Birds of Prey

Jance once again draws warm, empathetic characters, and Ron McLarty adds a unique voice and strong, dramatic emotions to those involved in this taut tale of an Alaskan cruise gone wrong. Semi-retired detective Jonas Piedmont Beaumont is accompanying, as EMT, his aging grandmother and her new husband on their honeymoon. But as the STARFIRE BREEZE, out of Seattle, sails northward, people are being murdered. McLarty's characterizations capture nuances of the many moods involved when sudden death strikes. His earnest but serene narrative style is a good match for Jance's puzzling case. Beaumont must figure out who the killer is before he too is a victim. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Jonas Piedmont Beaumont had a tumultuous childhood, suffered through two bad marriages, and protected the good people of Seattle for twenty years with the support of a bottle. Leaving this all behind, Beaumont performs a good deed and accompanies his grandmother and her new husband on an Alaskan cruise. Alas, ill deeds on board the ship reignite his investigative instincts and good-bye semi-retirement! Cotter Smith has that forties style of narration that glorifies an era of flat-footed, chain-smoking detectives possessing one good suit and a heavy dose of curiosity. B.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine