My Review for Remains of Innocence by J A Jance

I have read numerous J A Jance novels, so when I saw the opportunity to read and review Remains of Innocence, I jumped all over it. J A Jance writes an amazing mystery of murder, torture, abuse and the evil of human psychopaths. The writing keeps me on the edge of my seat as I try to figure out who is the murderer.

I can picture Lisa driving up to the dilapidated house that she had left so many years ago. Her memories are not good – an abusive mother who drove her and her brother away. Her mother had mental problems, not least of which was hoarding. Lisa grew up in poverty and filth. She had been teased at school and called stinky. A teacher stepped in and because of that, her life became bearable – she was able to shower, wash her clothes and had money to buy food That is why, now, her small apartment is spotless.

When Lisa’s mother ended up hospitalized, they called her. All her mother wanted was her “Joy To Cooking” book and was adamant about it. That’s how Lisa came to be standing at the door of her old house. A spider crawled on her hand as she retrieved the book and she dropped it. We both hate spiders. Who doesn’t? Money fell out. She started checking all the books and kept finding more. Where had it come from? Had she been using outhouses, no bathing or clothes washing and no food to eat while the money had been sitting there the whole time? Thirty thousand dollars.

In Arizona, Sherriff Joanna Brady was called from bed at 5AM to look for a developmentally disabled man. He had climbed out a bedroom window and was nowhere to be found.

Joanna had inherited the job of sheriff of Cochise County after her father died. She had proven herself and won the townspeople’s respect. She is married with two kids and pets that all seem to be damaged in some way. I love that her husband, Butch, who is a writer, handles most of the household duties. A man secure in his masculinity. Does he write crime novels? My hubby does the cooking too, so I can relate. When hubby’s not home, like Joanna, a PB&J sounds like a meal to me.

In her job as a waitress, Lisa knew people by what they ordered for dinner. They all chipped in to help her clean out and fix up her mother’s house with the money she found. Why would someone burn it down? Now she was on the run. She didn’t know from who, what or why.

I love J A Jance’s approach. Remains of Innocence is two separate storylines, until……

The reading is smooth and easy. Just enough suspense, mystery and tension to keep me reading page after page. The characters and plot are detailed and fully developed. No complaints. Even being an ARC, I found few things I would change and they were very minor and grammatical.

I am always happy and eager to pick up a J A Jance novel, especially if Joanna is in it. I love her. She takes no crap from anyone.

I feel J A Jance tried to trick me with the identity of the murderer. Whoa, a great twist. Where did that come from? No wonder I was vacillating back and forth. Most excellent and I can hardly wait to read the next one.

  5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)

BOOK DETAILS

Genre: Mystery/Detective

Published by: William Morrow  /  Publication Date: July 22nd 2014

Number of Pages: 400

ISBN: 0062134701 (ISBN13: 9780062134707)

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SYNOPSIS

Sheriff Joanna Brady must solve two perplexing cases that may be tied together in New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance’s thrilling tale of suspense that brings to life Arizona’s Cochise County and the desert Southwest in all its beauty and mystery.

An old woman, a hoarder, is dying of emphysema in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In cleaning out her house, her daughter, Liza Machett, discovers a fortune in hundred dollar bills hidden in the tall stacks of books and magazines that crowd every corner.

Tracing the money’s origins will take Liza on a journey that will end in Cochise County, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is embroiled in a personal mystery of her own. A man she considers a family friend is found dead at the bottom of a hole in a limestone cavern near Bisbee. And now there is the mystery of Liza and the money. Are the two disparate cases connected? It’s up to Joanna to find out.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A voracious reader, J. A. Jance knew she wanted to be a writer from the moment she read her first Wizard of Oz book in second grade. Always drawn to mysteries, from Nancy Drew right through John D. McDonald’s Travis Magee series, it was only natural that when she tried her hand at writing her first book, it would be a mystery as well.

J. A. Jance went on to become the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family, and Edge of Evil. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

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