Book #16 in the Ali Reynolds series. Each can be read as a astand alone, but JA Jance has a killer series here that contains everything a mystery/thriller reader looks for in a series. Great characters whose interactions make them a team that can't be beat and story lines that you could easily find on the front page of your local newspaper. Print or digital, no matter, these stories are newsworthy.

Ali Reynolds and her husband own a security firm specializing in digital security. The employees of her company are all capable and loyal, willing to go the extra mile for their company's security. When a body is found and one of her employees is suspected, Ali and team will investigate, no holds barred. Action and tension all rachets up at this point. There are enough clues to keep you guessing and enough twists to keep you changing your mind often. If you love good mystery/thrillers, you'll definitely love this one and want to pick up few of the back titles to binge.

Unfinished Business is #16 in the Ali Reynolds mystery series.

In this book a former employee of Ali's husband is released from jail and a serial killer lurks.
Yikes!

An edge of your seat, fast-paced read

Unfinished Business by J. A. Janice

A story about a boy who served 16 years for a murder he didn’t commit. Once checked was free, he wanted to find them real killer.

I think this was an excellent book. Well-written and full of suspense. I recommend this book. I haven’t read a book by J.. A. Janice that I haven’t enjoyed. Great author.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Judith Jance has done it again. Unfinished Business is the sixteenth in the Ali Reynolds series; not only does she weave a compelling, tightly plotted tale, but she may have broken new ground with the role technology plays in solving crimes within the storyline. Add a sprinkling of social justice issues, and what emerges is an unmissable novel. My thanks go to Net Galley and Gallery Books for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Ali is a former journalist, but now she and her husband, B. Simpson, own and run a cyber security firm called High Noon. B. is a nice enough fellow, but we see very little of him. Most of the time he is away on business, leaving Ali to flex her badass crime solving muscles, and providing her with a healthy chunk of disposable income that makes it easier. Other continuing characters are Cammie and Stuart; Frigg, the AI entity operating out of High Noon; and Bob and Edie Larson, Ali’s parents. Our two new characters are Harvey “Broomy” McCluskey, who is a serial murderer, and Mateo Vega, a second-chancer newly out of prison and in High Noon’s employ.

The best long-running mystery series are ones that go deep into the character of the chief protagonist and sometimes others, as well. When you think about it, there are only so many interesting crimes; only so many credible motives; and only so many believable plots an author can spin that involve only the mystery at hand. What makes the most successful ones stand out is the investment the reader has in the character and her life. Jance works her characters like a champ. Within this one, we have multiple interesting side threads. Ali’s parents are aging, and although she is more than willing to support them and advocate for them, they don’t tell her everything. They are independent and intelligent. They treasure their dignity, and their privacy. Sometimes this combination spells trouble, and so it is here. We see Ali trying to juggle the ever-changing aspects of the business while B is out of town, along with health issues facing her father, who won’t talk about them; one of her children gives birth; and then there are issues with her employees.

Point of view shifts between chapters, and so we first meet Harvey, who is a resentful, entitled jerk who has murdered his mother and gotten away with it. Unfortunately, Harvey is also a tenant of High Noon’s, and he’s in arrears on his office rent. No one at High Noon knows that he is dangerous; they figure he’s a deadbeat, and he has to go. Ohhh, honey, look out!

We also meet Mateo. Mateo has spent 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. His public defender told him the plea deal was the safe bet, and so he took it. He could have been released early if he’d expressed remorse, but nobody and nothing could make him say he did it when he didn’t, so he rotted there for his entire youth. But while inside, he continued to study technology, and earned an online degree. Now he’s released, comes out with skills, and is hired by High Noon.

I love the way Jance uses all of these characters, and the thread involving Cami is particularly interesting.

I read and reviewed most of the recent books in this series, and in number 13, I called this author out for making all of the bad guys in the story Latina or Latino, and all the good guys Caucasian, except for Cami, who is Asian. It’s great to see how she’s turned it around. The social messages here—the broken prison system; issues with keeping the aged safe; the difficulty former prisoners face in starting a new life; and of course, violence against women—are all progressive ones, and none of them hijacks the plot or slows it in any way. In fact, this novel is among Jance’s best, and that’s a high bar to meet.

Highly recommended.

