Rattlesnake Crossing - Hardcover

J. A. Jance

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380974991 ISBN 13: 9780380974993

Publisher: Avon, 1998

Synopsis

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.

About 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, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

"Yes, indeed, folks is droppin' like flies," a crotchety witness says to Sheriff Joanna Brady. "I don't remember us havin' this kind of murder problem back when we had a man for sheriff." A killer is loose in Cochise County, Ariz., and Brady is under pressure to stop the carnage. Her sixth adventure (following Skeleton Canyon, 1997) begins with the discovery of a gun dealer's body. His stock of high-powered weapons has disappeared, and some of the later murder victims appear to have been shot with big guns. They are also scalped, throwing suspicion on visitors at a quasi-dude ranch for Apache wannabes from Europe, who dress in Indian garb and live outdoors. Then an FBI profiler tells Brady that the scalping may provide trophies for a possible serial killer. On the personal front, the widowed sheriff finds her relationship deepening with Phoenix bar owner Butch Dixon, and she suffers with her dear friend, minister Marianne Maculyea, whose faith is tested when her adopted daughter falls gravely ill. Although Joanna's private life is central to this series and is, as usual, movingly portrayed, the sheer number of bodies piling up in this case gives her professional efforts considerably more dramatic impact than her personal considerations. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The longer Joanna Brady's cases get, the less there seems to be to them. This time, the killer whose first homicide was just a warm-up for a spree that runs from Pomerene gun dealer Clyde Philips (beaten and smothered) to anti-oleander activist Ashley Brittany (shot and scalped) to dude ranch paper-shuffler Katrina Berridge (ditto and ditto) sounds like a meaty meal for the sheriff of Arizona's Cochise County. But the hints of survivalist hysteria go nowhere; the rumors of a small-scale range war between rancher Alton Hosfield and transplanted insurance exec Martin Scorsby go nowhere; even the war signals between Joanna and substitute medical examiner Dr. Fran Daly go nowhere. There are more killings, but Jance (Skeleton Canyon, 1997, etc.) seems less interested in them, certainly less interested in the killer behind them, than in Joanna's romance with restauranteur Butch Dixon or her friend Rev. Marianne Maculyea's medical tribulations with her adopted daughter. The result is less a police proceduralstill less a mystery or suspenserthan a novel of manners about a heroine whose career happens to be in law enforcement, and whose idea of bonding with the bereaved is to tell them that since she's a widow herself, she knows how they feel. All of which would be fine if Joanna and her intimates were interesting enough to make up for what's missing. As it is, Jance makes you appreciate how hard the best Faye Kellermans work to integrate her characters' domestic and professional lives, instead of simply serving them up on the same plate. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The sixth Joanna Brady novel begins with a red herring and ends with a serial killer. Despite the gory details and the piling up of corpses, the mystery retains its human proportions, as Sheriff Brady contends with staff, friends, her love life, and her daughter. A satisfying entry.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Avon
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0380974991
• ISBN 13: 9780380974993
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 371