cop, and various other cops throughout the State of Washington. They also include a world-renowned DNA expert, a brilliant computer researcher, and an economist who has done extensive research into drug overdose deaths in the Seattle area in recent years.

This last expert comes in very handy for Beaumont in his current case. An elderly woman asks Beaumont to investigate the fentanyl overdose death of her grandson two years earlier. The police closed the case as an accident, but the man’s grandmother is convinced he was murdered. As Beaumont investigates, he researches the economist’s records and discovers a troubling pattern among several of the overdose deaths that had been closed as accidents or suicides. Beaumont suspects these deaths were murders committed by the same person. As Beaumont investigates the mysterious overdose deaths, he takes on a second, far more personal case. His 18-year-old grandson, Kyle, moves in with him after an ugly incident involving Kyle’s father’s new girlfriend. Beaumont investigates the girlfriend’s past and discovers that she’s got a very suspicious history.

J.P. Beaumont is a likable protagonist who takes to his new “roommate” well. Kyle is a rarity in current fiction, a decent young man who doesn’t mind sharing time with Grandpa (they watch a couple of movies together). Beaumont also has a comfortable relationship with his current wife, Mel, who’s chief of police in another Seattle suburb, Bellingham (I confess I still do not know where all these locations are, except that it usually takes Beaumont quite a while to drive from one town to another.) The pleasant home life (except for Mel’s bad cooking) anchors the book when contrasted with the horror stories of domestic and substance abuse Beaumont uncovers in investigating the overdose deaths.

J.A. Jance is one of the best crime fiction authors I’ve read at creating realistic, interesting backstories for the secondary characters in Den of Iniquity. Many authors would have summarized the overdose victims’ stories in a paragraph or two. Jance fleshes them out, including interview transcripts and Beaumont’s own talks with family members. As a result, the victims’ (and their families’) stories come alive. The combination of realistic, well-developed supporting characters and detailed police procedure (with the aid of Beaumont’s various helpers) makes the bulk of “Den of Iniquity” an interesting read. (Some readers will be disappointed when a secondary character conveniently provides Beaumont with the vital clue needed to solve the case.)

Each chapter in the book begins with a headline containing the date. The story begins on Valentine’s Day, 2020, and progresses inexorably towards the COVID shutdown. The author raises the book’s suspense level by keeping readers wondering whether Beaumont can solve the overdose mystery before the eventual lockdown. Jance also provides occasional tidbits about how the area readies for a shutdown. However, I felt a bit let down by the details the author included. Perhaps, the Seattle area reacted differently in March 2020 from other parts of the country. But it seemed to me that, except for Kyle’s school going to distance learning and Beaumont’s favorite restaurant going to takeout only, life went on much as before. I had expected a more dramatic conclusion to the overdose case in the face of the looming shutdown.

While the middle of Den of Iniquity is a page-turner, the beginning and ending chapters leave a bit to be desired. Jance’s tendency to provide complete backstories for her characters makes the opening chapters slow, with too many details thrown at readers at once. (We even learn the story of Beaumont’s neighbor, whose primary connection to the plot is going on daily dog walks with Beaumont.) Then, at the end, the author doesn’t seem to know how to end the book, with a few listless closing chapters that tie up the loose ends.

Although the beginning and end of Den of Iniquity leave a bit to be desired, the rest of the book is a solid read for genre fans. J.P. Beaumont is an engaging protagonist, and his senior citizen status is accurately portrayed, and not a plot gimmick. The book’s central mystery (and villain) is also unique. I haven’t read any previous Jance novels featuring Beaumont or her other series protagonists. However, Den of Iniquity is the type of book readers will love taking into their dens for a long night’s read.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.