A Sheriff Becomes a Student

What happens when the sheriff has to sit in the back of the classroom? In Shoot Don't Shoot, the third Joanna Brady mystery, J.A. Jance takes her protagonist out of Cochise County and drops her into a six-week law enforcement program at the Arizona Police Officers Academy in Peoria. It's a chance to gain skills, network with other law enforcement professionals, and prove she belongs among the pros. Then a serial killer starts targeting women on campus, and Joanna's training becomes a lot more practical than anyone intended.

Two Cases Collide

The book weaves together two murder investigations that initially seem unconnected. Back in Cochise County, a man named Jorge Grijalva sits in jail accused of brutally murdering his estranged wife Serena. Serena was a single mother found dead after a night out at the Roundhouse Bar. Jorge has a prior domestic violence arrest, making him the obvious suspect. No one believes he's innocent - except Joanna, who reviews the evidence and senses something doesn't add up.

Meanwhile, at the academy, women are being stalked. A peeping Tom turns predator, and the vast emptiness of the Arizona desert becomes a place to hide grisly evidence. When Joanna's classmate Leann Jessup is attacked and barely survives, the threat becomes terrifyingly immediate. Joanna realizes she's hunting a serial killer who may be hiding in plain sight among the instructors and students.

Fish Out of Water

The change of setting reinvigorates the series. In Bisbee, Joanna is the boss - she gives orders, she has resources, she knows everyone. In Peoria, she's nobody special. She has to learn, to follow rules she didn't make, to navigate a new environment where her authority means nothing. That shift creates fresh dynamics and forces Joanna to rely on different skills.

The training sequences themselves are well-researched and interesting. The title comes from shoot/don't shoot scenarios - those split-second decision exercises where officers must determine threat levels instantly. When to fire, when to hold back. It's not just physical training; it's psychological conditioning for the impossible choices law enforcement faces. Jance clearly did her homework on what police academy training actually involves.

Unlikely Allies

One of the book's pleasures is watching Joanna build unexpected connections. Butch Dixon, a bartender at the Roundhouse Bar, is initially uncooperative when Joanna starts asking questions about the night Serena Grijalva died. But when he realizes she genuinely believes Jorge is innocent, he becomes helpful - providing crucial witness accounts that challenge the official narrative.

Her friend Reverend Marianne Maculyea and her husband Jeff Daniels offer support from a distance. Back home, Deputy Frank Montoya and Chief Deputy Dick Voland keep things running in her absence, though coordinating an investigation across county lines creates its own challenges. Even her difficult mother Eleanor Lathrop and her supportive in-laws Eva Lou and Jim Bob Brady play their parts in keeping Jenny safe while Joanna navigates danger.

Investigation Without Authority

Investigating murder is hard enough. Investigating murder in a city where you have no jurisdiction, no resources, no backup, and active resistance from local authorities? That's a different challenge entirely. Joanna has to be creative, has to rely on wits and connections rather than badges and warrants.

This constraint forces different storytelling. The usual procedural elements are complicated by Joanna's outsider status. She's discovering the case and navigating bureaucratic obstacles simultaneously, which keeps the tension high. And as she gets closer to the truth, the serial killer gets closer to her - and worse, closer to Jenny back home.

Skills Earned, Not Given

Joanna gains real skills here - tactical training, firearms improvement, professional networking. She's growing into her role as sheriff, but part of that growth is acknowledging what she still needs to learn. After the lesson of "tombstone courage" in the previous book, she's beginning to understand that asking for help isn't weakness. The confidence she's building is earned, based on competence rather than position.

The climax brings both cases crashing together in a gruesome confrontation that tests everything Joanna has learned. The title's meaning becomes literal: in the moment of crisis, she must make the split-second decision her training prepared her for.

Rating: 4.0/5 ⭐

Perfect for: Fans of the Joanna Brady series, readers who enjoy fish-out-of-water dynamics, anyone interested in police training settings and women fighting for credibility in male-dominated fields.

Skip if: You prefer your protagonists in familiar territory, or you want cases where the detective has full authority from the start.