Thursday, September 29, 2011

Review: Long Time Gone by J. A. Jance

Author: J.A. Jance
Publisher/Format: Books in Motion audio,11 hrs, 39 min; 448 page equivalent
Narrator: Gene Engene
Year of publication: 2006
Subject: repressed memory, witness credibility
Setting: Seattle Washington
Series: J.P. Beaumont #17
Genre: police procedural detective mysteries
Source: public library download

I've been a fan of J.A. Jance for a long time and thought I had read all of the J.P. Beaumont series. Somehow, however, I seem to have missed this one. Beau has moved from his Seattle P.D. detective job and is now working for the State's Attorney General's "Special Homicide Investigation Team" (the acronym of which causes great glee within the unit, but due to political correctness is never used in public!). He is called to meet with a woman (now a nun) who claims to have witnessed a murder when she was about 5 years old. This memory has been recently brought to light while she was under hypnosis.

While Beau is trying to track down a victim, a location, and ultimately determine the veracity of the report, his former partner Ron Peters is in need of his help both personally and professionally. The tension that arises from this interaction begets another exciting case to be followed.

As always, there is plenty of suspense, numerous clues to follow, plenty of wise-cracking (although Beaumont has certainly mellowed a lot from his earlier alcoholic days) and a perhaps new?? love interest for Beaumont.

This is a series I really love, both in audio and in print. This particular audio featured Gene Engene, a voice that was new to me. It took a while to adjust to his narration, but then I settled in and was able to adjust. As usual, the story and the character took over. A great read and a great addition to the series.

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this book too. Although I'm more fond of her Arizona series, Beaumont is growing on me and this plot had much meat to it. Glad you liked it.

    ReplyDelete

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