Betrayal of Trust by J. A. Jance, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Seattle private investigator J. P. Beaumont is called in by the state's highest law enforcement office when it appears as if the grandson of the Governor may have been involved in the murder of a teenager in Betrayal of Trust, the 20th mystery in this series by J. A. Jance.

Governor Marsha Longmire's grandson, 15-year-old Josh Deeson, has a videoclip of the strangulation of young girl on his cell phone. Josh claims he doesn't know the girl, was not present when the incident took place, and has no idea how the video got onto his phone. The boy, a loner, leads a troubled life, never fitting in with his classmates and constantly tormented by his peers. The accusation of being involved in a murder emotionally pushes him over the edge; he's later found dead, a suicide. Beaumont is deeply troubled by Josh's death, and while he doesn't believe it was done out of guilt, he feels there is must be some connection between Josh and the video. He reasons there are at least three people involved, who know something about the video, the photographer and the two participants seen strangling the girl, and sets out to find them.

The cleverly titled Betrayal of Trust is an electrifying combination of murder mystery, politics, privilege, parenting, and teenage rivalry and angst. The characters are realistically drawn and act in a credible manner, which adds both drama and intrigue to the well-paced storyline that has plenty of surprises for the reader. Despite being the twentieth in a series, there's still a freshness and originality to this series that will keep readers coming back for more.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Betrayal of Trust.

Acknowledgment: HarperCollins provided a copy of Betrayal of Trust for this review.

Fatal Error
Touchstone (Hardcover), February 2011
ISBN-13: 9781416563815; ISBN-10: 1416563814

Left for Dead
Touchstone (Hardcover), February 2012
ISBN-13: 9781451628586; ISBN-10: 1451628587

Betrayal of Trust

A J. P. Beaumont Mystery by J. A. Jance