Left for Dead
Authors: J.A. Jance
PRAISE FOR
FATAL ERROR
“Jance keeps firm control of a believable yet complex plot that spins on contemporary issues of cyber stalking and the economic downturn … the plot never stalls and leads to a logical and exciting finale.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“In her inimitable, take-no-prisoners style … main character Ali manages to disarm.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A captivating page-turner.”
—LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
“An exciting and carefully fashioned plot, [resolved] with a very satisfying ending.”
—I LOVE A MYSTERY
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.
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 Tucson, Arizona.
AUDIO EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
•
THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS •
Facebook.com/TouchstoneBooks
Twitter.com/TouchstoneBooks
JACKET PHOTOGRAPH BY DEBRA LILL
COPYRIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER
ALSO BY J.A. JANCE
A
LI
R
EYNOLDS
M
YSTERIES
Edge of Evil
Web of Evil
Hand of Evil
Cruel Intent
Trial by Fire
Fatal Error
J
OANNA
B
RADY
M
YSTERIES
Desert Heat
Tombstone Courage
Shoot/Don’t Shoot
Dead to Rights
Skeleton Canyon
Rattlesnake Crossing
Outlaw Mountain
Devil’s Claw
Paradise Lost
Partner in Crime
Exit Wounds
Dead Wrong
Damage Control
Fire and Ice
J. P. B
EAUMONT
M
YSTERIES
Until Proven Guilty
Injustice for All
Trial by Fury
Taking the Fifth
Improbable Cause
A More Perfect Union
Dismissed with Prejudice
Minor in Possession
Payment in Kind
Without Due Process
Failure to Appear
Lying in Wait
Name Withheld
Breach of Duty
Birds of Prey
Partner in Crime
Long Time Gone
Justice Denied
Fire and Ice
Betrayal of Trust
W
ALKER
F
AMILY
M
YSTERIES
Hour of the Hunter
Kiss of the Bees
Day of the Dead
Queen of the Night
www.bolt.cd
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Touchstone hardcover edition February 2012
TOUCHSTONE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.
Designed by Renata Di Biase
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jance, Judith A.
Left for dead: a novel / J.A. Jance.—1st Touchstone hardcover ed.
p. cm.
1. Reynolds, Ali (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 3. Arizona—Fiction. 4. Mexican-American Border Region—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3560.A44L44 2012
813'.54—dc23 2011029102
ISBN 978-1-4516-2858-6 (Print)
ISBN 978-1-4516-2862-3 (eBook)
Thank you for purchasing this Touchstone eBook.
Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Touchstone and Simon & Schuster.
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
