
Taking the Fifth (4th in the series)
It seemed
like a most unlikely instrument of death: a lady’s cobalt blue pump with
stiletto heels. But the fact that it was caked with the blood of--and found
damningly close to--a very dead man gives Seattle Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont
a solid lead into a case of lethal theatrics and unsavory union doings. He has
a pay stub, a matchbook, one corpse--and an unsettling feeling of more to come.
And he has a murder weapon. All Beau has to do now is find the woman who fills
it. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books 1987
To read an excerpt from Taking the Fifth click here
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the Fifth from
A More Perfect Union (5th in the series)
It was
a final moment grimly preserved for all the world to see: a front-page photo
of a young woman plunging to her death from the upper stories of an unfinished
skyscraper. It might have been a suicide-but the look of sheer terror frozen
on the women's face suggests otherwise to Seattle Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont.
And the sudden addition of more bodies into the mix is leading him to the headquarters
of the ironworkers' local, where men of steel guard lethal secrets. It's time
to make the union pay its dues-but Beau may need more than a hard hat to preserve
his safety. (From Avon Books)
Republished Avon Books 1990
To read an excerpt from A More Perfect Union click here
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Perfect Union from
Improbable Cause (6th in the series)
Perhaps
it was fitting justice: a dentist who was overly fond of administering pain
found murdered in his own chair. The question for Seattle Homicide Detective
J. P. Beaumont is not so much who wanted Dr. Frederick Neilson dead, but rather
who of the many finally reached the breaking point. There's something particularly
sordid about this investigation and its subsequent revelations of violence,
cruelty, infidelity and sexual abuse. But the most damning piece of evidence
is one that will shake Beau to the core of his beliefs...and reveal to him the
true meaning of evil. (From Avon Books)
Republished Avon Books 1997
To read an excerpt from Improbable Cause click here
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Cause from
Dismissed with Prejudice (7th in the series)
Japanese
businessman Tadeo Kurobashi had many passions, including computers, poetry,
money, and Samurai lore. So his suicide method of choice would naturally be
the ancient art of seppuku--what the uninitiated call “hara-kiri.”
But despite the bloody Samurai sword Kurobashi clutches tightly in his lifeless
hand, Seattle detective J. P. Beaumont senses the dead software magnate played
a less active role in his own demise. Because glaring errors have been made
in the-honored Asian death ritual--which has Beau looking for someone with a
less traditional passion. . .for cold-blooded homicide. (From Avon Books)
Republished Avon Books 1997
To read an excerpt of Dismissed with Prejudice click here
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with Prejudice from
Minor in Possession (8th in the series)
An extended
stay in an Arizona alcohol rehab ranch is not J. P. Beaumont’s idea of
a carefree vacation, especially with a teenage drug dealer as a roommate. It
only gets worse when the punk is shot dead with Beaumont’s own .38. Someone
is trying to frame him for the murder of Joey Rothman, but that’s not the
end of Beau’s problems. Because if he doesn’t find the killer before
the killer finds him, the recovering Seattle detective faces a fate far more
unpleasant than cold turkey: either a long stretch in the State cooler. . .or
an even longer one beneath the cold, cold ground. (From Avon Books)
Republished Avon Books 1997
To read an excerpt of Minor in Possession click here
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in Possession from
Payment in Kind (9th in the series)
It looks
like a classic crime of passion to Detective J. P Beaumont: two corpses found
lovingly entwined in a broom closet of the Seattle School District building.
The prime suspect, Pete Kelsey, admits his slain spouse was no novice at adultery,
yet he swears he had nothing to do with the brutal deaths of the errant school
official and her clergyman-turned-security guard companion. Beau believes him,
but there's something the much sinned-upon widower's not telling--and that spells
serious trouble still to come. Because the secret Pete's protecting is even
hotter than extra-marital sex. . . and it could prove more lethal than murder.
(From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books 1991
To read an excerpt of Payment in Kind click here
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in Kind from
Without Due Process (10th in the series)
Officer
Benjamin Harrison Weston was a model cop--until a maniac broke into his home
and brutally murdered him, his wife and his children, but somehow missed his
five-year old son who was hiding in a closet. Now the top brass is suggesting
that “Gentle Ben” was dirty. But Homicide Detective J. P. Beaumont
isn’t about to let anybody drag his dead friend’s reputation through
the mud. And he’s ready to trail a killer from the gang-ruled streets to
the upper ranks of the Seattle P.D., if necessary, to save a scared little boy
who knows too much to live. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books 1993
To read an excerpt from Without Due Process click here
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Due Process from
Failure to Appear (11th in the series)
J. P.
Beaumont’s teenaged daughter Kelly has run off--and her trail ends at the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But in addition to his headstrong offspring, there’s
another surprise waiting backstage for the sober-but-struggling sleuth: the
corpse of a sleazy rival p.i., apparently slain by the Festival’s current
“Juliet.” Beau has his doubts about the young actress’ guilt,
especially when the investigation’s Second Act opens with another body
and a hint of kiddie porn. And his suspicions are leaving Beaumont vulnerably
center stage in a modern-day tragedy of revenge, deception. . .and murder. (From
Avon Books)
Republished Avon Books 1994
To read an excerpt of Failure to Appear click here
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to Appear from
Lying in Wait (12th in the series)
J. P. Beaumont is assigned the grim task of finding out who killed an old high school friend. Despite his feelings about handling the case, Beaumont sorts through the dead man's life. He soon finds himself dealing with arson, Nazi-hunters, kidnappings, stolen gold and another murder. (From Amazon.com)
Republished Avon Books 1996
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in Wait from
Name Withheld (13th in the series)
Seattle
homicide detective J. P. Beaumont finds himself caught up in the ruthless world
of bio-technology as he investigates a New Year's Eve murder. The victim's past
leads Beau into a deadly morass of jealousies, personal betrayals, more corpses
and corporate double-dealings--and closer to a killer he doesn't really want
to find. (From Amazon.com)
Published Avon Books 1996
Order Name
Withheld from
Joanna Brady Mysteries
Desert Heat (1st in the series)
Life is good for Joanna
Brady in the small desert community of Bisbee. She has Jenny, her adored nine-year-old
daughter, and solid, honest, and loving husband, Andy, a local lawman who’s
running for Sheriff of Cochise County. But her god life explodes when a bullet
destroys Andy Brady’s future and leaves him dying beneath the blistering
Arizona sun.
