From Publishers Weekly
In this chilling novel, the prolific Jance successfully brings together her dyspeptic Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont (Birds of Prey, etc.) and Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Joanna Brady (Paradise Lost, etc.). When artist Rochelle Baxter is murdered in Bisbee, Ariz., Brady's department is stunned that Baxter's next of kin is not a person but the Washington State Attorney General's Office. Baxter was Latisha Wall, an industrial whistle-blower in a Washington witness protection program pending her testimony at an important trial. Beaumont, now an investigator for the AG, is sent to Arizona to determine if Wall's cover was blown. The enraged Brady interprets his arrival as personal criticism; Beaumont feels uncomfortable with her resentment and with being in the hometown of his second wife, the serial killer Anne Rowland Corley. After a second murder, the two investigators develop mutual respect and even a physical attraction. The convoluted plot builds to a surprising solution, though the floundering romance ultimately comes off as forced. The most frightening feature is the cause of death--sodium azide, an odorless, tasteless, unregulated chemical used in automobile air bags. Jance highlights the differences between her two protagonists by alternating Beaumont's first-person narration (despite her Seattle sleuth's dislike of Arizona's desolate scenery, the author describes it beautifully) with Brady's third-person chapters, which show how Brady, her staff and family handle pressure.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Jance is famed for two series, one featuring big-city detective J.P. Beaumont and the other small-town Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady. Here, in a case involving the murder of an out-of-state attorney on Brady's turf, the two meet explosively. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
The authors two series sleuths finally meet when J. P. Beaumont, of Washington's Special Homicide Investigation Team, comes to Sheriff Joanna Brady's Cochise County, Arizona, to investigate the murder of a local artist. Cotter Smith narrates J. P.'s first-person chapters and Debra Monk Joanna's third-person chapters. Both narrators are superb: Smith captures J.P.'s world-weary directness; his deep voiced, expressive narration conveys his reactions to being in the home of his late ex-wife. Monk is just as skilled, with a voice that shows its complexities as she expresses Joanna's toughness, her struggles to deal with her job, and the joy and weariness that her life brings her in turn. The meetings of both detectives and narrators are ideal pairings. M.A.M. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
It's risky to bring characters from different series together, but in the tradition of Tony Hillerman, that's just what Jance does in her latest adventure, which teams J. P. Beaumont from the Washington State Attorney General's Office with Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady. When a murder victim turns out to be part of a Federal Witness Protection Program in Joanna's jurisdiction, Beaumont is sent down to oversee the investigation. Predictably, that puts Joanna's nose out of joint, until she realizes that J. P. isn't so bad to have on her side. By wrap-up time, the two seem destined to cross paths again. A clever twist at the end notwithstanding, the plot isn't up to Jance's usual standard, but there's enough tantalizing background about each cop to invite new readers to take a look at the respective detective series. Jance also does a bit of consciousness raising here, working in information about a horrifying chemical that is currently both unregulated and accessible. Let's hope the story doesn't give away too much! Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Booklist
A riveting tale of psychological suspense.


Dallas Morning News
Suspenseful, action-packed.


Entertainment Weekly
Taut . . . entertaining.


Publishers Weekly [Starred Review]
The pace is unflagging...Joanna is engaging and credible


Chicago Tribune
Joanna Brady is a delightful character.


Chicago Tribune
Joanna Brady is a delightful character.


Chicago Tribune
Joanna Brady is a delightful character.


Chicago Tribune
Joanna Brady is a delightful character.


Kirkus Reviews
Solid Entertainment


Book Description

The dead woman on a cold slab in the Arizona morgue was a talented artist recently arrived from the West Coast. The Washington State Attorney General's office thinks this investigation is too big for a small-town female law officer to handle, so they're sending Sheriff Joanna Brady some unwanted help -- a seasoned detective named Beaumont. Sheriff Brady resents his intrusion, and Bisbee, Arizona, with its ghosts and memories, is the last place J.P. Beaumont wants to be. But the twisting desert road they must reluctantly travel together is leading them into a very deadly nest of rattlers. And if they hope to survive, suddenly trust is the only option they have left ...


