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Joanna Brady #3
Shoot Don't Shoot
Recently elected sherriff of Cochise County Ariz, JoAnna Brady has realized that there is more to the job than pushing papers, which she already knows how to do.
So she enrolls in a law-enforcement seminar that takes a murderous twist when one of the instructors is killed.
So she enrolls in a law-enforcement seminar that takes a murderous twist when one of the instructors is killed.
388 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
825 people are currently reading
1521 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Jance
145 books4,093 followersJudith 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
* Joanna Brady
* Ali Reynolds
* Walker Family
Series:
* J.P. Beaumont
* Joanna Brady
* Ali Reynolds
* Walker Family
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 397 reviews
October 17, 2023
4.5⭐
Joanna Brady was elected as the first female Sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona. With no police experience but selling insurance, she's attending a cop academy in Peoria which starts the week before Thanksgiving. Her 9-year-old daughter Jenny doesn't want her to leave. It's tough for them both because it'll be the first Thanksgiving without her husband who was shot and died in the line of duty two months before.
Shoot Don't Shoot has a serial killer targeting women. Although Joanna spends most of her time in class, she's still looking into the case and finds that the man they apprehended may not be the real killer.
I like the mystery and investigation. The pace is great and the characters are nicely developed. You can read this as a standalone. So goood!! I can't wait to read the next!
Joanna Brady was elected as the first female Sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona. With no police experience but selling insurance, she's attending a cop academy in Peoria which starts the week before Thanksgiving. Her 9-year-old daughter Jenny doesn't want her to leave. It's tough for them both because it'll be the first Thanksgiving without her husband who was shot and died in the line of duty two months before.
Shoot Don't Shoot has a serial killer targeting women. Although Joanna spends most of her time in class, she's still looking into the case and finds that the man they apprehended may not be the real killer.
I like the mystery and investigation. The pace is great and the characters are nicely developed. You can read this as a standalone. So goood!! I can't wait to read the next!
October 27, 2022
Seven years ago, Martin Chadwick set fire to a pub, not realizing there was someone inside. He’s been released. The victim’s father is out for revenge (understandable) and Martin’s son, who has had a hard time while his son was in prison, is struggling when their property is targeted. Detective Jessica Daniels is assigned to keep an eye out on both of them. There is also another case in the book with a woman who turns up dead. This is the fifth book in the series and took me a little longer to get into than some of the other Jessica Daniels books… I can’t precisely put my finger on what it was. Maybe that the plotting didn’t feel quite as tight early on, so I was struggling to get a handle on where the book was going for a while and then we had so many balls up in the air that at times it felt a little scattered. It was still ultimately an enjoyable police procedural. 4/5 stars.
February 3, 2015
Story and all that is fine... nothing too special, but not hateful either.
However, the Ellen Travolta audiobook performance and production is AWFUL! I have probably listened to 100+ audiobooks, and I've *never* heard pages turning. Every page turn is clearly audible, including an awkward pause by the performer. The breaks between different performance days are also very noticeable, drawing even more attention to the audio production and away from the story.
The producer and publisher of this audiobook should be horrified about the terrible production quality.
However, the Ellen Travolta audiobook performance and production is AWFUL! I have probably listened to 100+ audiobooks, and I've *never* heard pages turning. Every page turn is clearly audible, including an awkward pause by the performer. The breaks between different performance days are also very noticeable, drawing even more attention to the audio production and away from the story.
The producer and publisher of this audiobook should be horrified about the terrible production quality.
June 21, 2022
4.5 Stars for Shoot / Don’t Shoot: Joann Bradley Mystery Series, Book 3 (audiobook) by J. A. Jance read by Ellen Travolta.
Joann Bradley, the newly elected Cochise County Sheriff is enrolled in a police training seminar in Peoria, Az. While attending the seminar she realized that details to a couple of murders didn’t add up and there must be a cereal killer on the loose.
It’s fun reading stories that take place so close to home. Except that there was a cereal killer hunting women a few miles away from me. Fortunately the Sheriff got the killer.
Joann Bradley, the newly elected Cochise County Sheriff is enrolled in a police training seminar in Peoria, Az. While attending the seminar she realized that details to a couple of murders didn’t add up and there must be a cereal killer on the loose.
It’s fun reading stories that take place so close to home. Except that there was a cereal killer hunting women a few miles away from me. Fortunately the Sheriff got the killer.
September 2, 2023
This is a series that I started last year that I haven’t been keeping up on. Just too many great books to read and not enough time😊 It’s a good series though and I like it. It has the requisite smart, sassy, budding bad@$$, female, law enforcement type MC that I love. Another thing I like about it is that it was written back in the early 90’s before everyone and their granny had a cellphone and an unhealthy obsession with all their social media accounts. I started cracking up over the line “there was a long wait for the pay phone” and don’t even get me started on watching videos on a VCR. LMAO😂
This timeframe also kind of highlights that law enforcement in small communities, like Bisbee AZ, were still years behind how a lot of big city law enforcement departments operated and the tools that were available to those departments. Good grief! They didn’t even use email there yet. Back then, I believe (although I have never lived in a small town), small towns may have still depended more on plain old detecting skills and abilities than technology. JMHO
In this series, Joanna Brady is a newly elected Sheriff in Bisbee, AZ (in the second installment), after the death of her husband (the first installment) who was a Bisbee deputy running for Sheriff when he was murdered. Joanna, daughter of a long-time former Sheriff, is still struggling to adjust to her new job and is in Phoenix for some much-needed job training. She is also having difficulty with a lot of the attention she is getting from the town about her position while feeling overwhelmed with grief about her husband’s death.
