Review: Nothing to Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance

It is early December as Nothing to Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance begins and Mel wants J.P. to put out the Christmas decorations as he will be home for the day. Mel is the chief of police and has her duties along with meetings with the mayor and the city council in separate events. The winter storm won’t help her either.

So, it is just him and their dog and many boxes of decorations when a knock at the door stops everything. It has been nearly twenty years since J.P. Beaumont last saw Jared Danielson. That was the night that J. P.’s partner, Sue Danielson, was shot and killed by her ex-husband, Richard Danielson. J. P. had tried to save her and could not. J.P. has always had a lot of guilt over that fact as well as his decisions that horrible night. Seeing Jared Danielson on his snowy doorstep brings everything back with a vengeance.

Jared Danielson is now a catholic priest. He has been through some things over the years, but has pulled himself together because of his own efforts and support from other folks who helped along the way. In the here and now, he needs J. P.’s help finding his brother, Chris.

Chris has always blamed Jared for their mom’s death as he believes that if they had not left, their father would not have murdered their mom. The fact is that they had run, because J. P. told Jared to take his brother and run, no doubt saved their lives. Chris believes otherwise, despite all evidence to the contrary, and the issue has never been resolved. While going to home of their mom’s parents in Ohio had worked out well for Jared, Chris had a far harder time. He eventually ran away and wound up in Homer, Alaska, living with the grandparents on their father’s side of the family.

Now with Grandma Hinkle, Sue Daniel’s mom, in assisted living and not doing well, time is of the essence. Grandma Hinkle is desperate to try and make things right with Chris before she dies. Father Jared Danielson wants J. P.’s help in finding his brother and thereby giving the family a chance to reconcile.

While Jared has some ideas what Chris was doing in 2006 thanks to an old yearbook, a dozen years have passed. That is a lot of time to account for and there is not much information readily available. That means to get the answers they all need; J. P. is going to have to go to Alaska.

What follows is a complex tale of mystery and deceit with an occasional laugh out loud moment as J. P. deals with locals in Alaska and winter weather. Such details serve as colorful background for a complex mystery that truly is a cold case – literally and figuratively. A lot if going on here along with the internal grief and self-doubt J. P. is dealing with as he works to find Chris and the answers to many questions.

While it is always preferable to read a series in order, those new to the world of J.P. Beaumont could start here. Most of the reminiscing about earlier events is tied into the horrible events of that night which was many books ago in the series. Obviously, those who are familiar with the series and caught up will get more out of this read than others.

All and all, Nothing To Lose: A J. P. Beaumont Novel is another solidly good read in the long running series. Recommended.

  

My reading copy came from the Dallas Public Library System via the Libby/OverDrive App. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022 

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Proof of Life by J. A. Jance

Proof of Life by J. A. Jance (William Morrow, 2017) is the 23^rd title in the long-running series that follows the career of J. P. Beaumont, first as a Seattle homicide detective and then as he works in other agencies. This is the first title in which Beau is completely retired from paid employment. He is bored, restless, and not sure what to do with his time. His younger wife Melissa (Mel) is now Chief of Police in Bellingham and works long days so he must rely on his own resources.

A former crime reporter for the local newspaper approaches him at a restaurant one night. The retired reporter is writing a book on the crimes he covered during his long career and he wants to consult Beau about a murder that Beau investigated and that continues to haunt him. Beau reluctantly agrees and before they have a chance to meet, the reporter dies in what appears to be an accident. The timing seems off and when he’s asked to investigate the death, Beau becomes convinced it was deliberate murder.

In the meantime Mel is called to the scene of ongoing domestic violence and manages to imprison the abusive husband and to move the mother and her children to safety. The shelter will not take the family dog so Mel brings the Irish wolfhound home temporarily. Beau knows nothing about dogs and his education as a canine caretaker is a significant story line.

Between calling in favors to get information about the reporter’s death, as his access as a private citizen is restricted to Google, and integrating his new dog into his home, Beau’s days are suddenly full. When the fingerprints of a ruffian from a local gang are found in the reporter’s home, Beau starts looking for him. Within days, the gangbanger is killed in a hit and run, which helps Beau convince the Seattle police to investigate both deaths as suspicious.  

I find the inventive methods authors use to handle the aging of the main characters in their long-running series intriguing. Some authors slow the aging process so much that it is almost nonexistent, Robert B. Parker’s Spenser for instance. Spenser refers to his Korean War experience in his early outings. If he aged realistically, he would likely not be working out at Henry Cimoli's gym in the current releases. Others try to create situations in which the character can convincingly continue to investigate beyond the point at which the character formally retires from the role he or she filled at the inception of the series. Ian Rankin has said several times that he did not know the mandatory retirement age within the English police at the time he created John Rebus or he would have made the character younger to begin with. As it is, Rankin retired Rebus at the correct age and then brought him back as a member of a special team that investigates cold cases.

We first met J.P. Beaumont in 1985 in the Seattle Police Department. Jance gave him a logical career progression, moving him into more senior positions and then finally retiring him. Now it seems he’s on the brink of a new career as a private investigator. I look forward to his next adventure in this reliably readable series.

·         Hardcover: 368 pages

·         Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition (September 5, 2017)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 0062657542

·         ISBN-13: 978-0062657541

Aubrey Hamilton © 2018

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal IT projects by day and reads mysteries at night.