Skeleton Canyon

Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 5

By: J. A. Jance

Narrated by: C. J. Critt

A chilling story of deadly desire and cold murder from the New York Times best-selling author of Exit Wounds.

A pretty, popular teenager never returned from her secret tryst in Skeleton Canyon. Perhaps it was a youthful rage or savage passion that ripped the life from a child of privilege and abandoned her broken body to the cold Arizona night. Or maybe she stumbled onto something terrible, something too dangerous to know. Now dark secrets about a future hideously destroyed are pulling Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County into a lethal nest of lies and greed hidden in a desolate corner of the Southwestern desert—where the next blood that feeds the parched earth could be her own.

©1997 J.A. Jance (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Take back everything I said about the narrator

Book 4 was not enjoyable - CJ Critt's narration just killed it. But book 5 shows that she's a master of voices. She completely changed the cadence and the voice of Joanna and the presentation of the story. It was quite wonderful to listen to and to realize how much control she has in her storytelling to do this! However, I see a review of book 6 that complains about her choice for the daughter's voice and that Joanna's voice changes also. So sometimes she misses the mark.

Meanwhile, the first 3 books had such marvelous plots and although I don't think books 4-5 quite lives up to those mysteries, I enjoy the characters and want to continue following them!

Entertaining

What did you love best about Skeleton Canyon?

Female hero and an interesting story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Ending caught me by surprise.

Any additional comments?

Love the way the main character interacts with other characters in the book.

Positive feedback

I enjoy this series and look forward to listening to more. I do not understand all the negative feedback on the commentator as she doesn't seem to be so awful to me. In fact, I found her to be good and enjoyed the inflection of her voice. While I may not be as seasoned or educated as some of the reviewers, I do enjoy a good book and I feel this series is well worth the credits.

I have enjoyed this series

Would you consider the audio edition of Skeleton Canyon to be better than the print version?

Don't know as I only listened to it. They are probably about equal. The only
author that would be superior on audio is Nelson DeMille. His main characters
are very funny and something is less in reading than hearing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Skeleton Canyon?

They are all good.

Which scene was your favorite?

None that I can identify

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Good Story

I'm enjoying this series a lot. The characters are relatable and the story holds your interest. There are both mystery and suspense to keep the pages turning. The narrator isn't the best in my opinion, though I've definitely heard worse. She just tends to read quite slow so that sometimes there are some pretty big lags in the story. I would definitely recommend this book to others though. if I were reading it rather than listening to it I probably would of given it five stars.

Enjoyed the book but not a fan of the narrator

I liked the book but the narration by CJ Critt is awful. This is the second time I have listened to her narrate, the first book was rough but I thought maybe she’s having a bad day or maybe it’s me. I gave her another chance but nope not me. I struggle listening to her read. She’s not fluid in her reading it’s a lot of stop and go. She has long enough pauses that I check to make sure my phone hasn’t turned off. I’m not picky about who narrates all the books I listen to but not a fan of this one at all. Please go back to the first narrator of this series.

Love a good Joanna Brady Book

Some people don’t like the narrator but I enjoy her portrait. Love the characters and the plots and sun-plots.

Entertained.

I read some of the reviews prior to purchasing and was worried about all the negative comments regarding the new narrator. I thought C J Critt did a great job! She did an especially good job with the underlying humor in the story. I look forward to the next book in the series!

Narrator's pace was amateurish.

Would you consider the audio edition of Skeleton Canyon to be better than the print version?

I haven't read this book in print.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joanna Brady, of course! I love how she is a come from behind type of character who's methods are not always "textbook", but she always succeeds in the end. She is logical and shows her heart throughout the series. I also appreciate how she acknowledges that she is far from perfect, but doesn't let any of that really get in her way.

What three words best describe C. J. Critt’s performance?

Amateurish pacing throughout.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I REALLY want to see what happens with Angie and Dennis! I practically had a cow when I didn't know what was going to happen to Dennis. Talk about pulling my heart-strings....

Any additional comments?

During the beginning of the book, the narrator did not pause enough between sections when there was not a chapter break, Several times, she would just run right into a new part and I had to keep rewinding to figure out what was going on. For example: there was a part when they were working on a crime scene or going to it and then all of a sudden, Angie was thinking about her problem and trying to get a ride. THEN... it was like the narrator was told to pause more and all of a sudden she was even pausing in the middle of conversations for far too long. On at least three occasions, I started wondering if my battery went dead or something and then she continued. This was not the right pacing at all and seemed over-exaggerated by the narrator. I kept thinking that someone must have told her to pace it better and she over-exaggerated it in spite. Wasn't too impressed with her different character voices either, but that may be slightly because of her driving me crazy in general.

Pronounce places right!

What made the experience of listening to Skeleton Canyon the most enjoyable?

I live in southern Arizona so I love JA Jance books. Living in Cochise County, the locations, weather and people are right.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Since the places in the book are real, they should be pronounced correctly. Several times, CJ Critt mangled HUACHUCA....it is WA-CHU-CA. Not once was it even close! Fingernails on a blackboard! Please...if you don't know, find out before you murder a major part of the realism.