J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series whisks us off to a small town in the desert terrain of the Southwest. When Joanna's newly elected husband is killed while serving as sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, Joanna steps into his position. We watch her grow into the job in Jance's series: she has to cope with the problems of juggling family and personal life while solving crimes. At the same time, we've learned about the benefits and shortcomings of daily life in a desert--how beautiful and dangerous the landscape can be in all seasons.

Jance's seventh book, Outlaw Mountain, begins with the death of an old woman who was injured when she fell on a poisonous cholla cactus. But it isn't the plant that finishes off Alice Rogers; the lively, free-spirited widow is murdered by someone who injects her as she lies writhing in pain. Now Joanna has to find out whether anyone in Alice's large family would have killed her for her land and money. Was it her son Cletus, "a restaurateur with the diplomacy of a mountain goat," who was recently elected mayor of the legendary Arizona town of Tombstone (where Wyatt Earp once reigned)? Or did the murder have something to do with a local political power struggle? As she has done so well before, Jance balances scenes full of action and excitement with more intimate moments. --Dick Adler


From Library Journal
Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady faces a multitude of challenges in her seventh outing: the mayor's wife has been found murdered; a drug ring appears to be operating in the area; an abandoned mentally disabled adult can't tell anyone where he lives; Joanna's best friend is ready to give up the ministry after her daughter's death; and Butch (Joanna's significant other) is pressing her for a commitment. There's a lot going on, and that's a weakness: the listener is (seemingly) treated to every detail of Joanna's existence, and it detracts from the main story. Fans of the series will enjoy catching up on Joanna's life, but those new to it may find that there's too much of the minutiae that clogs all of our lives. Stephanie Brush's narration is clear and straightforward, with minor inflections for individual characters. Her phrasing and pauses are used to good effect. Recommended for collections where the series is popular.-Melody A. Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, NC Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Sheriff Joanna Brady has a lot on her plate11/14/99responsibility for law enforcement in Bisbee, Arizona, single parenthood and a blossoming romance. Then the mayor's wealthy mother is murdered, setting off a chain reaction of violence. Jance is as good at balancing concurrent plot lines and well-drawn characters as Butler is at keeping them vocally straight, affecting and memorable. Sheriff Brady comes through as competent and strong-willed but not immune to the emotional tugs of family and friends. Jance keeps the action moving, and Butler ensures you'll keep listening. This is the seventh in this series but the first to be done by NewStar. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona, has her hands full: the mayor's mother has been brutally murdered; the chief deputy has resigned; and Joanna must find whoever abandoned a mentally disabled man at the local church. Then there's life on the personal front: Joanna's best friend is still grieving deeply over her child's death; Joanna's daughter Jenny is suspended from school for fighting; and Joanna's "sort of" beau, Butch Dixon, has stunned her by proposing marriage. Matters get worse rather before they get better when the mayor winds up dead, and evidence turns up of a drug ring among the town's most prominent citizens. The Brady series' combination of vivid landscape, a strong central character, and satisfying plotting has made it a winner from the outset. Expect the streak to continue with this one. An excellent choice for readers partial to the Southwest setting or to the combination of American cozy and police procedural (ala Hess' Maggody novels). Emily Melton


From Kirkus Reviews
Trouble in bunches for Cochise County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joanna Brady as she begins her seventh adventure (Breach of Duty, 1998, etc.). With a baffling murder to solve and a tricky relationship to sort out, she's feeling jittery in the professional sector and on the home front. The murder: a well-fixed widow of mature years is found dead in the desert, clearly the victim of foul play. Though Alice Rogers was in no way unlikable, there's no scarcity of suspects. The problem is just that all of theman arrogant son, an irascible daughter, a mysterious handyman turned suitorare so very eligible. In addition, it soon develops that the murder has ramifications transcending the obvious. Eco-terrorists may be involved, or big-business chicanery, or corruption in high governmental places. Meanwhile, back in her parlor, there's Butch Dixon, that sexy, sweet-natured former restaurateur, rusticating now because he wants to write a novel. Butch is getting a shade impatient; theres a noticeable increase in the ardor with which he's been pressing honorable intentions. Will Joanna find a way to cope both professionally and domestically? Of course. What makes this bunch of troubles different from any other Brady bunch? Not much dash to the prose, depth to the plotting, or nuance to the characters, but Jance has a certain reassuring sturdiness, and those who like her won't be disappointed here. (Mystery Guild Dual Main Selection; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.



