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Joanna Brady #7
Outlaw Mountain
The death of a free-spirited elderly widow leads Sheriff Joanna Brady to investigate the woman's family rather than the teenagers caught driving her car across the Mexican border. Reprint.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
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About the author
J.A. Jance
128Ìýbooks4,004ÌýfollowersJudith Ann Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
August 4, 2021
In this 7th book in the series Sheriff Joanna Brady investigates the death of Alice Rogers, a wealthy older woman gruesomely murdered in the Arizona desert. If you're following the developments in Joanna's personal life, it's best to read the series in order. Other than that, the book works fine as a standalone.
At the beginning of the story, the body of Alice Rogers is found in the desert.
Alice's self-absorbed, arrogant son and belligerent daughter direct suspicion at Alice's boyfriend Farley Adams - who soon makes himself scarce.
At the same time Sheriff Joanna Brady has to contend with rabid environmentalists who oppose a building project whose approval may have involved some chicanery and corruption.
To add to the chaos Joanna inadvertently gets custody of Junior, a developmentally disabled man of about fifty who was apparently abandoned in a church by his family.
Plenty of complications arise with all of the above cases - which Joanna and her deputies have to sort out.
Meanwhile, in Joanna's personal life her boyfriend Butch is getting more serious and her deputy sheriff Dick Voland is jealous and angry. The usual characters make an appearance in the story, including two of my favorite trouble-makers, spiteful reporter Marliss Shackleford.....
�..and Joanna's controlling mother, Eleanor Lathrop Winfield.
This book is an enjoyable addition to the Joanna Brady saga.
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April 12, 2019
Outlaw Mountain was another very good read in the Joanna Brady series. There was a lot going on in this book. Joanna shows bravery and ability to think on her feet. Besides her professional life as sheriff, her personal life is changing. I am looking forward to the next book. J.A. Jance is a very good story teller.
March 18, 2025
There is a lot going on in this book but it wasn't as good as previous ones. I really enjoyed the parts about Junior.
I was sick of Butch by the time I finished this one.
I was sick of Butch by the time I finished this one.
September 2, 2015
This book was a solid three stars for me. I like J A Jance. She has created a strong female MC and plenty of strong supporting characters. They all work well together. Joanna role is nicely written. She is the local sheriff. She is flawed but strong and genuinely cares about the people. She comes across as very real.
However, I had two problems with this. One was the dialog. It just wasn't as strong as it has been in other books of hers. Some of it was redundant and some of it was fluff. The other problem I had was that the two different plots were so different and each had equal time. They weren't at all connected and the story line bobbed between the two. I felt like I was reading two different books at the same time.
However, I had two problems with this. One was the dialog. It just wasn't as strong as it has been in other books of hers. Some of it was redundant and some of it was fluff. The other problem I had was that the two different plots were so different and each had equal time. They weren't at all connected and the story line bobbed between the two. I felt like I was reading two different books at the same time.
January 28, 2025
This one was one of the most boring in the series so far.
I just don't FEEL the romance.. and it is moving forward.
Butch has a better connection with Junior than he seems to have with JoAnna..
The case was kind of one that I failed to care much about as the clues were so few and far between.
Hoping Book #8 picks up the pace and brings more thrills.
3 Stars
I just don't FEEL the romance.. and it is moving forward.
Butch has a better connection with Junior than he seems to have with JoAnna..
The case was kind of one that I failed to care much about as the clues were so few and far between.
Hoping Book #8 picks up the pace and brings more thrills.
3 Stars
August 27, 2020
Another great
J.A. Jance pulled another great suspense with this one. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Several mysteries going on at once and you get to find out how Junior ended up in town.
J.A. Jance pulled another great suspense with this one. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Several mysteries going on at once and you get to find out how Junior ended up in town.
October 9, 2015
Come to find out I had already listened to this book and forgot to enter it in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ! HA serves me right.
But I enjoyed it again.
Sheriff Brady is able to pack in to just a few short days, a couple of murders, a lost disabled man, a man on the run and uninvited romantic advances. Wow... I would much rather read about all that than to be the one doing it.
This book in the series is filled with all kinds of new and exciting events for the Sheriff as well as those around her.
YAY
But I enjoyed it again.
Sheriff Brady is able to pack in to just a few short days, a couple of murders, a lost disabled man, a man on the run and uninvited romantic advances. Wow... I would much rather read about all that than to be the one doing it.
This book in the series is filled with all kinds of new and exciting events for the Sheriff as well as those around her.
