Field of Bones audiobook

Field of Bones by J. A. Jance is a 2018 William Morrow publication. Joanna flunks maternity leave again-When a skull is found, it leads to the discovery of a body- and then more bodies. Obviously, Cochise County has a serial killer on their hands. Deputy Chief Tom Hadlock feels out of his depth and before long Joanna, the newly elected sheriff, is in the middle of this disturbing, tricky investigation. Meanwhile, Butch is off on a book tour promoting his cozy mystery series, and Joanna delves into her father’s journals, discovering things she finds helpful in understanding her parent’s complex marriage.While Joanna and other members of law enforcement work to catch a killer, the reader follows, Latisha, one of the women the killer is holding hostage, as she recounts her descent into this living hell and her fight to stay alive. This eighteenth installment in the Joanna Brady series may be the grittiest, most harrowing, one to date! There is a lot going on in this one, with several law enforcement units involved, Joanna’s encounters with journalist, Marliss Shackelford, and the revelations discovered in her father’s journals, as well keeping up with the killer’s thought processes, as well as Latisha’s. Like psychological thrillers today, at one time the serial killer plot line was so over saturated they lost their shock value and thus became rote and powerless. However, recently, I’ve seen a few stellar serial killer series out there, which have begun to breathe new life into the tired old trope. I have found myself turning to them for - wait for it- a change of pace! So, when Jance brings a serial killer to Cochise County, instead of groaning, I was ready to dive in with enthusiasm. I was not disappointed! The story did slow down in some places as Joanna is taking on the role of Sheriff, and is supposed to be on maternity leave, giving more time to characters we have not gotten to know yet. Jance spends a bit of time detailing these character's backstories, which did mess with the momentum a bit. But!I’m thinking we are going to see some of these folks in future installments, so this book is a little like a transition book, as Joanna’s life has once again taken a new and interesting turn. In fact, if you have been curious about the Brady novels, but felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books in the series, this book will give you plenty of information so that you won’t feel lost going forward. But, after a few lulls, the story becomes absolutely riveting. The serial killer, known as ‘The Boss’ is one mean, creepy, evil dude. His inner thoughts are hard to read and are genuinely the stuff nightmares are made of. But the star of the show is Latisha! It’s been a long time since I’ve found myself cheering on a character with such passion. Latisha's fighting spirit and sheer tenacity stayed with me for days after finishing this novel. While this installment is quite a bit darker than usual, and long- time fans may be somewhat frustrated by the long winded backstories, I thought this was an exceptional chapter in the series. I’m looking forward to seeing the series continue to grow and adapt. I hope to read Joanna Brady mysteries for a long time to come! *I won a copy of this book on Goodreads.

