MISSING AND ENDANGERED

4 stars out of 5

Other than a short story co-written with Eric Van Lustbader in a collection compiled by members of International Thriller writers, I've had no real acquaintance with this author. After reading this one - the (wow!) 19th in his Sheriff Joanna Brady series - I'll be watching for more. And no worries about it standing alone; plenty of time (almost too much) is spent rehashing past situations and relationships so I never felt lost.

As this one begins, Joanna gets a call from her daughter, Jenny, who is attending Northern Arizona University Flagstaff on a rodeo team scholarship. Her ultra-sheltered roommate, Beth, is estranged from her ultra-straight-laced parents and has nowhere to go for Christmas vacation. Could she bring Beth home with her to be with Joanna, her writer-husband Butch Dixon and her two much-younger siblings?

Of course, was the response. Before that happens, though, Joanna, chief at the Cochise County Justice Center, must continue to deal with employee issues and pushing through her request for next year's budget. But then she gets a call that one of her deputies has been shot while investigating a domestic violence case. As for Beth, she's gone head-over-heels for the guy she met online - and it looks as if that may be a big mistake that could spell danger for both Beth and Jenny.

Ultimately, Joanna has no choice but to get involved in both situations; luckily, she has plenty of old contacts to all in for help and a husband who's more than willing to pitch in wherever and whenever he's needed (should she part company with him, in fact, I'd be more than happy to interview him for a similar job). By the end, everybody involved gets a good workout - including the reader - and now I'm looking forward to Joanna's next adventure. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Missing and Endangered by J.A. Jance (William Morrow, February 2021); 384 pp.