Rating: 
Summary: Another great read
Review: J A Jance is becoming one of my favority mystery writers. She is reliably automatic whether the story is about J.P. Beaumont or Joanna Brady. Paradise Lost is a good story - weaving in the sheriff's domestic life, her office's politics and the crime she investigates. In the tradition of Dick Francis, Ed McBain and John D. MacDonald, I look forward to her next work.
Rating: 
Summary: FABULOUS, FAST PACED READ
Review: J.A. Jances newest Joanna Brady novel was wonderful. It kept me interested throughout, I didn't even look at the ending this time as I do with so many books. I was surprised that Joanna was up against three crimes at the same time, but she handled them all well. A well written novel, but I wish every time one of her detectives/deputies were mentioned, that they didn't always have to have their last names added, I think we know who Ernie, Frank and Jaime are by now. Looking forward to the next one, will Joanna be re-elected sheriff? Will Jennifer support her moms decision? Will Butch get his book published and finally get the new house built?
Rating:
Summary: A nother Suspenseful Romp Through Cochise County...
Review: JA. Jance delivers her 9th.suspenseful romp through Cochise County with Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady-- in this thrilling novel, murder hits close to home when Joanna's daughter (while camping in the woods with her Girl Scout Troop) stumbles across a corpse.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Effort, but Pretty Predictable
Review: Let's face it, when you pick up a novel by J. A. Jance you aren't taking on anything daring. This is the same, tired, run of the mill conservative writing that is always popular within our shallow society. And with a title that is totally lifted from Milton, you can guess what great work of literature this text makes blatant and clumsy references to. However, the story does have its moments, and, for what it is, it performs well. Still if you want something really literary you should check out "Glorious Failure" by Ben Jonjak, a novel that continues to dwell in obscurity...
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER TOPNOTCH YARN FROM JANCE
Review: Reading the first paragraph of a J.A. Jance novel quickly tells you that a pro is at work. After penning over two dozen mysteries this author knows how to pace suspense, and when to surprise. Her characters are not larger than life but ones to whom readers can easily relate. As if this weren't enough she spins a topnotch yarn. With "Paradise Lost" the sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, Joanna Brady, attempts to track down a ruthless killer. But this time it's more than just sleuthing as usual because the murder victim's body was found by Jenny, Brady's 13-year-old daughter. In one of thrillerdom's greatest mismatches, Jenny has been paired with Dora Matthews for a weekend Girl Scout campout at Apache Pass. While Jenny is guileless, innocent, Dora is a pregnant young girl with an absentee father and an out-of-touch drug addicted mom. When the girls take an after lights out walk they find the body of a Phoenix heiress. It is not too long before tragedy also befalls the unfortunate Dora. What more does Brady need to realize that a whacko killer is on the loose, doing in any potential witnesses, perhaps her own daughter? Jance shines with descriptions of the stark Arizona terrain, and excels at drafting pedal to the metal suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: Was Paradise Lost or the author
Review: Terrible book. Sub plots on a road to nowhere. What was up with the sister and the husbands ex-girlfriend? A waste of time and poorly written.
Rating:
Summary: The latest Joanna Brady mystery
Review: The 9th. Joanna Brady story begins with a focus on Joanna's daughter, Jenny who is going through the 12-year-old doldrums. She has looked forward to a Girl Scout camping trip until she finds out that a state-wide fire hazard warning has caused her leader to bring a motor home instead of "roughing it" as they had planned. Added to this, Jenny has to draw a colored button to determine who her roommate is and she ends up with her least favorite Scout, Dora Matthews. Despite the obvious differences between the girls, Dora talks Jenny into leaving their tent for a forbidden cigarette. While walking away from the camp, they discover a dead body. Later in the book, as more bodies appear, Joanna becomes fearful for her daughter's safety. She feels it is a race against time, until she finds the killer. Jance does a nice job of incorporating Joanna's new husband, Butch, into the story, and their new-marriage adjustments seem very realistic. However, this is not the best one of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a Thought on J.A. Jance's Paradise Lost
Review: The main character is a stereotype (and all the rest are as well). Not much depth is given to them. Joanna is the typical 'super hard-working, mother, and professional', but she has no personality that makes her different from thousands of other characters exactly like her. The technical writing skills of the writer are very nice and fluent, in fact it is the only thing that keeps you reading. There are certain things in the plot that are absurd. For example, when Joanna's 12 year old girl sees the dead body...she isn't shocked about the dead body, but she is worried about the fact her mother will find out she was trying a smoke (the girl found the dead body while sneaking out to smoke). The author could have at least made the 12 year old girl worried about getting scolded by her mother, but also a bit shocked about finding a dead body! I don't know about you, but finding a dead body would leave me shocked. There is also something that i found very disappointing. The entire story is about Joanna going in the car from place to place and doing everything by phone! 98% of the novel is about Joanna on the phone! Don't believe me? Loan it from the library! I wouldn't suggest this book. Tony Hillerman ("Thief of Time") is a much better book if you like 'desert' style settings for investigative books.
Rating:
Summary: Soft-edged
Review: This is a readable, but, I'm afraid, a not very complex or suspenseful thriller featuring Cochise County, Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady. Joanna's teenage daughter and her bad-girl tentmate Dora sneak away from Girl Scout camp and stumble across a woman's battered body. Only days later, Dora is also murdered, which makes Joanna logically fear that her daughter will be next. There are a few twists and turns in the story which will keep you going even though you have probably figured out who did it quite a bit before. The location is nicely rendered, with the added nuance that, due to the rural nature of Cochise County, characters are constantly driving from one place to another. This gives Jance the opportunity for some neat place-setting touches. But there is a lot of telling rather than showing characters' feelings and motivation, and many of the minor characters are weakly developed. In three lines of dialogue, one character goes from "she said" to "she wailed" to "she whispered" in what is surely an impossibly rapid rollercoaster of emotion. There is a lot of that "he said boldly" and "she said sadly" kind of writing in "Paradise Lost" which relaxes whatever emotional grip the book might get on a reader. J.A. Jance is already a bestselling author, but a good editor should be working with her to bring her writing to another level and earn her a wider readership.
Rating:
Summary: LOVE THIS SERIES!
Review: This is my favorite Jance series. I think with each book we see Joanna mature. And now with Butch, we see her struggle to be sheriff, wife and mother. He has to struggle to be a sheriff's spouse -- with all that comes with that. It was neat getting to see how she saw herself back as a child in how Jenny felt now. I think she needed to remember. The Arizonz scenery is great as always. Joanna's co-workers are maturing in each book as well. I feel she has a much better raport with them now. Which is how real life is, too. This is a well-written series. Great book.
| 
