The entertainment appeal of soap operas can’t be taken lightly. How else to explain the millions of viewers that daytime dramas attract. But a mystery becomes diluted when the plot starts to read more like a soap opera, complete with myriad life-threatening situations.

J.A. Jance takes such a route in “Hand of Evil” (Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster, $25.95), her third novel about former television journalist Ali Reynolds. Three semi-related storylines strain the credibility of the overly packed “Hand of Evil.”

But even when “Hand of Evil” becomes a succession of melodramatic adventures for Ali, Jance keeps the entertainment value at a steady level. “Hand of Evil” lacks a compelling story, but Jance’s skills make readers want to know how it will turn out.

Ali, a former L.A. TV news anchor, has retreated to her hometown of Sedona, Ariz., writing a popular blog through which she explores grief about losses in her life.

One avid blog reader is Arabella Ashcroft, a wealthy recluse whose family scholarship allowed Ali to go to college. Arabella wants help to write a memoir about incest that will expose her late stepbrother’s abuses and deflect recent pleas for money from her step-nephew.

Ali hasn’t had a chance to read Arabella’s childhood diaries before she is pulled into picking up her friend Dave’s daughter, Crystal, who has run ran away from the Las Vegas home of her mother and new stepfather. In her brief time on the streets, Crystal had some experiences she’s not equipped to cope with at age 13.

Ali’s constant state of jeopardy, including having a serial killer on her trail, mars the believability of “Hand of Evil.”

While the action is brisk, the reader doesn’t have time to invest emotionally in the story. We know what is happening, but not why.

Even when the story lags, Jance doesn’t sacrifice her skill at creating formidable characters, which she has demonstrated in her New York Times best-selling novels about Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady and Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont.

No matter the situation, Ali is a believable, interesting character who has emerged from age discrimination and an unfaithful husband with dignity. The character deserves a more believable situation, which Jance has delivered in the past.