OverKill

OverKill by J. A. Jance
4/1/25; 336 pages
Gallery Books
Ali Reynolds #18

OverKill by J. A. Jance is a highly recommended investigative thriller which follows two cases. This is the eighteenth book in the Ali Reynolds series.

Chuck Brewster, the former business partner of Ali Reynolds’s husband B. Simpson, is found murdered the morning after they had his 60th birthday party. His second wife Clarice, woke up covered in his blood and came out of their bedroom holding a knife and screaming, startling housekeeper Donna Jean Plummer who took the knife from her and called 911. Clarice, who doesn't remember anything, is the obvious suspect and Donna Jean is also targeted by the police. Clarice tries to call B. for help, but talks to Ali instead. Ali, B.’s wife and partner in High Noon Enterprises, puts their A.I. Frigg on the case.

In a second case someone is stalking Camille Lee while she’s on the road for High Noon. Because she is hyper alert, she noticed the man and managed to covertly get a picture of him. Then she outsmarts the man who is following her, gets to a safe place and calls Ali who sends private security for Cami. Frigg identifies the suspect as Bulgarian trafficker Bogdan Petrov, but why he would be following Cami is unknown. Cami continues to have a security guard as she travels to London for a week of business meetings.

The main case is the murder of Chuck Brewster, however both cases are interesting, complex, methodically undertaken, and the pace is fast. I did guess who was responsible very early on but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the novel. Since this is the eighteenth novel in the series readers following the series know all the characters along with their backgrounds. OverKill can be read and appreciated as a standalone novel, you just won't have all the backstory.

The A.I. Frigg plays a major role and essentially becomes another character in the plot. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it certainly helps the narrative move quickly because answers to all questions are swiftly provided and the A.I. is always available. Frigg also seems to be able to get information that would not normally be available for public consumption and can quickly do tasks that would be time consuming to investigate.

J. A. Jance is a go-to author who can consistently write an entertaining investigative thriller. Thanks to Gallery Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.