Collateral Damage

This is a propulsive Ali Reynolds thriller about fallout and payback. A ruined former police officer, Frank Muñoz, has been nursing a grudge for years. In 2017, Danielle Lomax-Reardon—a survivor turned advocate—was gunned down on the steps of her shelter. By New Year’s Day 2020, Frank’s scorecard is still open, and he’s ready to finish it. A classic airport run from Sedona to Phoenix becomes a deliberate highway takedown that injures Ali’s husband, B. Simpson, and their driver, retired homicide cop Hal Holden. While an Arizona investigator looks in the wrong direction, Ali, her tech chief Stu Ramey, and the in-house AI, Frigg, chase digital crumbs that lead from a keylogged driver’s laptop to an Albanian IP, from a money-laundering Las Vegas gym to a prison-based hit service run by a mafioso named Sal Moroni.

Parallel investigations converge: a paperboy witnesses a porch-bomb blast in Oregon; a Blythe detective traces two dead gang runners to a Vegas fixer; and a St. Paul commander reopens the cold case that started it all. Ali must hold her company together, represent High Noon on the global ransomware stage, and thread the needle with law enforcement. The hunt ends where Frank’s getaway begins—at McCarran—with an air marshal, a suitcase of hidden identities, and a confession that finally names who paid to kill a woman who spent her life saving women.

Fast, layered, and human, J. A. Jance braids cybercrime, domestic abuse, and cross-jurisdictional police work into a single, satisfying snap of justice.

• Fans of smart, cross-jurisdiction thrillers that mix cybercrime with classic detective work
• Listeners who enjoy strong female leads balancing grit, empathy, and strategy
• Readers of Michael Connelly, Catherine Coulter, or David Baldacci looking for a contemporary series entry

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds, J.P. Beaumont, and Joanna Brady series, as well as Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family and the poetry collection After the Fire. Born in South Dakota and raised in Bisbee, Arizona, she splits her time between Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.