Review: Deadly Stakes by J.A. Jance

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (Feb 5 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451628684
• ISBN-13: 978-1451628685

Book Description

A thrilling mystery from New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance starring Ali Reynolds, who finds herself working against the police to clear two innocent names…with deadly stakes.

 In Deadly Stakes, police academy-trained former reporter Ali Reynolds is contacted to investigate the grisly murder of a gold-digging divorcee on behalf of a woman accused of the crime. Lynn Martinson is dating the dead woman’s ex-husband, and she and her boyfriend Chip Ralston have been charged.


Ali is simultaneously drawn to the case of A.J. Sanders, a frightened teen with secrets of his own. He’s the first to find the body in the Camp Verde desert when he goes to retrieve a mysterious buried box hidden by his absent father—a box that turns out to be filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in poker chips.


When the body of an ex-con is discovered near the first crime scene, Ali struggles to determine if A.J. and Lynn’s cases are related. Though her friends in the police department grow increasingly irritated by her involvement with the cases, Ali must stop a deadly killer from claiming another victim…before she herself is lost in this game of deadly stakes.

About The Author

 J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, as well as four interrelated Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota, and brought up in Brisbee, Arizona, Jance and her husband live in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

My Review

 The first book of J.A. Jance's that I ever read was the first book in the Ali Reynolds series so this series is very special to me.  I have enjoyed reading about the evolution of Ali Reynolds in this series.  In this latest outing we are following two interrelated stories that end up initially causing friction in Ali's relationship with the local police force much to her dismay.

This is J.A. Jance at her best.  This is an excellent story with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader intrigued.  Modern electronic techniques are employed to assist the detecting making this novel very up to date technologically.  Ali's relationships with her family, Leland and her beau all progress forward in this tale.

Excellent storytelling, great story, puzzling mystery, and excellent pacing contribute to this novel's success.  Highly recommend Deadly Stakes by J.A. Jance.