YAY
February 19, 2021
Another trip to Arizona with Sheriff Joanna Brady. This time around, an elderly woman is reported missing. Her body is found in the country and it's murder. Who would want to kill Alice Rogers? Her obnoxious son, belligerent daughter and the handyman who has mysteriously left no prints behind are all potential suspects.
I'm enjoying moving through this series quickly with audiobooks from my library. They are a perfect choice for me for walks and mundane household tasks. Each of these light mysteries usually ends on an upbeat note. It turns out I need some respite from darker reads when living through a pandemic.
I'm enjoying moving through this series quickly with audiobooks from my library. They are a perfect choice for me for walks and mundane household tasks. Each of these light mysteries usually ends on an upbeat note. It turns out I need some respite from darker reads when living through a pandemic.
August 21, 2022
I'm on a Joanna Brady kick. I have really enjoyed all of the books in this series so far. I had previously read a couple out of sequence and although it isn't necessary to read them in order, I like them even better as I do that. It's light, fast reading... enjoyable story telling, characters and interactions. I'll continue my Joanna Brady kick for a while longer.
December 15, 2020
Two-haiku review:
Old woman murdered
Did her grown children do it?
Or her new husband?
Another good one
Joanna's great as usual
Very good series
Old woman murdered
Did her grown children do it?
Or her new husband?
Another good one
Joanna's great as usual
Very good series
December 7, 2014
THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY
More like 3 +
An elderly woman, Alice Rogers, is discovered dead, covered with vicious cholla cactus spines. In her hands is clutched a vial of insulin, yet she was not diabetic. She was a wealthy woman, and the clues seem to point to a mysterious gardener and handyman who has disappeared, leaving behind no fingerprints in his house. Alice’s grown children, Cletus, the mayor of Tombstone, and Sally, both had motives. Alice had a large estate, and both were in need of money. The plot begins to get confusing, and the book takes on more the feel of a police procedural as eco-terrorists attack a local subdivision construction site, a Tuscon woman is discovered collecting rattlesnakes whose home range the subdivision is destroying, Joanna’s chief deputy for operations gets drunk and resigns in despair over her engagement to a local writer, a substantial heroin ring is uncovered, and fingerprints of the missing gardener match those of a dead policeman who had been working on a corruption case near Las Vegas. Someone has also dumped off a retarded teenager at the local Catholic church bazaar, and Joanna has to try to locate the parents or guardians. Not to mention that Joanna, a single parent, has to deal with her precocious eleven-year-old and her interfering and obnoxious mother.
She’s a tough character dealing with the bad guys and manages to get herself out of some difficult situations -- I do wish the author had dressed her in something more practical than a skirt and pantyhose. It seems some kind of uniform would have been more realistic given herhands-on involvement. Everyone in the small town of Brisbee seems to be rather untrustworthy, and I hope they have a big jail at the rate the dead bodies and crooks are piling up.
More like 3 +
An elderly woman, Alice Rogers, is discovered dead, covered with vicious cholla cactus spines. In her hands is clutched a vial of insulin, yet she was not diabetic. She was a wealthy woman, and the clues seem to point to a mysterious gardener and handyman who has disappeared, leaving behind no fingerprints in his house. Alice’s grown children, Cletus, the mayor of Tombstone, and Sally, both had motives. Alice had a large estate, and both were in need of money. The plot begins to get confusing, and the book takes on more the feel of a police procedural as eco-terrorists attack a local subdivision construction site, a Tuscon woman is discovered collecting rattlesnakes whose home range the subdivision is destroying, Joanna’s chief deputy for operations gets drunk and resigns in despair over her engagement to a local writer, a substantial heroin ring is uncovered, and fingerprints of the missing gardener match those of a dead policeman who had been working on a corruption case near Las Vegas. Someone has also dumped off a retarded teenager at the local Catholic church bazaar, and Joanna has to try to locate the parents or guardians. Not to mention that Joanna, a single parent, has to deal with her precocious eleven-year-old and her interfering and obnoxious mother.
She’s a tough character dealing with the bad guys and manages to get herself out of some difficult situations -- I do wish the author had dressed her in something more practical than a skirt and pantyhose. It seems some kind of uniform would have been more realistic given herhands-on involvement. Everyone in the small town of Brisbee seems to be rather untrustworthy, and I hope they have a big jail at the rate the dead bodies and crooks are piling up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2014
If there was an easy straight-forward answer to the guilty party we wouldn’t have much of a story. But as with all of the books in this series, the path to the truth leads Sheriff Joanna Brady and her understaffed/overworked department in a number of directions and it’s interesting to see how the various threads get us there. This is made more difficult as the know-it-all newly elected Sheriff of Pima County doesn’t want to cooperate with Cochise County’s Sheriff’s department regarding the death of a woman found in the desert.
