Birds of Prey [Hardcover]

The story proceeds at a fast pace and was entertaining but still was not of the higher quality of some of the earlier J.P. Beaumont series. I look forward to reading Partners in Crime, when Beau works for the Washington State Attorney General's office and teams up with Joanna Brady......

First off, what is the reason for the title of the book? Okay, it's set on an Alaska cruise, and birds of prey (such as Bald Eagles) are abundant in Alaska. However, birds are not even mentioned in the book, and, as far as metaphors go, I don't believe any of the murder suspects on board could be thought of as predators.

Second, I didn't believe Beau's explanation for being on the cruise ship in the first place. His newlywed grandma wanted him there in case she or her groom took ill or something. Don't they have medical doctors on board (or in nearby ports) for that very reason? What more could her grandson provide? And even if you swallow that, why would Beau sit at a different table from the octogenarians at dinner? He says it's to give them their privacy, but heck, he's already on their honeymoon cruise with them, and it's not like they're not sitting with a bunch of other people anyway. Jance's explanations for things that have to be a certain way to further the plot are too thin -- I could see right through them. I wish she'd found another way -- surely Beau could have been seated separately due to a cruiseline screw-up or something.

Another thing: Beau takes an immediate dislike to Margaret Featherman, and it's hard to see why. He goes on and on about how obnoxious she is when they meet at dinner the first night (they're seated at the same table). But try as I did to find evidence of her awful behavior, all I could find her doing before Beau expresses his dislike is 1) ask him what he does for a living, and 2) indicate the empty chair next to him and ask if his wife will be joining them. How dare she! Margaret exhibits behavior later that is indeed questionable -- she just doesn't do so before Beau makes up his mind about her.

Finally, the reader who earlier questioned the ability of one victim to fall off a cliff from inside a tunnel was right on the nose. That IS how it happened. I wondered about it myself, but as logistical things are not my strong suit, I doubted my own conclusions.

This book is not without its charms, but it is flawed. I can recommend it, with reservations, to diehard Jance fans who never miss her work, and to readers who are interested in one of the settings (the cruise ship OR Alaska). Jance is not a very descriptive writer, but I enjoyed reading about these places anyway.

I will not review the plot of Birds of Prey. Everyone else has done that or will do that. I'm not going to say that J A Jance is a great writer or that she a wonderful storyteller. We already know this. What I am going to tell you is that when I read a book about my home I want it to be entertaining and I want it to be accurate. I know that J A Jance will never fail me in that regard and so I read her books.

My advice to you; from an author, an avid reader, and a Seattleite (that's what they call us web-footed moss backed humans up here) is to put Birds of Prey on your "must read" list. It is excellent