by J. A. Jance
Part of Joanna Brady, book 10
First published 2003
A talented artist lies dead in an Arizona morgue. She had recently moved from the West Coast, but now her body rests on a cold slab in Bisbee. Sheriff Joanna Brady wants to handle the investigation herself, but the Washington State Attorney General's office has other plans. They think a small town female law officer cannot manage a case this complex. Detective J.P. Beaumont arrives as backup whether Brady wants him or not. Brady bristles at this interference in her jurisdiction. Beaumont has his own reasons for avoiding Bisbee, where painful memories and old ghosts wait around every corner. Neither officer chose this partnership, but the case pulls them together down twisting desert roads. Their investigation leads toward a dangerous nest of criminals. As threats multiply, Brady and Beaumont must decide whether to trust each other. Their survival may depend on overcoming their mutual resentment and working as true partners.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity
Setting: Arizona, Bisbee, Washington
Period: contemporary
386 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Avon