There are two major threads to this story. The first involves the murder of Alice and we’re along for her experience as she dies. Her son and daughter actually add an element of entertainment to the story as these two people believe they have the right to throw their weight and opinions around. It also provides an element of danger to Joanna.
The other thread is more compassionate and through it we actually learn how good-hearted and patient Butch and Jenny are when a mentally-challenged man in his fifties, Junior, is abandoned by his caregivers at an art fair and Joanna doesn’t know where to take him while looking for his guardians.
What I love about this series is not only the police procedures and how and why Joanna makes the decisions she does, but her home life is challenging as well. Her relationship with her young daughter is made difficult with her hours and sudden calls out to crime scenes, and she’s relying more heavily on Butch for help with that. She also needs to face her relationship with him.
The various characters and relationships are what really give this series life. Every one of them feels real and three-dimensional, no one is perfect, and we’re always learning more about them.
There are two major threads to this story. The first involves the murder of Alice and we’re along for her experience as she dies. Her son and daughter actually add an element of entertainment to the story as these two people believe they have the right to throw their weight and opinions around. It also provides an element of danger to Joanna.
The other thread is more compassionate and through it we actually learn how good-hearted and patient Butch and Jenny are when a mentally-challenged man in his fifties, Junior, is abandoned by his caregivers at an art fair and Joanna doesn’t know where to take him while looking for his guardians.
What I love about this series is not only the police procedures and how and why Joanna makes the decisions she does, but her home life is challenging as well. Her relationship with her young daughter is made difficult with her hours and sudden calls out to crime scenes, and she’s relying more heavily on Butch for help with that. She also needs to face her relationship with him.
The various characters and relationships are what really give this series life. Every one of them feels real and three-dimensional, no one is perfect, and we’re always learning more about them.
July 31, 2013
I like it. I know it is a little too pat, a little too pollyanna, a little too happy ending to every crisis. Brady is a little too good to be believed, and life for them seems to find solutions to problems pretty quickly and smoothly, but it was a good read. There were some surprises in the plot. The mystery had a number of different story lines that moved along. There was romance and love. There were some tough decisions and unhappiness. There were a number of deaths and evil and criminal activities were in abundance. There was a moment of silliness when Brady's new husband to be was following them near the end. I think the whole story was well done and I think I will try some of the other Brady mysteries.
June 21, 2016
I am really struggling with some of these early books and what I perceive to be the laziness in character development. I was really troubled by some of the characters drawing a correlation between Junior's developmental disabilities and Marliss's willingness to believe that equated to pedophilia. I get that the Sheriff and Marliss's don't get along, but this was just taking it too far. Equally disturbing to me was Joanna's gratitude that Jenny and Butch were nice to Junior, like this is something that should be out of the ordinary. I believe that the author's character development becomes less one-dimensional in later books, or I would quickly abandon this series. I found her character development in this book pretty offensive.
October 12, 2016
I think I have read too many Joanna Brady's books in a row. Joanna is starting to seem stupid by continuing to put herself in danger while ignoring the needs of Jenny, family and friends. When Alice is found dead in the desert, many people are suspected of killing her from her children, to her new husband, to the contractors who want to get her property. In this book, she finally commits to Butch and their marriage will be soon. Joanna's family is excited. There are problems with the contractors building on the desert with protestors who are damaging the equipment. Book ends with Joanna having two black eyes and MaryAnn, her friend is pregnant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2023
I should not read this series out of order, but I am getting back story. Great book.
December 31, 2015
a 3.75 star read for me which i'll round up to 4 stars...lots of humanity included in this book. Butch is unbelievable, I wan t a man like him around the house.
April 12, 2021
When a Cochise County, AZ woman has dinner with her daughter and son-in-law in Cochise County and is last known to be heading home but goes missing, the last place Sheriff Joanna Brady and her department expects to look is outside the county. But when her car is apprehended at the Mexican border with four teenagers inside it, they hope for a break in the case. When one of the teenagers agrees to lead them to the location where they found the car in neighboring Pima county, they also find the missing woman ... dead and tangled in a cluster of cholla cactus. Murder or drunken misadventure? If she was heading home in Cochise county how did she end up in Pima county?
Once again, J.A. Jance weaves a story with plenty of suspects and plenty of misdirection with other issues, both professional and personal. Included in the 'other issues' is a developmentally challenged man who seems to have been abandoned and who only knows his first name and not where he lives. But that's just one of the side things complicating life while crime-solving.
Sheriff Joanna Brady continues on her journey to fulfilling the role of Sheriff, a role she was elected to without any prior experience in law enforcement. Single mother and Sheriff she finds her life is on a tight-rope.
