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278th out of 296 books
—
64 voters
Devil's Claw (Joanna Brady #8)
by
J.A. Jance (Goodreads Author)
A missing teenager and an octogenarian found dead of apparently natural causes are pretty run-of-the-mill cases in Bisbee, Arizona, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is focusing on the last-minute details of her upcoming wedding. In this latest outing in Judith Jance's Brady series, the connection between the two events is a thin one. In the author's capable hands, however, it's...more
Paperback, 406 pages
Published
July 31st 2001
by Avon
(first published 1993)
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I've loved J. A. Jance's books for years and this 12 year old paperback given to me by a friend is certainly no disappointment. It's part of the series starring Sheriff Joanna Brady of Bisbee, AZ. In this one Brady and her boyfriend Butch are nearing their wedding date when a 15 year old part Apache girl, Lucy, and her pet red-tailed hawk disappear. That same night Lucy's mother is murdered just after being released from prison where she had been because she confessed to killing Lucy's father.
As...more
As...more
Of the books that I have read so far in the Joanna Brady series, I enjoyed this one the best. For one thing, I learned something, some positive associations with the extremely irritating item of vegetation known as a Devil's Claw. When I was a child, these were much more common in this area than they seem to be now. I have memories of attending a birthday party as a small child in a strange house where we were seated at a long table for the cake eating. Somehow, while I was sitting there, a Devi...more
Mar 01, 2011
Natalie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-project,
audiotape
One of my goals this year is to better familiarize myself with the most popular mystery writers - so I'm creating a mystery bookshelf for this purpose. If this book is typical of a J.A. Jance mystery, I wasn't impressed. I prefer mysteries that unravel slowly, where the reader knows the guilty party and understands their motives. I like surprises, but ones which make sense as you look back upon the book. This really had neither - the murderer stayed out of the story until the last chapter or so,...more
I've read one other Jance and found it too gritty & the crime too graphic for my taste so I did not look forward to reading this for a mystery f2f discussion. I was happily surprised to find I quite enjoyed it! Nice pace with an interesting mix of the personal and procedural. Southwest setting was subtle but present. I figured out the 'bad guys' the minute they were introduced but that didn't kill the book for me. Perhaps the other Jance I read was her other series? I like Joanna Brady and...more
I think I might have read this a long time ago. It is partially set at a place called Cochise Stronghold -- such a great-sounding place that my husband and I actually took a trip to Arizona to visit it. Cochise used to hide from the soldiers there. We stayed at the Cochise Stronghold B&B, in an actual teepee with a fire-ring of rocks in the middle. Unfortunatly we did not have second wife along to tend the fire in the middle of the night. But we did hike in the Stronghold which is now a stat...more
Good series set in the country area where my daughter, Jana, lives. I like the characterization and the ideals. The mysteries are good puzzles, realistic, with a hint of jeopardy and adventure. They are for mature readers, with some language and frankness about feelings and sexuality (very tasteful and not usually explicit). In this novel, a teenager waiting for her mother to get out of prison vanishes, at the same time as Joanna's feisty neighbor is killed (and gossip has it Joanna has somethin...more
Fifteen-year-old Lucy Ridder dreads her mother's release from prison, eight years after she was convicted of killing Lucy's beloved father. Lucy is aware that her mother's priority is not a family reunion but the retrieval of a mysterious diskette entrusted to Lucy by her dad shortly before his death. After inadvertently witnessing her mother's brutal slaying by a stranger who's also hot after the diskette, Lucy vanishes.
Joanna Brady is the sheriff of Chocise County, Arizona, but she's also a wi...more
Joanna Brady is the sheriff of Chocise County, Arizona, but she's also a wi...more
I just had to follow the Joanna Brady series through one more book. A lonely teenager witnesses her mother's murder. The mother has been recently released form prison for killing the girl's father 8 years earlier. In the sub-plot the elderly neighbor/friend/ ranch hand leaves his ranch to Joanna and his arrogant, spoiled daughter goes berserk, trashing Joanna's house. The story closes with Joanna and Butch's wedding and their flying off for a Paris honeymoon.
This is another book in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series, set in Arizona. The main character is a great multi-tasker dealing with a homicide and missing teen which has ties to a homicide from several years ago; in addition she also has to worry about her upcoming wedding and her neighbor's recent death & his irate daughter. The story gets a bit jumbled if you are a stickler for timelines, but things work out in the end. A pretty good murder mystery to read.
Johanna is my kind of woman. She meets the challenges of being sheriff, mother, fiancee and caring for the animals at her home. She uses her woman's intuition, much to the puzzlement of her deputees, and solves the crime.
