Shadow Of Doubt (Kali O'Brien Mysteries)

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9781575667973
• Fit out: NEW
• Notes: Trade mark New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Description

San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien returns to her Sierra hometown because of her father's death and finds herself coping with a pregnant and grief-stricken dog, the murder of an old high-school friend, and a sexy local journalist.

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Customer Reviews

Shadow of Doubt
I discovered Jonnie Jacobs about 2 years ago and I wait with great anticipation for all new products from this author. I am an avid reader and she kept me spellbound with the first selection I purchased with this author and continues to keep me there.

2009-01-23 (Honolulu, HI) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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No doubt = very good!
This was a first read for me. Heroine was likeable. Mystery was interesting. Solution was not easy.
Kali goes home to clear up her father's estate without help from her siblings. Her 'boyfriend'was a jerk and you welcomed a new interest for her. Loretta was adorable. An old and dear friend inadvertently nets her into involvement with a murder and its solution.
This book was pleasant, a quick read. I might try another.

2002-11-25 | cajasu@aol.com (Massachusetts) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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A great mystery!
What a great mystery! I like this book very much! Until the end, I couldn't find who the murderer was. It's the second book from Jonnie Jacobs I read, both are great. I will read all the others. (Please excuse my english, I'm French!)

2000-06-08 | pje92 (Paris, France) | Helpful Votes: 9 | Rating: 5

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The Only Suspect

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9780786016693
• Prerequisite: NEW
• Notes: Stamp New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Description

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Customer Reviews

You can't go wrong with a book by Jonnie Jacobs
You can't go wrong with a book by Jonnie Jacobs. Previous reviewers have already given a summary, so I won't repeat. Who else could the cops suspect when Sam's second wife comes up missing? He was already found not guilty when a hung jury set him free in the murder of his first wife. Okay, I'm trying not to repeat. This book has deceit, betrayal, stolen identity (just who IS or WAS his second wife?), and maybe even murder??? Lots of twists and turns and the surprise ending will knock your socks off. I could not put this books down for more than 2 minutes. A great read.

2009-04-21 | bookmark (Florida) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Filled with twists and turns
This was my first novel by Jonnie Jacobs but I look forward to reading more by this author. The beginning chapters of this book started off on a solid foot. It had mystery and suspense right off the bat. By the second quarter, I was getting bored because it seemed that the police were never going to explore any other possible suspects and therefore the mystery angle would not develop. I almost put the book down, but decided to keep reading. By the half-way point, the author finally gets into more clues, more twists and turns and the suspense builds. The ending is somewhat unbelievable and hard to follow from time to time, but it is a FICTION novel, so readers should not expect a true to life scenario. Mostly, the author keeps the story line moving along and keeps the reader interested up to the very end with all the plot twists.

Sam Russell wakes up one morning in the middle of nowhere with no memory of how he got there or the past 24 hours. He soon discovers his wife is missing but he can not remember when he last saw her or what might have happened. The scene is all too familiar. His first wife disappeared one day too. Her body was found a few days later and Sam was accused of murdering her. Was history repeating itself and was Sam responsible for yet another woman's death? With no memory, and the police convinced he is guilty, Sam will have to unravel the mystery himself, or face the possibility that he is THE ONLY SUSPECT.


Is it worth buying?

For the price of the paperback, why not? It is not the best book I have read and readers who like a story line that is close to reality, may not enjoy this one. There are parts in it that seem extremely far fetched, but the pace only continues to build up to the end. So, I know my answer is a bit vague, but I'm still a little up in the air about this one. I liked it okay, but it probably isn't one I would keep in my library.

2008-12-27 (Arizona) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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The Only Suspect: Do you really know who you are married to?
Story:
Dr. Sam Russel is trying to move on with his life after his first wife was found brutally beaten and stabbed behind his house 7 years earlier. Of course with him being the only suspect the case turned into a bitter court battle that almost cost him his freedom and young his daughter. Sam is a free man only because one juror could not make up his mind which resulted in a hung jury. 7 years later Same has tried to move on with his life, he has a thriving medical practice, he has a new wife and it looks like smooth sailing ahead. That is until the day that Sam wakes up with his car in a ditch, blood under his finger nails and brusies on his face. Having no recollection of the past 24 hours, Sam assumes that he fell off the wagon, proably afer a fight with his new wife and drove around drunk until he ended up in the ditch. He figures that he will buy some flowers, apologize to his wife for driving off mad and all will be well again. Unfortunatley his wife is nowhere to be found and the local cops think that all signs are pointing to Sam being up to his old tricks again. With the walls closing in Sam will need the help of his AA sponsor (a retired lawyer) and the one cop that wants to give Sam a chance (and maybe a little more)to escape being the only suspect in a slam dunk murder case.
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This is a great murder mystery book. The characters are interesting and I did want to keep reading to find out more about them as the book continued. The author does a great job showing how Sam's panic makes him make bad decesions that drag him deeper and deeper into the killers game and makes him look more and more guilty to the police. The central mystery is a bit confusing and convulted (especially toward the end of the book, there where some scences that made me go *really?*)but in a reverse of most of these types of books the getting to the ending made up for it. I would recommend this books to anyone who likes fast paced murder mystery books and those that like complicated endings that (in my case) can make your head hurt.