"Joanna Brady is a delightful character."



"J.A. Jance is among the best--if not the best--mystery novelists writing today."


Book Description

A breathtaking story of senseless, brutal death in a desolate terrain from the New York Times bestselling author of Exit Wounds.

What kind of monster would savagely murder a 71-year-old and leave her battered corpse to rot in the Arizona desert? A crime so patently inhuman, it shocks even those who should be used to death -- like Joanna Brady, Sheriff of Cochise County. But the slaying of a complex and truly uncommon senior is only one thread in a bloody tapestry -- as death follows death in horrific succession, leading a dedicated officer of the law to risk everything as she seeks answers in the lethal shadow of Outlaw Mountain.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
July 1999


Big Trouble in Little County

I happened to reread John D. MacDonald's A Purple Place for Dying just before I read J. A. Jance's Outlaw Mountain, and I was impressed by how well Jance's book stacked up against the legendary John D.'s.

Both are set in the Southwest; both evidence a true affection and respect for the natives of the land; both show an equal affection and respect for goodwilled people of all races, sexes, and religions. And both deal with the insidious effects of local politics on the lives of ordinary, hardworking, honest people.

Sheriff Joanna Brady is experiencing several kinds of upheaval in both the professional and personal aspects of her life. The mayor's mother is murdered, Joanna's daughter is in trouble at school, and Joanna's love life has taken a sudden and unexpected turn. And there is a murder mystery that will lead straight to some of the most powerful movers and shakers of Cochise County, Arizona.

Jance shows a deft hand with all aspects of her complicated plot. The murder stuff is great, a real stumper; Joanna's personal life is truly painful, especially to anyone who has ever dealt with a beloved but difficult teenager; and Jance's police procedural stuff is, in its quiet way, as good as it gets. She has a real feel for the politics of a small organization and handles what could well be stuffy organizational back story with gentle and wise humor.

What can I say? Jance keeps on turning out winners, andOutlawMountain is certainly no exception.

—Ed Gorman

Ed Gorman's latest novels include Daughter of Darkness, Harlot's Moon, and Black River Falls, the latter of which "proves Gorman's mastery of the pure suspense novel," says Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. ABC-TV has optioned the novel as a movie. Gorman is also the editor of Mystery Scene magazine, which Stephen King calls "indispensable" for mystery readers.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Alice Rogers, an elderly widow, is dead, found murdered in the Arizona desert. It's easy enough to pin the killing on the teens caught driving her car across the Mexican border, but Sheriff Brady isn't about to let it go at that. Alice was something of a free spirit, with a penchant for Scotch, the glitter of Las Vegas, and a romance with a man twenty years her junior. Her hot-tempered daughter Susan suspects Mom's boyfriend — her former handyman who moved in instead of moving on when he finished his handy work. Now Susan's furious at her brother Clete, the do-nothing mayor of Tombstone, blaming him for not protecting their inheritance by breaking up their mother's winter romance.

Yet all is not as it appears to be, and Joanna is forced to put her personal life on hold to dig deeper into Alice's death, the lives of her greedy offspring, and the identity of her mysterious gentleman friend. And as the investigation gets sidetracked by ugly local land disputes, it takes some troublesome twists and turns, until Sheriff Brady finds herself wading through a murky morass of graft and corruption that may have given someone reason to kill — and kill again.