Being in her in-law’s home is not helping the situation either, and don’t even get me started on what Joanna’s own mother did to Joanna’s daughter, Jenny! OMG!!! As far as I’m concerned, that would be grounds for banishment (at least temporarily)! That probably says a whole lot more about me than anything else. However, I do not understand parents who do that kind of crap to their kids! What do I know though, I’m not a parent, I was just a kid who went through the same type of bad experience and whose trust in her mother was a little more tenuous after that.
The prologue sets up the primary storyline of a single mother, Serena, who never comes home from a night out drinking at the local bar after leaving her two minor children home alone. However, at the same time, a serial killer has made his way into town looking for his next victim. There is also an introduction to a secondary storyline of a woman who has left her abusive husband, who is now threatening to kill her. There is another secondary storyline, that was introduced shortly thereafter, about one of the academy instructors, Dave Johnson, who is on the backside of his career and wallowing in alcohol over the losing his children in a divorce.
Most of the story revolves around Joanna doing an off-the-books investigation of Serena while she is attending the police academy in Phoenix. Serena’s ex-husband, Jorje, is in jail for the murder because of his prior arrest for beating the crap out of his wife, who got a restraining order against him. However, Jorje’s mother doesn’t believe he did it and after talking to him in jail, Joanna also does not believe Jorje killed Serena. It’s into the second half of the story that the only other woman at the academy, Lena, who Joanna had befriended while she was there, is attacked and is left fighting for her life.
At this point the storylines begin to merge, and the end comes pretty fast after that in a scary scene for Joanna as well as a pretty gruesome one too! I liked the final chapter; I got a kick out of the way Joanna handled a nosy busybody back home in Bisbee. There is hope yet for Joanna; she’s developing her inner sassy, snarky, bad@$$ that is just waiting to come out. Hopefully, there is more of that to come in future installments.
This timeframe also kind of highlights that law enforcement in small communities, like Bisbee AZ, were still years behind how a lot of big city law enforcement departments operated and the tools that were available to those departments. Good grief! They didn’t even use email there yet. Back then, I believe (although I have never lived in a small town), small towns may have still depended more on plain old detecting skills and abilities than technology. JMHO
In this series, Joanna Brady is a newly elected Sheriff in Bisbee, AZ (in the second installment), after the death of her husband (the first installment) who was a Bisbee deputy running for Sheriff when he was murdered. Joanna, daughter of a long-time former Sheriff, is still struggling to adjust to her new job and is in Phoenix for some much-needed job training. She is also having difficulty with a lot of the attention she is getting from the town about her position while feeling overwhelmed with grief about her husband’s death.
Being in her in-law’s home is not helping the situation either, and don’t even get me started on what Joanna’s own mother did to Joanna’s daughter, Jenny! OMG!!! As far as I’m concerned, that would be grounds for banishment (at least temporarily)! That probably says a whole lot more about me than anything else. However, I do not understand parents who do that kind of crap to their kids! What do I know though, I’m not a parent, I was just a kid who went through the same type of bad experience and whose trust in her mother was a little more tenuous after that.
The prologue sets up the primary storyline of a single mother, Serena, who never comes home from a night out drinking at the local bar after leaving her two minor children home alone. However, at the same time, a serial killer has made his way into town looking for his next victim. There is also an introduction to a secondary storyline of a woman who has left her abusive husband, who is now threatening to kill her. There is another secondary storyline, that was introduced shortly thereafter, about one of the academy instructors, Dave Johnson, who is on the backside of his career and wallowing in alcohol over the losing his children in a divorce.
Most of the story revolves around Joanna doing an off-the-books investigation of Serena while she is attending the police academy in Phoenix. Serena’s ex-husband, Jorje, is in jail for the murder because of his prior arrest for beating the crap out of his wife, who got a restraining order against him. However, Jorje’s mother doesn’t believe he did it and after talking to him in jail, Joanna also does not believe Jorje killed Serena. It’s into the second half of the story that the only other woman at the academy, Lena, who Joanna had befriended while she was there, is attacked and is left fighting for her life.
At this point the storylines begin to merge, and the end comes pretty fast after that in a scary scene for Joanna as well as a pretty gruesome one too! I liked the final chapter; I got a kick out of the way Joanna handled a nosy busybody back home in Bisbee. There is hope yet for Joanna; she’s developing her inner sassy, snarky, bad@$$ that is just waiting to come out. Hopefully, there is more of that to come in future installments.