2008-07-21 | so many books so little time (Delaware, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Not Bad
This book isn't bad. It's not great but it's not bad. I enjoyed how the author developed the characters. I feel like Ms. Jacobs didn't fully explain the back story but that's ok you get enough of it to figure out what's going on. I felt the ending was a little too out of the blue. It was weird. I think a lot of people will think they couldn't figure it out because it comes out of the blue. I enjoyed the female lead detective and her back story. You feel really connected to her and want her to come through in the end. I just felt it was wrapped up too fast without much explanation. I enjoyed it but not as much as I could have.

2007-06-03 (WV United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Don't believe the reviews
This book is a sophmoric version of a who dunnit. I always read a book in one sitting, it took me 3 days to get through this one even though I skipped the boring pages.

The author spends many chapters setting up a character's character, yet still points out his actions (as if we wouldn't recognize the conservative person doing something conservative)everytime he does something within character that is important to the plot.

I read more sophisticated books in the 4th grade.

2006-11-11 | kidsdogsbooks (Tampa, FL) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 1

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Intent To Harm (Kali O'Brien Mysteries)

Description

The woman gives her name as Betty. No last name. No phone number. Just a meeting place -- a deserted, wooded park on the outskirts of Lake Tahoe. Kali O'Brien understands client confidentiality, but something about Betty's urgent request has her a little spooked. Why did the woman go to such lengths to ensure secrecy? What is so important that it's worth protecting at all costs?

Available only in Wheeler Hardcover 6.

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Customer Reviews

Not my favorite, but Good
INTENT TO HARM (Suspense-Kali O'Brien-California/Nevada-Cont) - G
Jacobs, Jonnie - 6th in series
Kensington Books, 2003, US Hardcover - ISBN: 1575668297

First Sentence: The blue Toyota turned off Highway 89 along the western shore of Lake Tahoe and into Ponderosa Pines Park.

Attorney Kali O'Brien is asked to meet a new client, Betty, in a park by Lake Tahoe. Although the request is unusual, Kali agrees and ends up with a dead client and a gunshot wound in her shoulder. Investigating Betty's death leads Kali to another case of a woman thought to be murdered eight years previous, but still alive and still with someone trying to rectify that.

This was not my favorite Kali O'Brien story. Jacobs does do a credible job of creating and building suspense, maintaining several story threads and tying them all neatly up at the end. Her characters are well done, well developed and interesting.

However, the story felt long and overly involved, but it was the overwhelming coincidence that caused my rating to drop.

2008-03-12 (Oakland, CA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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No Intent to Look for Other Books by Jacobs
Whilst this book started off at a pretty fast pace and was pretty interesting in the first couple of chapters the quality died off fast once Betty was killed and O'Brien injured. The rest of the book has the rather boring character O'Brien obsessed with trying to figure out what her dead client wanted. Meanwhile the injured hit man who sent the premature killing hit man that bungled the job wants to know just how much O'Brien knows. Sounds interesting from the description you say, you'd think that wouldn't you and I was one of you but in reality you'll struggle to stick with the boring storyline to the end of the book.

2006-02-19 (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 1

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excellent quick and suspenseful read
I've just discovered this author and will certainly go search out other books in the series. The characters were well developed (which is not always the case in this genre) and the story fast paced but believable. There are several viewpoint stories that all converge once we are into the the story and I thought it worked very well. I found all three of the women characters appealing in their own right. Highly recommended.

2005-01-01 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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fast paced
This is the sixth book in a series of Kali O'Brien book's.
The heroine Kali, an attorney, has a new mysterious client who get's killed before she find's out why Kali was contacted in the first place. Kali learns that the killing is connected to a disappearance that took place year's earlier. Fast paced but with a disappointing ending.

