Learning to Be Sheriff

Winning an election is one thing. Actually doing the job is something else entirely. In Tombstone Courage, the second Joanna Brady mystery, J.A. Jance strips away the campaign drama and funeral emotion that drove the first book and shows us a woman figuring out how to be sheriff - with all the mistakes, doubts, and hard lessons that entails. It's only been two months since Joanna took office, and already she's facing a double homicide that will test everything she has.

The Patterson Family Tragedy

Eighty-four-year-old Harold Patterson is the owner of the Rocking P Ranch, a respected figure in Cochise County - until his daughter Holly comes home with accusations that shake the community. Holly Patterson was once a rising star in Hollywood. Now she's returned to Bisbee with her lawyer and hypnotherapist, claiming repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse and suing her father for the entire ranch.

Before Harold can respond to the lawsuit, before he can try to make amends or defend himself, someone kills him. His body is found at the bottom of a mine pit. But Harold's aren't the only remains discovered there. A second victim, much older, lies buried with him - and that second body opens up decades of questions about what really happened on the Rocking P Ranch.

Sisters at War

The family dynamics are devastating to watch. Holly, the tormented substance abuser who left Bisbee and found fame before losing it, believes her memories are real. Her sister Ivy stayed behind - running the ranch, caring for their ailing mother Emily until she died, doing the hard work while Holly lived her glamorous life elsewhere. Now Ivy stands to lose the home she sacrificed everything for. She's furious at Holly, initially wanting their father to sue for defamation over a magazine article about the allegations.

Jance doesn't take easy sides. Is Holly a victim finally demanding justice, or has she been manipulated by therapists into believing things that never happened? Is Ivy a loyal daughter or someone with her own secrets to hide? Burton Kimball, Harold's attorney and nephew, had a blowup with his uncle before the murder - making him another suspect in a case with no shortage of them.

A Sheriff Without Training

This is Joanna's first major case as sheriff, and she's learning on the job in the worst possible way. She has no formal law enforcement training. The men in her department resent taking orders from a woman, especially one who got the job through election rather than experience. She's exhausted, second-guessing herself constantly, trying to prove she deserves the badge while also raising Jenny alone.

The title refers to a dangerous mistake law enforcement officers make: "tombstone courage" means failing to call for backup when you need it. Joanna, who's spent her whole life handling things on her own, hasn't learned this lesson yet. Her independence is both her strength and her vulnerability.

Digging Into the Past

As Joanna investigates, she uncovers sinister threads that reach back generations. The second body in that mine pit holds the key to understanding what really happened on the Rocking P Ranch - secrets of greed, hatred, and shocking abuse that could destroy the innocent along with the guilty. The mystery forces her to confront the limitations of law enforcement, the gap between what she can prove and what she suspects, and the reality that some families keep their darkness buried deep.

The Arizona setting remains vivid and essential. Bisbee and Tombstone aren't generic small-town backdrops but specific places with their own histories and grudges. The desert heat, the old mining country, the tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone's business - all of it shapes how the investigation unfolds and how painful the revelations become.

Finding Her Footing

By the end, Joanna hasn't transformed into a confident, capable sheriff overnight. That's not how growth works. But she's started to find her footing, learning when to delegate and when to get involved, how to build relationships with deputies who didn't choose her, how to balance administrative duties with the investigative work she actually wants to do. The case changes her - makes her see the value of proper training, the importance of backup, the weight of the badge she carries.

Rating: 4.0/5 ⭐

Perfect for: Fans of the Joanna Brady series, readers who enjoy watching characters grow into challenging roles, anyone interested in mysteries that explore family secrets and generational trauma.

Skip if: You want the emotional intensity of the first book, or you prefer protagonists who already have things figured out.