June 30, 2016
I'm really getting involved in these people's lives. J.A. Jance definitely knows how to keep the ball rolling. I've already started the next in the serious, Dead to Rights, because I'm on this roller coaster and can't get off! Not that I want to.
The main character, Sheriff Joanna Brady, is believable, flawed, gutsy, and vulnerable. I like her.
Shoot Don't Shoot doesn't sugarcoat the problem of greedy people manipulating people's memories through nefarious ways such as drugs and hypnosis. Joanna tries to get the cop training she desperately needs, but of course she finds herself smack dab in the middle of murder and mystery.
I like the dynamics of family and friends in this book (all the books, really). The author sets the tone and scene in such a way that you can't help but feel you are there, that you actually know these people. Several new developments in Joanna's personal life occur in this book. I can't wait to see what happens next!
The main character, Sheriff Joanna Brady, is believable, flawed, gutsy, and vulnerable. I like her.
Shoot Don't Shoot doesn't sugarcoat the problem of greedy people manipulating people's memories through nefarious ways such as drugs and hypnosis. Joanna tries to get the cop training she desperately needs, but of course she finds herself smack dab in the middle of murder and mystery.
I like the dynamics of family and friends in this book (all the books, really). The author sets the tone and scene in such a way that you can't help but feel you are there, that you actually know these people. Several new developments in Joanna's personal life occur in this book. I can't wait to see what happens next!
June 21, 2020
In Shoot Don't Shoot, newly elected sheriff, Joanna Brady, goes to a police academy for training. The training ends up being real life as a favour for the mother of a jailed man takes an unexpected turn. There are surprises both good and bad for Joanna in this entry in the series. This book was a perfect choice for long walks.
April 12, 2017
This is one of the earlier Sheriff Joanna Brady novels; it briefly explains about Sheriff Brady’s husband, Andy’s death and how she meets Butch Dixon.
These books are considered mysteries, which makes sense because what else would a Police Detective do but solve the mystery of how an event occurred.
Joanne, newly elected sheriff for Cochise County, Arizona, has no first hand police knowledge so she has signed up for a class at the Arizona Police Academy. Before she leaves to attend the six-week course, one of her high ranking deputies brings a woman, whose son is in jail, suspected of killing his wife to meet Joanna. Joanna accepts the envelop of newspaper clippings , carefully explaining to the heart broken woman that since this is out of her jurisdiction she can look at the evidence, but there is nothing she can so about it.
When Joanne starts by reading the newspaper articles and questioning the suspect, she gets an intuitive feeling that the man is innocent; but what can she do about it? She goes to the Roadhouse Bar, the last place both of suspect and the victim were last seen and asks the bartender, Butch Dixon about that night. Uncooperative, until he realizes that Joanna feels that the suspect is innocent, Butch sets about writing what he remembers of the night.
When the only other female office at the Academy is attacked, all roads lead to the teacher of the course; but, again, Joanne is unconvinced. Joanna believes that all roads lead to the Roadhouse and most likely Butch Dixon.
Can Joanna figure out the puzzle before anyone else dies, especially since she realizes she is on the killer’s list?
April 12, 2023
If you listen to the audio version of this book, try to get one by someone other than Ellen Travolta. This woman made so many pronunciation mistakes that it was hard to get a sense of the book.
Edit 4/23:
What a difference a narrator makes! Hillary Huber made this book into what it should have been. Interesting and engaging. Thank you publishers for heeding your listening public!
Edit 4/23:
What a difference a narrator makes! Hillary Huber made this book into what it should have been. Interesting and engaging. Thank you publishers for heeding your listening public!
January 12, 2024
Joanna finally gets official training; I love that J.A. Jance wanted to keep her characters realistic enough that with Joanna taking over the run for sheriff without originally intending to and now that she has won, she knows she doesn't have the background training to make her as good at her job as she could be.
There was a big drag in the middle, but I didn't mind getting a bit more in-depth into some of the characters. I actually had a bigger issue with the reaction to her daughter Jenny and how much of the incident was brushed over.
I know this is a long-running series, so I wonder what Jance will do with Brady and fam in the future.
3.5 Stars rounded up.
There was a big drag in the middle, but I didn't mind getting a bit more in-depth into some of the characters. I actually had a bigger issue with the reaction to her daughter Jenny and how much of the incident was brushed over.
I know this is a long-running series, so I wonder what Jance will do with Brady and fam in the future.
3.5 Stars rounded up.
March 17, 2021
I am enjoying this series of books about Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Arizona. J. A. Jance has created a character that is believable engaging. Joanna Brady is a strong woman who finding herself taking on a job left open but seeming to fit into her history of father and husband. At the same time, she seems to recognize that as a rookie (even if Sheriff) she might still be a better insurance professional than law enforcement professional.
In this book, Sheriff Brady, rookie that she is, is signed up for the Arizona officer training program near Phoenix. As she is preparing to leave for the six weeks of training, she is approached by her new Chief Deputy of Administration regarding a case involving a man accused of killing his estranged wife who is from Cochise County. She is uncertain about sticking her nose into a case outside her jurisdiction, but she can't leave it alone once she begins to look at it.