Download Description
E-book extras: Afterword: "Roots of Mystery: Sodium Azide and Learning to Believe the Unbelievable" by J.A. Jance. Special environmental report: "It Will Kill Practically Anything": Do you drive a 1994 or newer car? If so, you're sitting just inches away from a deadly poison. A terrifying truth is buried at the juncture where lethal greed and unassailable power converge. The dead woman was an artist recently arrived from Washington State, cruelly cut down in the early stages of a promising career. Now all that remains of Rochelle Baxter lies on a cold slab in the Cochise County morgue, and Sheriff Joanna Brady knows that murder has once again infected her small desert community. But there is more to this homicide than initially meets the eye -- and more to the victim, who died while supposedly under the conscientious protection of the government. A big-city legal establishment has no faith in the abilities of a small-town sheriff, let alone a female sheriff. Instructed to swallow her indignation, Joanna awaits the arrival of the ""help"" Washington's attorney general is sending her: the newest member of the state's Special Homicide Investigation team -- a man named Beaumont. Bisbee, Arizona, is the last place J.P. Beaumont wants to be. The ghosts of a painful past are too numerous there, and his reluctant ""partner,"" Sheriff Brady, resents his intrusion and cannot help but make her feelings known. But the road they are forced to travel together is taking some unexpected turns, running two dedicated servants of the law headfirst into the impenetrable stone walls of a shocking conspiracy of silence. For Brady and Beaumont's hunt is disturbing a very deadly nest of rattlers, and suddenly trust is the only option they have. On their own in the Arizona desert, they know death can be cold and quick. And nobody is watching their backs here ... they'll have to watch each other's.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In Partner in Crime, J. A. Jance brings together her two most popular characters, J. P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady. What finally unites these engaging, stubbornly independent crime trackers is a jurisdiction-crossing homicide victim. The corpse was discovered on Sheriff Brady's Cochise County, Arizona turf, but while in a more vibrant form, the murdered woman participated (however unsuccessfully) in the Washington State Attorney General's Witness Protection Program. To close out the official file on the case, Beaumont, the newest member of the AG's Homicide Investigation Team, is dispatched to Bisbee, where he meets Brady, a pack of suspects, and at least one contract killer. For years, the author has been besieged by reader requests for a joint Beaumont and Brady appearance, and this novel is the answer to every Jance fan's dream.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The dead woman was an artist recently arrived from Washington State, cruelly cut down in the early stages of a promising career. Now all that remains of Rochelle Baxter lies on a cold slab in the Cochise County morgue, and Sheriff Joanna Brady knows that murder has once again infected her small desert community. But there is more to this homicide than initially meets the eye - and more to the victim, who died while supposedly under the conscientious protection of the government." "The big-city legal establishment has no faith in the abilities of a small-town sheriff, let alone a female sheriff. Instructed to swallow her indignation, Joanna awaits the arrival of the "help" Washington's attorney general is sending her: the newest member of the state's Special Homicide Investigation team - a man named Beaumont." "Bisbee, Arizona, is the last place J. P. Beaumont wants to be. The ghosts of a painful past are too numerous there, and his reluctant "partner," Sheriff Brady, resents his intrusion and cannot help but make her feelings known." But the road they are forced to travel together is taking some unexpected turns, running two dedicated servants of the law headfirst into the impenetrable stone walls of a shocking conspiracy of silence. For Brady and Beaumont's hunt is disturbing a very deadly nest of rattlers, and suddenly trust is the only option they have. On their own in the Arizona desert, they know death can be cold and quick. And nobody is watching their backs here...they'll have to watch each other's.

SYNOPSIS

E-book extras: Afterword: "Roots of Mystery: Sodium Azide and Learning to Believe the Unbelievable" by J.A. Jance. Special environmental report: "It Will Kill Practically Anything": Do you drive a 1994 or newer car? If so, you're sitting just inches away from a deadly poison.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this chilling novel, the prolific Nance successfully brings together her dyspeptic Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont (Birds of Prey, etc.) and Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Joanna Brady (Paradise Lost, etc.). When artist Rochelle Baxter is murdered in Bisbee, Ariz., Brady's department is stunned that Baxter's next of kin is not a person but the Washington State Attorney General's Office. Baxter was Latisha Wall, an industrial whistle-blower in a Washington witness protection program pending her testimony at an important trial. Beaumont, now an investigator for the AG, is sent to Arizona to determine if Wall's cover was blown. The enraged Brady interprets his arrival as personal criticism; Beaumont feels uncomfortable with her resentment and with being in the hometown of his second wife, the serial killer Anne Rowland Corley. After a second murder, the two investigators develop mutual respect and even a physical attraction. The convoluted plot builds to a surprising solution, though the floundering romance ultimately comes off as forced. The most frightening feature is the cause of death sodium azide, an odorless, tasteless, unregulated chemical used in automobile air bags. Nance highlights the differences between her two protagonists by alternating Beaumont's first-person narration (despite her Seattle sleuth's dislike of Arizona's desolate scenery, the author describes it beautifully) with Brady's third-person chapters, which show how Brady, her staff and family handle pressure. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Jance is famed for two series, one featuring big-city detective J.P. Beaumont and the other small-town Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady. Here, in a case involving the murder of an out-of-state attorney on Brady's turf, the two meet explosively. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

The authors two series sleuths finally meet when J. P. Beaumont, of Washington's Special Homicide Investigation Team, comes to Sheriff Joanna Brady's Cochise County, Arizona, to investigate the murder of a local artist. Cotter Smith narrates J. P.'s first-person chapters and Debra Monk Joanna's third-person chapters. Both narrators are superb: Smith captures J.P.'s world-weary directness; his deep voiced, expressive narration conveys his reactions to being in the home of his late ex-wife. Monk is just as skilled, with a voice that shows its complexities as she expresses Joanna's toughness, her struggles to deal with her job, and the joy and weariness that her life brings her in turn. The meetings of both detectives and narrators are ideal pairings. M.A.M. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews