Ali Reynolds and her team at High Noon Enterprises must race against the clock to save an archbishop who faces mysterious death threats in this “masterly study of the effects of grief, rage, and the power of forgiveness” (Publishers Weekly) by New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance. Years after her son’s fatal overdose, grieving mother Rachel Higgins learns that his addiction may have … mother Rachel Higgins learns that his addiction may have grown out of damage suffered at the hands of a pedophile priest while he was in high school. Looking for vengeance, she targets the Catholic Church’s most visible local figure, Archbishop Francis Gillespie. When the archbishop begins receiving anonymous threats, local police dismiss them, saying they’re not credible. So he turns to his friends, Ali Reynolds and her husband, B. Simpson.
With B. out of the country on a cybersecurity emergency, it’s up to Ali to track down the source of the threats. When a shooter assassinates the archbishop’s driver and leaves the priest himself severely injured, Ali forms an uneasy alliance with a Phoenix homicide cop in hopes of preventing another attack. But Ali doesn’t realize that the killer has become not only more unhinged but also more determined to take out his or her target.
Credible Threat is another “terrific entry in a series distinguished by its consistent quality, [and] sensitive treatment of a difficult subject makes this an extraordinary literary experience” (The Providence Journal).
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J.A. Jance is still a top notch mystery writer. This is the 15th book in the Ali Reynolds series, but it could stand on its own too. This book is so well written. It takes place shortly after the previous book ended. Ali can’t seem to snap out of her funk over losing her close friend Alex Munster. But getting a surprise visit from Archbishop Gillespie asking for her and B’s help might just be what she needs. B gets called out of the country so it’s up to Ali, High Noon’s employees and Frigg to figure out who’s trying to kill the Archbishop and why. I just couldn’t put it down. With each chapter I was drawn in more and more. I kept wondering how it was going to unfold. How was Ali going to convince the police, when Father Andrew is murdered, that he wasn’t the intended victim and they were looking for the wrong person. If you’ve never read any of this series, you’re missing out. They won’t disappoint. Keep up the great work. Always looking forward to the next in the series.
Credible Threat by J.A. Jance is the latest Ali Reynolds thriller. This is one of the very best in the Ali Reynolds and High Noon’s cases to solve. Credible Threat is packed with emotion and suspense as Ali and part of the team work against the clock to protect Archbishop Gillespie of the Phoenix Archdiocese from a plot of revenge.
Rachel Higgins is a mother who has let grief push her beyond the limits of reason. Rachel was given a box with the last possessions her son owned before his death due to a drug overdose. Inside she sees clues which lead her to understand why David turned to drugs and was lost to her. She vows to murder Father Gillespie because he was responsible for the priests, specifically Father Needham when her son David was a member of the swim team. Coach Needham was sent to prison for sexual abuse and molesting many of the boys and he later died of AIDS. Rachel remembers the autopsy report which stated her son was positive for the AIDS virus. She is more than heartbroken, she is set on vengeance.
If there had been more of a connection between the Higgins and the Bendixen’s I think the discovery of Rich’s body would have been more believable. I thought the scene was too quickly contrived.
I loved the sentiments of Father Frances Gillespie before the funeral of Father Andrew. The scene was so sincere. The way the attempted murder was resolved was perfect for inside a house of worship, No one wants to read of a shooting or a murder in a church.
Very well done, J. A. Jance!
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Another great Ali Reynolds mystery. Engrossing. Great characters. An enjoyable read with no gratuitous sex or violence..
This is another example of the author’s skill! Could not put it down.
I have been reading J.A. Jance for many years. I enjoy all her books and characters.
I like the different characters. This one didn’t have the older nun in it and I like her character.
This is such a good book! JA Jance writes characters who seem so real you feel as if you know them. I liked the murder plot and all the twists and turns to catch the killer. A page turner to be sure.
J. A. Jance is one of the best at her craft, and this is one of her best.
Awesome book. Pulls u right in.
Jance’ writing never disappoints.
Credible Threat by J. A. Jance is book fifteen in her Ali Reynolds series, featuring a former newscaster turned cybersecurity specialist. This is the second book I’ve read in the series, and I enjoyed both and had no problems following the stories without having read the entire series.
Seventy-year-old Rachel Higgins has never gotten over her son’s fatal drug overdose. She and her husband have both withdrawn into themselves, creating a lonely existence. When old mementos lead her to re-evaluate her son’s last years, she comes to the conclusion that David was abused by a local pedophile priest and is determined to get revenge on her son’s behalf. Rachel becomes obsessed with the highest ranking church official in her area, Archbishop Francis Gillespie, and makes a plan.
High Noon Enterprises, the security firm owned by Ali Reynolds and her husband, B. Simpson, has been hired by Archbishop Francis Gillespie to find and stop the person threatening his life. The Archbishop knows he’s truly being targeted, though the police don’t believe the threat to be credible. With her husband out of the country, Ali is on her own against a threat that sometimes seems intangible. When the abstract morphs into a flesh and blood killer, Ali must make a tentative alliance with a local cop.
Credible Threat is another great addition to a successful series. The characters are strong and vibrant. Ali delivers as always. The plot is intriguing and holds the reader’s attention throughout. There are great twists at just the right time. I completely enjoyed this novel. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to all lovers of mystery.
My thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.
Ali Reynolds isn’t my favorite JA Jance character, but a second-choice JA Jance character is better than many authors’ best.
I really enjoy all of the Ali Reynolds novels, and this one was no exception. In this latest novel, Archbishop Gillespie is being threatened and Ali enlists the aid of Frigg (AI extraordinaire) to help find out who is trying to kill him. The action is fast-paced and there are just the right number of characters for me to be able to keep up with everyone. The suspect was revealed to the reader from the beginning and the motive was described more slowly, through the actions and thoughts of this perpetrator. Jance knows how to write a good mystery, and I loved this one. I gave it four stars because of the farewell to some of my favorite characters.
Disclaimer: I checked out this book from my local library using the Overdrive App. I was not required to write a positive review.
I really like JAJance’s female protagonists.
As usual Janice does it again, the latest in the Ali Reynolds series, and it’s a good one. Read it in 3 days, she’s one of my favs!
Credible Threat by JA Jance is the newest in the Ali Reynolds series and a good one, not that they aren’t always. Ali and B’s friend, Bishop Francis Gillespie, has been threatened. When the Phoenix Police don’t think it’s credible, he calls upon his friends at High Noon to help him. He seems safe at his compound just off Lincoln Drive but one can never be too careful in today’s world. Meanwhile, just yards from his home lurks a broken woman who has just put together a set of clues which lead her to believe that her son had been molested during his years at St. Francis High School, leading to his death from an overdose. She is wild with grief all over again, but slowly starts for form a plan. The priest who molested him is now dead…from AIDS…but she can hold others to account. Most specifically: the Bishop.
Jance has spent years building characters that a read wants to be involved with. Ali Reynolds has gone from angry news anchor dismissed because of ageism, to beloved wife of a younger man and partner in a high-end cyber-security firm. She leads a good life surrounded by her husband, her parents, her son and daughter-in-law, and her grandchildren. Her work is challenging. Who else would receive phone calls from an advanced AI (artificial intelligence) named Frigg who has become an integral part of the team, as well as the comic relief. Frigg, originally developed by a criminal mastermind, has had to be retrained. Making him more human an ethical has its entertaining side. He has come to be one of the better characters in the series, certainly one of the more valuable, although everyone makes at least a small appearance. I have been a Jance fan for years, and Ali Reynolds, in particular. I recommend Credible Threat. Fan will find it satisfying and new readers will enjoy the fast-paced, private crime fighter.
I received a free ARC of Credible Threat from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #crediblethreat
A woman discovers that her son, who died of an overdose, was likely molested by a priest and plots her revenge against the church. The former priest is dead, but the Archbishop is a good substitute for her rage and grief. Archbishop Francis Gillespie has received threatening messages and knows that someone wants him dead. He approaches his good friend Ali and her husband B, of High Noon Cybersecurity, to find out who wants him dead…not to save himself, but to save the soul of his prospective killer. It is hard to summarize a J.A. Jance book without wanting to relate the entire story as her writing is so rich with local history (especially living in Arizona and reading one of her Ali Reynolds or Joanna Brady mysteries). Her stories are always unique and complex, but she tells the story in such a way that you are following right along with her while waiting for the final clues to drop. Can Ali find the killer before another life is lost? I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Hence is a fabulous writer and I’ve enjoyed many of her books but this book lacked something. I just can’t put my finger on what it is. I felt like there were many areas with frivolous wording which may have contributed to my feeling of lacking. I did enjoy it but wished I had enjoyed it more.
Ali has been down in the dumps since a friend died. Somehow, she becomes involved in throwing a large pre-Halloween party. When she answers the door, she’s shocked to find the archbishop at the door. B and Ali meet with the archbishop the next day and find he’s had death threats. Before they begin the search for the stalker, B gets a call from one of their larger clients in Germany. So B’s off to Germany and Ali is trying to discover the stalker on her own.
I love J Jance books and when the Ali Walker books came out I wasn’t sure if I would like them. The answer is that I love them. I love the quirky characters and the normal ones. The stories are always solid mysteries.
When the Archbishop of Phoenix begins getting threats left in the donation envelopes of various Catholic churches in the diocese and he finally decides someone is serious about killing him, he turns to Ali Reynolds with whom he has worked in the past. Ali is in the midst of a downward spiral due to the death of a close friend, but decides she has no choice but to stop the person who is determined to kill the Archbishop, but where to start. The woman, who wants the Archbishop dead, lost her son to a drug addiction caused, she finds out much later, by a pedophile priest. Since the priest is already incarcerated, she decides to go after the Archbishop.
This is the 15th entry in this series, but you need not to have read the first fourteen to enjoy this one. Jance is adept at giving the new reader enough information about the on-going characters to understand them but doesn’t rehash everything about them thus boring her fans to death.
This is a well-written easy read with enough twists to keep the pages turning in the late hours of the night. The main characters are likable, but Ali’s husband, B., is absent for most of the book on an assignment for their cybersecurity company.
There isn’t much mystery in this outing because we know who hates the Archbishop early in the book and Jance tells some of the story from the point of view of the would-be Archbishop killer. However, Jance is able to ratchet up the suspense to make this a very good read.
My thanks to Simon & Schuster and Goodreads for an eARC.