We know there is a serial killer on the loose (she doesn't). The mystery is who is it and how will he be discovered? And, how will it all happen while engaged in a six week training session?
Once again, Jance weaves a good story while keeping Joanna Brady engaged in her personal life and issues. Brady is a strong and dedicated woman but at the same time deeply committed to family and friends. Jance is able to move her character back and forth between personal and professional issues and crises without missing a beat and adding to the story in the process. J.A. Jance has wormed her way into a solid position in my reading list.
In this book, Sheriff Brady, rookie that she is, is signed up for the Arizona officer training program near Phoenix. As she is preparing to leave for the six weeks of training, she is approached by her new Chief Deputy of Administration regarding a case involving a man accused of killing his estranged wife who is from Cochise County. She is uncertain about sticking her nose into a case outside her jurisdiction, but she can't leave it alone once she begins to look at it.
We know there is a serial killer on the loose (she doesn't). The mystery is who is it and how will he be discovered? And, how will it all happen while engaged in a six week training session?
Once again, Jance weaves a good story while keeping Joanna Brady engaged in her personal life and issues. Brady is a strong and dedicated woman but at the same time deeply committed to family and friends. Jance is able to move her character back and forth between personal and professional issues and crises without missing a beat and adding to the story in the process. J.A. Jance has wormed her way into a solid position in my reading list.
October 8, 2024
Nice addition to the series
July 20, 2023
Love this series!
The sheriff Joanna Brady is a heroine like no other. I have dived into this series out of order but I am planning to go back and take it more in order because I am loving it even as I read randomly.
The sheriff Joanna Brady is a heroine like no other. I have dived into this series out of order but I am planning to go back and take it more in order because I am loving it even as I read randomly.
January 28, 2015
Loved it!! Loved it!! Joanna Brady is an awesome & fearless Sheriff. This is a fast pace, fun filled mystery. Gripping ending. 5 Stars!!
April 7, 2019
3rd in the series. I discovered JA Jance this week when looking for a new mystery series to read as some junk food for my brain. I needed a break from difficult content and mysteries often serve well for that purpose. I am lucky to have found this series available on audio through Overdrive, and have listened to the first three books over the last three days.
I like Joanna Brady. But in this book my favorite character is Jenny. Ms. Jance did a very good job creating a child character who is precocious, smart, silly and all child. Most authors tend to give the children characteristics which are too adult-like, or too infantile. I also really like the three grandparents who are each distinctive and unique. I hope that all of them continue to develop in future books.
I like Joanna Brady. But in this book my favorite character is Jenny. Ms. Jance did a very good job creating a child character who is precocious, smart, silly and all child. Most authors tend to give the children characteristics which are too adult-like, or too infantile. I also really like the three grandparents who are each distinctive and unique. I hope that all of them continue to develop in future books.
September 24, 2018
Not my favorite as there were a lot of family drama not closely related to the plot which seemed like filler that could have been used to further deepen the plot.
I like the plot but felt like it was delivered with a broad brush versus a deeper more detailed delivery.
At this point I'm finding Joanna too much of a doormat when it comes to her mother. I'm ready to give the mother a piece of my mind even if Joanna holds her tongue.
I like the plot but felt like it was delivered with a broad brush versus a deeper more detailed delivery.
At this point I'm finding Joanna too much of a doormat when it comes to her mother. I'm ready to give the mother a piece of my mind even if Joanna holds her tongue.
July 14, 2020
Slow start but great
Slow start but great character development and great chase in the final part of the story. Has the introduction of Butch Dixon to Joanna for the first time. Highly recommended.
Slow start but great character development and great chase in the final part of the story. Has the introduction of Butch Dixon to Joanna for the first time. Highly recommended.
April 1, 2020
Joanna has just been elected sheriff and has decided to go to 6 weeks of school to learn more about law enforcement. It is Thanksgiving so her parents and daughter come to visit. Joanna gets involved in a case where she is sure the wrong man is in jail and sets out to find out the truth
July 30, 2022
Another good story about Joanna Brady! I enjoy them all so far.
November 29, 2020
Two-haiku review:
She goes to cop school
Looks into murder for friend
Makes some new cop friends
Liked the women cops
Really enjoying series
In spite of pay phones
She goes to cop school
Looks into murder for friend
Makes some new cop friends
Liked the women cops
Really enjoying series
In spite of pay phones
September 8, 2023
Shoot Don’t Shoot by J. A. Jance
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: COPYRIGHT: January 1, 1995; PUBLISHER: William Morrow & Company; ISBN 978-0688138219; PAGES 281; Unabridged (Amazon Hardcover)
-Digital: COPYRIGHT: 10/13/2009; PUBLISHER: William Morrow reprint edition; ISBN 9780061774805; PAGES: 384; Unabridged (info from: Amazon: Kindle edition)
*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 14 Dec 2009; ISBN: 9780061953910: PUBLISHER: HarperAudio; DURATION: 10 hrs (approx.); Unabridged (INFO FROM Libby app version compliments of LA County Library)
-Feature Film or tv: Not that I’m aware of.
