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Second Watch: A J. P. Beaumont Novel
Second Watch: A J. P. Beaumont Novel
Second Watch: A J. P. Beaumont Novel
Audiobook10 hours

Second Watch: A J. P. Beaumont Novel

Written by J. A. Jance

Narrated by J.R. Horne

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

With Second Watch, New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance delivers another thought-provoking novel of suspense starring Seattle investigator J. P. Beaumont.
 
Second Watch shows Beaumont taking some time off to get knee replacement surgery, but instead of taking his mind off work, the operation plunges him into one of the most perplexing mysteries he's ever faced.
 
His past collides with his present in this complex and thrilling story that explores loss and heartbreak, duty and honor, and, most importantly, the staggering cost of war and the debts we owe those who served in the Vietnam War, and those in uniform today.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateSep 10, 2013
ISBN9780062263018
Author

J. A. Jance

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

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Reviews for Second Watch

Rating: 4.154838761290322 out of 5 stars
4/5

155 ratings15 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    I loved the story of the real Douglas and his love story about his fiancé and that he died in Vietnam. It parallel Bo’s experience with his commanding officer and how the book that he was given to read safes his life. The whole book was great reading and very real. Great job JA Janice.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Synopsis: Beau is having both knees replaced. The pain medications give him vivid dreams unearthing his guilt feelings about an unsolved murder and about the death of his commanding officer in Vietnam. Investigation of the murder leads to finding corruption in the Seattle PD. Review: Part of this book is an ode to the men who fought and those who died in Vietnam. It makes an interesting, and touching. aside to the murder investigation. As expected, this is a well written book with a good plot and characterizations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    JP is haunted by an old case from many years ago. Working with Mel, his spouse, they solve both the old case - a young woman stuffed in a barrel of kitchen grease, and new ones. Some of the text surrounding his Vietnam experience seemed overdone in places, but, overall' one of Jance's better mysteries.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One of the best. Using the device of having Beaumont visited by "ghosts" from his past while he's under the influence of heavy pain killers after double knee replacement surgery, we get to meet a young J.P. and work with him to settle his still open first ever homicide case. At the same time, we relive his service in Vietnam, and enjoy more of his steadily deepening relationship with wife Mel.Can't wait to read more.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    J. P. Beaumont is on medical leave while he has dual knee replacement done. While under the influence of pain-killing drugs, he has a series of weird dreams. One series involves a cold case that was never solved; the other series is about his time in Viet Nam. Determined to do the right thing, he endeavors to reopen the cold case and to right a sin of omission. Unfortunately, digging into the past has unexpected results. This tightly-written thriller has all the necessary elements for a great suspense novel – well-developed characters, an intricate plot, a good blending of past and present time periods, and several twists along the way. Besides the suspense, this novel offers a secondary story of the sacrifices our military personnel freely gave during the war in Vietnam. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The venerable J. P. Beaumont, Jance's signature hard boiled Seattle detective, takes on a new dimension as he recovers from knee replacement surgery, and he is haunted by the first homicide case he ever worked, one with potentially lethal consequences. In his quest to solve a forty-year-old homicide, he sets a chain reaction in motion that keeps the reader glued to page after page. As part of his personal retrospective, Beaumont, takes himself back to his time serving in Vietnam and unfinished business that has never left him.

