I’ve read several of the crime stories featuring Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady. The twenty-first in the series, THE GIRL FROM DEVIL’S LAKE, shows her at the top of her game. In her third term as elected sheriff at Bisbee, with the full support of deputies and staff, Joanna is handed a case at Thanksgiving. While policing takes people away from family at this time, and a murder can break a family’s heart, oddly, this crime thriller turns out to be more about families than anything else.

Thanksgiving in small- town Arizona is wet and cold this year, with torrential rain filling gullies and washing out debris. In this case, a boy’s body is found. This little boy is from Mexico, and he was last seen on that side of the border, where his mother still lives, so the puzzle is how he ended up here. As the investigation continues, Joanna realises she is dealing with a killer who is used to covering his tracks, so he is probably a prolific serial killer.

In parallel, we see the upscaling of the career of the evil man responsible, who travels to select opportune victims, from a young woman at Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, to a little boy at a funfair in New York. Who could possibly go unrecognised for decades? The truth is stranger than we could imagine. I find these sections well written - callous thoughts but not ravings, so we’re in no doubt that the man is deranged, but it’s still readable.

Along with the constant communications among police officers, Joanna has to deal with journalist Marliss Shackleford, who is more a frenemy than a helper. They are both on the same side, but often it doesn’t feel that way. Also, a happier event; Joanna’s daughter Jennifer is home for Thanksgiving, and she’s not only graduating, but is also considering settling down with her boyfriend. Wow, the years have flown by.

From small-town Mexico to Flagstaff and the mountain roads, the location feels so real and rugged that we could almost be at the scene. J.A. Jance covers so many years that we see how it was relatively easy to escape detection, but the sudden increase in technology allows connections among officers to be made. THE GIRL FROM DEVIL’S LAKE is a title that picks a representative case from a strange and tragic series of crimes. Joanna has her work cut out to resolve this instalment. This is a great read, gripping and bitter by turns.