When his longtime nemesis dies in what is officially declared an accidental fire, uncomfortably retired J. P. Beaumont is unexpectedly dragged into an ensuing investigation at the request of the deceased. By the author of the Joanna Brady series. - (Baker & Taylor)

J. P. Beaumont's latest investigation strikes too close to home in this riveting mystery from New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance.

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Before he retired, J. P. Beaumont had looked forward to having his days all to himself. But too much free time doesn't suit a man used to brushing close to danger. When his longtime nemesis, retired Seattle crime reporter Maxwell Cole, dies in what's officially deemed to be an accidental fire, Beau is astonished to be dragged into the investigation at the request of none other than the deceased victim himself. In the process Beau learns that just because a long-ago case was solved doesn't mean it's over.

Caught up in a situation where old actions and grudges can hold dangerous consequences in the present, Beau is forced to operate outside the familiar world of law enforcement. While seeking justice for his frenemy and healing for a long fractured family, he comes face to face with an implacable enemy who has spent decades hiding in plain sight.

J. P. Beaumont’s latest investigation strikes too close to home in this riveting mystery from New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance.

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Before he retired, J. P. Beaumont had looked forward to having his days all to himself. But too much free time doesn’t suit a man used to brushing close to danger. When his longtime nemesis, retired Seattle crime reporter Maxwell Cole, dies in what’s officially deemed to be an accidental fire, Beau is astonished to be dragged into the investigation at the request of none other than the deceased victim himself. In the process Beau learns that just because a long-ago case was solved doesn’t mean it’s over.

Caught up in a situation where old actions and grudges can hold dangerous consequences in the present, Beau is forced to operate outside the familiar world of law enforcement. While seeking justice for his frenemy and healing for a long fractured family, he comes face to face with an implacable enemy who has spent decades hiding in plain sight.

Booklist Reviews

Retired Seattle PD detective J. P. Beaumont and former police reporter Maxwell Cole, once fraternity brothers, share a mutual dislike. Then the day after they run into each other, Cole dies in a fire at his house. His goddaughter and sole heir, a woman whose life Beaumont once saved in a murder case, asks him to look into whether Cole's death was accidental, as Cole himself advised her to do in an email shortly before he died. Beaumont, living in Bellingham with his police-chief wife, Melissa Soames, has been at loose ends since retiring. So with a directive from the grave, he uses his contacts and his wife's creds to untangle what turns out to be a string of murders touching illegal imports, an Asian gang, and a former high-ranking police official. In a subplot, Beaumont and Soames become foster owners of an Irish wolfhound who rapidly establishes a place in their home and hearts. It's been years since Jance has made Beaumont her main protagonist (Second Watch, 2013); having him back, with renewed zest, is a welcome development. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

J.P. Beaumont is not enjoying retirement when he's asked to investigate the death of former Seattle crime reporter Maxwell Cole, with whom he regularly tangled, in what has been declared an accidental fire. It brings up old grudges, an unsolved case, one enduringly bad villain, and Beaumont's thirst for justice. With a 250,000-copy first printing.