Books For The Road - Until Proven Guilty by J A Jance

J A Jance is a new author for me. I'm running out of Harry Bosch books to read and I think I reached the end of Jack Reacher. So when a member of our book club mentioned a couple of series he has gotten into, my ears perked up and I wrote down the author's name. Jance had two series which involve murder and mystery and a detective and a sheriff.

Until Proven Guilty is the first in the Beaumont series which features J. P. Beaumont, detective on the Seattle police force. I'm glad this was the first for my reading. I loved imagining the streets of Seattle as she took her characters through them and then out to Snoqualmie. where I've been several times with our son and his family. Jance lives in Seattle and Arizona with her husband.

At first I wasn't sure I liked the voice of her writing. It seemed a bit short and choppy but once I got into the story and characters it all fell into place for me. Here's the teaser:

The little girl was a treasure who should have been cherished, not murdered. She was only five-too young to die-and Homicide Detective J.P. Beaumont of the Seattle Police Department isn′t going to rest until her killer pays dearly. But Beaumont′s own obsessions and demons could prove dangerous companions in a murky world of blind faith and religious fanaticism. And he is about to find out that he himself is the target of a twisted passion . . . and a love that can kill.

Next up is the first in her series of mysteries that take place in Arizona with a female sheriff, Joanna Brady, just as soon as whoever has the loan from the library finishes with it. I'm looking forward to exploring these two series. They are proving to be good books for the road.