Fire and ice

Memories of nearly betraying her husband (Partner in Crime, 2002) with another man come rushing back when Cochise County, Arizona, sheriff Joanna Brady picks up the phone to find herself speaking to J. P. Beaumont. Aging, somewhat mellowed, and now happily married since his encounter with Brady, he is working as an investigator for Seattle's Special Homicide Investigation Team (yes . . . that's S.H.I.T.). This time he's looking into a frustrating series of brutal murders: five young women prostitutes have been bludgeoned, wrapped in identical tarps, and set afire. Finally, there's a break in the case which brings Beaumont into contact with Joanna once again, linking them together in ways neither can anticipate. Readers get a full-on view of Jance's two popular series characters in this exploration of how each has gone on with life since they last met. The clever story unfolds smoothly, with characters kept nicely distinct throughout: Beaumont's sardonic voice details the twists and turns of his investigation, while an omniscient narrator tells how tough, energetic Brady balances the complications of her personal life with her law-enforcement obligations. Fans of both characters will be pleased.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2009 Booklist

Bestseller Jance brings together her two most popular characters, Seattle homicide investigator J.P. Beaumont and Cochise County, Ariz., sheriff Joanna Brady, for a gripping tale that's easily one of her best. While their first dual outing, 2002's Partner in Crime, stagnated with cliched professional and sexual tension, this time the combination excels with a focus on parallel investigations that naturally-and chillingly-intersect. In Seattle, Beaumont looks into the burned bodies of six unidentified women. In Arizona, Brady handles the murder of an ATV park caretaker. Beaumont and Brady pool their information when a murdered woman links back to the missing sister of Jaime Carbajal, one of Brady's detectives. While Brady stays in Arizona, Carbajal's arrival in Washington sets off a chain of events with fatal consequences. Brady's side investigation of a substandard nursing home adds punch. 10-city author tour. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Jance (Partner in Crime) brings together two long-running series protagonists, Sheriff Joanna Brady and Detective J.P. Beaumont, to uncover the mysterious deaths of a young woman, found charred and mutilated in the Cascade Mountains, and a man crushed to death by an all-terrain vehicle in the Arizona sand dunes. What could be a thrilling novel of connecting-the-dots between these two cases instead strolls along at the pace of a family reunion. Verdict Despite addressing complex themes of immigration, drug running, and alternative lifestyles, Jance doesn't bring her usual sense of urgency to this title. Still, series readers will snap this up and be glad for the characters' updates. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/09.]-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.