Left for Dead

Ali Reynolds investigates two shocking cases of victims brutally left for dead in New York Times bestselling J.A. Jance’s latest mystery-thriller. When Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, Ali’s classmate from the Arizona Police Academy, is gunned down and left to die, he is at first assumed to be an innocent victim of the drug wars escalating across the border. But the crime scene investigation shows there’s much more to it than that, and soon he and his pregnant wife, Teresa, both fall under suspicion of wrongdoing.

Ali owes Reyes a debt of gratitude for the help he gave her years earlier when she was dealing with a troubled friend. When she’s summoned to his bedside at Physicians Medical Center in Tucson, it’s impossible for her to turn away. And knowing Reyes as well as she does, Ali finds it hard to believe that he’s become mixed up in the drug trade, despite evidence to the contrary. Upon arriving at the hospital, Ali finds that her good friend, Sister Anselm, is there, too—working as a patient advocate on behalf of another seriously injured victim, an unidentified young woman presumed to be an illegal border crosser, who was raped and savagely beaten.

Ali becomes determined to seek justice in both cases and secure safety for both victims. Together with Sister Anselm and a conscientious officer who won’t let the case drop despite pressure from above, Ali digs for clues to find the true culprits. Fast-paced, tension-filled, and intriguingly complex, Left for Dead is J.A. Jance at her riveting best.

"Bestseller Jance's engaging seventh Ali Reynolds novel (after 2011's Fatal Error) offers plenty of scope for the widowed former reporter, anchorwoman, and graduate of the Arizona Police Academy, who now heads a private charitable fund, to use her sleuthing talents. When 17-year-old Rose Ventana is found dead near the Mexican border, savagely beaten and tortured, the police assume she's just another casualty of the drug wars. But Ali's dear friend, Sister Anselm, thinks otherwise, and the two vigorous and persistent women discover links to other cases that suggest a serial killer at work. Meanwhile, the pair involve themselves in caring for the extended family of a local deputy, mysteriously wounded and suspected of dealing in drugs. Their own off-the-grid network of lawyers and security experts comes in handy for ferreting out leads. As usual, Ali charms the locals into giving valuable if inadvertent clues. Agent: Alice Volpe." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

When violence from the drug wars with the Mexican cartels crosses the border into Arizona, severely injuring an old friend, Ali Reynolds steps in to investigate in New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance’s newest mystery.

When Santa Cruz county deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, one of Ali Reynolds’s classmates from the Arizona Police Academy, is gunned down and left to die, he is at first assumed to be an innocent victim of the drug wars escalating across the border. But the crime scene investigation shows there’s much more to it than that, and soon he and his pregnant wife, Teresa, are both under suspicion.

Ali Reynolds owes Jose Reyes a debt of gratitude for the help he gave her years earlier. When she’s summoned to his bedside at Mercy Medical Center in Tucson, it’s impossible for Ali to turn away. Upon arriving at the hospital, Ali finds her good friend, Sister Anselm, is there as well, working as patient advocate on behalf of another seriously injured victim, an unidentified border crosser who was raped and savagely beaten.

As more bodies pile up, Ali and Sister Anselm find themselves confronting the evil of the drug cartels across the border head-on, with no way of knowing who the next victim will be.

J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, and four interrelated Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington and Tuscon, Arizona.