Queen of the Night (Brandon Walker and Diana Ladd Series #4)

by J. A. Jance

Overview

“J.A. Jance is among the best—if not the best.”
—Chattanooga Times

In Queen of the Night, New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance brings back the Walker family—introduced in Hour of the Hunter, terrorized in Kiss of the Bees, and last seen in Day of the Dead. A multilayered thriller, gripping and unforgettable—evocatively set in the breathtaking Arizona desert—Queen of the Night is a chilling tale of murder past and present that connects and devastates three separate families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061987526
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/27/2010
Series:	Walker Family Mysteries , #4
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	485
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

Hometown:

Bellevue, Washington

Date of Birth:

October 27, 1944

Place of Birth:

Watertown, South Dakota

Education:

B. A., University of Arizona, 1966; M. Ed. in Library Science, University of Arizona, 1970

Website:

http://www.jajance.com/

Editorial Reviews

Brilliant....[Jance] has crafted a mystery that Hillerman would be proud of and that her fans will love.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Queen of the Night

“Jance offers that rare—and welcome—hybrid: the suspense novel with heart…[She] is at the top of her game and just about irresistible.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Queen of the Night

“Fans of police procedurals with a Southwestern flair will love Joanna’s determination to manage marriage, motherhood, and policing in this 19th Joanna Brady book.” — Library Journal on Missing and Endangered

“The two parallel cases provide plenty of action, while keeping a premium on character studies and violence to a minimum. Once again, the compassionate, intelligent Joanna balances a busy home life and a complex job with aplomb. This long-running series consistently entertains.”  — Publishers Weekly on Missing and Endangered

“Bestseller Jance’s enjoyable 25^th J.P. Beaumont mystery…J.P. is a fully developed character, and his frequent calls to [his wife] Melissa to discuss the case are both touching and insightful. They make a good team even at a distance. New readers will happily join the ranks of longtime fans.” — Publishers Weekly on Nothing to Lose

From the Publisher

Jance offers that rare—and welcome—hybrid: the suspense novel with heart.

Jonathan Southard is one of those unhappy men whose unrequited love affair with life has caused a volatile, long-term, internal simmering. One day the mixture explodes, resulting in a crime that is both horrific and, in a sense at least, foreseeable. He shoots his wife, her dog and their two young children, construing this last as an act of mercy inasmuch as it will spare them an aftermath of humiliation and shame. Having wiped out his San Diego family, he sets off for Tucson and the home of his mother, planning to clean the slate. He's always hated Abby Tennant, attributing to her voluminous maternal shortcomings, of which she is largely innocent. With less difficulty than Southard expected, the bodies are discovered, clues are put together, identities established and soon enough the manhunt is on, participated in by multiple police forces from several states. Among these are the elite Shadow Wolves, Indians who patrol reservation land near the Mexican border. Enter Dan Pardeey. Half Anglo, half Apache, he has a special connection to the small survivor of another of Southard's monstrous crimes. Angelina Enos, age four, has remained alive only by virtue of being tiny enough to escape notice. Eerily, this parallels Pardee's own long-ago experience, and when she reaches out to him he has no choice but to respond. Because he does, his life is irrevocably changed and, in a kind of chain reaction, so are the lives of a variety of other players, one way or another, for good or ill, in Jance's absorbing cast.

A storytelling machine, Jance in her 41st (Trial by Fire, 2009, etc.) is at the top of her game and just about irresistible.

Kirkus Reviews