Beau again works with Joanna Brady in this mystery. Six murdered women have been found, wrapped in tarps, burned beyond recognition, and with their teeth removed. The detectives caught a break in the last murder, when that corpse was found with teeth intact. Joanna is also working on a hit-and-run case that looks like deliberate murder. It will be up to this duo, along with Beau’s wife and fellow detective, Mel, to tie all the loose ends together. It’s a pretty good mystery. It’s interesting to see Beau and Joanna work together, since their styles are so different. The plot may be be a bit contrived, bringing in cops from Beau’s past, and the ending doesn’t quite tie up all the loose ends, but it’s still an exciting and entertaining tale. ( )

J. P. Beaumont, ex-Seattle police detective is working for the Washington State Attorney General as a member of a special task force. He is trying to identify bodies of several young women who have been murdered in a similar manner.

Joanna Brady, Sheriff of Cochise County has been called to an ATV park. The body of the property caretaker has been found dead, apparently run over by several different vehicles, and his trailer trashed.

Told in alternating chapters these two separate investigations begin to draw together.

Well written plot, with excellent pace, and with familiar charactors. ( )

Not a huge fan of the BradyBeaumont crossover stories. The constant switch between first and third person is annoying. This one was about coyotes, drug cartels and a wedding. ( )

Another series crossover story between Special Investigator J P Beaumont out of Washington and Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady in Arizona. Each is investigating homicides in their own areas, but it’s pretty far into the book before any connection is made between the two.

On Joanna’s end we’ve got a man who manages an ATV park, found dead after purposely being run over a number of times. Detective Jaime Carbajal is having a difficult time with the nephew he took in when Jaime’s sister disappeared. Elder abuse is another topic when an Alzheimer’s patient goes missing from a private facility. And Joanna is nervous as she’d promised to be the Best Man at her former chief deputy’s upcoming wedding.

On Beau’s end there’s a possible break in the case of unidentified women found wrapped in a tarps in the woods with their bodies burned. The latest body is different in that the killer didn’t pull all of her teeth, allowing them to make an identification, which provides the tie-in to Joanna’s area.

The story is told jumping back and forth between what’s going on in each area. I’ve been doing a marathon read of Joanna’s series and if I didn’t have at least familiarity of at least one of these series, I’m not sure I would have liked this story as much as I’ve enjoyed the others. As it is I’ve read a prior crossover book between these series, so it’s not as jarring.

As always, the character building is well done and the investigations and twists are interesting. I love following what’s happening in Joanna’s personal life as well as the challenges she faces with different personnel through work.

But unfortunately we’re missing a conclusion to the homicides as well as the elder abuse case. We do learn who killed the last victim in Washington and why, but don’t get to witness a takedown, which as it turns out will be handled by the DEA, which doesn’t happen by the end of the book. Perhaps that thread is picked up in the next book? But I was left with a feeling of being cheated that none of the things being investigated included an arrest.

Read from a library book. ( )

“Fire and Ice” by Jance was not my favorite mystery or detective story. The issue of elder abuse and the lack of oversight in nursing facilities, particularly those who care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients being one central theme was a good start and the idea of identification by dental record being used is a common practice. However, in this book, J.P. Beaumont’s investigation of the ongoing murders revolving around the Mexican Cervantes Cartel did not ring true and did not hold together for me. There were to many loose ends and the story was a bit jumbled to follow the story lines. The cross over of jurisdictional lines between local police and the FBI is a situation often described in mysteries but there was not complete development or clarification of this conflict. It may be that there were too many stories within the story and non completely developed. “Fire and Ice” was an enjoyable book and at places well done, but overall it was an average read. ( )