Missing and Endangered by J.A. Jance (Review by Lara Ferguson)

Missing and Endangered begins with budgets and personnel issues, a seemingly mundane day in the life of Sheriff Joanna Brady. It’s nearly Christmas and she is anticipating celebrating a quiet holiday –at least as quiet as it can be, surrounded by her husband and children. But life has another plan for Joanna. Readers who are not yet familiar with the world of Sheriff Brady will appreciate the quick introduction to her style and priorities. Long-time readers will find the initial prose intriguing and will immediately find themselves anticipating the action to come. As she would in real life, Sheriff Brady has multiple priorities to manage, from the banal administrative tasks to a complicated officer-involved fatal shooting that has outside agencies coming in to investigate one of her own. With all these plates spinning, more challenges come in the form of her daughter’s missing roommate and subsequent danger for both of the young women, requiring that Joanna, juggle her personal and professional faces and work with her colleagues to find the truth. One of the things that I most enjoyed about this novel is the supportive relationships between the strong female characters, women who are respected and who support each other. Missing and Endangered, using compelling details and complicated relationships, draws the interest of the reader immediately. The characters are multi-dimensional and believable, but not always likable, as it should be.