Failure to Appear

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss this Book
Review: In "Failure to Appear" lone-wolf Seattle homicide detective J.P. "Beau" Beaumont finds himself a fish out of water surrounded by family in southern Oregon and on the outside of a murder investigation.

Quite often, when a mystery author tries to fit so much of a protagonist's personal life into a book, the plot drags to a halt and the investigation into the crime is treated superficially because the focus is on massive character development. Jance manages to keep things moving at a fast clip and provide a mystery that is as multi-faceted as her lead character's personal difficulties. Beau has a lot to deal with in this book: a daughter who starts out a missing person and winds up pregnant and about to be married, a re-married ex-wife and her husband, a new girlfriend, a murder suspect that awakens painful memories, the siren song of a bottle of MacNaughton's, and a couple police officers out to nail his hide to a wall - not to mention the book's three murder victims or the loved one Beau loses in the course of the investigation.

There are a few nits that could be picked (Oregon vanity plates don't have 8 letters, for instance), but the quality of the rest of the book more than compensates. All in all, a great read.

Rating:
Summary: A welcome addition to the J.P. Beaumont series
Review: This is the first book of the series that I read and it hooked me and spurred me on to read the rest of them. Although the author, J.A. Jance is a woman, she writes very convincingly about a male character, J. P. Beaumont. We see the struggle between his personal and his professional life as he is summoned to a Shakespeare Festival where his daughter is pregnant and soon to be married. After his arrival, two actors are murdered and Beaumont uses his professional skills as a policeman to solve the murder while trying to be civil to his prospective son-in-law and his daughter's artsy friends. Beaumont has a wry way of looking at his own foibles which endears him to readers. If you enjoy this book, there are several more in the series.

Rating:
Summary: A welcome addition to the J.P. Beaumont series
Review: This is the first book of the series that I read and it hooked me and spurred me on to read the rest of them. Although the author, J.A. Jance is a woman, she writes very convincingly about a male character, J. P. Beaumont. We see the struggle between his personal and his professional life as he is summoned to a Shakespeare Festival where his daughter is pregnant and soon to be married. After his arrival, two actors are murdered and Beaumont uses his professional skills as a policeman to solve the murder while trying to be civil to his prospective son-in-law and his daughter's artsy friends. Beaumont has a wry way of looking at his own foibles which endears him to readers. If you enjoy this book, there are several more in the series.

Rating:
Summary: The book that hooked me on J.A. Jance
Review: This was the first Jance book I encountered. I decided to read it because it takes place in the town I live and work in. As much as I enjoyed reading about the places and cities I know well what I really enjoyed was the character of JP Beaumont. He is an ordinary man (a Seattle Cop wih an extraordinarily inherited fortune) who is caught between his work and his family. The characters seem very real and Jance's writing gives them a life and humanity that appeals strongly and makes you really care about them. The story never lets up either and you will find yourself hard pressed to put the book down. I have read every book Jance has written now and she is always on the top of my list of series that I am waiting for the next installment of!

Rating:
Summary: The book that hooked me on J.A. Jance
Review: This was the first Jance book I encountered. I decided to read it because it takes place in the town I live and work in. As much as I enjoyed reading about the places and cities I know well what I really enjoyed was the character of JP Beaumont. He is an ordinary man (a Seattle Cop wih an extraordinarily inherited fortune) who is caught between his work and his family. The characters seem very real and Jance's writing gives them a life and humanity that appeals strongly and makes you really care about them. The story never lets up either and you will find yourself hard pressed to put the book down. I have read every book Jance has written now and she is always on the top of my list of series that I am waiting for the next installment of!