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Damage Control (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 13) | 
enlarge | Author: J. A. Jance Publisher: William Morrow Category: Book
List Price: $25.95 Buy New: $17.13 You Save: $8.82 (34%)
New (54) Used (50) Collectible (3) from $4.31
Rating: 32 reviews Sales Rank: 4997
Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 384 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3 Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0060746769 Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780060746766 ASIN: 0060746769
Publication Date: July 22, 2008 Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
On a beautiful sunny day in the Coronado National Monument, an elderly couple's car goes off the side of a mountain and into oblivion. The terrain is so rocky that a helicopter must be flown in to retrieve the bodies, and to make matters worse, a thunder-storm is looming on the horizon. Hours later and miles away, the subsiding rain reveals gruesome evidence: two trash bags containing human remains. It's just another day in the life of Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady. Back at home, Joanna has a newborn baby, a teenage daughter, a writer husband, and a difficult mother to deal with. But in the field, it turns out that she has much more on her hands. The remains are those of a handicapped woman who had wandered away from a care facility with a suspicious track record. Another resident, with whom the woman may have been involved, has also been reported missing. Meanwhile, a note is found in the glove compartment of the car lying twisted down the mountainside, stating that its occupants intended to take their own lives. Yet a contradictory autopsy report surfaces, and when the deceased's two daughters show up to feud over their inheritance, Joanna knows there is more to this case than just a suicide pact. And she will go all out to find the truth—no matter where it leads.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
Good Storyline but Some Annoying Characters November 12, 2008 I have not read all of the Joanna Brady books so not sure how her character has morphed but I found Joanna's character to be a bit annoying in this one. (I have read a couple others and didn't find her quite so annoying in the other 2) I don't know if the author is intentionally making her an insecure character or it's just the way I'm preceiving it. She is never home and when she is she finds fault with all of Butch's decisions. Someone has to take care of things. She has a baby boy she hardly spends any time with and when she does I don't sense any cuddling or caring about what she's doing. The same with Butch-now this isn't a romance book but this is her husband and other than a quick peck on the cheek that's it and that usually comes from Butch. She has to be in control at all times at work also. Her staff is quite capable of making decisions and Frank even advises her from time to time that she's making a mistake but she won't back down because she ALWAYS has to make the decision. No wonder he leaves by the end of the book. And how lame was it when one of her deputies gets killed and she goes on and on about how it was his own fault because he didn't call for back up. IT didn't seem like when you heard a noise that you would immediately call for back up but want to check it out first. It might have just been an animal prowling and by the time back up came it would probably have been too late anyway.
The mystery itself might have been okay as a storyline but I just felt Joanna personnaly was very annoying. Even the suspicion that her husband had an affair. Years after his death she looks at a picture on the wall of the break room and sees a blonde woman and suddenly thinks her husband was having an affair with her. That was pretty far out!
Then I got the idea from another book that they both had come into money but in this one they talk like they can hardly make ends meet!???
I gave it 3 stars because the mystery part was somewhat interesting. However on the front of the book it says "A Novel of Suspense" H-m-m-m! I kept waiting for the suspense! Wasn't there!
Damage Control October 24, 2008 I have loved the whole series about Sheriff JoAnna Brady. I could hardly put this book down. I will greatly anticipate the next one in the series.
30 percent mystery, 70 percent soap opera October 19, 2008 In my opinion, "Damage Control" suffers from the same problem that I think afflicts most modern mystery (and horror) writing: it's really two books -- a mystery and a straight novel -- with little connection between the two. (I concede up front that it may not be accurate to call this a "problem," since there seems to be a large audience for this kind of writing.)
As a mystery, "Damage Control" starts out promisingly, with two nicely written death scenes that leave the reader wondering how they might be connected. These scenes were what I got with the free Kindle sample and were what prompted me to buy the book. Unfortunately, the story soon takes a long detour into the personal lives of the continuing characters, until I started to wonder whether we would ever get back to solving the multiple mysteries. About halfway through, the book finally refocuses on the crimes that got the ball rolling, and the mysteries remain in the foreground until almost the end.
While this type of mystery writing is obviously popular, I don't see its appeal. If I pick up a mystery, I want to read about the murder or other crime, the clues, the suspects, the investigation, and so. If I want to read a straight novel, I'll seek out something written by a "real" novelist (John Irving, Muriel Spark, Charles Dickens, etc.). Personally, I don't enjoy a diluted mix of the two.
I also don't understand the appeal of the continual recitation of mundane details in this type of writing. Making a grilled-cheese sandwich, watching television, what the furniture is upholstered with, etc., etc. These details are not the basis of any Proustian or Melvillean insights; they are simply listed with mind-numbing particularity, like when a relative is telling you all about the decor of the hotel rooms she stayed in during a recent trip from Indianapolis to Buffalo.
Jance is definitely a decent writer and can generate a lot of interest when she sets her mind to it. But too much of "Damage Control" consisted of musings about the daily lives of people who weren't of interest to me.
What's it about? October 16, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the first book by J.A. Jance that I have attempted to read. It will be the last. I got nearly half way through without figuring out what the book was supposed to be about.
A Moving Read October 3, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been reading J. A. Jance's Joanna Brady mysteries since the first one, Desert Heat, was published back in 1993. The earlier books were all great reads, but frankly, I'd become a little bored with the series due to the mostly predictable behavior of its principal characters until I read the latest book, Damage Control. This book has a lot going on, holds your interest, and most importantly to me, it feels real for a change. In fact, several scenes brought tears to my eyes, which is unusual for me. Not a great book, but a very good one indeed.
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