SERIES: Joanna Brady, Book 3
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Joanna Brady-Shariff of Cochise County, AZ
Jennifer (Jenny) Brady – Daughter of Joanna and Andrew
MaryAnn Maculyea – A Reverend and Joanna’s friend
Jeff Daniels – MaryAnn’s significant other who helps run a parsonage
Eleanor Lathrop – Joanna’s mother
Frank Montoya – Deputy of Cochise County, AZ
Dick Voland – Bisbee Chief Deputy
Eva Lou Brady – Joanna’s mother-in-law
Jim Bob Brady – Joanna’s father-in-law
Jorge Grijalva - Accused of murder
Juanita Grijalva - Friend of Frank's mother, mother of Jorge
Dave Thompson - Instructor
Leann Jessup - Classmate
Butch Dixon - Bartender
Larry Dysart - Roundhouse Bar customer
Cici Grijalva - Jenny's former classmate
Serena Grijalva - Roundhouse bar customer and mother of Jenny's former classmate, Cici
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-How I picked it: Don and I have enjoyed listening to Jance’s J.P. Beaumont series. I like to read what an author’s written in the order they write, so we’ve begun this series as well. It’s as entertaining as the Beaumont series. 😊
-What’s it about? Joanne goes to the Phoenix area to take law enforcement courses and finds herself looking into a murder linked back to her hometown.
-Liked: The story and the characters are enjoyable.
-Disliked: Oh, maybe I wonder at times why an otherwise intelligent character seems a bit dense, but I think that’s just the nature of mysteries.
-Overall: Good progression of the main characters and the crime and new characters made for a fine plot.
AUTHOR: J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance -- (born October 27, 1944) "Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent." – Wikipedia
NARRATOR: Hillary Huber – “Hillary has recorded close to 700 audiobooks spanning many genres. She is a multiple Audie Award finalist, multiple Earphone Award winner, Voice Arts Awards winner and one of Audiofile Magazine's best voices. Hillary has a BA in English Literature and is a voracious reader and listener. Likes: yoga, hip hop dancing, baking sourdough, bourbon. Dislikes: liver. Raised in conservative Connecticut and hippy Hawaii, Hillary now splits her time between Santa Monica and New York. Most of that time is in a 4x4 padded room. Er...booth. Her super power is reciting the alphabet backwards.
-HillaryHuber-dot-com
I liked Hillary’s narration. She doesn’t get too loud in the tense sections, she does different voices with great subtlety.
GENRE:
Fiction; Mystery; Thriller; Crime; Suspense; Police procedure
SUBJECTS: (Not comprehensive) Domestic abuse; Murder
LOCATIONS:
Bisbee, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona; Peoria, Arizona
TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1994)
DEDICATION:
“To Norman and Eve, Winifred and Logan, Herman and Mary, Bernice and Carl, who are, inevitably, Jenny’s grandparents, too. To Bill and Angie, Peoria’s goodwill ambassadors. To Jim Norman, in memory of Carol. And to Pierce Brooks, author of Officer Down, Code Three, an important work used in real police academy situations. It has saved the lives of countless police officers.”
EXCERPT: (From Chapter One)
““Well?” Lael prompted impatiently, dragging Rhonda back to the present and to the real issue at hand.
She dropped her eyes once more. “I’m afraid,” she said softly.
“Afraid of what?”
Rhonda dreaded saying the words aloud, especially since she didn’t think her mother had ever been afraid of anything in her whole life. As far as Rhonda was concerned, Lael had always seemed as brave and daring as the brilliant greens, blues, and reds she was swiftly daubing onto the paper.
“Afraid of what?” Lael asked again.
“Of him,” Rhonda answered. “Of Dean. He threatened me. He told me that if I went through with the divorce, he’d see me in hell before he’d pay me a single dime of alimony or give me a property settlement.”
“Oh, hell,” Lael said. “The man’s just pissed because he got passed over for department head and then they shipped him off to that other campus, wherever that is.”
“The ASU West campus is on Thunderbird, Mom,” Rhonda returned quietly. “But he’s not bluffing. He means it. He won’t give me a dime.”
Lael Weaver Gastone was incensed. “If it’s the money, don’t worry about it. He’s bluffing. Jean Paul and I could always help out if it came to that, but it won’t. You’ll see. The courts will make him pay.”
But Rhonda was no longer looking at her mother. She had dropped her gaze once more. “It’s not just the money, Mom. I don’t care about that.” She took a deep breath. “I’m afraid he’ll kill me, Mom.” She paused and bit her lip. “He hits me sometimes,” she added almost in a whisper.
“He what?” Lael asked. “I can’t hear you if you don’t speak up.”
“He hits me,” Rhonda repeated raggedly. “Hard.” A single tear leaked from her eye and slipped down her cheek. “And he told me the other day when I was packing that he’d kill me if I go through with it—with getting a divorce.”
Slowly, without looking directly at her mother’s face, Rhonda Weaver Norton unbuttoned the top three buttons of her cardigan sweater; then she slipped the soft knit material down over her shoulder. Under the sweater her bare shoulder and back were discolored by a mass of green-and-purple bruises. Lael gasped when she saw them.
“You let him do this to you?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
Blushing furiously, Rhonda pulled her sweater back up. “The first two times he promised he’d never do it again, so I dropped the charges. This time I haven’t . . . not yet.”
Lael tossed the piece of blue pastel in the general direction of her box, then slammed the lid shut. “And you’re not going to, either. Come on. We’ll go talk to Jean Paul. He’ll know what to do.””
RATING:
4 stars
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
9-1-2023 to 9-5-2023
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: COPYRIGHT: January 1, 1995; PUBLISHER: William Morrow & Company; ISBN 978-0688138219; PAGES 281; Unabridged (Amazon Hardcover)
-Digital: COPYRIGHT: 10/13/2009; PUBLISHER: William Morrow reprint edition; ISBN 9780061774805; PAGES: 384; Unabridged (info from: Amazon: Kindle edition)
*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 14 Dec 2009; ISBN: 9780061953910: PUBLISHER: HarperAudio; DURATION: 10 hrs (approx.); Unabridged (INFO FROM Libby app version compliments of LA County Library)
-Feature Film or tv: Not that I’m aware of.
SERIES: Joanna Brady, Book 3
CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Joanna Brady-Shariff of Cochise County, AZ
Jennifer (Jenny) Brady – Daughter of Joanna and Andrew
MaryAnn Maculyea – A Reverend and Joanna’s friend
Jeff Daniels – MaryAnn’s significant other who helps run a parsonage
Eleanor Lathrop – Joanna’s mother
Frank Montoya – Deputy of Cochise County, AZ
Dick Voland – Bisbee Chief Deputy
Eva Lou Brady – Joanna’s mother-in-law
Jim Bob Brady – Joanna’s father-in-law
Jorge Grijalva - Accused of murder
Juanita Grijalva - Friend of Frank's mother, mother of Jorge
Dave Thompson - Instructor
Leann Jessup - Classmate
Butch Dixon - Bartender
Larry Dysart - Roundhouse Bar customer
Cici Grijalva - Jenny's former classmate
Serena Grijalva - Roundhouse bar customer and mother of Jenny's former classmate, Cici
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-How I picked it: Don and I have enjoyed listening to Jance’s J.P. Beaumont series. I like to read what an author’s written in the order they write, so we’ve begun this series as well. It’s as entertaining as the Beaumont series. 😊
-What’s it about? Joanne goes to the Phoenix area to take law enforcement courses and finds herself looking into a murder linked back to her hometown.
-Liked: The story and the characters are enjoyable.
-Disliked: Oh, maybe I wonder at times why an otherwise intelligent character seems a bit dense, but I think that’s just the nature of mysteries.
-Overall: Good progression of the main characters and the crime and new characters made for a fine plot.
AUTHOR: J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance -- (born October 27, 1944) "Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent." – Wikipedia
NARRATOR: Hillary Huber – “Hillary has recorded close to 700 audiobooks spanning many genres. She is a multiple Audie Award finalist, multiple Earphone Award winner, Voice Arts Awards winner and one of Audiofile Magazine's best voices. Hillary has a BA in English Literature and is a voracious reader and listener. Likes: yoga, hip hop dancing, baking sourdough, bourbon. Dislikes: liver. Raised in conservative Connecticut and hippy Hawaii, Hillary now splits her time between Santa Monica and New York. Most of that time is in a 4x4 padded room. Er...booth. Her super power is reciting the alphabet backwards.
-HillaryHuber-dot-com
I liked Hillary’s narration. She doesn’t get too loud in the tense sections, she does different voices with great subtlety.
GENRE:
Fiction; Mystery; Thriller; Crime; Suspense; Police procedure
SUBJECTS: (Not comprehensive) Domestic abuse; Murder
LOCATIONS:
Bisbee, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona; Peoria, Arizona
TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1994)
DEDICATION:
“To Norman and Eve, Winifred and Logan, Herman and Mary, Bernice and Carl, who are, inevitably, Jenny’s grandparents, too. To Bill and Angie, Peoria’s goodwill ambassadors. To Jim Norman, in memory of Carol. And to Pierce Brooks, author of Officer Down, Code Three, an important work used in real police academy situations. It has saved the lives of countless police officers.”
EXCERPT: (From Chapter One)
““Well?” Lael prompted impatiently, dragging Rhonda back to the present and to the real issue at hand.
She dropped her eyes once more. “I’m afraid,” she said softly.
“Afraid of what?”
Rhonda dreaded saying the words aloud, especially since she didn’t think her mother had ever been afraid of anything in her whole life. As far as Rhonda was concerned, Lael had always seemed as brave and daring as the brilliant greens, blues, and reds she was swiftly daubing onto the paper.
“Afraid of what?” Lael asked again.
“Of him,” Rhonda answered. “Of Dean. He threatened me. He told me that if I went through with the divorce, he’d see me in hell before he’d pay me a single dime of alimony or give me a property settlement.”
“Oh, hell,” Lael said. “The man’s just pissed because he got passed over for department head and then they shipped him off to that other campus, wherever that is.”