Once again, J.A. Jance weaves a story with plenty of suspects and plenty of misdirection with other issues, both professional and personal. Included in the 'other issues' is a developmentally challenged man who seems to have been abandoned and who only knows his first name and not where he lives. But that's just one of the side things complicating life while crime-solving.
Sheriff Joanna Brady continues on her journey to fulfilling the role of Sheriff, a role she was elected to without any prior experience in law enforcement. Single mother and Sheriff she finds her life is on a tight-rope.
April 22, 2024
While I don’t advocate you blow off this series unread, if you decide to start with this book, you’ll be ok. The series is good enough, however, that it deserves your attention. If this is your introduction to the book, you’ll meet Joanna Brady. Her husband died years ago in the line of duty as a cop, and she is now the sheriff in her local county. She’s raising Jennifer as a single mom, but it looks like that could change based on information in this book.
They find Alice Rogers’s body impaled on a bed of nasty cacti in a remote place in the Arizona desert. The cops initially finger a couple of kids from across the border, but as the book progresses, so does the case in its complexity.
The way in which the author describes Alice Rogers’s murder is vivid and creepy. You’ll remember it long after the book ends. And the killings don’t end with Alice. In fact, Joanna Brady is very nearly among the dead before the book ends.
They find Alice Rogers’s body impaled on a bed of nasty cacti in a remote place in the Arizona desert. The cops initially finger a couple of kids from across the border, but as the book progresses, so does the case in its complexity.
The way in which the author describes Alice Rogers’s murder is vivid and creepy. You’ll remember it long after the book ends. And the killings don’t end with Alice. In fact, Joanna Brady is very nearly among the dead before the book ends.
April 25, 2019
Really liking JoAnna Brady. She is smart and brave. I enjoyed this one, how she took ownership of the safety of her county. I liked a dash of romance. It was great.
Read
November 23, 2017Another quick and easy read. Having just finished reading the next book in The Outlander series (980 pages), I needed something that I could read in a day or two. Although the plots are pretty much the same, Jance continues her character development of everyone involved.
March 24, 2017
Love J A Jance books. This is an excellent Joanna Brady mystery
January 31, 2009
Jance is also the author of the J. P. Beaumont series, one that I like a lot. This is the first I have read of her Sheriff Joanna Brady series of novels that take place in Cochise County, Arizona. Apparently, in a preceding book, Jance explains how Joanna became sheriff, stepping into the role following the death of her husband, who had been sheriff until he was killed.
An elderly woman, Alice Rogers, is discovered dead, covered with vicious cholla cactus spines. In her hands is clutched a vial of insulin, yet she was not diabetic. She was a wealthy woman, and the clues seem to point to a mysterious gardener and handyman who has disappeared, leaving behind no fingerprints in his house. Alice’s grown children, Cletus, the mayor of Tombstone, and Sally, both had motives. Alice had a large estate, and both were in need of money. The plot begins to get confusing, and the book takes on more the feel of a police procedural as eco-terrorists attack a local subdivision construction site, a Tuscon woman is discovered collecting rattlesnakes whose home range the subdivision is destroying, Joanna’s chief deputy for operations gets drunk and resigns in despair over her engagement to a local writer, a substantial heroin ring is uncovered, and fingerprints of the missing gardener match those of a dead policeman who had been working on a corruption case near Las Vegas. Someone has also dumped off a retarded teenager at the local Catholic church bazaar, and Joanna has to try to locate the parents or guardians. Not to mention that Joanna, a single parent, has to deal with her precocious eleven-year-old and her interfering and obnoxious mother.
She’s a tough character dealing with the bad guys and manages to get herself out of some difficult situations -- I do wish the author had dressed her in something more practical than a skirt and pantyhose. It seems some kind of uniform would have been more realistic given herhands-on involvement. Everyone in the small town of Brisbee seems to be rather untrustworthy, and I hope they have a big jail at the rate the dead bodies and crooks are piling up.
It’s a good story, but I think I prefer the Beaumont series. Joanna seems to lack some common sense that other characters have, and some of her fears regarding her relationship with the former in-laws are just silly.
