Two Bodies at the Base of Geronimo

Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full. She's pregnant, facing a re-election campaign, grieving the sudden deaths of her mother and stepfather in a road accident, and watching her daughter prepare to leave for college. Then two women are found dead at the base of Geronimo, a small peak near Bisbee that locals know well. Did they jump? Were they pushed? And why were two women with seemingly nothing in common found together at the bottom of a cliff?

This is the seventeenth book in J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series, and it finds the Arizona sheriff navigating both professional crisis and personal upheaval. The case that lands on her desk is puzzling from the start - and the deeper she digs, the darker it gets.

Two Victims, No Connection

The first victim is quickly identified as Desirée Wilburton, a brilliant microbiologist working toward her PhD who was studying cacti in the area. The second is Susan Marie Nelson, a local high school teacher and wife of preacher Drexel Nelson. When Joanna delivers the news of Susan's death to her husband, his reaction is chilling - he displays no grief whatsoever. That's the first red flag. There will be many more.

The investigation takes a disturbing twist when Joanna's team uncovers the truth about Susan Nelson's teaching career. She wasn't just a beloved educator - she was a predator who had affairs with her students, committing statutory rape under the guise of mentorship. The wholesome minister's wife was hiding monstrous secrets. But what connects her to a graduate student studying desert plants?

Personal and Professional Pressures

Jance layers the investigation with the complications of Joanna's life. Her pregnancy makes the physical demands of the job harder. Her grief over losing her mother and stepfather is still fresh. A relentless reporter named Mariss Shackleford needles her constantly about the unsolved case. And Chief Deputy Tom Hadlock, who's been struggling since his appointment, must step up when circumstances demand it - and watching him rise to the occasion becomes one of the book's satisfactions.

FBI Agent Robin Watkins arrives to assist, adding federal resources to what's becoming an increasingly complex investigation. As Joanna and her team methodically hunt down answers, they uncover a knotty web of sordid secrets - possible kidnapping, pedophilia, abuse, and the hypocrisies people hide behind respectable facades.

Arizona Setting, Arizona Crimes

The Cochise County setting remains vivid and integral to the story. Jance writes the Arizona desert and the small-town dynamics of Bisbee with the familiarity of someone who knows the place deeply. Geronimo Peak isn't just a crime scene location - it's a landmark that locals recognize, making the deaths feel immediate and local rather than abstract. The heat, the landscape, the tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone's business - all of it shapes how the investigation unfolds.

Seventeen Books In, Still Sharp

Not every seventeenth book in a series maintains quality. Plenty of long-running detective series coast on familiarity, going through the motions with interchangeable plots. Downfall doesn't coast. The mystery is well-constructed, the revelations genuinely disturbing, and Joanna remains a character worth spending time with - competent, principled, and human enough to feel the weight of what she uncovers.

Jance's craft shows throughout: the pacing, the plotting, the way she balances procedural elements with character development and personal stakes. The ending doesn't tie everything up neatly because real life rarely does, but justice - of a kind - is served.

Rating: 4.0/5 ⭐

Perfect for: Fans of the Joanna Brady series, readers who enjoy female law enforcement protagonists, anyone who appreciates well-crafted mysteries with dark subject matter handled thoughtfully.

Skip if: You prefer starting series from the beginning, or content involving abuse of minors is too difficult.