“The ASU West campus is on Thunderbird, Mom,” Rhonda returned quietly. “But he’s not bluffing. He means it. He won’t give me a dime.”
Lael Weaver Gastone was incensed. “If it’s the money, don’t worry about it. He’s bluffing. Jean Paul and I could always help out if it came to that, but it won’t. You’ll see. The courts will make him pay.”
But Rhonda was no longer looking at her mother. She had dropped her gaze once more. “It’s not just the money, Mom. I don’t care about that.” She took a deep breath. “I’m afraid he’ll kill me, Mom.” She paused and bit her lip. “He hits me sometimes,” she added almost in a whisper.
“He what?” Lael asked. “I can’t hear you if you don’t speak up.”
“He hits me,” Rhonda repeated raggedly. “Hard.” A single tear leaked from her eye and slipped down her cheek. “And he told me the other day when I was packing that he’d kill me if I go through with it—with getting a divorce.”
Slowly, without looking directly at her mother’s face, Rhonda Weaver Norton unbuttoned the top three buttons of her cardigan sweater; then she slipped the soft knit material down over her shoulder. Under the sweater her bare shoulder and back were discolored by a mass of green-and-purple bruises. Lael gasped when she saw them.
“You let him do this to you?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
Blushing furiously, Rhonda pulled her sweater back up. “The first two times he promised he’d never do it again, so I dropped the charges. This time I haven’t . . . not yet.”
Lael tossed the piece of blue pastel in the general direction of her box, then slammed the lid shut. “And you’re not going to, either. Come on. We’ll go talk to Jean Paul. He’ll know what to do.””
RATING:
4 stars
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
9-1-2023 to 9-5-2023
November 10, 2017
BOOKS RECORDED BY "BOOKS IN MOTION" ARE AWFUL TO LISTEN TO!!! The narrator and recording of this book almost made me stop. If it was not #3 in a series I am enjoying, I would have returned the book and quit. But the series is one I like, so I had to continue. I could hear voices in the background, the recording quality changed several time throughout the book, I could hear the narrator swallow and breath between sentences, and her rate of speed would vary greatly! There were times there was a break between the stories of different characters where a lengthy pause between ending one sentence and starting the next would have given the audience knowledge of the change. In paper form, or eBook, I believe the change would be in the form of chapter breaks. But she would rush into the next sentence as if the story was continuing with the characters previously discussed. It was not in the least an enjoyable experience to listen to this type of recording.
However, the story itself was very good and definitely has me wanting to continue. I am invested in the characters and want to see their lives play out.
I do recommend this series, thus far!
However, the story itself was very good and definitely has me wanting to continue. I am invested in the characters and want to see their lives play out.
I do recommend this series, thus far!
August 28, 2018
I don’t quite know what to say about this book. I enjoyed the story, but there are things that caught me off guard. Most noticeably is to be reading it twenty-four years later and being struck by the absence of all the ‘personal technology’ we take for granted today. That there are payphones everywhere – and our heroine actually has the coins necessary to use them – and that there are no cell phones. The other thing that really struck me is that I listened to this book as an audio performance by CJ Critt. I’m used to this narrator as one of the voices behind Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series so I was expecting to ‘recognize’ the voice. I didn’t. Not at all. If I didn’t recognize the name, I would never have realized that I’ve heard her perform before. I’ve read the cross-over novellas with the Ali Reynolds series and I was startled to see how differently several of the characters are portrayed by that point in Joanna’s story line. I’m curious to see what happens to cause the changes.
August 5, 2019
Daniel, Central patron, August 2019, 4 stars:
The story in Shoot Don't Shoot begins within days of the last scene in Tombstone Courage. Johanna Brady is off to the Arizona Police Officer's Academy in Peoria, Arizona (near Phoenix), but not before the mother of a man accused of murder in Peoria asks Johanna to look into his case. Johanna goes to the APOA, and there is a serious outbreak of murder and mayhem. (Funny how that tends to happen in murder mysteries!) There are twists and turns, red herrings, all the stuff that makes for a good tale.
Warning: A goodly chunk of the book concerns events happening in Johanna's family. The generally tends to slow down the pace of the Johanna Brady books. This time, family ties directly into the crimes.
The story in Shoot Don't Shoot begins within days of the last scene in Tombstone Courage. Johanna Brady is off to the Arizona Police Officer's Academy in Peoria, Arizona (near Phoenix), but not before the mother of a man accused of murder in Peoria asks Johanna to look into his case. Johanna goes to the APOA, and there is a serious outbreak of murder and mayhem. (Funny how that tends to happen in murder mysteries!) There are twists and turns, red herrings, all the stuff that makes for a good tale.
Warning: A goodly chunk of the book concerns events happening in Johanna's family. The generally tends to slow down the pace of the Johanna Brady books. This time, family ties directly into the crimes.
March 14, 2019
Although I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Ellen Travolta, my rating is based on the story and not the narration. The story and characters are enjoyable, although I find the plotting predictable. The narration, however, had me gritting my teeth at times. The narrator frequently mispronounced Hispanic names and places in Arizona. It seemed as though there was no quality check on the narration as the same name would be provinces differently in different parts of the story. Mispronounceations of other words also happened quite frequently, usually due to transposition of letters (I.e., “kelvar” for “Kevlar”).