It is well worth while to read the stories pretty much in order since there is reference to the various things and people who influence her (but not critical).
It is well worth while to read the stories pretty much in order since there is reference to the various things and people who influence her (but not critical).
Good again. Indians are the theme--this time it's a dead woman just released from prison & her missing teenaged daughter. Meanwhile, Joanna's trying to get married & her older neighbor is found dead & she's blamed for that by his daughter, who trashes Joanna's house. Whew! The mystery part gets short shrift here, and it's about espionage and computer codes to boot. Oh, well!
I just reread it. I got it from the library because I couldn't remember it. It was just as good the second time through. That is one advantage to being old. I really enjoyed all the civilians who are in the book because they won an auction. You can always tell which ones they are. They are the ones who are well described but who only have a minor role, such as witness. Sometimes her villains are so well described I wonder if they won auctions also. It might be fun to be a villain.
I have become so attached to Johanna Brady I feel I should invite her to our next family reunion lol
The end, once again, was a comlete twist and surprise. Once into it I had to take the book everywhere with me to read every available minute waiting, for school to get out or swim practice to be over!
On to book #9!
The end, once again, was a comlete twist and surprise. Once into it I had to take the book everywhere with me to read every available minute waiting, for school to get out or swim practice to be over!
On to book #9!
Another solid Joanna Brady novel. A woman recently released from prison for killing her husband is found dead in the desert. Her teenaged daughter Lucy is missing, along with Lucy's red-tailed hawk. Joanna is in the middle of planning her wedding, but puts things on hold to look for the Lucy. Joanna’s neighbor Clayton, who helps them with the ranch, is found dead in his garage. Clayton’s estranged daughter arrives and goes ballistic when she learns that Clayton left his property to Joanna. So, J...more
This was a decent book. Probably typical for this author. The ending was al little drawn out. They solved the mystery made the arrest finished up the sub stories and there was still 50 pages .eft so I have to admit I didn't actually finish the book.
Very Good; Continuing character: Joanna Brady; sheriff works case where woman is killed shortly after getting out of prison, with the help of the woman's daughter and her pet hawk; in the meantime she plans for her wedding.
I still love reading J.A. Jance's books. I enjoy the JP Beaumont series better, but the Joanna Brady books are good too, and I liked this one better than some of the others. Overall, a quick, entertaining read.
The 8th in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series. Joanna & Butch plan their wedding. Clayton, their neighbor dies suddenly & leaves his ranch to Joanna but Reba his daughter a bitter woman who has been estranged from her father wants to fight this. Reba's husband subpoenas her w/ divorce papers the day of funeral & Reba goes berserk destroying everything but Jennifer's room. Lucy Ridder a 15-yr-old loner disappears. her mother has recently been released from prison for killing her husband....more
Another reliable offering in the Joanna Brady series. These mysteries are not great literature but they are a fun read and feature good strong, trust their instinct female characters.
I've read most of J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series and have liked them all. Good mystery without sex or violence. As a continuing series, it's easy to get involved with her characters.
Devil's Claw was a disappointment to me - J.A. Jance's plots are usually more skillfully developed and more active. I "skip-read" long portions of this one.
I still like these mysteries, but I'm afraid Joanna Brady is starting to look like superwoman! Super Sheriff (incredibly intuitive and courageous), Super Mom (she struggles but somehow always manages).
A girl's mother is killed and she's on the run with a hawk. It's an OK book but not great.
Enjoyed another Joanna Brady mystery and I enjoyed continuing to get to know the characters.
I'm now down to one Joanna Brady book. The only thing I regret is I didn't read them in order.
Another good Joanna Brady installment. I really enjoy this series and all the characters that it holds. I believe that I will just have to get down to southern Arizona to see and all it holds.
Aug 12, 2011
Sherry Beaubriand
added it
I really enjoyed this book..want to learn more about Joanna and her family
String female sheriff story.. action packed
Love this series also
Love this series also
Arizona law enforcement fiction "starring" Sheriff Joanna Brady.
Jul 27, 2011
Elly Carney
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Elly by:
no one
There really weren't any surprises. It's a good solid mystery with a couple interesting side stories, Joanna and Butch have important plans in the offing and an unexpected inheritance add complications to Sheriff Brady's life. I'm not sure I would want to be running a Sheriff's Department and investigating a murder - or two - with these other events taking place and all the "interesting" people involved. Our loveable fictitious Ms. Brady manages quite well. Ms. Jance has once again done a superb...more
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Judith Ann Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
Series:
* J.P. Beaumont
* Joann...more
More about J.A. Jance...
Series:
* J.P. Beaumont
* Joann...more
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