Long before she started her hot new series about Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady, J. A. Jance was already one of the stalwarts of the police procedural genre because of her books about Seattle homicide detective J. P. Beaumont. Like the Brady novels, the Beaumont books are a perfect balance of the personal and the professional--placing the main characters in human contexts without making them seem cute or trite. The latest Beaumont, just out in paperback, is one of the best in the series: Beau wrestles at home with his own dying ex-wife and the vindictive former spouse of his best friend, while his office time is spent trying to discover who murdered a very nasty biotech executive. Previous Beaumont books in paperback include: Dismissed With Prejudice, Failure to Appear, Improbable Cause, Lying in Wait, Minor in Possession, Until Proven Guilty, Without Due Process.


From Publishers Weekly
Investigating the shooting death of a man whose corpse is found in Elliott Bay, Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont, seen last in Lying in Wait, turns up an excess of suspects. Nobody grieves when the victim is identified. An executive at biotechnology start-up company, he had been involved in everything from corporate power grabs to rape. The rape victim's aunt, a local antiques dealer, confesses and demands to be arrested; the dead man's boss declares himself a prime suspect. Meanwhile, a woman?possibly the murder victim's wife?is found shot to death. The one person who may understand what's happening, a wheelchair-bound PI, vanishes. Faced with these puzzles, Beaumont also confronts personal problems: his ex-wife is dying of cancer; his sometime partner remains jealous of Beau's independent wealth; and a social worker seems to be trumping up charges of child abuse against him. Juggling these elements with her usual sure hand, Jance also controls a supporting cast that ranges from diabolical to dotty. The big finish, when Beaumont and his unlikely allies battle the killer, by itself deserves a movie sale. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont's New Year's Day festivities are interrupted by the discovery of a body floating off a local pier. Gunfire, not drowning, caused the death of this wheeler-dealer from a local high-tech genetics research firm. Two additional murders appear to be linked to the floater. Meanwhile, a prominent "old money" spinster confesses to the crimes. The gruff but soft-hearted Beaumont is touched but not fooled by this false admission of guilt that seems concocted to protect a beloved niece. Following well-placed clues and perceptive hunches, Beaumont closes in on the real culprits. Readers who relish a varied rendition of diverse characters will appreciate narrator Gene Engene's dramatic interpretation. Recommended for large mystery collections.?Linda Bredengerd, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib., Bradford, Pa.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
NAME WITHHELD features J.P. Beaumont, a recovering alcoholic who drives a Porsche. This combination makes him an appealing character, at once vulnerable and successful. Jonathan Marosz is masterful as the eccentric Grace Highsmith and her innocent, hapless niece, Latty Gibbson, who is victimized and raped by Designer Genes executive Don Wolf. Wolf's murder sets off a chain reaction that leads to a satisfying brew of triple homicide, intrigue, and betrayal. Offering to help Beau solve the crimes is smooth, sultry, transgendered Jonny Bickford. Beleaguered by allegations of child sexual abuse and his first wife's terminal illness, Beaumont struggles with a double agenda. Marosz's fast-paced, dramatic performance translates Jance's material into a satisfying "read." M.D.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Seattle cop J. P. Beaumont is a renegade. Not only does he play by his own rules, but he's also not particularly macho: sensitive, polite (at least, usually), and very politically correct. His latest case starts with the discovery of a "floater" dredged out of the water on New Year's Eve. The victim is a prominent biotech executive who died, not by drowning, but from a bullet hole in the back of the head. Two more bloodied corpses show up, J. P. finds out that the biotech company was down the tubes, and one of Seattle's more prominent citizens confesses to the murders. Then J. P. finds out that his ex-wife is dying of cancer and that some overeager social worker is trying to prove he's a pedophile. It's enough to make anybody crazy--even the usually cool J. P. The story's a little thin on plot, but readers won't mind because J. P. is such a likable fellow, struggling with life's ups and downs just like the rest of us, and in his own way, shaking his fist at fate. Emily Melton


Portland Oregonian
"One of the country’s most popular writers."


Entertainment Weekly
"Taut . . . entertaining."


Orlando Sentinel
"Credible and entertaining."


People
Praise for J.A. Jance: "Jance delivers a devilish page-turner."


Washington Times
"J.A. Jance does not disappoint her fans."


Dallas Morning News
"Suspenseful, action-packed."


Book Description
Nobody is grieving over the death of Donald Wolf, a biotechnology corporation executive whose numerous criminal activities includedillegally trading industrial secrets ... and rape. Too many people, in fact, are almost too eager to take responsibility for his murder.At the start of a brand new year, Seattle Homicide DetectiveJ.P. Beaumont has his own life-shattering problems to worryabout-from the imminent death of an ex-wife to trumped-upcharges of child abuse. But the justly-slain body floatingin Elliott Bay is pulling Beau back to the job-leading him into a deadly morass of jealousies, personal betrayals, morecorpses and corporate double-dealings ... and closer to a killer he doesn't really want to find.


From the Publisher
6 1.5-hour cassettes


About the Author
New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance was born in South Dakota, brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, and now lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

ANNOTATION

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. National ads. HC: William Morrow. (Fiction--Mystery)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Seattle Police homicide detective J.P. Beaumont is babysitting his best friend's daughters in his penthouse apartment on a sober New Year's Day when he is called to investigate a body floating in nearby Elliot Bay. The case draws Seattle's favorite detective into the cutting-edge world of biotechnology, where business as usual means personal betrayals and selling trade secrets with ruthless efficiency. The more Beau discovers about the corpse, the more he's convinced that justice has already been served. Amid an exasperating, eccentric cast of characters and battling with a partner who resents Beau's inherited wealth, the recovering alcoholic detective discovers that sometimes twelve-step programs don't have all the answers. With his personal life converging into his professional one, Beau struggles to find a killer he doesn't really want to find.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly