Fire and Ice

By J. A. Jance

New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance brings her two best-loved series characters together as Beaumont and Brady investigate a pair of cases that cross state lines

Seattle investigator J.P. Beaumont is working a series of murders in which six young women have been wrapped in tarps, doused with gasoline and set on fire. Their charred remains have been scattered around various dump sites, creating a grisly pattern of death across western Washington.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Arizona desert, Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady is looking into a homicide in which the elderly caretaker of an ATV park was run over and left to die. All the man has left behind is his dog, who is the improbable witness to some kind of turf warfare – or something more sinister.

But, here, as the threads of their two seemingly seperate cases wind together, Beaumont and Brady must put aside echoes of their shared past as they are once again drawn into an orbit of deception. Except this time it’s not just their own lives that are in danger but those of the people closest to them as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Oct 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007347865

J. A. Jance

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews for Fire and Ice

[khiemstra631 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel combines two of Jance's series into one when J.P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady meet for the second time. (No sparks fly this time!) The case revolves around a murdered former prostitute whose remains are found deep in a Washington forest. While Joanna's family does not play as much of a role as usual in this novel, they are present, hovering in the background. I suppose covering a plot from two different parts of the country doesn't leave space for a whole lot of subplots, although there are a few. It's a good read, but I have to say that I found the constant going back and forth between Brady and Beaumont a little distracting. Rather than doing it chapter by chapter, Jance chose to divide it via sections within chapters. That a lot of switching. But still, it's a winner.

[pmtracy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[dearheart_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[weeziesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

“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.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've always loved J.P. Beaumont, the irrascible go-it-alone detective in Seattle, and I also have enjoyed the Joanna Brady series about the sheriff in Arizona. In a previous story, Partners in Crime, author Jance had the two of them working together in a story that was very exciting. This 2nd attempt to have them work together just doesn't do as much for me. I found it very off-putting when each chapter switches back and forth between in Seattle and Arizona. Beaumont is investigating the brutal murders of 6 unidentified (and badly burned) females, while Joanna is trying to solve the murder of an ATV park manager. I could see almost from the beginning where the story was going, but Jance took so much time backfilling the history of each of the protagonists, that the story almost took a back seat. Her characters seemed almost cardboard in this one, and the story seemed contrived to try to fit them together. These two characters are strong, likable, and have great stories to tell on their own. I hope Jance sticks to two separate series and doesn't try to force this relationship too much in the future.

[mikedraper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Special Investigator J.P. Beaumont in Seattle, Washington is investigating a string of homicides of young Spanish women. There have been six women who have been murdered, bound in a tarp and set on fire, their teeth have been removed to prevent identification. However, something changed in the last victim, her teeth were not removed.In Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Joanna Brady is working on a murder. The manager of an ATV park is found dead. Run over numerous times by ATVs. His body being guarded by his dog.When the last victim in Washington state did not have her teeth removed, the authorities were able to identify her by her dental records. Her nearest kin is a detective in Joanna Brady's homicide department. Thus the protagonists of J. A. Jance's two popular series work together to solve this case.It turns out that a person is smuggeling people over the boarder from Mexico for a fee. When the young Spanish women cannot pay the fee, the leader of this group forces the women into prostitution.A pleasant read. However, the action moves constantly from the case in Washington state to Arizona and at times it became a bit confusing.

[cathyskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First Line: Ken Leggett wasn't what you could call a warm and fuzzy guy.Seattle investigator J.P. Beaumont is working a series of murders in western Washington in which six young women have been wrapped in tarps, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. At the same time, two thousand miles away in the Arizona desert, Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady is investigating the homicide of a caretaker of an ATV park. A breakthrough in Beaumont's case leads him right to Cochise County, and for the second time (after 2002's Partner in Crime) these two will be working together.I've read the first two or three books of Jance's Beaumont series and have to admit that I never took to J.P. On the other hand, when I picked up the first book of the Joanna Brady series, it was love at first sight. When Jance first put her two crime fighters together, I was wondering how it would work out. I should've known that with two professionals like J.P. and Joanna (and a consummate writer like Jance), it would go well. Fire and Ice is even better than Partner in Crime.Until the end of the book, J.P. and Joanna stay in their own jurisdictions to work their cases, and both characters are more comfortable that way. It's interesting to see how the two cases eventually link together.J.P. seems to have made quite a few changes in his life; so much so that I might just try reading about him again. Joanna's life is the usual hectic blur of being sheriff in a county that's larger than some states, of being the wife of a writer who has to go on book tours, of being the mother of an infant and a teenager. J.P. has always been a bit of a loner. Joanna Brady is surrounded by family and friends and co-workers, many of whom have their own story lines woven seamlessly into the narrative.In both series, Jance has created characters that, after a few books, can easily feel like members of your own family. Jance's plots are always interesting and flow smoothly, and her settings are close to perfection. Fire and Ice is yet another winner for J.A. Jance. When she stops writing books, I think I'll cry.

[kblinn_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel combines two of Jance's series into one when J.P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady meet for the second time. (No sparks fly this time!) The case revolves around a murdered former prostitute whose remains are found deep in a Washington forest. While Joanna's family does not play as much of a role as usual in this novel, they are present, hovering in the background. I suppose covering a plot from two different parts of the country doesn't leave space for a whole lot of subplots, although there are a few. It's a good read, but I have to say that I found the constant going back and forth between Brady and Beaumont a little distracting. Rather than doing it chapter by chapter, Jance chose to divide it via sections within chapters. That a lot of switching. But still, it's a winner.