J. A. Jance

Hour of the Hunter by J. A. Jance

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: COPYRIGHT: January 1, 1991; PUBLISHER: William Morrow & Company; ISBN 978-0688096304; PAGES 370 ; Unabridged (Amazon Hardcover)

-Digital: COPYRIGHT: (1/1/1994) March 17, 2009; PUBLISHER: William Morrow reprint edition; FILE SIZE: 1001 KB; Unabridged (info from: Amazon: Kindle edition)

*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 20 Jan 2005; PUBLISHER: Books in Motion; DURATION: 15 hrs (approx.); Unabridged (INFO FROM Libby, OC Public Libraries)

Feature Film or tv: Not that I’m aware of.

SERIES: Walker Family Mysteries, Book 1

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Diana Ladd- Widowed mother of a 6 year old boy
Davy Ladd (Olhoni) – Diana’s son
Bone – Black and tan mutt – predominantly Irish Wolfhound
Iona Anne Dade – Diana’s mother
Max Cooper – Diana’s father
Andrew Carlisle – Convicted as accomplice in a rape and murder of a teenage Native American
Gina Antone – Young Tohono Oʼodham Native American
Rita Antone {Nana Dahd / Dancing Quail} – A Tohono Oʼodham Native American-Gina’s grandmother
Gabe Ortiz (AKA Gihg Tahpani {Fat Crack}) - Rita’s nephew
Juanita Ortiz – Rita’s sister
Looks At Nothing – Tohono Oʼodham Native American
Ron Mallory – Assistant Superintendent at a state prison in Florence Arizona
Brandon Walker – A Pima County homicide detective
Louella Walker – Brandon’s mother
Toby Walker – Brandon’s father

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTION: Don and I had the pleasure of seeing the author, J.A. Jance, speak at a library luncheon where this book was brought to our attention as having been the first book published. (Now, how had I missed that?)

-ABOUT? When a young Native American woman is killed and the perpetrator is sent to prison for just 6 years and then released with the prison’s assistant superintendent commenting on his departure that, in his opinion, he should never have been imprisoned for such an act to begin with, we gain an understanding of the low social status of those in this Native American community; many of the Tohono Oʼodham Native American customs are also highlighted.

-LIKED: Great characters and insights into the lives of the Tohono Oʼodham Native Americans. Great plot.

-DISLIKED: Nothing comes to mind.

-OVERALL: I enjoyed becoming familiar with the good characters, and was anxious that they overcome the bad ones.

AUTHOR: J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance -- (born October 27, 1944) "J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and three interrelated thrillers. Born in South Dakota, and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona. – “About the Author (inside the digital version of this book)

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:
Fiction; Literature, Thriller; Suspense

SUBJECTS: (Not comprehensive)
Papago Indian Community; Tohono Oʼodham Native Americans; Psychopaths; murder; suicide; Origin stories; Widows; small towns

LOCATIONS:
Arizona

TIME FRAME:
1943, 1963, 1967-1968, 1975

DEDICATION:
“To Bill, who brought us “the Bone,” and to Diana Conway wherever she is”

EXCERPT: (From Chapter 1)
“Davy Ladd scampered eagerly out of the room. Bone, black as a shadow and almost as big as his six-year-old owner, waited patiently outside the door. The two of them raced through the house looking for Rita. Davy was quiet about it, though. He didn’t shout or make too much noise. Rita had taught him better manners than that. Children were never to shout after their elders It wasn’t polite.
He found Rita in the backyard loading boxes laden with finely crafted handmade baskets into the bed of an old blue GMC. She stopped working long enough to wipe the running sweat from her wrinkled brown face.
“Well now, Olhoni,” she said, standing looking down on him with both hands folded over her faded apron. “What did your mother say?”
Only Rita called Davy Ladd by the name Olhoni, which, in Papago, means Maverick or Orphaned Calf. That name, the one he called his Indian name, was a jealously guarded secret shared by the boy and the old woman Not even Davy’s mother knew Rita called him that.
“I can go, Nana Dahd,” he told her breathlessly.
Dahd was Papago for “Godmother,” but the title was strictly honorary. Davy had never seen the inside of a church, and there had been no formal ceremony. Like her name for him, however, Nana Dahd was a form of address Davy used only when the two of them were alone together.
Davy clambered up into the truck. He helped shove the last box of baskets down the wooden floor of the short bed to where part of a livestock rack had been spot-welded to the outside wall of the cab. He held the boxes tightly while Rita used rope to lash them firmly in place.
“She says I can go to the feast too. Shall I wear my boots? Should I get a bedroll? Can Bone come?”
“Oh’o stays here,” Nana Dahd told him firmly. “Dogs don’t belong at feasts. Go get a jacket and a bedroll. Even with the fires, it may be cold at the dance. You’ll want to sleep before it’s over. I’ll fix lunch before we go.”
“Oh, no,” Davy replied seriously. “I won’t fall asleep. I promise. I want to stay up all night. Until the dance is over. Until the sun comes up.”
“Go now,” Rita urged, without raising her voice. That wasn’t necessary. The child did as he was told. He sometimes argued with his mother but never with Nana Dahd. Finished packing, Davy stowed his small canvas bag in the cab of the truck and then made his way into Nana Dahd’s room.
He found her busily patting a ball of soft white dough into a flat, round cake. When the dough was stretched thin enough, she dropped it into a vat of hot fat on the stove’s front burner. Within seconds, the dough puffed up and cooked to a golden brown. Meantime, Rita patted out another. Davy had often tried working the dough himself, but no matter what he did, the ball of dough remained just that—a stubborn ball of dough.
Davy hurried to his place at the bare wooden table, while Bone settled comfortably at his feet. Rita placed a mound of thick red chili on the popovers, folded them over, and brought them to the table on plates. In the center of the table sat a small bowl piled high with cooked broccoli. While Davy wrinkled his nose in disgust, Nana Dahd ladled a spoonful of broccoli onto his plate next to the steaming popover.
“You know I hate broccoli,” he said, reaching at once for the popover.
Rita was unmoved. “Eat your vegetables,” she said.
Davy nodded, but as soon as Rita turned her back, he slipped the broccoli under the table to a waiting and appreciative Bone. The dog liked everything—including broccoli.”