SYNOPSIS

J. A. Jance's tough-as-nails Cochise County sheriff is back in Outlaw Mountain , a heart-pounding suspense roller-coaster that's loaded with the twists and turns of a rocky Arizona road. Joanna Brady, a young widow and mother of an 11-year-old girl, is faced with not only a gruesome roadside death but also sleazy political machination and treachery.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Joanna Brady — widow, single mother and sheriff of Cochise County, Ariz. — is the star of Jance's fine series of police procedurals. Joanna has grown and changed over the course of six novels (the most recent being Rattlesnake Crossing), and in this up-to-snuff seventh she's considering remarrying. She's also heading up an investigation into the murder of an elderly woman found riddled with cactus spines in the desert. The victim is Alice Rogers, mother of the erratic and blustering mayor of Tombstone, Cletus Rogers. At the same time, Joanna and her deputies must sort out a skirmish between construction workers and environmental protesters over the development of homes on pristine mountain land. Joanna is an appealing heroine, a talented, hard-working woman who must manage a department with its share of stubborn and strong-willed men — while she tries to meet the demands of her personal life. She inevitably works long, unpredictable hours and struggles to find enough time to do her job well and still see her with family and friends. Though Joanna's boyfriend, Butch Dixon, is sometimes too perfect, and in this outing, the motivations of some of the major characters tend to be murky, the strongly evoked settings and Joanna's natural charisma will carry fans along happily. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady faces a multitude of challenges in her seventh outing: the mayor's wife has been found murdered; a drug ring appears to be operating in the area; an abandoned mentally disabled adult can't tell anyone where he lives; Joanna's best friend is ready to give up the ministry after her daughter's death; and Butch (Joanna's significant other) is pressing her for a commitment. There's a lot going on, and that's a weakness: the listener is (seemingly) treated to every detail of Joanna's existence, and it detracts from the main story. Fans of the series will enjoy catching up on Joanna's life, but those new to it may find that there's too much of the minutiae that clogs all of our lives. Stephanie Brush's narration is clear and straightforward, with minor inflections for individual characters. Her phrasing and pauses are used to good effect. Recommended for collections where the series is popular.--Melody A. Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, NC Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile - Judy B. Gummere

Sheriff Joanna Brady has a lot on her plate11/14/99responsibility for law enforcement in Bisbee, Arizona, single parenthood and a blossoming romance. Then the mayor's wealthy mother is murdered, setting off a chain reaction of violence. Jance is as good at balancing concurrent plot lines and well-drawn characters as Butler is at keeping them vocally straight, affecting and memorable. Sheriff Brady comes through as competent and strong-willed but not immune to the emotional tugs of family and friends. Jance keeps the action moving, and Butler ensures you'll keep listening. This is the seventh in this series but the first to be done by NewStar. J.B.G. c AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Trouble in bunches for Cochise County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joanna Brady as she begins her seventh adventure (Breach of Duty, 1998, etc.). With a baffling murder to solve and a tricky relationship to sort out, she's feeling jittery in the professional sector and on the home front. The murder: a well-fixed widow of mature years is found dead in the desert, clearly the victim of foul play. Though Alice Rogers was in no way unlikable, there's no scarcity of suspects. The problem is just that all of them￯﾿ﾽan arrogant son, an irascible daughter, a mysterious handyman turned suitor￯﾿ﾽare so very eligible. In addition, it soon develops that the murder has ramifications transcending the obvious. Eco-terrorists may be involved, or big-business chicanery, or corruption in high governmental places. Meanwhile, back in her parlor, there's Butch Dixon, that sexy, sweet-natured former restaurateur, rusticating now because he wants to write a novel. Butch is getting a shade impatient; there￯﾿ﾽs a noticeable increase in the ardor with which he's been pressing honorable intentions. Will Joanna find a way to cope both professionally and domestically? Of course. What makes this bunch of troubles different from any other Brady bunch? Not much dash to the prose, depth to the plotting, or nuance to the characters, but Jance has a certain reassuring sturdiness, and those who like her won't be disappointed here. (Mystery Guild Dual Main Selection; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour)