Mystery Solved: Beaumont's Back -- In `Breach Of Duty,' J.A. Jance Puts Seattle Detective Back To Work

Author J.A. Jance was briefly at rest. Her trusty laptop, on which she has written her last dozen books, was nowhere in sight. And her rambunctious puppies, named Daphne and Aggie in sly homage to literary grand dames du Maurier and Christie, were momentarily exiled to another room.

Jance mentioned, satisfaction briefly crossing her face, that she had three books in the can. It's a rare feat, one that should momentarily sate the voracious appetite of the mystery-book publishing business. She was set through July 2000.

Today, one of those three novels "Breach of Duty," the 14th installment in her J.P. "Beau" Beaumont series, hits the bookstores. For legions of local fans, the book's release clears up concerns over the prolonged disappearance of the popular fictional detective.

"This is one of the most eagerly awaited books," said Bill Farley, the owner of Seattle Mystery Bookshop. "It's been one of the biggest questions we've had the past couple of years: When is there going to be another Beaumont?"

Ever since Beaumont appeared in Jance's first published book in 1985, local mystery readers have closely bonded with the curmudgeonly hometown detective. His work takes him to familiar locales, and he hangs out at places actually listed in the phone book. He also has an insider's sense of the city.

Then there's the detective himself.

"In Det. Beaumont, she's created a very good hero figure who embodies the qualities of Seattle," Farley said.

But for the past three years, Beaumont has been missing in action. Meanwhile, Jance's other creation, Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady, appeared in two books.

The reason, it turns out, had to do with trends in the mystery publishing industry where female protagonists are more popular than their male counterparts.

"My Seattle audience is very devoted to J.P. Beaumont but he's never been promoted nationally the way Joanna Brady has been promoted," Jance said. "Joanna Brady established my audience nationwide."

Jance actually finished "Breach of Duty" three years ago, but its publication was moved back. Jance is hoping that this book, and the national push being planned by publisher Avon Books, will raise Beaumont's national profile.

"A lot of people think the male sleuth is dead, but I really think Beaumont's going to surprise everybody," she said.

Although closely identified with Seattle, Jance, 54, was born in South Dakota and raised in Bisbee, Ariz. She moved here in 1981 with her two children to start a new life.

"I was a refugee from a bad marriage and a worse divorce," she said. Her first husband was an aspiring writer and alcoholic who eventually drank himself to death. Jance supported her family by selling life insurance, but she also rediscovered her love of writing, a childhood ambition suppressed during her marriage.

In 1985, she published her first Beaumont book. Jance, whose first name is Judy, used her initials because her publisher believed disclosing her gender would be a liability for a book about a male detective.

That same year, she married Bill Schilb, an electronics engineer and a widower with three children.

But Jance's first marriage continued to influence her work in ways she herself hadn't noticed. Jance said that Beaumont's drinking problem was first brought to her attention by readers, who wondered why Beaumont drank so much. Subsequent books focused on Beaumont dealing with his alcoholism.

In "Breach of Duty," Beaumont's new work partner, Sue Danielson, is a victim of domestic violence. Although Jance said she wasn't physically beaten by her first husband, like Danielson, she lived with an addict and fled from a disastrous marriage.

But Jance adds that she and Beaumont have also grown over the years.

"Beau has come to terms with some of the things that bedeviled him," Jance said. "He's changed over the years because I've changed over the years. When I came to Seattle my heart was broken because I had divorced a man I loved because when I told him to choose between me or booze, he chose booze. When I started writing these books, I was really unhappy about that."

It's a shift not unnoticed by readers. At a recent lecture, Jance sat in the audience while she was being introduced and overheard a fan whisper to the person next to him.

"He didn't know I was sitting in front and he said, `I think she must be happier now than when she started writing,' and my jaw dropped because, of course, it was true."

Today, with their children grown and out of their home, Jance and her husband live in a quiet neighborhood near downtown Bellevue in a one-bedroom house with a sweeping view of Lake Washington.

The house was one of the rewards that came with the success of the Brady books, Jance said. Another is a new Porsche Boxster that Jance gave to her husband, who was able to retire five years ago when he was 54.

Jance is also active in supporting charities, particularly the YWCA's shelter for homeless families.

At signings, she asks bookstores to donate a percentage of their earnings from her appearances to various causes. Over the past 10 years, she has raised more than $250,000 for charities.

Although she's written poetry, and a children's book, Jance said she plans to stick with her first love: mysteries.

"In mysteries, the bad guys get what they deserve and in real life that often doesn't happen," she said.

Jance said she doesn't mind the constant pressure to keep the books coming. Since she began publishing in 1985, Jance has completed a book nearly every six months, regularly landing on the best-seller list.

Now that she can alternate between her two series, she said she feels less trapped by the popularity of her creations.

"After my ninth Beaumont book, I was starting to feel a little stifled, and I was threatening to kill him off," Jance said, laughing. "But being able to move back and forth has made it fun again. When I return to them, it feels like I'm asking them: OK, what have you guys been doing while my back was turned?"

And with her stockpile of finished books down to two again - one Joanna Brady, and a sequel to a previous stand-alone book - Jance knew she would soon be facing questions about the next Beaumont book. ------------------------------- Beaumont events

A J.P. Beaumont lookalike contest and memorabilia from Beaumont's favorite haunt, The Doghouse, are both part of the gala dinner marking the release of J.A. Jance's latest mystery. The dinner, a benefit for the YWCA, will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Women's University Club, Sixth Avenue and Spring Street, Seattle. $75 per person. There is a book signing open to the general public from 5 to 7 p.m. Call 206-461-4490.