RATING:
4 stars

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
6-23-2023 to 7-2-2023… (more)

Payment in Kind by J A Jance

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: COPYRIGHT: (1991) 3/1/2004; PUBLISHER: Severn House Publishers; ISBN 978-0727860484; PAGES 384; Unabridged

Digital: Yes

*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 2/19/2008; ISBN: 1596072970; PUBLISHER: Books in Motion; DURATION: 09:34:14; PARTS: 8; File Size: 276937 KB; Unabridged

Feature Film or tv: No

SERIES: J. P. Beaumont Series, Book 9

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Jonas Piedmont Beaumont-J.P. Beaumont (Beau)—Seattle Washington Detective
Paul Kramer- Seattle PD detective

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: I have decided to listen to all of Jance’s books and this was the next one in the series.
What’s it about? A couple of bodies are found in a janitorial closet in a school building and the assumption is murder/suicide, until J. P. Beaumont is on the case.
What did I think? Another good episode.

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

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:
Fiction; Suspense; Thriller

LOCATIONS:
Washington


TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1991)

SUBJECTS:
murder; LGBTQ; romance

DEDICATION:
“For Penny and in memory of Paul”

QUOTE (From Chapter 1 — please forgive absence of paragraph breaks.)
“ If my caller had been Ralph Ames, I would've had to tell him his suggestion had a lot of merit, but it wasn't Ames at all. Instead, the person on the phone was Sergeant Watkins, my immediate supervisor from Homicide at the Seattle Police Department. When Watty calls me at home, it usually means trouble, but surprisingly, he didn't launch into it right away. “How's it going?” he asked with uncharacteristic indirectness. “Colder 'an a witch's tit,” I answered tersely. “Our heat pumps went off overnight. I'm standing here dripping wet.” “Your heat pumps went off?” he echoed with a laugh. “What's the matter? Did one of you fat cats forget to pay the bill down at City Light?” Sergeant Watkins doesn't usually beat around the bush discussing the weather. “Cut the comedy, Watty,” I snapped. “I'm freezing my ass off while you're cracking jokes. Get to the point.” “I've got a case for you, Beau. Initial reports say we've got two stiffs on Lower Queen Anne Hill. We've got some people on the scene, but no detectives so far. You're it.” “Where?” “In the Seattle school district office. Know where that is?” I was already groping in my dresser drawer for socks and underwear. “Not exactly, but I can find it,” I returned. “The streets outside are a damned skating rink,” Watty continued. “It might be faster if you go there directly from home instead of coming into the office first.” During the call I had managed to blot myself dry with the towel. Now I held the phone away from my ear long enough to pull a T-shirt on over my head. I returned the phone to my ear just in time to hear Watty continue. “Do that. Detective Kramer'll meet you there as soon as he can. The guys in the garage are trying to find another set of chains. One broke just as he was starting up the ramp.” “Kramer?” I asked, hoping I had heard him wrong. “Did you say Detective Kramer? What about Big Al?” I can get along all right with most of the people in Seattle P.D., but Detective Paul Kramer is the one notable exception. When it comes to my list of least favorite people, Kramer is right up there at the top—just under Maxwell Cole, the lead crime columnist for our local news-rag, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “I thought someone would have let you know,” Watty returned. “He and Molly both came down with a bad case of food poisoning after a Daughters of Norway dinner Saturday night. They ended up in the Ballard Hospital emergency room along with fifteen or twenty other people. He's still in no shape to come back to work. And Kramer's partner called in sick as well.” “So we're stuck with each other?” “For the time being.” Having to work a case with Detective Kramer was a bad way to start a new week and an even worse way to start a new year. If I were superstitious, I might have seen it as an omen. “Swell,” I grumbled. With that, I hung up on Watty and dialed the concierge, making sure someone was working on the heat pump problem and asking her to call for a cab while I finished dressing. People in the Pacific Northwest are used to clouds and rain in winter. That kind of weather is expected and comes with the territory. Arctic cold isn't, and nobody here knows what to do when it comes. I put on an extra sweater over my shirt before adding the shoulder holster for my new 9-mm Beretta automatic. My old faithful .38 Smith & Wesson was still gathering dust in some evidence room in Prescott, Arizona.”

