Over the course of the last twenty-five years, author J.A. Jance has provided a tremendous amount of work in fleshing out the characters of J.P. Beaumont and Sheriff Joanna Brady. Fire and Ice is perhaps Jance’s best work to date, as the story that Jance tells showcases two distinct sub-plots hat come together in a way that will keep readers focused in throughout the entirety of the 350-plus pages. The book itself starts up with J. P. Beaumont examining a number of different, related murders that are very gruesome – the women are dispatched by gasoline after being wrapped up.
Jance inserts in the second plot, which surrounds Joanna Brady and eir fellow members of the Sheriff’s Department attempting to solve the mystery of whom would commit a hit and run of a prominent local businessman. The book shifts locales between two distinct areas – Washington and Arizona – before readers start to see exactly what Jance has done with this title. Where other titles that we have read in the last few months have seemed like great places to cap off the series, I feel that Fire and Ice is a great introductory point for anyone that may not have the time to go through the rest of the series beforehand. Jance’s style ensures that there is more than enough information to allow newbies the ability to fully enjoy the title, while there are enough different minor (and major) placements here to make long-time fans of Jance’s work happy.
While many that are not into the mystery genre will pass over this book, I feel as if there is a strength of prose here that will appease anyone that is truly a fan of the written word. “Fire and Ice†is a title that hits on all cylinders throughout the entirety of the work, with Jance keeping up a great pace while building up to a dramatic crescendo. I have not previous had the chance to read any of Jance’s other titles to this point, but I know that I will pick them up whenever I’ve got a little bit of free time. You should as well.
Rating: 7.5/10
Fire and Ice (Book) / J.A. Jance / $25.99 / 352 Pages / William Morrow / http://www.harpercollins.com