J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series

Dead Heat
I actually may have read this one before. I have read some of the other Joanna Brady series and decided to read the 1st one. Jance has written numerous series all set in Arizona. Recently I have also been reading her Ali Reynolds series about a fired over-40 TV anchor. Jance's writing style is smooth and her dialogue believable. This first book in the Joanna Brady series falls into the accidental detective genre after Joanna must investigate her dead husband's murder. The Arizona desert setting - Bisbee in this case- is well-drawn and Joanna is a likable character. The ending is a bit obvious but it is an easy and fun read. The Ali Reynolds series is similar in feeling with a cool setting in Sedona although I think Hank Phillippi Ryan's Charlotte McNally series is a bit more realistic in its depiction of the aging female news reporter. Both series provide strong depictions of women - sympathetically depicted working mothers- who fight back against terrible situations of loss and betrayal to win but also find their lives changed forever.