OVERKILL
J. A. Jance
Harper Collins
April 1st, 2025
Overkill by J. A. Jance brings back cybersecurity CFO Ali Reynolds. In this book, Ali juggles two cases: the murder of her husband’s former business partner in Washington, and the stalking of her star salesperson in California.
What makes this book even more interesting is that the AI character Frigg plays an important role. For those who never experienced this character, she was first introduced in book 13, Duel to the Death. Through the years readers know Frigg as methodical, sometimes a loose cannon, not exactly law abiding, having a sharp sense of humor and wit, charismatic, and very clever. In this story Frigg helps Ali in the investigation of both cases.
Jance believes she “must have had a crystal ball because after I wrote Frigg, the AI character, I thought the computer science guys would tell me how wrong I was. Instead, they told me I was not wrong and what I wrote was indeed the case. I read an article today where someone was able to imitate a presidential cabinet member’s voice with AI. How do you prove it is that person?”
It seems that Jance writes more Reynolds’ books than her other character books. She explained that Harper Collins wants one book a year while the other characters are written under a different publisher. “I deal with four separate series, which is a complex business. My characters take a number and stand in line, having to wait their turn. I write J. P. Beaumont, Ali Reynolds, Joanna Brady, and the Walker Family books. I come up with the idea to write the character and then come up with the idea for a story.”
To prove her point, the last Joanna Brady book came out in 2021 but thankfully Brady will be her next book published in October of this year. It is titled, The Girl from Devil’s Lake. The plot has a serial killer hiding in plain sight for decades. Readers meet him at the age of fifteen, having first murdered his grandmother. Fast forward to today where Brady discovers the body of a young boy. During the investigation she realizes there are cold cases about mysterious deaths and missing persons, extending far beyond the confines of her small town and include the discovery of a body near Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. To gain justice for the victims and to save the town of Bisbee from a predator, Joanna chases down a dangerous lead.
But there is also a Reynolds’ book that Jance is writing, titled Smoke and Mirrors. The plot goes back in time to when Ali left California after her soon to be ex-husband died. This book starts with everyone questioning their beliefs about his death. There is no release date because she is still writing it. It is an early Ali and a current Ali in the same story.