J.A. Jance has been writing mysteries for a long time. Since the 1980’s she has been busy, producing three successful ongoing series with strong leading characters battling crime, including Seattle Detective J.P. Beaumont, Los Angeles news anchor Ali Reynolds, and Arizona County Sherriff Joanna Brady. All three series have built-up a consistent audience and stayed strong over time. I have always enjoyed reading the Beaumont and Brady books, especially Brady for several reasons. First, there seems to be few females in lead mystery roles, and she is an outstanding lead investigator. Second, I love reading about her family development from the beginning of the series when her first husband was killed. I enjoy watching her children growing up and her multi-talented second husband become a successful novelist. And third, I love visiting with the rest of the citizens of Joanna’s home town of Bisbee and all of the connected relationships that go on in a small-town setting. “Field of Bones” is the 18th book in the long-running Sherriff Joanna Brady mysteries series by J.A. Jance. When the book begins, Joanna has just won her third election as Sherriff of Cochise County, a mostly desert area of Southwest Arizona. Joanna has also gone into unexpected labor and rushed to the hospital to deliver her third child. Skip forward in time a bit and we find Sherriff Brady at home trying to stay on maternity leave and focus on her family while her husband. Butch, is on a two-week book tour to promote his newest mystery novel. Unfortunately, some local boys stumble onto what appears to by a graveyard of bones for an active serial killer. Once the investigation begins, it doesn’t take long to realize there are most likely other victims being held and brutalized by the unknown killer, and time suddenly becomes a critical factor. Sherriff Brady has to call her maternity leave short and help her team oversee one of their most complex investigations involving multiple jurisdictions and federal profiling assistance. Since her introduction in 1993, Sherriff Brady has always had a special place in my heart for another more important reason. Each time I read her books, I get to sit right up from as Sherriff Brady takes on what seem like impossible challenges and she finds ways to overcome them, often with the help of others in a team manner. In early books, Brady faced the challenge of being a female in a man’s world of law enforcement as well as a single mother. In later books, she faced the challenge of beginning a new family and sharing her life with another person. In recent books, she has faced the revealing of crushing family secrets and the loss of lost ones.In this book, whether intentional or not, Jance demonstrates her strong writing skills by not allowing Brady to be the onsite, hands-on leader of the investigation. Instead, Jance forces Brady to provide support and mentoring from the sidelines for most of the book. Brady has to rely on her team to perform the work without her and uses her networking and relationship-building skills to get help for the team, like a cadaver dog team and an FBI profiler. This time out, key parts of the story were shared by other characters like Latisha Marcum, a current kidnap victim of the serial killer, and Garth Raymond, a new member of Sherriff Brady’s law enforcement team. It was especially nice to see Tom Hadlock, Acting Sherriff, come through in the moments that mattered. Jance did a great job of highlighting the strengths of other characters around Sherriff Brady, which added to the tension of the story. In my opinion, J.A. Jance has created and successfully raised the bar over and over again with her Sherriff Brady mystery series. Brady’s world of Bisbee and Southwest Arizona is filled with beloved and memorable characters, a small Hallmark like town charm with western history, and intriguing mysteries that keep your attention. It's a special kind of mind candy that delivers a different colored gem each time out. Overall, this was the kind of read I expected and it delivered in a pleasing manner. I enjoy spending time with Sherriff Brady, her team, her family, and the rest of the citizens of Bisbee. I cannot until we meet again next year. Hopefully you will make a visit too. It will be enjoyable and well-worth it.

A good entry into the Joanna Brady series. Joanna is on maternity leave and a serial killer's field of bones is found. Her staff takes on the investigation but Joanna lends impressive aid. This one is a little more brutal than some of Joanna's previous entries. Recommended to Brady fans.

J.A. Jance has written an admirable book covering several social problems. You have the feelings of several parties as the sheriff's deputies, the victim, and the villain. It handles memories, maternity, cold cases, serial killers, kidnapping, religion, the inability of letting go, results of the actions of one person to others and the relatives of a victim.Joanna's life has changed recently, she wins the election, and her daughter, Sage is born. A human skull is brought to the sheriff's department and a large congregation of sheriff's officers heads for the remote area where the skull was found. Joanna is on maternity leave and she is reading her father's diaries. At Canyon, the officers find a decaying body of a person. This began a major investigation of bones found in the canyon. Cadaver dogs are brought to the area to locate more bodies. At the same time, we follow the actions of a victim and killer. The department is looking for answers. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.Disclosure: Many thanks to HarperCollins for a review copy. The opinions are my own.

Admittedly I don’t read these in order, but I think this is the best Sheriff Brady story yet.It is certainly the most dramatic, I think. The reader of this series is excellent, too.

Holy cow. The Joanna Brady stories just keep getting better. Her family, friends and sheriff’s staff keep getting stronger and more nuanced. This one has so many layers. Loved it.

J.A. Jance hits it out of the park in this latest Joanna Brady installment. It is simply amazing how much she crams into this book AND makes us love Sheriff Brady even more than we did already. There is, of course, murder (specifically a serial killer) and so much more. The book begins with election night, careens into childbirth and then we have a multiple perspectives including the acting sheriff, a young deputy, a kidnapped girl and the perp. Along the way we get insights on working in law enforcement, being a forgotten girl, dealing with a newborn and maternity leave, stalking prey, living in captivity, and so much more. I do have to take a tiny bit of a star off for the fact that the only librarian in the book makes a nasty pass at Butch! Surely he ran into some nice librarians on his book tour??? He would have if he came to our library!A huge thank you to William Morrow and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this wonderful new thriller. It was fantastic!

