Hand of Evil (Ali Reynolds)

Additional Hand of Evil (Ali Reynolds) Information

With his hand trapped in the door of a speeding car, a man struggles to remain upright as he's dragged along a deserted stretch of San Juan Road in Phoenix's South Mountain Preserve. It's the perfect place to drive a man to his grave -- literally. Starting with a crime so gruesome even prowling coyotes keep their distance from the remains, a killer begins crisscrossing the Southwest on a spree of grisly murders.

A hundred miles away, Ali Reynolds is grieving. The newscasting job she once delighted in is gone and so is the philandering husband she loved and thought she knew. When a member of the family who gave Ali a generous scholarship for her education decades earlier suddenly asks her for a meeting, Ali wonders what it can mean. Before she can satisfy her curiosity, though, Ali receives another startling call: a friend's teenage daughter has disappeared. Ali offers to help, but in doing so, she unknowingly begins a quest that will reveal a deadly ring of secrets, at the heart of which lie two undiscriminating killers....

Hand of Evil is Jance at her best; weaving a masterful story of suspense that travels over generations, revealing two very different women with the same horrifying secret. Will Ali become a victim herself, or will she escape from a deadly deceit that no amount of security -- financial or emotional -- can cover up?

What Customers Say About Hand of Evil (Ali Reynolds):

The Ali Reynolds series is as good as Jance's other series - JP Beaumont & Joanna Brady. She proves that these are not necessary for a good read. As with the others the characters are people you like and care about. JA Jance write books that are fun to read with a minimum of violence, foul language & sex. I find it difficult to put down any of Ms Jance's book so read them too fast and am sorry when I've read the last one in a series. I've read them all.

Anything Ali Reynolds gets herself into is great with me. I like this characher and all the messes she gets herself into and out of. I am always reading one of the books this character is in and looking online for another one. Good read for those times the weather keeps you inside.

Give J.A. That first book kind of tweaks your antenna, but you can almost walk away from the second and once you buy it, you're smiling to yourself and realizing what a good choice you made to continue to series.

A. Jance is growing on me.

J. Jance books are a lot like John Sandford new "Virgil Flowers" series.

I read his/her first book and thought I could go without a second, but there I was at the bookstore turning over those hard earned greenbacks to buy the next once. The J.A.

Yes, my children are in law enforcement so I tend to like these types of books, it's nice to see a little justice, even if it's only in a book. Jance a try, I don't think you'll be sorry.

This is the first and last book I will read by J.A. There is only one gruesome killing, and it occurs within the first 2 pages. If the author had perhaps focused on one crime/culprit, she may have been better able to develop the story and create somewhat of a climatic ending. It was so slow-paced and dull and did not live up to the promise of "A Novel of Suspense" that is printed on the cover. In case you were wondering, yes, this book also incldues the annoying and intrusive mother who knows all without being told, the police officer father who can't get involved in the case because his family is involved (nevermind that it's not even within his jurisdiction), and the son who acts more like the main character's father/brother/keeper than a son. With a title of "Hand of Evil," I expected a heck of a lot more evil. Jance. Plus, there are 3 separate and different crimes being dealt with (some involve multiple crimes).

Instead, this book has a predictable ending in which the loose ends are all tied up by - surprise. - the culprit explaining all of the wrongdoings to the main character without even a showdown. Instead, I'm left wondering why I didn't stop reading the book at page 217 of 368, as the dictionary has more twists and turns than this novel. I found no upsides to this book except for the lovely picture of Jance's dogs on the back cover.

I am a big fan of J.A. The fact that some of the elements of the plot and the identity of the culprit are easy to spot, do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the work all that much. There are a couple of characters that are still a little over-the-top, but it is not nearly as bad as in Web of Evil: A Novel of Suspense (Ali Reynolds).

I liked the idea on which the series is based, but felt that the execution was poor. the way in which the story flows, and how things are resolved seem to followed a clear path repeated throughout the books. Jance, but I was disappointed by the first two books in this series.

Some people that have been following this series may be bothered by the repetition of the formula though. This was clearly improved upon in this installment, even though the end result is not great yet.The main improvement has to do with the fact that the decisions by the main character, Ali Reynolds, are much more realistic. While she showed to be completely devoid of the ability to think logically in the previous two books, now the courses of action she chooses are believable.

I am not sure if the fact that all three books start with the murder of someone by using a car in the process is intended as a trademark, alla the ".of Evil" in the title, or if it's just lack of creativity.Regardless, of the minor flaws, this is a novel that follows a frantic pace, is highly entertaining and deals with some complex issues, including abuse of minors. I hope this marks the start of a positive trend in this series for Jance.