No Honor Among Thieves

As a diehard reader of the Joanna Brady series I was so excited to stumble across this novella pairing Joanna Brady with Ali Reynolds. What better way to introduce myself to another series by J. A. Jance. Since the book was only 84 pages, the introduction of the characters were minimal, and the investigation of the crime a grade above cliff notes regarding details. What I gained from this book was an introduction to another series by the author.

NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES, a novella by J. A. Jance. The author has managed to join two of her powerful female icons, Sheriff Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds, into an intriguing fictional read. The story begins some 70 miles southeast of Tucson near the small town of Hereford, Arizona. At first it was thought to be a simple truck accident on Arizona Highway 92. Upon further investigation it became apparent the driver had been murdered by heavy firepower, probably an AK-47, prior to the rollover. Sheriff Brady personally takes charge of the investigation. Turns out the truck was hauling Legos from California–destination unknown. Brady soon runs into a brick wall in her investigation. She needs computer help. Enters Ali Reynolds, whose husband, B., and High Noon Enterprises, a security consulting firm, were hired by the makers of Legos to track shipments that lately have gone missing. What happens next makes for a good story when the two strong women join forces against the bad guys. I liked the story; and I might add that it is always gratifying to enjoy an author who can write interesting dialogue without using four-letter words or F-bombs in every paragraph. Thank you, Ms Jance. I recommend the novella for lunchtime reading. I give the story a 5-star rating.

Wow! What a novel idea…having the red-headed bombshell, Sheriff Joanna Brady, along with the dynamite, tall blonde super amateur sleuth, Ali Reynolds, together solving crime. The introduction of Cami, the female computer virtuoso adds a bit of spice also. A truck crashes and the driver is dead. Enters, Sheriff Brady. It is quickly determined the crash is no accident. The dead driver, and the truck have been riddled with a bombardment of bullets from an automatic weapon. Wait! The upended cargo was a truck load of Legos. Yep, those plastic puzzle building pieces made for kids, but confiscated by adults! Now, that must be a first. Wait, the varying pieces of plastic are scattered hither and yon all over the crash site. Interesting volunteers to the rescue for clean-up detail may be a bit stiff in the joints, but they will get the job done and leave the police to carry on with the investigation of the crime scene. Ali Reynold\’s hubby, B. is the owner of High Noon Enterprises, a sophisticated security consulting firm, and the company recently hired by Legos manufactures to find several missing shipments. B. sends Ali to see if she can collect info that will aid in the investigation of the missing kid\’s toys. The two high-octane personalities, Ali and Joanna, meet for the first time…..and it is not instant friendship! They do work well together; however, the two characters personalities are not very well developed in this novella. If the reader is not already acquainted with these two characters, a feeling of “blah” may come across. I felt this was a hurry up and let\’s get something published kind of endeavor on the part of Ms. Jance. The storyline was such that this could have been a full-fledged novel. It was; however, an interesting read even though it was not highly suspenseful. Hopefully, the two may team up for further crime reduction in the future. At least, the ending lets us know something of what the future holds for Sheriff Brady.

Realizing this was a novella – unless we already were acquainted with Ali and Sheriff Brady from previous books in the different series of J.A. Jance – I fear readers were left with very little depth of their personalities, qualifications, and point of views. I found myself wanting to utilize \”Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics\” and speed through the last 3rd – but, alas, I hung in there. The convenient wrap up was less than stellar and in my opinion far below the experience and technique level of J.A. Jance. I hope her next full novel will be more satisfying. She remains one of my go to authors and I constantly pick up old hard copies of her books at second hand book stores – nostalgically longing to cuddle up by the fire and get lost in her stories. This was not one of those stories…

I enjoy J. A. Jance\’s books. Especially The J. P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady series. I have not read as many Ali Reynolds books because I find her character frustrating. (I read this one because it involved Joanna Brady). My complaint related to Ali\’s character is that she does stupid things that put her and other people in danger. SPOILER ALERT! I thought by this time in the series she might have matured some, but no toward the end she did it again.

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