May 14, 2016
I gave this book*** because it spent too much time introducing the character, Joanne Brady, her election to sherif , her daughter,Jenny , her mother, her in-laws, her newly found brother, death of her husband, Andy , her experience at the police academy, and finally after nearly 300 pages we go into"the heart of darkness", the mystery which becomes intense. In all I like the book and it may deserve 4* but it read at first like a novel.
January 6, 2019
The book is fast paced and builds characters, it’s enjoyable, but do NOT get the Ellen Travolta audiobook. It’s horrible. She changes name pronunciation every other sentence. Joanna becomes Joann. Tempe Arizona is pronounced TEMP. Homicide is pronounced HOMOcide. It’s incredibly distracting. Read the book.
Want to read
August 29, 2016ebook at sandiego
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2023
As the story goes, this was a very respectable third installment to the Joanna Brady series. Joanna is going off to police school, she's dealing with being a newly elected sheriff and all the baggage that comes with it, on top of being a widowed mother. There's a serial killer on the loose in Maricopa county, and Joanna sticks her nose right in it, even though she's busy attending school and it's not even her jurisdiction. The narrative flows along rather smoothly, even though it's not that interesting or attention-grabbing. There's the usual meddling by Joanna's mother and clinginess of her daughter (to be expected, and she's not that bad considering) and the unwillingness of the staff in Cochise county to accept her in her new position. There's also the introduction of a possible new love interest for Joanna. I applauded the way Joanna stood up for the women of domestic violence, and her new friend at the academy (who was gay and everyone was making a big deal about it). It was a decent story, though largely forgettable in the long run.
That being said, the audiobook for this was beyond awful. I listened to the old version narrated by Ellen Travolta and she was just the worst. There was pausing, lip smacking, swallowing, page turning, mispronunciation of words, the complete omission of other words and sometimes complete sentences were just missing. She could not figure out how to pronounce the words 'bludgeon', 'kevlar', and 'cuisine' among many, MANY others. Joanna was sometimes Joanne, and certain other last names were pronounced in several different ways. I cannot believe that something like this was actually recorded, produced and released to the public. I've listened to over 100 audiobooks at this point and I have never, never heard a narrator so awful. I'm glad to see that it was re-recorded. This version needs to be buried, and quickly. Yikes.
That being said, the audiobook for this was beyond awful. I listened to the old version narrated by Ellen Travolta and she was just the worst. There was pausing, lip smacking, swallowing, page turning, mispronunciation of words, the complete omission of other words and sometimes complete sentences were just missing. She could not figure out how to pronounce the words 'bludgeon', 'kevlar', and 'cuisine' among many, MANY others. Joanna was sometimes Joanne, and certain other last names were pronounced in several different ways. I cannot believe that something like this was actually recorded, produced and released to the public. I've listened to over 100 audiobooks at this point and I have never, never heard a narrator so awful. I'm glad to see that it was re-recorded. This version needs to be buried, and quickly. Yikes.
August 18, 2025
The limitation of Goodreads for me is the length of time it has been around (which is not the entirety of my reading life) and the poor quality of my memory for what murder mysteries I have read going back greater than 15 years.
When I joined I did a good effort to create a retrospective list of what I had read--I spent literally hours and hours making it as accurate as I could so that it would be useful to me going forward, and for the most part it was time well spent.
Now for why I am saying this--it is possible that I have read this before--there are a lot of details contained here in that I think I should know, like when Joanna met Butch Dixon, but did I recognize anything about this? No.
Joanna is reeling from the death of her husband who was shot and killed in the line of duty. She decides to run for sheriff in the aftermath of his death and she wins--but she has no formal training, and so she goes to school in Phoenix to get some education, and while there gets embroiled in a case.
The thing I like about this series is that there is a lot of detail about the main character's home life as well as her internal life--which means that you get to know her over the course of the series, but it also means that if you are starting out with this series (and this is book 3) do so in order. It really helps keep everything straight. That said, since the pandemic I have been going back and reading books in series that I have read for a long time, and that has been great as well!
When I joined I did a good effort to create a retrospective list of what I had read--I spent literally hours and hours making it as accurate as I could so that it would be useful to me going forward, and for the most part it was time well spent.
Now for why I am saying this--it is possible that I have read this before--there are a lot of details contained here in that I think I should know, like when Joanna met Butch Dixon, but did I recognize anything about this? No.
Joanna is reeling from the death of her husband who was shot and killed in the line of duty. She decides to run for sheriff in the aftermath of his death and she wins--but she has no formal training, and so she goes to school in Phoenix to get some education, and while there gets embroiled in a case.
The thing I like about this series is that there is a lot of detail about the main character's home life as well as her internal life--which means that you get to know her over the course of the series, but it also means that if you are starting out with this series (and this is book 3) do so in order. It really helps keep everything straight. That said, since the pandemic I have been going back and reading books in series that I have read for a long time, and that has been great as well!
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