Edge of Evil (Ali Reynolds #1) by J.A. Jance

Synopsis

“The end of her high-profile broadcasting career came too soon for TV journalist Alison Reynolds—bounced off the air by executives who wanted a “younger face.” With a divorce from her cheating husband of ten years also pending, there is nothing keeping her in L.A. any longer. Cut loose from her moorings, Ali is summoned back home to Sedona, Arizona, by the death of a childhood friend. Once there she seeks solace in the comforting rhythms of her parents’ diner, the Sugarloaf Café, and launches an on-line blog as therapy for others who have been similarly cut loose.

But when threatening posts begin appearing, Ali finds out that running a blog is far more up-close and personal than sitting behind a news desk. And far more dangerous. Suddenly something dark and deadly is swirling around her life . . . and a killer may be hunting her next.”

-Synopsis from Goodreads

Review

I read Edge of Evil over Memorial Day weekend, when we just so happened to be driving up to Sedona for a day trip. We hiked at Sugarloaf Trailhead, which is right where this book is set (at Sugarloaf Mountain)! I couldn’t resist bringing the book along for a mini photoshoot in front of those gorgeous red rocks.

Now for the book review.

The story starts on a snowy night, with a shadowy figure pushing a car off a cliff in Sedona, Arizona. This short scene gave me chills! Northern Arizona highways are full of winding road, cliffs, steep drops, and canyons far below. It would be all too easy for an inexperienced or distracted driver to take a wrong turn and end up at the bottom of one of those canyons. In other words, it’s the perfect place to stage a fatal accident and cover up your tracks in the process.

One of the things I loved about this book was the blog that Ali starts with the help of her son. Each chapter includes blog posts and conversations Ali has with followers via public comments and private emails. She begins crowdsourcing for information that may help her figure out why her friend would have committed suicide. The more she learns, the stronger she believes it was murder and not suicide after all.

But the more details she spills about the case and her whereabouts, the more alarm bells were going off in my head – you’re leading the killer straight to your doorstep, and giving them your entire playbook! Ali’s son becomes concerned for her safety and she decides to share less personal details about herself and her friend, but by then if anyone had wanted to track her down they would have had all the information they needed to do so (as is what happens but I won’t reveal the how and why).

There are a lot of moving parts in this story between Ali being laid off from her job, beginning the steps of suing her former employer and divorcing her husband, returning home to comfort the family of her late friend, and to try to find out just what exactly happened to her. She is a smart woman with good instincts and I was on her side for the entire book as she tries to uncover the truth.

Overall I thought this was a great read. I am definitely keeping this series on my radar.