Thursday, June 24, 2021

Unfinished Business

Title: Unfinished Business
Author: J. A. Jance
Published: June 1st 2021 by Gallery Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 352 pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Ali Reynolds #16

First Sentence: Prologue: An icy wind blew in from the west, and Broomy McCluskey, age fifteen, huddled in the moon-cast shadow on the far side of the shed, shivering -- whether from the chill or anticipation -- and waiting for the light in the kitchen to come on, signaling that his mother was about to send her mutt, Rocco, out to do his business.

From the Publisher: Mateo Vega, a one-time employee of Ali Reynold’s husband, B. Simpson, has spent the last sixteen years of his life behind bars. According to the courts, he murdered his girlfriend. But Mateo knows that her real killer is still on the loose, and the first thing he’s going to do when he gets a taste of freedom is track him down.

After being granted parole, a wary Mateo approaches Stu Ramey of High Noon Enterprises for a reference letter for a job application, but to his surprise, Stu gives him one better: He asks him to come on board and work for B. once again. Just as Mateo starts his new job, though, chaos breaks out at High Noon—a deadbeat tenant who is in arrears has just fled, and tech expert Cami Lee has gone missing.

As Ali races to both find a connection between the two disappearances and help Mateo clear his name with the help of PI J.P. Beaumont, tragedy strikes in her personal life, and with lives hanging in the balance, she must thread the needle between good and evil before it’s too late. (Simon and Schuster)

My Opinion: Wow. I don’t think there is one thing that J. A. Jance forgot to put in this book. She managed to cover all the bases, from birth to death, illness to healing, then rounding it out with justice being served, and a wrong righted. Each character from her past few books had a place here and then some. When a person says, if you don’t like the current plotline hang-on, there is another one around the corner, they hadn’t met Jance, where you can say, if you don’t like this plot, hold on there are another half dozen coming your way.

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this wild ride. The last couple of books were so-so, but this one grabbed me from the first page, and though the ending was a bit abrupt, I enjoyed the ride. There is no telling where she will go from here, but for once in a long time, I am looking forward to where Ali and the employees of High Noon Enterprises are heading.

No comments: