Though the 14th book in the Ali Reynolds series, this is the first one I’ve read. And I have to say that I am hooked. I’ll go back and read all of the previous books and will look forward to future books in this series. I really like the character, Ali Reynolds. This is a great mystery. And while you know who is doing the killing … or at least a major player in the deaths … there are still a lot of pieces to the puzzle. And you have to get to the end to discover how twisted some of the players really are.

Good vs. bad, artificial intelligence, DNA, artificial insemination, etc. There are so many good aspects to this story and you will find yourself drawn in and you won’t be able to put it down. But while there is pure evil threaded through the pages, there are some wonderful people that help your faith in humanity!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Predictable thriller with likable (and thinly-developed) characters. Story of vengeful convicted felon who, with the help of an unlikely group of co-conspirators, begins taking out those responsible for his arrest and life sentence. Storyline is interesting, but not unique. Ending is anticipated. An easy and satisfying vacation read!

“The A List” weaves around the stories that you already know from the Ali Reynolds’ series, and though the cover art does not match the plot, I would have to say that this is one of the better books in the series.

The “A” in the title stands for annihilation and that is exactly what Edward Gilchrist has planned for those responsible for his current predicament. When DNA testing came out, fertility specialist Dr. Edward Gilchrist knew that his empire could come crumbling down. Back in the day, when finances were tight, he decided to use some of his own material to help those that wanted a child - not realizing that a form of kidney disease would be passed along and with it. Edward Gilchrist was quickly found when Alexandra Munsey started her search for a kidney donor for her son Evan, and through the Progeny Project, led to a quick demise of a man that thought he, with his mother’s money, was untouchable.

Now facing a prison sentence for fraud and malpractice, Gilchrist tattoos the initials of those that he wants to annihilate. With the help of a fellow convict, Edward’s mother, and a nail technician, the three plot against those responsible. It is not until Frigg, the AI that readers know from the previous two books, starts putting things together does the team from High Noon realize that one of their own is in danger. Ali Reynolds is the reporter that put the original story on the air and if it was not for her getting this ball rolling, Edward Gilchrist would not be sitting behind bars.

Since this story revolves around previous storylines, there is a time shift and the reader is constantly fluctuating between then and now scenarios. Much to Stu’s chagrin, he too must play a give and take with Frigg, and her sidekick Fido, and their continuing ability to get into things that could get High Noon raided by the FBI.

I would recommend that this not be the first book in the series for new readers. There is too much going on in the background and a newcomer would feel that they are missing too much.

J A Janice has done it again. I couldn’t put the book down. Very strong and determined characters with a fantastic plot written by an experienced smooth writer. She portrayed “Evil” from the beginning to the end of the book as a main theme. Good read. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me an advanced reader’s copy of this book to review. Highly recommended.

What if you were in a position to help someone? What if helping one person led to a cluster of people who also needed help? What if someone was sent to prison for life because you helped someone? These are questions Ali Reynolds must answer in book 14 of J. A. Jance's series set in Sedona AZ.

The plot is not straight forward, as the story shifts back and forth in time. The person, or family that Ali first helps happened when she was still an news anchor in Los Angeles. She is approached by a Alexandra Munsey, whose son is gravely ill with kidney disease. Evan has inherited the disease from his biological father, Edward Gilchrist, MD. Dr. Gilchrist, owns a successful fertility clinic in Southern California. Successful partly because the good doctor is cutting costs by supplying his own sperm while insisting he uses screened and healthy donors. Ali's news story uncovers a half brother who donates a kidney. Evan lives.

From this comes the Progeny Project. Designed to offer aid to children were were conceived through artificial insemination. The project uses DNA matching to help them, and this leads to the discovery of Dr. Gilchrist's fraud. Fraud is not the only crime for Dr. Gilchrist. He pays for a hit on his wife, is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Vowing revenge, he tattoos the initials of those he feels caused him to be living at Fulsom State. Ali's initials are the last on the list.

Jance uses time shifts to set the scenes as murders are literally crossed off on Gilchrist's arm. She writes sympathetically, her murder victims are not merely plot devices. The reader does care what happens. Jance keeps her series fresh by introducing new characters in Ali's life. One of the most intriguing is Frigg, the rogue
A.I. from Duel to the Death. Frigg is there to assist, but still has enough 'quirks' in her software that legality while assisting is frequently overlooked. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

By setting most of the plot in the past, a reader new to the series is able to catch up with a great deal of Ali's life. The book provides an enjoyable retrospective as well as an interesting take on murder for hire.

Recommended

Love this series. J A Jance only gets better and Ali Reynolds keeps getting into trouble. Hope this series goes on for many years.

Best-selling author J.A. Jance is something of a legend here in Seattle, and I came to her work as a huge fan of the J.P. Beaumont series. It took me awhile to bond to the Ali Reynolds series—which is set in Not-Seattle-- but I am all in it now. Big thanks go to Net Galley and Gallery Books for the review copy.

Our story commences inside a prison where a killer is spending what’s left of his life and plotting vengeance. On his arm are tattooed 5 initials which comprise his “A list” for the five people he wants dead. He understands he’ll have to hire out the “wet work,” but that’s okay. The voice Jance gives this character sends chills up and down my neck, and I don’t get that way easily. We learn that Ali, our protagonist, is on that list.

Once the reader’s attention is secure, we go through a complex but clear and necessary recap, which gets us through the essential information that’s developed during the first 13 books of the series, which is set in Arizona. So here, I have to tell you that I don’t recommend starting the series with this book. I have read all or most of the series, but with a year or so passing between each of these, I very much needed this recap to refresh my memory. Young readers with sterling memories might be able to keep up with it, but the audience that will love this story best are middle class Caucasian women over 40. The reader doesn’t necessarily have to go all the way back to the first book to begin reading, but I would urge you to go back to an earlier book somewhere else in the series and work your way forward. The books fly by quickly, and it’s definitely worth it. While some authors lose the urgency in their prose when they get older, Jance just gets leaner and sharper, and this story is among the very best I’ve seen her write, which says a lot.

The premise is centered around The Progeny Project, a nonprofit organization that helps children born through artificial insemination find their biological relatives for the purpose of learning about their own medical background. It begins when one such young man, in desperate need of a new kidney, makes a public plea for information on Ali’s television news program. Results come in quickly and reveal that Dr. Eddie Gilchrist’s fertility clinic did not use the donors he advertised, instead inseminating his many female patients with his own sperm. Events unfold, and the doctor is convicted of murder, and is sent away for life in prison. From there, he seeks revenge.

The plot is among the most original I have seen in many years, and its execution requires tight organization, which Jance carries off brilliantly. She could have written this mystery successfully without lending a lot of attention to the characters, but she doesn’t do that. It’s the combination of an intricate but clear plot and resonant characters that makes this story exceptional.

In an earlier book we were introduced to Frigg, an AI entity created by an IT guy that works for an internet security company owned by B. Simpson, Ali’s husband. Frigg disregards what she considers to be unreasonable laws against hacking, and attempts to take Frigg down completely have been foiled by the AI herself. This scenario creates all sorts of vastly amusing problems when Ali herself needs personal security; Frigg learns she is on the A List, and her vigilance is both essential and illegal, at times.

The second and most fascinating character is Hannah Gilchrist, the elderly, very wealthy mother of Dr. Eddie. When she learns that her only son has decided to have everyone responsible for his ruin killed, she decides she’s going to help him. She has terminal cancer and no other children, and a sort of modern, rich Ma Barker personality emerges. Hannah is a dynamic character and I absolutely love the way Jance develops her, laying waste to a multitude of sexist stereotypes.
If I could change one thing, I would have Jance lose the word “gangbanger,” a stereotype in itself, and include some positive Latino characters in the Reynolds series.

Make no mistake, this mystery is brainy and complicated. You don’t want to read it after you have taken your sleeping pill. But the masterful way Jance braids the plot, the return of Frigg, and the development of Hannah all make it well worth the reader’s effort. But again—don’t let this be the first of the series for you. Climb aboard an earlier entry and work your way into it. In fact, newbie readers will likely have an advantage over long time readers, because you can read these mysteries in succession without having to wait a year to come back to the series.

With that caveat, this mystery is highly recommended.

This is a book in a series, but if you pick this one up first, you will not feel like you are missing anything! Perfectly written, and will hold your attention from cover to cover!

This was my first time reading a novel by J.A. Jance and I absolutely loved her writing style. This novel was the 14th in the Ali Reynolds series, but I didn't feel like I was missing things by not reading the previous novels. Although it did make me want to go back and start from the beginning! The storyline was so intense and believable that it had me seriously wondering about whether or not that same story has happened to someone I know. I think it's believability is what made this story so great.

The characters were all very interesting and I loved how they each played such a vital role in the story playing out just right. I felt really connected to Ali and was cheering for her the whole time. I absolutely loved this story and enjoyed being entertained by Jance's fast paced and engaging writing style. I would definitely recommend this novel to readers who enjoy crime and suspense novels. Thank you to Gallery and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3/5

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.wordpr....

This is the first book that I've read by this author. The book is #14 in the series, but there was enough backstory that I didn't feel too lost. The story itself is a standalone one, so a reader definitely wouldn't miss out on anything if they wanted to pick up this book but had never read any of the previous thirteen books.

Part of the book is told in the present (for the book anyway) and part of it is told in flashbacks. This device works fairly well. In present day Ali Reynolds is remarried and living in Sedona, AZ. She and her husband own a cybersecurity company. Ten years before, while working as a reporter, she did a human interest piece regarding a mother with a dying son in desperate need of a kidney. She pleads for someone to come forward that may have used the same fertility clinic where her son was conceived in the hopes that her son had a sibling out there somewhere. Not only is her plea answered, the half sibling could be her son's twin. After some extensive investigation, the parents uncover a medical scandal that takes down a prominent doctor, Edward Gilchrist, and lands him in prison for life for murder.

Years later, Gilchrist decides he's not going to be the only person that suffers and decides to create an annihilation list - his "A List" - of everyone that contributed to his downfall. He is intent on making the people on his list pay for his downfall, and enlists several people to aid him in this endeavor. Included on this list is Ali Reynolds.

The book is fairly well-written, but the premise of the story itself is not very original and the "mystery" is not very mysterious. The plot is pretty predictable and I knew early in the book what the major plot twists would be and how it would end. That said, it was still an enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The A List by J.A. Jance is the 14th book in the Ali Reynolds series, and another great addition. I love all of Ms. Jance's book, they are always a wild roller coaster ride that keeps you reading until the very end. Ali Reynolds is in trouble and doesn't even know it. Dr. Edward Gilchrist is now in prison, and he has a hit list to take care of everyone who put him there. If you love thriller/mysteries, I strongly recommend this book/series, along with all the authors books.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

I usually like Jance's books and this one was ok - but I didn't love it. There was so much explanation of things - which would be fine if it was just once, but the same details were told over and over. The characters were interesting and the plot was good but it just seemed to drag with the constant jumping around in time and explanations.

The A List by J. A Jance is book fourteen in her Ali Reynolds series, featuring a former newscaster turned cybersecurity specialist. I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series but had no problem following the story. The story is told from a present-day perspective with past references to round out the details.

Dr. Edward Gilchrist is serving a life without parole prison sentence for murder. He has decided to take revenge on the individuals he feels had a hand in landing him in prison. He creates his A (Annihilation) list. High profile newscaster, Ali Reynolds is on that list. Ali has a target on her back because she reported the story that led to the doctor’s eventual downfall.

The A List is a fast-paced dramatic ride. The plot is exciting and full of twists. The characters are dynamic. This is a smart addition to a successful series. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

I was a little concerned when I noticed this was #14 in a series, thinking I wouldn’t be able to follow along.. but if fact I had no problem getting into the story at all!!
I was hooked from the opening prologue, a prisoner who has been sentenced to life wants revenge.. from who you ask? Well you see, he’s described to have a tattoo the “A list” of a list of names of those he claims he will kill..
It so happens that the protagonist of our story, Ali Reynolds is on this list.
The narration jumps back and forth in time, to have the reader understand the why behind the what, but definitely in a detailed way where the reader doesn’t get lost.
How can Ali fight for her life, if individuals from the tattooed list are slowly ending up dead?
Thank You #GalleryBooks for the advanced digital copy of the novel through #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I love J. A. Jance's books, with Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds being my favorite of her series. I've really enjoyed the Ali Reynolds series so far, but feel that this is not the strongest one of the series. While the plot was interesting, I felt like this one dragged on, without enough action happening as compared to previous novels.

Still, it wasn't bad, and you'll get your J.A. Jance/Ali Reynolds fix!

“The A List” by J A. Jance is book fourteen in the series featuring Ali Reynolds. Regular readers will appreciate the reconnection with Reynolds’ past, and new readers will easily follow along because all the needed information is included in the context of the narrative. The book opens with a chilling prologue; prisoner 74506, sentenced to life without parole, seeks payback. He has a prison tattoo of his “A list,” those he will kill, and Ali Reynolds’ name is the last on the list.
The narrative jumps back and forth in time as complications from Reynolds’ past come screaming to the present. The account fills in the backgrounds of both Reynolds and the key participants in one of the stories from her time as an investigative reporter in Los Angeles, the heart-wrenching tale of young man in need of a kidney transplant. Readers get an inside look as that story evolves into a complicated tale of DNA scandals, cover-ups, nightmare situations for multiple people, and a murder.
“The A List” is not just a book with another case in the long career of an interesting continuing character. Jance created a new experience for readers by building on Reynolds’ past, one that pulls readers into the action. A compelling chronology of events develops the story piece by piece, and yet the umbrella of impending doom that Jance set up in the prologue hangs over every page.
“The A List” is a riveting mixture of dark truths, current events, and collective fears; it is outstanding on every level. Jance is a superb storyteller and expertly weaves people, places, and time throughout the plot to produce a gripping story. I received a review copy of “The A List” from J. A. Jance, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley. Readers will not put it down until the last page is turned.

The A List by JA Jance is another book in the Ali Reynolds mystery series. In this book she becomes involved with several woman a fertility doctor. As a result they were able to conceive and believe everything was fine. However many years later they find that their doctor lied to them and committed fraud. He was the primary sperm donor and never stated that his own father had a history of kidney disease. They join together to create The Progeny Project.Ali gets involved in promoting their organization. The doctor eventually goes to prison. The rest of the book is about his attempts kill all the women who he felt were responsible for sending him to prison. THe saddest thing is that his elderly and wealthy mother joins him.

I'm a longtime reader of J.A. Jance's books, but I've never really gotten into the Ali Reynolds series like I did the J.P. Beaumont books or, to a lesser extent, the Joanna Brady series. But her mysteries are usually enjoyable, so I picked this up, I didn't love it, unfortunately.
The central story is interesting. In the 1980s, a fertility doctor/sociopath uses his own sperm and his wife's eggs instead of legitimate donor material and is found out and imprisoned. So he creates a kill list and starts organizing the murders of everybody he holds responsible for his downfall. Unfortunately, Jance's stylistic choices annoyed me and took me out of it. There is too much prologue--about a quarter of the book--all told in past tense, total exposition dump. Then every time the storyline relies on the reader knowing what happened in the 1980s, there will be another past tense expo dump. I hated it. Show me, don't tell me. I'm giving this three stars for plot, but the execution was terrible.

This is another good book by this author. I have read at least 10 of her books and her characters are believable and seem like family.
The plot was fast paced with twists and turns.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

A wonderful addition to the Ali Reynolds series. I love the way Ms. Jance wrote this book as after a brief glance in to Ali’s current life, the story “goes back in time” and gives a back history of Ali from the time she was an on-air investigative reporter. One of the last stories she reported involved Ali helping a mother find a kidney donor for her son. As the story unfolds, it is believed that the doctor who did the insemination used his own sperm. Although the parents involved try to find evidence of wrong doing, this would not happen until years later. Danger will confront those who targeted the guilty doctor, for his illegal actions, as even from prison he has plans to make them pay with their lives. He has the initials of an “Annihilation” list tattooed on his arm and has help, from an unexpected source, on the outside to take care of these unsuspecting people. I have read every book in every series that Ms. Jance has written and she is one of my favorite authors. I can count on her “easy to read” writing style, an involved story that captures and holds my interest and characters that become like family to me. I can’t wait to see how she wraps up the case, while regretting that the book has to end. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)