RATING:
4 stars

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
10-16-2022 to 10-22-2022… (more)

Failure to Appear by J A Jance

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: COPYRIGHT: (1994 per Wikipedia) Amazon: 1/29/1996; PUBLISHER: Random House Value Publishing; ISBN 978-0517147641; PAGES 539; Unabridged (Hardcover)
-Digital: Amazon: COPYRIGHT: 3/17/2009; PUBLISHER: William Morrow; Reprint edition; PAGES 384; Unabridged (Kindle edition)
*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 1/20/2005; PUBLISHER: Books in Motion; DURATION: 10 hours (approx.) [and yet the Libby app now says I ‘read’ it for 14 hours and 47 minutes]; Unabridged (Libby app-LAPL)
Feature Film or tv: Not that I’m aware of.

SERIES: J. P. Beaumont Series, Book 11

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Jonas Piedmont Beaumont-J.P. Beaumont (Beau)—Seattle Washington Detective
Kelly Beaumont – Beau’s daughter
Scott Peterson – Beau’s son
Karen Livingston – Beau’s x-wife
David Livingston – Karen’s second husband
Alexis Downey – Beau’s romantic interest
Ralph Ames – Beau’s friend and lawyer
Ron Peterson – Beau’s former partner

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
SELECTED: I have decided to listen to all of Jance’s books and this was the next one in this series. She began another series around this time, but we’ll stick to this series and circle back to the other(s).
ABOUT: When Beau’s x-wife, Karen’s 2nd husband, David Livingston learns the location of Beau’s daughter, who’d disappeared a week shy of her 18th birthday and just before her high school graduation, he contacts Beau to request that Beau drive down to Ashland, Oregon and see if he can return Kelly to California. Best laid plans. A murder is discovered an Kelly’s new acquaintances seem suspect.
LIKED: I really enjoy the characters and their relations with each other. The plot is good as well.
DISLIKED: Sometimes the narrator uses voices for characters that are unpleasant to listen to, but that wasn't the case here, so I can't think of anything I didn't like.
OVERALL: Another great episode.

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

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:
Fiction; Mystery

SUBJECTS:
Family relations; Sobriety; AA / NA ; Child Pornography; Stage theater; Shakespeare

LOCATIONS:
Seattle, Washington; Ashland, Oregon; Cucamonga, California

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1994--possibly updated in places--for example I don't recall messages left on answer machines being referred to a voice mail in the early 90's, but maybe they were.)

DEDICATION:
“To Leah and Florence, two of Ashland's goodwill ambassadors, and to Lynn K., the best "Loredo Kid" ever. Also to Steve and Juli, who signed the napkin.”

EXCERPT: From Prologue:
“I hate hospitals. I hate the smell of them and the shiny glow on long, empty-looking corridors. I hate the ominous swish of white clothing that precedes nurses as they bustle down hallways or march unannounced into rooms. But most of all I hait waiting. Even for supposedly tough-guy homicide cops, there's nothing in the world that makes you feel more powerless than cooling your heels in some obnoxious waiting room while a person you love goes under the surgeon's knife.
When I couldn't take it any longer, I escaped outdoors, retreating to the relative safety of a concrete bench next to an overflowing ashtray. There I sat exiled to the smoker's outdoor dungeon, even though I don't smoke and never have. There was no tree to keep off the worst of southern Oregon's blazing late June sun, but then I wasn't looking for shade. I felt chilled. From the bones out. The 90-odd-degree weather could neither penetrate nor melt the ice floe building up around my heart.”

RATING:
5 stars

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
5-4-2023 to 5-22-2023… (more)