I am a huge fan of the Ali Reynolds series by J. A. Jance. The characters are well developed, there is always a great m ystery, and you are sitting on the edge of your seat. This book was a little more personally emotionally for Ali as she has to deal with an issue involving her parents. This is definitely a series to add to your list to read. Just be prepared to hold on tight for a wild and frenetic roller coaster ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Most people have defining moments in their past—those events that changed the direction of their lives forever, for better or for worse. And in Unfinished Business, the 16th Ali Reynolds novel by J.A. Jance, the team at High Noon Enterprises works to put two troubled men on different paths...

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

I first discovered this author many years ago and was immediately hooked by her stories. I couldn’t read them fast enough. It's been several years since I've picked one of hers up so when I read about this one, I knew it was time to start back up. And I wasn't disappointed!! So much action and suspense. I couldn’t put it down once I started.

It was ok. Not what I expected. Wish it was just wish it was a little more action packed. Not what I expected at all.

Your typical Jance novel. . ALWAYS keeps you interested, you can never put it down, and her characters are always well thought out and realistic.. She never fails to keep you entertained and engrossed.

Ali Reynolds is my idea of one kick ass woman. She always gets her man, or woman, while wearing heels. Jance comes across the board with exciting, well written books, with fabulous charactors, along with visionary scenes of the Southwest. If you like action and intrigue in your mysteries you will find it in an Ali Reynolds book.

I had three different publishing dates so excuse the lateness of the review.

I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

I haven't read a lot of the Ali Reynolds series but the author does a job of wonderful job of keeping readers well informed without slowing down the story.

J.A. Jance has the ability to bring readers into her world holding on to the point readers feel a personal connection to the characters at every turn of the page. The story is well paced and readers will be able to put down the book but drawn back quickly to see what is happening with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of J.A. Jance Unfinished Business.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review this arc.

I’ve read quite a few from this author before but not the full series put out. One of my favorite things is the ability to pick up a later book to read from a series and not feel lost or like you’re missing something because you hadn’t read the previous books yet. This still holds true for this latest installment in the Ali Reynolds series. I thoroughly enjoyed delving into this story and the characters. There was a lot going on throughout and possibly some unnecessary parts but overall I enjoyed the story lines and would still count this as a quick intriguing read. I also love when authors tie in characters from other series, so that was a nice surprise as well, makes the books universe more real to me this way. Overall I enjoyed the book, and would recommend whether you’ve read the series or not.

J.A. Jance is one of my favorite authors, but the Ali Reynolds series was always my least favorite of her series. That said, the most recent two books in the series have really come up to my high expectations of a Jance book. This one has three stories that coincide at a critical point: a man just released from a 16 year prison sentence for a killing that he did not commit, a serial criminal who has gotten away with murder many times who targets one of Ali's employees, and Ali's own struggle to face the aging of her parents. The book has a detailed plot, good characters, but goes beyond to show how difficult it is for an ex-con to start a new life once released. The details of that journey really illustrate the negative aspects of our justice system. I love how Jance weaves those sort of messages into her plots such that it stays with you well after finishing the book. Yet, they do not overshadow the basic mystery plot, which moves at the perfect pace. I look forward to the next book in the series!

I love .J.A. Jance and her Ali Reynolds series. In Unfinished Business, Ali and her husband B. Simpson are trying to hire some help for their business. A one-time employee of Ali Reynold’s husband, B. Simpson, Mateo Vega, has spent the last sixteen years of his life behind bars. After being paroled, Mateo approaches Stu Ramey for a reference letter for a job application, but Stu gives him better news: He asks him to come work for B. once again. Just as Mateo starts his new job, chaos breaks out at High Noon—a deadbeat tenant has just fled, and tech expert Cami Lee has gone missing. Ali races to find a connection between the two disappearances and help Mateo clear his name with the help of J.P. Beaumont. Great book!

Wow. I don’t think there is one thing that J. A. Jance forgot to put in this book. She managed to cover all the bases, from birth to death, illness to healing, then rounding it out with justice being served, and a wrong righted. Each character from her past few books had a place here and then some. When a person says, if you don’t like the current plotline hang-on, there is another one around the corner, they hadn’t met Jance, where you can say, if you don’t like this plot, hold on there are another half dozen coming your way.

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this wild ride. The last couple of books were so-so, but this one grabbed me from the first page, and though the ending was a bit abrupt, I enjoyed the ride. There is no telling where she will go from here, but for once in a long time, I am looking forward to where Ali and the employees of High Noon Enterprises are heading.

