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Summary: Beau's back
Review: For all those fans who have been begging me to hurry up and write another Beaumont book, here it is. But don't look for a walk in the park. This is a tough case for J. P.--a life-changing case.
Rating:
Summary: The Return of J.P. Beaumont
Review: For years there have been rumors that Sheriff Joanna Brady had knocked off homicide Detective J. P. Beaumont. Not true. Not true. On January 6th, 1999 "Breach of Duty", Beaumont number fourteen went on sale. Which means Beau's back with a vengeance.Readers are often curious how, with two very different series--the Joanna Bradys set in Arizona and the Detective Beaumonts set in Seattle--I'm able to move between different sets of characters and also between different settings. The settings question is actually easier to answer. I've spent half my life in southeastern Arizona and half my life in the Pacific Northwest. Because I'm essentially lazy, it's easier for me to set my books in locales with which I am familiar. When I write a book, I'm interested in the action--in what the characters are saying or doing. By working with a real setting--by having the action taking place on what is to me known territory--I don't have to worry about where those things are happening because I already know. Whether I'm writing about Beaumont's Seattle or Joanna Brady's Cochise County, it's helpful not having to concern myself with how long it takes to travel from place to place or with what the weather's going to be like when my characters get there. I report it, of course, but for me reporting the background is far easier than making it up. I don't have to remember where I said a certain building was or where a certain road led because they exist in real life. By putting all that on automatic, my little gray cells remain available to pay closer attention to the action and to the characters themselves. Fans who aren't the least bit shy about telling me which of my characters they prefer, often ask me which one I like better--which is a little like asking a mother with several children which one she likes best. The truth is, I like them both--within reason. After writing nine Detective Beaumont books in a row, I was growing a little weary of him. When I threatened to knock him off, my editor suggested a second series which is where Joanna Brady came from in the first place. After writing that initial Joanna Brady book, I discovered when it was time to return to Beaumont, that I was once again happy to see him. Since then, I have found that writing more than one series is good for keeping my creative juices flowing. When it's time to write a new book, I turn on my computer and then ask my characters what they've been doing while my back was turned. It usually turns out that they've been up to something. It gives me the sense that Beau and Joanna have lives that go on without me. Does that sound a little schizophrenic? Maybe even more than a little? Which brings me back to Beaumont. In the three years since "Name Withheld" was published, the Joanna Brady books have really taken off. In the process, Beau has somehow been shoved onto a back burner. Not with his devoted fans, of course, who have been writing me letters asking me when J. P. Beaumont was going to get around to doing something about his grandfather's ashes which had lingered in Beau's entryway closet for a very long time. Some authors may ignore fan input. I've learned to listen. If it hadn't been for fans telling me so, I might have gone several books further into the series without figuring out the my detective's drinking was way out of hand. The same goes for Grandpa Piedmont's ashes. I hope all those people who wrote will give themselves a pat on the back when they open "Breach of Duty" to the prologue and discover that the problem with those ashes is finally being handled. One of the things I appreciate about writing mysteries is the ability to craft stories around contemporary issues and problems that I personally care about. In a way, writing fiction allows the ultimate power in editorializing. If I don't like a character, I simply knock him off. For example, years ago a good friend of mine was killed after her vehicle was struck by an uninsured drunk driver--a man who got off with nothing more than a judicial slap on the wrist and is, at this moment, free to drive drunk and kill again. The tragedy that happened to my friend provided the inspiration for my Joanna Brady book entitled "Dead to Rights" in which a drunk driver let off by the courts is himself knocked off by the end of the second chapter. Deservedly so, I might add. It really served him right. The forces colliding in "Breach of Duty" arise out of my own experience. I spent five years as a K-12 librarian on an Indian reservation in Arizona. I personally have come to believe that outsiders who trample on the belief systems of Native American peoples do so at their own peril. Eighteen years of my life was spent with a man who died of chronic alcoholism at age 42, a year and a half after I divorced him. Even though I had a good education and an excellent job, I stayed in the relationship far longer than I should have simply because I was afraid of what might happen to me and to my young children if I left. Although the issue of domestic violence never reared its ugly head in our lives, it easily could have, and even without the trauma of physical abuse, my husband's alcohol abuse continues to have a negative impact on our family life almost twenty years later. For many women stuck in similar circumstances--often women without the benefit of either education or a living wage--shelter programs like the ones offered by the YWCA often offer those women their only way out. I feel a close kinship with those women and their children. That's why, for years, the grand opening signing for each of my books has been a benefit for the YWCA. "Breach of Duty" offers a harrowing look at the issue of domestic violence and the toll it takes not only from the women and children directly involved but also from those charged with preventing it and dealing with its aftermath. It's an issue I care about deeply.
