Stand Down: A J.P. Beaumont Novella (Kindle Single) (J. P. Beaumont Novel Book 23)

This short is basically in two parts and really involves only JP and Mel.In the first part we have a look back to the old Special Investigative team and what has happened to characters which were involved in it. Afterward, we have Mel, as a small town police Chief, with one member, in particular, having a grudge against her. She & JP have moved into a new place and he's finding what to do to keep occupied after his last job.There's a simple story involving Mel and JP's quick deduction of her situation.The book has no twists, a very thin plot, and is strictly one dimensional. I knew it was a shorty. But at only 70% in the Kindle, it ended.JP Beaumont is my favorite of Jance's characters. This only begins to touch the edges of his character and appears to be nothing more than a very short filler between novels. If you take a pass, you won't miss much.

STAND DOWN: A J.P Beaumont novella by J.A. Jance. It was good to get caught up on J.P. Beaumont and his beautiful wife, Mel Soames. Beau is my favorite J.A. Jance character. The short novella as pictured through Beaumont’s eyes is well written, intense and keeps the reader on edge throughout. The story finds Beaumont and Mel out of work and their lives transformed dramatically one night in the blink of an eye. Mel soon ventures into what she sees as a dream job only to find instead that it is a political snake pit. As a key part of the story we find that J.P.’s detective instincts have not decayed and he applies them with apt professionalism when he finds Mel in trouble.Jance has quietly lead us into a new Beaumont novel to be published this winter. Can’t wait. I give the novella a strong 5 rating.

I love the JP Beaumont series and have read all of the books preceding this one . So I was looking forward to another great story . Unfortunately this story is extremely short . I mean extremely. And a good part of the book is about what has gone on in previous books and about bringing JP and Mel into new roles . The part of the story about finding the bad guy was nearly nonexistent . I am going to read the next full-length book and skip the next novella . I have a feeling it would be no better than this one which means not good at all .

J. A. Jance is one of my favorite novelists. Her books always draw me into her characters' world's. Stand Down is a novella with a familiar character, J. P. Beaumont. The only negative thing I can say is that it wasn't long enough! I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters yet. That being said (yes, I'm greedy with characters I like), the ending is satisfying, although it's not the ending I wanted. The ending the author chose is more realistic than the one I wanted, but that's satisfying in itself. It's a delightful, quick read, and I hope to see more novellas with her characters. For me, a novella is the perfect length to take with me to a doctor's appointment. I do like having a nice mix of novels and novellas on my Kindle at all times. Kudos to Ms. Jance for another great read.

While the purpose of this noella is to keep J.P. Beaumont from taking over "Dance of the Bones", it's really about his wife, Mel Soames. She has become Chief of Police in Bellingham by a majority vote of the City Council. The Deputy Chief thought that he should get the job and the Mayor agreed with him. Tension quickly develops between him and Mel, with the police force caught in the middle and unsure of whom to back. Meanwhile back in Seattle, Beau has several projects to keep him occupied, but basically he's bored stiff. With great reluctance he is dragged into working on a cold case. Read "Dance of the Bones" to see where it goes.

I am (was) a big fan of J. A. Jance. Loved previous books. This one is really bad. Takes a first half of a book to set things up (competition does it in a few pages). Very confusing and convoluted story. Inserted are numerous Indian folk lore which I hated. Finally got smart and started skipping the stories. The folk lore was only a distraction and did not have much to do with the story. This book is a perfect example of terrible editing. J.A. Jance - want to write classics, write them as such. Want to write fast moving detective stories, write them. Want to write Indian folk lore, write it. Just don't mix it all up and combine it into one book. Too bad I can't get my money back for this purchase.

I did not notice this book is only 86 pages and is TINY. Certainly cannot give as a gift now. I can't imagine this will be as enjoyable as reading a novel. Hugely disappointing and not worth the wait. Lesson to learn: read the title carefully in USED BOOKS because "novella" means much is deleted from content.

It had been a few years since I read a J.P Beaumont case. And when I read this one, I thought I miss a novel or two. But this short story is a turning point in his life. For such a short tale, a hell of lot happens. S.H.I.T is gone and so are some of the supporting cast. But as always, good ending and more tales to come. A good place for new readers to start, although I tell any mystery lover to start with his first case and be prepared to be getting all her books.(J.A. Jance, never disappoints.)

good

This novella is the high standard of Jance' s work. IT IS A SIMPLE PLOT but intriguing because of character development..

As always this author produces another first class read.

very hard to follow

having read it in35 mins i was very disapointed with it as i thought it was a novel