Over the last few months I been re-reading J.A. Jance’s J.P. Beaumont novels from the beginning. The fifth book in the series, Improbable Cause, features a dark, disturbing murder mystery and some new insights into Beau’s character via his relationship with his ex-wife. Jance leads us on several false paths as we work along with Beau to solve the mystery. We meet several likeable suspects whom we wouldn’t want to see punished should they be the killer. I thought the police administrators went out of their way to make Beau’s work more difficult and I wished we’d had more interaction with Beau’s old partner.
Improbable Cause wasn’t my favorite book in the series so far but it was a solid story with enough twists to keep it interesting. And, as always, I enjoyed the references to Seattle and the further development of familiar and likeable characters.