Review: Sins of the Fathers by J.A. Jance

Kerry Hammond is here with a review of the latest book in a long running series by author J.A. Jance.

Sins of the Fathers by J.A. Jance was released on September 24, in Hardcover, by William Morrow publishers. It is the 24^th book in the J.P. Beaumont series. Beaumont is a former Seattle cop who has decided to work as a private investigator, but doesn’t feel the need to really chase after a case. But one lands on his doorstep in the form of an old friend, holding a baby, trying to find his missing daughter, who just happens to be the baby’s mother. Dale, the old friend in question, brings with him old memories and Beau finds that there are stories from his past that he never knew.

I think we need to address the elephant in the room. Yes, this is book twenty-four! To be completely honest, I started this book after reading the book jacket. Nowhere did it mention that this was book 24, and I’m glad. I might have gone in with reservations, or at the very least been intimidated by how much past this series must have. After finishing, I went to the author’s website and Jance has been writing this character for almost 20 years.

So you might wonder how I fared with the book, not knowing what I didn’t know. I have to say, I immediately fell in love with Beau. There were a few pages in the beginning that contained some backstory, and I could tell that this man had had several professional chapters in his life, but it never occurred to me they’d all been on the page. I thought I was reading about a retired cop who had just turned private investigator. I honestly thought his story had just started.

This says a lot about the author. She was able to draw me into a long running series as if it were the first book. I didn’t feel lost at all, the characters were engaging, and the writing was smooth and easy. I’ve read Jance before, but it’s been awhile—and it was another series. After finishing this book I wondered why I let her fall off my reading list. I won’t let that happen again.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

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