J.A. Jance (Creative Commons) |
Judith Ann Jance, born 1944, is an author of three different mystery series, all written under her own name. The Beaumont series features Jonas Pierpont Beaumont, a police detective from Seattle.
Technically, these are police procedurals, although Beaumont evolves through the series through various crime-fighting roles.
The Beaumont and Joanna Brady series converge in
Partner in Crime,
Fire and Ice, and briefly in
Proof of Life.
Recurring Characters of Note:
Jonas Pierpont (J.P.) Beaumont, variously a policman, retiree, and private eye
Jonas Pierpont, J.P.'s grandfather
Mel Soames, his third wife
Ron Peters, a fellow detective
Ron's family, wife Amy, Heather and Tracie his daughters
Detective Kramer
Lars Jennsen, his AA sponsor
#1 Until Proven Guilty (1985)
#2 Injustice for All (1986)
#3 Trial by Fury (1986)
#4 Taking the Fifth (1987)
#5 Improbable Cause (1987)
#6 A More Perfect Union (1988)
#7 Dismissed with Prejudice (1989)
#8 Minor in Possession (1990)
#9 Payment in Kind (1991)
J.P. is teamed with detective Kramer because his own partner is ill. Kramer is obnoxious and self-serving. They are called to the scene of a double murder at a school administration building. A security guard and one of the staff are found dead in a janitor's closet, partially nude.
The woman's husband Pete is grief-stricken, but Kramer thinks he's a good suspect because the marriage seems to have been strained. J.P. doesn't quite agree, but he does think the man is lying about something.
Kramer continues to take all the credit for their successes in the case and blames J.P. for anything that goes wrong.
When Kramer manages to get Pete's fingerprints they learn that his name is not Pete Kelsey, and he deserted from the Army twenty years prior. But how does this give him a reason to kill his wife.
J.P. is reuninted with his grandparents after being estranged from them all his life.
This is an exceptionally clever and believable plot.
#10 Without Due Process (1993)
#11 Failure to Appear (1994)
#12 Lying in Wait (1995)
J.P.'s grandfather, from whom he gets the Pierpont name, has recently died. He is attempting to pay more attention to his grandmother.
A horrific death in a fishing boat fire turns out to be a torture murder, and the widow is a woman J.P. attended school with. Else was a cheerleader when he was a basketball player. Also living at the fishing marina is a man named Alan Torvaldsen, who was also a classmate. The dead man is Guntar Gebhardt, whose father was an S.S. officer in World War II. Guntar quietly honored his father's memory with a secret collection of toy German soldiers.
But when a woman on a nearby island dies in a similar manner, all previous conclusions seem to be wrong.
This is a fast-paced book with twists and turns at every juncture.
#13 Name Withheld (1997)
#14 Breach of Duty (1999)
#15 Birds of Prey (2002)
#16 Partner in Crime (2003)
#17 Long Time Gone (2005)
#18 Justice Denied (2007)
A young man who has been released from prison as a result of DNA testing that proved he was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted seems to be a model citizen. He is taking care of his grandmother who raised him when he is shot point blank and killed at her front door.
J.P. is living with Mel Soames, and they both work for a special task force created by the state Attorny General. Mel is looking at former sex offenders. A disproportionate number of them have died under various scenarios after being released. She's also on the board of SESAC, a group of women who are dedicated to tracking down rapists using DNA from old rape kits that have never been tested.
J.P. has been assigned to examine old missing persons files. One is particularly puzzling. A man went missing the same day Mount St. Helens exploded, but the claim that he was fishing in the area and was vaporized doesn't seem to hold up.
Mel is briefly on the hot seat as it is discovered that she was in Cancun at the same time as the man who abused her best friend as a child. That friend was the reason she had joined SESAC.
Suddenly, a mysterious connection between several of these cases materializes.
J.P.'s children are now grown and Kelly has two children of her own. They all come home for J.P.'s grandmother's funeral.
#29 Fire and Ice (2009)
#20 Betrayal of Trust (2011)
#21 Ring in the Dead (novella, 2013)
#22 Second Watch (2013)
#23 Stand Down (novella, 2015)
#24 Dance of the Bones (2015) (Brandon Walker crossover)
#25 Proof of Life (2017)
Beau has retired, had knee replacement surgery, and is living happily with his third wife, Mel Soames. She is Chief of Police in Bellingham, WA. While they are having dinner out, an acquaintance of theirs, Max, a journalist stops by the table and makes several cryptic statements. Since he and Beau were never on good terms, Beau doesn't pay much attention.
However, just hours later, Max is dead. A young woman, not a blood relative of Max's, but nevertheless one of his only friends and his heir asks Beau to look into the death. She suspects it is not an accident.
If you are a dog lover, this is a great book. Beau and Mel end up "temporarily" babysitting a black Irish Wolfhound. Not only is Lucy Rambo a loveable addition to the story, she plays a large role in the denouement.
#26 Still Dead (novella, 2017)
#27 Sins Of The Fathers (2019)
#28 Nothing to Lose (2022)
#29 Den of Iniquity (2024)
Simon Brett (photo by Nigel Cull) 
Nevada Barr (Creative Commons license)