Good characters, good writing, good story - - what more can you want?! Oh yes - - great setting! I haven't been to Sedona in years but there's no way I could ever forget how beautiful and magical that area is. I enjoyed 'revisiting' it in my memory.

Mateo Vega has served 16 years for murdering his girlfriend, having pled guilty in a plea deal pushed by his public defender. His testimony at his parole hearings did not waver - he did not commit the crime but pled guilty because his attorney told him he could get life if the case went to trial. Now out on parole, he has two goals - get a job in the tech industry (his field before prison) and find the person who killed his girlfriend. He stumbles across his old boss’s name and decides to contact him for a reference. Stu Ramey, who now works at High Noon Enterprises, a company owned by B. Simpson, Ali’s husband, not only writes the recommendation but invites Mateo to Cottonwood, Arizona where he is offered a job. And that’s when the chaos begins. One of High Noon’s tenants has gone missing as he is about to be evicted, and it turns out he has an interesting history. And Cami Lee, one of the company’s tech wizards, has also disappeared. Using all of the company’s resources, Ali must find out what has happened to her friend while dealing with tragedy in her personal life. This is the 16th book in Jance’s Ali Reynolds series. Several months ago, I was given an opportunity to read an ARC of a J.A. Jance novel (in the Joanna Brady series). I had long seen this author in bookstores so I took the plunge and enjoyed that book enough that I decided to go back to the beginning of each of her main character series. This is only the second book I have read in this series (the other being the first). And clearly a lot has happened since that first one. I am thinking that this is more of a continuing story as opposed to books based on an event. I will say that I enjoyed reading the story but there is an awful lot of backstory that one misses by not reading the books in order. Jance does a good job of keeping the story moving and developing the new characters that were introduced in this story. My thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of this novel.

Another in the Ali Reynolds series and a good addition it is. All the regular characters are back with two new well-developed people added. One of these you hate from the start and the other you root for throughout. I do think one mainstay’s situation and resolve was a bit too quick. That said, this is a very good book and I look forward to the next one.

Unfinished Business by J.A. Jance is another Ali Reynolds mystery, which, as always, is several mysteries rolled into one. Mateo Vega had finally been released from prison for the murder of his girlfriend almost twenty years earlier. The sad thing was, he was innocent. But, he'd spent his time well, keeping abreast of all the updates in technology. He did this by reading. The librarian at the prison had been his greatest advocate and she showed it by ordering everything he could read so he could teach himself and stay relevant. He had done that, kept his head down, and saved his money. Now he was finally being released on parole. He had used the gift of the Internet to find himself a room, and once there, took his landlord's advise and gone to supply himself at a local thrift shop. While he was there he got himself a job, but soon had a driver's license and a library card so he could keep learning. One day he saw B. Simpson's name. He had been working for the man at the time of his arrest. With further research he found Stu Ramey still worked for him so he shot off an email asking for a letter of reference. He had not managed to get a high tech job in the years he'd been out but this letter might help. In Arizona, there was plenty happening: Chris and Athena had just had their third child, Bob and Edie were having a few problems, and Cami managed to get herself kidnapped.

Ali is my favorite Jance character. She is a woman who had lived through many negative situations, including the death of her first husband, Chris' dad, being fired from her job as a TV news anchor for ageing out, and totally turned her life around after arrived in Sedona. She is smart, with an ability to react quickly, and use her resources wisely. She is married to a man younger than herself, and together they have built a world-wide computer security business. Stu, Cami, and Lance all work for them, as does Stu's AI (Artificial Intelligence), Frigg. It is a good life, but always busy, and always on the edge. B. has turned out to be an excellent husband, despite the fact that he is often out of town. Ali handles all the financial and administrative work for the company and for their other holdings, including evicting a non-paying tenant in their office complex. As always, Ali is in the thick of it as things happen around her. Jance writes compelling mysteries, and after writing Ali for so long, she has become part of her fans' DNA. I always wonder how much more Ali can take, but she always manages. This is a terrific book with the introduction of a new permanent character, and High Noon's typical result of walking away with multiple crimes solved. I heartily recommend it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Unfinished Business by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #unfinishedbusiness

There is so much going on within the story! You don’t have a chance to stop reading because you have to find out the outcome.
I do have to say the beginning of the story seemed to lag a bit. But, then……wow!
Be ready to read late into the night if you pick up Unfinished Business to read!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.