In the deserts of Cochise County, high school principal Debra Highsmith is found brutally murdered. As Sheriff Joanna Brady digs into the victim's life, she learns that Debra Highsmith isn't exactly who she claimed to be. To add to Sheriff Brady's already full case load, new information comes to light on a case her father was working on before his death, a case that might have gotten him killed. Joanna digs into the secrets of the past, exposing the darkest corners of family secrets.

JUDGMENT CALL is the fifteenth book in the Joanna Brady suspense series. Joanna has gone through a wonderful transformation as her character continues to grow and change with the years and the cast of characters that surround her continue to grow with her. There's no sense of stagnation or feeling that the characters are just there as props. They are all rounded characters who add depth to the story, but they're never a distraction from the main character Sheriff Brady.

The charm of this book lies in the juggling of these connections. Joanna is a mother, a wife, a sheriff, a daughter, and more. All the roles she must fill are explored and teased out which makes Joanna an amazingly human and likeable character. Often in the mystery genre, especially police procedeurals, the detective is completely consumed by his or her work. The case haunts them, it eats away at their sleep until they've no choice but to solve the mystery. I loved that Joanna isn't one of those characters. The crime and getting justice for the victim and the family is just as important to her as those other more narrowly focused characters, but she is a character who has come to realize that her family and her life outside of her work is equally important. She's more relatable this way and more interesting.

I love how the plot reflects these differing aspects of one person's identity. Debra, the victim, was a principal, she was a friend, she was an annoyance, she was a mystery. As Joanna digs into her life, the reader gets to see all these sides of Debra until the entire picture of her is exposed. Every character in the novel has hidden depths that are explored which tie this story together nicely.

If you haven't read any J.A. Jance novels, I highly recommend them. There's a bit more explanation of past connections in the beginning that I tended to skip, but it's also helpful to newcomers to the series. You can pick up any book in this series (or her others which are also great reads) and not feel lost or overwhelmed by all the names thrown at you. JUDGMENT CALL is intriguing, well- rounded, and worth reading.