The police brass claim that Andy was dirty--up to his neck in drugs and smuggling--and that the shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . and murder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to track down an assassin and clear her husband’s name are placing herself and her Jenny in serious jeopardy. Because, in the desert, the truth can be far more lethal than a rattler’s bite. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books 1997
To read an excerpt from Desert Heat click here
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Heat from
Tombstone Courage (2nd in the series)
A gripping
new mystery featuring Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady. When a prominent citizen
is murdered, Sheriff Brady is caught in a terrible tapestry of unpleasant family
secrets, sorting through the dead man's dirty laundry to untangle the mess he
left behind--before the killer strikes again. (From Amazon.com)
Published Avon Books 1995
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Courage from
Shoot Don't Shoot (3rd in the series)
Determined to learn
her trade, newly-elected Sheriff Joanna Brady enlists at a Phoenix-based police
academy for training. But when a vicious serial killer murders Joanna's female
classmate, Joanna becomes embroiled in the desperate hunt to find him. (From
Amazon.com)
Published Avon Books 1996
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Don't Shoot from
Dead to Rights (4th in the series)
Joanna Brady--devoted
mother and the first female Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona--knows what it's
like to lose one you love, and her heart still aches over the murder of her
policeman husband. But her sympathy for a tragically widowed ex-cop has placed
Joanna's future in jeopardy--and her face-to-face with death in the high, lonely
desert.
On their nineteenth wedding anniversary, Hal Morgan's wife was fatally struck down by a drunk driver--and the courts punished her killer with only a wrist-slap. A year to the day later the irresponsible motorist is murdered and all fingers are pointing to Morgan as the perpetrator-- except Sheriff Brady's. But Joanna's gut instinct is leading her into a maelstrom of danger and deception, as she trails the truth from a ghostly mining camp to the rocky spires of the Chiricahua National Monument. Because now an assassin is turning his sights on her. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books 1996
To read an excerpt of Dead to Rights click here
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to Rights from
Skeleton Canyon (5th in the series)
It was
love that brought young Brianna "Bree" O'Brien to Skeleton Canyon
for a romantic tryst with her adoring boyfriend, Ignacio Ybarra a rendezvous
the beautiful teenager would never live to experience.
It was love also that compelled Joanna Brady to seek--and win--the office of Cochise County Sheriff love of her murdered policeman husband, whose memory she was honoring; of her little daughter, Jenny, for whom she was now solely responsible; and for justice and truth.
It is the truth about that terrible night in Skeleton a night that witnessed the cruel death of an innocent girl that now concerns Joanna, even as she struggles to come to terms with her own enduring grief and loneliness. Bree's distraught parents are convinced Ignacio is the killer--that the boy was enraged by their refusal to condone his relationship with their daughter.
But the sudden disappearance of a friend--combined with starring revelations gleaned from a chance encounter suggests to Sheriff Brady that there is much more involved in this case than passionate anger and forbidden love. And her investigation is beginning to expose a complex web of crime and deception that stretches from an isolated desert canyon to the luxurious O'Brien family compound, Sombra del San Jose. For nothing is exactly as it seems in either locality . And Joanna is suddenly in danger of discovering first-hand that lies, both criminal and seemingly innocent alike, can have devastating and deadly consequences. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon books 1997
To read an excerpt of Skeleton Canyon click here
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Canyon from
Rattlesnake Crossing (6th in the series)
The hardworking
single mother of a young daughter, Joanna Brady still feels the acute pain of
loneliness and loss, and the hole that was left in her heart when her policeman
husband was brutally murdered. But Sheriff Brady is the law in Cochise County,
and she will never allow her private trials to interfere with the job she was
elected to perform--especially now that murder has shattered the small town's
fragile peace.
A local gun dealer has died violently, and his stock of high-powered weapons has been cleaned out. When two more slayings follow soon after, suspicion falls upon rancher Alton Hosfield, an embittered ,man at war with the federal government, environmentalists, area newcomers, the local law--with anyone, in fact, whom she perceives as a threat to his home, his family, his freedom, and his isolation. Sheriff Brady suspects, however, that the solution is not cut-and-dried.
An incendiary situation is getting hotter by the minute, and the last thing Joanna wants is another "Ruby Ridge" in her jurisdiction. But her preoccupation with bringing a cold-blooded killer to justice could take a terrible toll on her personal life. . .and unravel threads of family, love, and responsibility that might never again be retied. (From Avon Books)
Published Avon Books August 1998
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Crossing from
Web site address
Other sites for J. A. Jance
To read an interview with J. A. Jance click here
Avon Books can be found here
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Page created by Leone Moffat.
Last updated March 3, 2002
