Remains of Innocence audiobook

REMAINS OF INNOCENCE by J. A. Jance is the sixteenth book in the Joanna Brady mystery series set in and around Bisbee, Arizona.. Two story lines make this novel more complicated than many. In Bisbee, Sheriff Brady has a missing man who is found dead. Was it murder or an accident? The second story line is split between Massachusetts and Arizona. In this case, a hoarder who is estranged from her children dies. While daughter Liza is cleaning out her mother's house, she finds hidden money which she uses to renovate the house in preparation for selling it. When arson and murder happen in Massachusetts and then the estranged son is murdered in Arizona, these two distant cases become linked.The dual cases put a strain on the police forces and became very complex. The characters felt real and three-dimensional, with distinct voices, flaws and virtues. The motivations seemed believable and well-drawn. There are several plot twists that are believable, but I did not expect a couple of them. The prose was well-written, moving, and suspenseful. The plot was perfectly-paced, absorbing, entertaining, and absorbing. There are several themes and triggers in this including murder, animal cruelty, family estrangements, rodeo competitions, torture, family support and much more.Overall, this is a well-done mystery, police procedural and family drama novel. I am looking forward to reading my next book in the series. I recommend it to mystery fans.

Liza Machett cleans out her mother’s home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts when she finds money hidden everywhere. All she remembers that they were poor growing up. Soon, the house is burned to the ground, her landlord is murdered and she is on the run to her brother is Bisbee, Arizona. But in Bisbee, the Sheriff, Joanna Brady is dealing with the death of a local who was found at the bottom of a hole. When Liza reaches Bisbee, Joanna hands her hands filled with more than the Sheriff’s department can handle. This story is riveting filled with enough suspense to keep me guessing. And situations that move quickly and efficiently that I didn’t want to put the book down. I though the characters were well developed and the mystery of the money satisfactory. It is an enjoyable summer read.

Another very enjoyable read from J.A Jance! Sheriff Brady has two murders to solve and this keeps the reader's attention from start to the end. I love Jance' s three series and if you haven't read her,do yourself a favor and start!

Amazing story that Joanna has to figure out, a dying woman, hoarders house, battered woman, and the mob. they all fit together to make a good story.

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.

What a good book. The story centers on Junior's murder. He was found down a raven with dead animals (kittens and small dogs) under him. And Liza who is a waitress in Barrington, MA. Junior is an adult with Alzheimer who is living with an older couple as their son. He found dead after he disappeared from his room and later found at the bottom of the cavern. The Sheriff and the rest of the town do not think that is was Jr. that killed the animals since he has no defensive marks on him. In the meantime across the country we have Liza who didn't have a great childhood and is a waitress at a local diner. Liza's mother is sick and ends up in a hospice where she dies. While cleaning her house Liza comes across a ton of money in books, magazines and other places in the house. Liza's mother dies and at the Cemetery and a man gives Liza a warning stating that her father's old friends never forgets. Liza's father has been gone since she was small. The story moves fast and you are wondering if both of these deaths are connected.

Remains of Innocenceby Jance, J. A. (William Morrow)A mentally challenged man is found dead in Arizona. Led to his death by a sadist. In Massachusetts an old woman is dying of COPD, and is a hoarder. When her daughter cleans out the house after her mother's death, she finds hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden in books. These two storylines have a connection, and Sheriff Joanna Brady has her work cut out for her. REMAINS OF INNOCENCE is an A-plus read, with real characters and a solid narrative. REMAINS OF INNOCENCE is J. A. Jance at her best. Betty Cox, ReviewerGood ReadsReader to Reader

I love the way the author balances Joanna's home and work life, weaving in the small town quirks.

Liza Machett walked away from her mentally ill and verbally abusive mother the day after her high school graduation and never looked back. Ten years later her mother enters hospice and she’s requested to go into the house to retrieve a cookbook. The house is a nightmare of highly stacked garbage and vermin—and a heck of a lot of moldy money stuffed in books; Liza had grown up dirt poor, even having to use an outhouse, so where did it come from? Spending that money to fix up the house so it can be sold brings unwanted attention, and she’s not safe. She decides to find her successful older half brother that bailed out of their lives years before she left, hoping between them they can figure out what to do.At the other end of the country, Sheriff Joanna Brady really has her hands full this time, beginning with an early morning call to find Junior, a mentally challenged man of about 60 who went missing from his bedroom overnight, which evolves into an unrelated crime. Her department works with the Bisbee PD in trying to solve a number of things that come to light.This story is jam-packed with things going on and various avenues to investigate with some surprising results. The story is told from 2 points of view. Obviously we have Joanna, but a good chunk of the story follows Liza, what she faces and learns, as well as her interesting escape across country to reach her brother. Outside of the genre I normally spend money on, I’ve only read one other book by this author years ago, and jumped at the chance to get an ARC via Edelweiss/Above the Treeline. I’m going to have to go back and pick up other books in this series. The fast-paced mystery is tightly written and easily kept me absorbed. The characters and situations are interesting, as is the area and terrain, although at times the number of characters felt overwhelming to me. I don’t believe that would have been the case if I’d already been familiar with them from prior books. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying this story. 4.5 stars

"Remains of Innocence" By J.A. Jance is the 16th book in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series. The plot revolves around murders committed in two different parts of the country. The book starts in Massachusetts where a waitress, Liza, supports her hoarding dying mother. Cleaning out the house, she finds a large sum of money tucked away in books and magazines. She attempts to clean up the place and sell only to have disaster strike and force her to flee the state. In Arizona, a developmentally disabled man is missing and the town fears the worst. Engaged in an active search, Sheriff Joanna Brady and the police find abused, mutilated animals before being rocked by another horrible crime. More bodies pile up as Liza travels across the country to find her brother, who happens to live in Cochise County, Arizona, the same county watched over by Sheriff Joanna Brady. The book continues with two seemingly separate story lines that become permanently entangled as the book is brought to a conclusion. I am a big fan of J.A. Jance but have missed a few of the latest books. What struck me is the character of Sheriff Brady has developed from an insecure sheriff to a tough, non-nonsense law enforcement officer. If you love Jance and a serious killer storyline, you'll love Remains of Innocence.

A new one by one of my favorite authors. We start out in Great Barrington, MA with a young woman who comes back to the home she left on graduating high school to find a book that her mother requested from her hospital bed. She has been supporting herself at a local diner and has had little contact with her mother since leaving then home and when she goes to the house she finds it in disrepair and inside a hoarders nightmare. No water, no power and trash everywhere. Finding the book her mother asked for she discovers something, and looking further even more but it is also the beginning of her own nightmare as she finds herself on the run to Bisbee Arizona to find her estranged brother. Back in Bisbee Sheriff Brady is having her own troubles when longtime resident, disabled man an friendly face at the local eatery turns up missing overnight. The search finds him dead, having fallen down an abandoned mine shaft. Accident or murder, it is unclear and the ME is out of town for the weekend. Eventually the two threads converge with unexpected revelations.