BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
(Available in Print: (1987), March 1, 2003; PUBLISHER: Severn House Publishers; ISBN: 978-0727859440; PAGES: 320; Unabridged.)
(Available as Digital)
*This edition-Audio: COPYRIGHT: 2/19/2008; PUBLISHER: Books in Motion; ISBN: 1581163568; DURATION: 07:42:24; PARTS: 6; Unabridged; FILE SIZE: 222249 KB
Feature Film or tv?: No

SERIES:
J.P. Beaumont Book 4

MAJOR CHARACTERS:
(I was listening rather than reading, so may not have spelled names correctly)

Jonas Piedmont Beaumont-J.P. Beaumont (Beau)—Seattle Washington Detective
Ron Peters—New partner of Beau
Tracy Peters—Daughter of Ron
Heather Peters—Daughter of Ron
Ralph Ames -- Beau's lawyer
Detective Allen (Big Al) Lindstrom - Beau's temporary homicide detective partner
Dr. Howard Baker -- King County's Medical Examiner


SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
I read somewhere that J.A. wrote the first three books of this series on a computer with a publishing program that limited her storage space, and so dictated the length of chapters. I was looking forward to seeing how more storage space effected the final product. I’d been content with the chapter lengths and amount of details. Interestingly, only the first book was shorter than this one.
With detective Peters out of commission, Detective Beaumont teams up with Big Al, but it seems J.P. is doing most of the legwork because Big Al has family issues to attend to. This case begins with a dead body with strange perforation marks. When J.P. investigates the victim's residence, he encounters yet another recent death.
My husband and I are still enjoying this series.

AUTHOR:
J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance -- (born October 27, 1944) "Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent." – Wikipedia
“J.A. Jance is the New York Times Bestselling author of more than sixty books. Born in South Dakota and raised in Bisbee, Arizona, she and her husband live in the Seattle area with their two longhaired dachshunds, Mary and Jojo.” ---Amazon

NARRATOR:
Gene Engene -- "Gene Engene is an award-winning reader with an astounding catalog of audiobooks to his credit. He is best known as J.P. Beaumont in the J.A. Jance mystery series. Gene is a veteran stage actor, director, and is a retired Professor of Drama at Eastern Washington University." -- Books in Motion

GENRE:
Mystery; Fiction, Police Procedurals; Suspense Thrillers

LOCATIONS:
Seattle and other cities in Washington State

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1987)

SUBJECTS:
Murder; police procedure; drugs; LGBT; concerts; celebrities

DEDICATION:
"For D.A.L. If all the world's a stage, then God must be the head carpenter"

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
Excerpt from Chapter 1

"The aid car was there, sitting next to the railroad track with its red light flashing. But for the guy on the ground, the guy lying on his stomach with his face in the cinders and dirt beside the iron rails, it was far too late for an aid car. He didn't need a medic.
What he needed was a medical examiner. And a homicide detective.
That's where I came in, Homicide Detective J. P. Beaumont, of Seattle P.D. I was there along with my pinch-hitting partner, Detective Allen (Big Al) Lindstrom. After working until midnight on our regular shift, we had been called back when the body was found. Now we were standing by, waiting for Dr. Howard Baker, King County's medical examiner, to arrive on the scene.
Doc Baker isn't a morning person, and this was was very early morning. It was ten to five on a cool summer day, just after the longest day of the year."

RATING:
4 stars.

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
4-30-2022 to 5-7-2022 ( )

Standard hard boiled detective story I read since the author was visiting the library. Gritty, and I liked how the attention to little details and old fashioned research won the day. ( )

A body is found with strange puncture wounds on his forehead. Detective Beaumont’s investigation leads him on a merry chase that involves a beautiful woman - no surprise there. Drugs are involved, and it doesn’t take Beau long to realize that someone has been set-up to take the fall for the murder. Finding the evidence to clear her takes a bit longer. This may not be great literature, but it is a fast read and entertaining. I find the character of Beau’s partner to be quite interesting, and this story leaves me wondering what the future holds for him. ( )

Seattle location didn't feature as prominently as in the first three novels. It's also odd that Beau again sleeps with the the suspect given J. A. Jance is a woman. ( )

What fun it was to go into the past of J. P, Beaumont. Life doesn't change much; murder, drugs. But OMG no cell phones and using cassette tapes, how funny. This was brought back because it will tie into her newest Beaumont book. I love this series. He's such a great guy but with all the normalcy of all of us who do embarassing things. Yeah ok he drives a Porsche so he's not quite like us but I love his heart. This was a fast read and a fun time. ( )