    It is the war of my generation, and its images will never leave those who served, those who watched it on T.V., and the 58,000 who never made it home, wherever they are. The story has many twists and turns. When the reader is pretty well assured a situation has been resolved, the story veers off in a different direction. The author masterfully injects her real-life thoughts into the Vietnam portion. This might well be the best of J.A. Jance's many novels. One senses that the author has a personal stake in this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    SECOND WATCHBy J.A. JanceWhile “under the influence” of painkillers after having double knee surgery, Investigator J.P. Beaumont (“Beau”) remembers the unresolved issues from his past. “Ghosts” visit him, prompting him to finish what he left unanswered.A young woman, killed when Beau was a beat cop, appears and reminds him of her unsolved murder. Known among the cops as the “girl in the barrel,” Monica Wellington was found by two boys and Beau was one of the first cops on the scene. That case got him transferred to the Detectives Division, a promotion he sought for quite some time, and Wellington’s murder was his first as detective. Unsolved, all these years later.His second visitor was Lieutenant Lennie Davis, better known as Lennie D to the guys in ‘Nam. Lennie D saved Beau’s life by giving him a book to read. That book, tucked against his chest during a battle, took the impact of the bullets and saved Beau. Lennie D wasn’t so lucky. Although Beau knew Lennie D had a fiancé, he never contacted her to tell her of his act of kindness. Unresolved, all these years later.Beau is recuperating from double knee replacement, but has the old case of Monica Wellington reopened. The detective assigned to aid him—Delilah Ainsworth—was valuable in digging up information, but at what cost? The trail is cold, but starts to heat up when Beau finds that it’s more than a simple murder.Through years of service, Beau developed contacts throughout the force’s network. Using a few of them, he tries to locate Lennie D’s fiancé. He has to set the score straight and tell her what Lennie D did for him. Is it too late? Will he be able to find her and if so, will she be receptive to what he has to say? Jance shows that Beau is not perfect, but a very flawed protagonist. This in itself is refreshing. I highly recommend this novel!Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “The Other Side: Melinda’s Story”
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Second Watch by J.A. Jance is a 2013 William Morrow publication. In the ever evolving world of J.P. Beaumont we much face the facts and accept J.P. Is aging, and so we open the story with our favorite homicide detective going in for duel knee replacement surgery. OUCH!Coming out of anesthesia, Beaumont has a vision or hallucination in the recovery room that has him thinking back on the first case he worked as a detective. He had promised the victim's mother he would find out whomurdered her daughter, but as the cases began piling up, Beaumont and his partner just couldn't keep up and the murder wound up being accredited to Ted Bundy although there was no real evidence to back that up, so the case went cold. Now Beaumont feels compelled to look into the matter while he is laid up. He also finds that without his wife around at the moment, and his being stationary, his memories are flooding back in regards to more than an old case. His military background also has a few open chapters Beaumont would like to see closed. His old friend Joanna Brady gives him a hand with this part of the story. Beaumont can't work cases like he once did and so it stands to reason he might need some repairs done to his body, while his mind is still quite sharp and active. This case takes him to a place he never dreamed it would when his investigation gets someone very upset and more murders occur. Meanwhile, Mel has her hands full with a public relations nightmare, leaving Beaumont to his own devices. I have stated many times that of the three series Jance writes, Beaumont is my favorite. ( I also like his teaming up with Joanna) Beaumont is more complicated and ridden with more demons, and his stories are always unique and perhaps a touch darker than the other two series. Beaumont fans might find this one a little off the beaten path from what they have come to expect, but I enjoy seeing cold cases solved, so this installment was especially rewarding. I know that as Beaumont grows older his life will change and the dynamic of the series will reflect those changes, but still, Beaumont is a tough, no nonsense, old school detective and always will be. 4 stars
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good Mystery. JP Beaumont.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    J.A. Jance does not disappoint in this latest Seattle mystery. J.P Beaumont, has many memories returning to him in the drug induced haze after knee replacement surgery. He and his wife work on solving a decades old mystery, one that could have been chalked up to Ted Bundy. Seattle lovers will recognize many of the places and this mystery even gets him out to Sammamish. Characters are quirky and strong,
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    While having knee replacement surgery, J. P. Beaumont has some dreams or hallucinations where he visited by ghosts from his past; the victim from his first homicide case and the spirit of the man who saved his life in Vietnam. He takes these visits as incentives to fulfill the promise to the young murder victim’s mother that he would find the killer and to find the fiancé of his dead second lieutenant. But someone doesn’t want him digging up the old case (presumably solved).One murder mystery and a search into one’s past makes this novel a double pleasure to read. The characters and plot are well developed. But what put me over the top on this one is the author’s note at the end of the book. To find out how the story evolved; although fiction uses a real person she knew who had died in Vietnam. Very touching and tearful!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Outstanding entry in an excellent series. Jance is a splendid story teller with a very insightful approach to story sources. Following her through the origins of Second Watch could serve as a useful tutorial for hopeful authors.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    SECOND WATCH by J A JanceJance takes us back in time to relate how beau became a detective and the “one that got away.” Beau’s first homicide was never solved. Now, in the present, Beau revisits that crime. Does he solve it? I won’t tell, but you enjoy the juxtaposition of past and present in this tale of crime and aging knees.Jance keeps you interested while giving the reader a glimpse in to Beau’s back story. As usual, the writing is crisp, the plotting is well paced and the characters ring true. Another winner for the mystery lover, especially those who have Beau’s career through the years.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In the hospital for knee replacement surgery, J. P. Beaumont, Beau, begins ruminating on the first homicide case he ever worked, which remains unsolved. There is lots of flipping back and forth between present and past in the first part of the book, which grew rather monotonous. Fortunately, Jance soon sticks with strictly the present, at which point the story starts to hum. Humor comes from the "nurse" Beau hires to chauffeur him around and to fix food for him while his wife is out of town. Very enjoyable overall.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    First, I have to admit that I've been a Jance fan for many years. I love her Sheriff Joanna Brady series but I'm just as much a fan of J. P. Beaumont, her Seattle homicide detective. Earlier this year I read her novella about Beau called Ring in the Dead and if you also read it, you have a kind of head start on characters and locations in Second Watch. Reading that one isn't necessary before reading this one though.The novella ended with Beau's wife, Mel Soames, driving him to the hospital to have a double knee replacement. Second Watch begins there. Since I was in the hospital part of the time I was reading this book, the part where he is gradually awakening from anesthesia and he's in that weird place where you just don't know for sure what's real and what isn't, I was laughing in empathy. During the drug-induced dreams post-op Beau is visited by two "ghosts" from his past, both of which send him on an investigation.The first is the victim in his first murder case as a homicide detective, and while we're at it, that promotion was so sudden as to be positively hinky. The investigation is intense and pulls skeletons out of many closets. The second visitor was his lieutenant in Vietnam. The guy had loaned him a paperback copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, insisting he read it. Later the book saved his life when schrapnel dug into the book rather than his chest. Suddenly Beau is determined to learn more about the guy and the girl Lennie D. had been engaged to.All of the characters are, as usual for Jance, excellent but one will have you laughing out loud. Since the doctor won't let Beau go home alone and Mel is out of town on an important case, he hires a nurse his doorman knows. She is one of those old-fashioned nurses who gives you your marching orders and you had better behave, or else. It doesn't take Beau long to learn that if he wants to live, he should shut up and do what she says. You will absolutely love her.Please read the afterword. It tells us one reason the characters in this one are obviously created from the heart. Hint: the lieutenant was from Bisbee where Jance grew up.Recommended highly. Please do read this book. As they say, you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll have a wonderful time. This is one you'll sigh and hold to your heart as you turn the last page.Source: publisher via Partners in Crime Book Tours