BOOK REVIEW: ‘Overkill’ by J A Jance

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“Overkill” is the 18th novel in J A Jance’s Ali Reynold’s series. Ali Reynolds has certainly undergone a transition from the first novel, “Edge of Evil,” published in 2005. At that time Ali is a television news anchor in California who has been fired from her job. Struggling with the loss of her job, her pending divorce and death of her childhood friend, she returns to her hometown of Sedona, Arizona, to grieve. While in Arizona she was able to solve her friend’s murder and move permanently to Arizona.

Over the 18 novels, I have seen Ali become a police officer, philanthropist  and now she has remarried to B. Simpson and they own High Noon enterprises, a cybersecurity company. Ali is surrounded by technology wizards that systematically  solve one crime after another.

“Overkill” has a dual story line. The first case involves the murder of B.’s  former business partner, Charles Brewster.  After celebrating Charles’ 60th birthday, his wife, Clarice (B.’s ex-wife) wakes up to find her husband dead and she is covered with blood. While she has no memory of the murder, she and the police believe she is guilty. The police waste no time arresting her. Clarice tries to call B. but Ali is the one who takes the call. Ali has a sense that Clarice is innocent and decides to help her.

The second case involves the stalking of Ali and B’s salesperson, Camille Lee. While in D.C. for work, Camille notices a man watching her in the hotel restaurant. Then she realizes he is carrying a concealed weapon. She shrugs it off until he follows her into the hotel’s gym. While the possible stalker is distracted by another gym patron, Camille hurries out of the gym, pretending to go on the elevator.  But she quickly exits the elevator and hides in the kitchen. She calls a security firm and arranges a pickup at the loading dock and is whisked away to a safe house. Camille is cautioned not to travel for work. But she insists on going to London to meet with potential clients. Now, Camille must travel with a bodyguard and remain in the hotel for her meetings to stay safe.

Ali has to act quickly to find Charles’ real killer and keep Camille safe. She is aided by the help of High Noon’s AI named Frig. The AI is able to put together dossiers on all of the possible suspects. Ali uses her technology expertise to solve the crimes and uncover the financial conspiracies.

“Overkill” is a fast-paced thriller that kept me excited to read the next chapter. J A Jance continues to create fabulous novels that never disappoint. I highly recommend “Overkill” and all the novels in this series.

Find out more about JA Jance at www.jajanceauthor.com.