Review of EXIT WOUNDS by J. A. Jance (see her website)

William Morrow, July 2003

Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full with an election campaign, unexpected pregnancy, and her house-husband Butch's frustrating career as a novelist. But when a woman is killed and her seventeen dogs die in the woman's non-air-conditioned trailer, Brady is plunged into mystery. The first murder is followed by two more--with the same weapon signature. But the deeper Brady digs, the uglier she things look. The dead woman was already a victim--of child abuse so severe it made her incapable of holding a steady job and turned her into a hoarder for dogs. Brady swears she'll find the killer, but can any punishment be enough for what has happened?

Author J. A. Jance (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of mysteries by Jance) writes a compelling and exciting mystery shot-through with authentic visions of the desert mountains of Arizona. Brady is well developed as a character--with a rich but complicated family life and the drive to serve as sheriff. A subplot involving a SUV crash that killed a number of undocumented aliens being smuggled across the border from Mexico deepens the story and adds emotional depth.

J. A. Jance has written a series of novels featuring Sheriff Joanna Brady and EXIT WOUNDS may be the best I've read so far. I couldn't put the book down and was practicaly out of breath when I finished it. EXIT WOUNDS may be read independently of the other books in the series.

Four Stars

Reviewed 8/12/03

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