Rating: 
Summary: The best in the Beaumont series a roller coaster of emotions
Review: Having read all the other J.P.Beaumont books in the series, I found this one to be by far the best. Once I started reading I could not put it down. This is the first book I read that caused me to actually tear up at what was happening to the characters because thay were so real. I did not forsee the ending and was suprised at what happened. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone that likes "cop" stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Breach of Duty
Review: I am another disappointed reader of this book, it was enjoyable up until the ending. I have enjoyed the P J Beaumont series in the pass and like it when a series comes out that you can follow along with, but this "Diry Harry" syndrome of always loosing or having the partner eliminated serves no purpose in my estimation outside of frustrating me. Having one's partner "done in" may be a-fact-of-life, but continually? I will try her again since I like the P J Beaumont series but, next time I think I will skip to the end and see who dies before I purchase or read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Breach of Duty
Review: I am another disappointed reader of this book, it was enjoyable up until the ending. I have enjoyed the P J Beaumont series in the pass and like it when a series comes out that you can follow along with, but this "Diry Harry" syndrome of always loosing or having the partner eliminated serves no purpose in my estimation outside of frustrating me. Having one's partner "done in" may be a-fact-of-life, but continually? I will try her again since I like the P J Beaumont series but, next time I think I will skip to the end and see who dies before I purchase or read the book.
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Summary: Beaumont is back!!!!
Review: I am so glad that JP Beaumont is back. I love this series!! Please tell me that there will be more!
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Summary: Jance does it again!!
Review: I began reading the Beaumont series about nine months ago. I started with "Breach of Duty" this was a mistake. When I found out there were 13 books before this one I desided to go back and read them all...in order. I just finished "Breach of Duty" for the second time and this time the book had so much more to offer....I understood the relationships. I have enjoyed each book in its own right but when I finished this one I was sad. I already miss the "J.P. Beaumont" character. Let's hope Jance isn't finished with "beau" yet. Enjoy!!
Rating:
Summary: Jance does it again!!
Review: I began reading the Beaumont series about nine months ago. I started with "Breach of Duty" this was a mistake. When I found out there were 13 books before this one I desided to go back and read them all...in order. I just finished "Breach of Duty" for the second time and this time the book had so much more to offer....I understood the relationships. I have enjoyed each book in its own right but when I finished this one I was sad. I already miss the "J.P. Beaumont" character. Let's hope Jance isn't finished with "beau" yet. Enjoy!!
Rating:
Summary: Jance does it again!!
Review: I began reading the Beaumont series about nine months ago. I started with "Breach of Duty" this was a mistake. When I found out there were 13 books before this one I desided to go back and read them all...in order. I just finished "Breach of Duty" for the second time and this time the book had so much more to offer....I understood the relationships. I have enjoyed each book in its own right but when I finished this one I was sad. I already miss the "J.P. Beaumont" character. Let's hope Jance isn't finished with "beau" yet. Enjoy!!
Rating: 
Summary: I love J.P. Beaumont and the characters that surround him.
Review: I found this book hard to put down. I was SO glad to have another Beaumont book. I think that with the twists in the plot there is room for growth and future books in this series. I just hope the wait won't be so long!
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