An elderly woman, Alice Rogers, is discovered dead, covered with vicious cholla cactus spines. In her hands is clutched a vial of insulin, yet she was not diabetic. She was a wealthy woman, and the clues seem to point to a mysterious gardener and handyman who has disappeared, leaving behind no fingerprints in his house. Alice’s grown children, Cletus, the mayor of Tombstone, and Sally, both had motives. Alice had a large estate, and both were in need of money. The plot begins to get confusing, and the book takes on more the feel of a police procedural as eco-terrorists attack a local subdivision construction site, a Tuscon woman is discovered collecting rattlesnakes whose home range the subdivision is destroying, Joanna’s chief deputy for operations gets drunk and resigns in despair over her engagement to a local writer, a substantial heroin ring is uncovered, and fingerprints of the missing gardener match those of a dead policeman who had been working on a corruption case near Las Vegas. Someone has also dumped off a retarded teenager at the local Catholic church bazaar, and Joanna has to try to locate the parents or guardians. Not to mention that Joanna, a single parent, has to deal with her precocious eleven-year-old and her interfering and obnoxious mother.
She’s a tough character dealing with the bad guys and manages to get herself out of some difficult situations -- I do wish the author had dressed her in something more practical than a skirt and pantyhose. It seems some kind of uniform would have been more realistic given herhands-on involvement. Everyone in the small town of Brisbee seems to be rather untrustworthy, and I hope they have a big jail at the rate the dead bodies and crooks are piling up.
It’s a good story, but I think I prefer the Beaumont series. Joanna seems to lack some common sense that other characters have, and some of her fears regarding her relationship with the former in-laws are just silly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2017
This is a very enjoyable series with likable characters and good story lines. I enjoy all of her books!
May 7, 2013
I've always liked JA Jance's books. This one takes place Cochise County in Arizona. Sheriff Joanna Brady is busy with a missing person crime turned murder and has to work with the Pima County team of law enforcement when Alice Rogers, a 70 something lady, goes missing and later found murdered in the desert in Pima County. Meanwhile, Alice's daughter Susan Jenkin's goes to her mothers home in Cochise County to see if she's there and finds the home ransacked.
This is one really good book. I like Jance's writing style, seems like she knows what she's talking about in the world of crime fiction. It's one with an ending I didn't see coming.
This is one really good book. I like Jance's writing style, seems like she knows what she's talking about in the world of crime fiction. It's one with an ending I didn't see coming.
January 29, 2013
This is # 7 in the Sheriff Joanna Brady series. In this book she finds herself chasing down the secrets of the family of an elderly widow who is found dead in the desert impaled on a cactus. She is concurrently involved in a local land dispute (graft and corruption) and trying to hold her personal life together.
The old lady collecting rattlesnakes in her car trunk to sell them to supplement her social security was a favorite scene for me. Never a dull moment for Sheriff Brady in Cochise County, Arizona. This one of my favorite series and I happily give it I give it ★★★★�'s.
The old lady collecting rattlesnakes in her car trunk to sell them to supplement her social security was a favorite scene for me. Never a dull moment for Sheriff Brady in Cochise County, Arizona. This one of my favorite series and I happily give it I give it ★★★★�'s.
March 6, 2015
Well this one was definitely exciting. It had it all; lots of drama, murder, environmentalists, marriage proposal, lost & found (Junior), funeral, Dicks resignation (I'm wondering about that since he was obsessed with Joanna) we'll see. Also Joanna got herself more physically involved with her "know how to defend herself I MEAN. when did she learn that -hopping with legs duck taped, head butting, shooting tires out, she a new sheriff not a seasoned one with experience. Oh yeah it's written in the script lol. Great read
December 29, 2015
This seventh novel in the Sheriff Brady series advances Joanna's relationship with Butch Dixon and introduces a new continuing character, Junior, a developmentally disabled adult whose caretakers abandon him at a Special Olympics competition. The intricate plot involving numerous characters and multiple homicides has more twists and turns than a sidewinder on a sandy slope but Jance moves it along and ties up all the numerous threads by the end. Driven more by plot than character, this is nonetheless and enjoyable read.
July 27, 2009
this book is one of a series about Sheriff Joanna Brady, and i'm sure that i read another one before. they are pleasant books, if you can say that about ones that deal with murder. the characters are interesting as is the setting, since i've never been to the southwest.
the chattanooga times especially praises j.a. jance sayint that she "is among the best--if not the best--mystery novelists writing today." i think there are others just as good, but she is not bad.
the chattanooga times especially praises j.a. jance sayint that she "is among the best--if not the best--mystery novelists writing today." i think there are others just as good, but she is not bad.
June 8, 2010
Good series set in the country area where my daughter, Jana, lives. I like the characterization and the ideals. The mysteries are good puzzles, realistic, with a hint of jeopardy and adventure. They are for mature readers, with some language and frankness about feelings and sexuality (very tasteful and not usually explicit). This novel begins when a feisty oldster falls into a horrific cactus. Then, as she lies writhing on the ground, an evil villain kills her.
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