Told for multiple points of view Field of Bones has it all. There is a great mystery, a unexpected birth, and several new characters. I loved seeing how Joanna handled being on maternity leave. The betting pool about how long she would stay home was a nice funny touch. The mystery is very complex and it looked like it would be hard to solve. As a reader we knew all the different players and Jance does a great job weaving all of that knowledge into a interesting and seat of your pants story. As the story progresses each characters comes up with the knowledge to solve the who, what, when and where. I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

It was all I could do to get through the first half of the book. Don’t get me wrong. Field of Bones, set in Arizona, fulfills its promise of being a suspenseful novel, and it is very well written. The characters are appropriately developed, and I certainly understand the appeal of Sheriff Joanna Brady, mother of three, as the main character of the series. She is a strong woman, but portrayed realistically, not as a superwoman. Part mystery, part thriller, part police procedural, and all suspense fiction, Field of Bones runs the full gamut.The “but” you can hear coming is because of the topic: violent, horrible, sex slavery. It makes for a combo of “I can’t stop reading, leaving characters in this torturous situation” and “I can’t read anymore; it is just too painful.” Kudos to the author J.A. Dance for the skills to put me in this situation. At the same time, I have to say Jance does not include details of the violence, but offers enough information that anyone with an imagination will get the picture. Given the number of books she has published, I think a lot of people admire her storytelling talent. This book is just too terrifying for me, and I doubt I will read any more of her books.Although some of the tension is relieved in the last half of the book, the story is far from over. At that point, I did enjoy watching how the professionals from various fields perform their duties and work to put the pieces of the puzzle together.I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to HarperCollins Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

While this was a really good story but hard to read. The chapters dealing with the crime were too graphic to be easy reading. Two boys find a skull and bring it to the police. After taking the police to the site, a body is found and several bones. Joanna is still on maternity leave but can’t help getting involved. They all realize they are dealing with a serial killer and when a victim manages to get away it’s the break Joanna needs.

#18 in the Joanna Brady series. This 2018 series entry by author Vance is engrossing. Series fans will enjoy the early birth of daughter Sage, husband Butch's book tour, a new K-9 dog, and the ongoing adventures of series characters. Mystery fans will enjoy the main story arc of the search for a serial kidnapper/rapist who dumps his victims in the desert. I really enjoyed this complex tale but I was not enthralled with the amount of backstory expended on peripheral characters - the novel's length of 381 pages could have been trimmed without loss of interest.A serial killer investigation disrupts Joanna Brady's maternity leave. Acting sheriff Tom Hadlock is on duty when June Carver brings in her son, Jack, with a skull that the high school senior found in the remote San Bernardino Valley. Evidence at the scene suggests that a serial killer has been using it as a dump site. Hadlock puts every available officer on the case, while Joanna offers advice and secures an FBI profiler willing to help.

I love ALL of J.A. Jance's series, but I have a special place for the Sheriff Brady...I look forward & await breathlessly for each new novel...They're like sitting with friends & getting caught up on all of their friends & family...Joanna has her baby girl, Sage on election night & is on maternity leave when a serial killer's dumping ground is found in Cochise County & Joanna & her department are in a race to save others from the killer...GREAT STUFF!

I truly enjoy reading Jance’s novels, in particular, both the Joanna Brady series & JP Beaumont series. In both novels, the chaos becomes orderly and all details get straightened out. Although it’s unlike life, I love the way everything is solved and done. If only my life & job would work like that! I love the characters and the plot builds well and stays interesting to the end.

Joanna Brady is on maternity leave taking care of a new baby, Butch is on a book signing tour. A "field" of bones is discovered. She is helping out with the investigation, while breast feeding. Showing that women CAN do it all.