2004-12-30 (dallas tx.) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Was I even reading the same book?......I totally disagree.
This has to be the lamest book I've read in a very long time. I thought the premise sounded great, but it was put into an empty story. I wanted to care about the characters, but they had little depth. I almost stopped reading it all together when at least some action started up, but that only led to a very dissapointing ending. There was no real workup to a climax. It got to a certian point of the story when it just threw all the characters in the same room and ended it. Maybe Jonnie Jacobs was getting bored with it too and wanted to get it over with. Do yourself a favor....skip this one.

2004-11-14 (Lakeville, MA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 1

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Murder Among Neighbors: A Kate Austen Mystery

Description

Having as much as she can handle with raising her daughter and maintaining a home, single mom Kate Austen believes that no one in her affluent town has it as hard as she does, until her next-door neighbor is found murdered. Reprint.

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Customer Reviews

First Kate Austen Book
Murder Among Neighbors is the first book in the Kate Austen series written by Jonnie Jacobs. Kate is a single mother living in Walnut Hills, California. Unfortunately, this series seems to have ended with book 4. Ms. Jacobs also writes another series featuring Kali O'Brien, an attorney in Gold County, California. The latest Kali O'Brien book was published this year. I enjoyed this book and did not guess the killer until almost the end. I liked entering Kate's suburban world with it's preschool carpool, playdates, kids, dogs, nannies, and murder.

2010-02-22 (Austin, TX) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Murder in Walnut Hills...
"Murder Among Neighbors" is the first book in the Kate Austen Mystery Series by Jonnie Jacobs. It is a book that captures a realistic look at life in the very comfortable Walnut Hills, CA area.

Kate Austen has an adorable 4-year old and is 2 months pregnant. She would be quite happy if it were not for the small fact that her handsome husband has gone off to the Swiss Alps to "find himself" in Europe.

Fortunately, Kate finds herself too busy coping with the daily demands of being a mother to fall apart. Her beautiful next-door neighbors is brutally murdered and Kate haphazardly finds herself drawn into discovering clues as a result of her interactions with various neighbors in the community. A nice looking detective starts questioning Kate and finds her answers quite interesting...

The characterizations of the community were very good and this book was quite interesting. My only doubt was that it mentioned several times that there were many months when Kate and Andy found it difficult to pay the monthly mortgage. Yet, Kate has no job although her daughter attends a posh preschool, and a maid comes to the home once a week. Although she does start ultimately working part-time, it would seem that money would have been a larger concern for her as her husband had been gone for almost 2 months by that time.

Nevertheless, the book is quite good and plan to read the next book in the series, "Murder Among Friends" tomorrow.

2004-04-11 | WIAPilot (Tucson) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

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Entertaining New Series
Kate Austen does as much as she possibly can, without going out of her mind. Abandoned by her husband, Kate is suddenly left by herself, with her 5-year-old daughter. With carpooling, volunteering, baking, and mowing her lawn, she doesn't need any added stress. But when her rich, socialite, next-door neighbor is found murdered, Kate feels that it's up to her to save the case, even if that means getting into a bit of trouble herself.

This is an entertaining first novel from the Kate Austen Mystery series. Fans of this book would also love the Susan Henshaw Mystery series, written by Valerie Wolzien, due to the fact that they both deal with suburban housewives.

2002-11-05 (Southern California, USA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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A Great Debut Mystery!
This mystery was filled with wonderful, well hidden clues. The characters are all likable and have wonderful developement potential. I finished the book yesterday and I am already half way through the next Kate Austen Mystery. If you enjoy a good "cozy" mystery, you will love this one. Kate Austen is spirited, intelligent, and humorous. This is a great read!

2000-07-13 (Plano, TX USA) | Helpful Votes: 9 | Rating: 5

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Entertaining and just good fun
I have a thing about reading books from a series in the order in which they were written . . . hence, this was my first Jonnie Jacobs -- and I really enjoyed it. I found it light-hearted and pleasant, yet it included enough substance to hold my interest. I am looking forward to the next in the series. I definitely recommend it, particularly to those who like mysteries with a female protagonist.

1998-07-27 | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

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The Next Victim

Product Details

• <a title='Condition Guide' href='/content/Condition_and_S hipping_Guide.htm' target='_blank'>Click here to aspect our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices</a>
• Adapt: NEW
• ISBN13: 9780786016686
• Notes: Trade mark New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Description

Enthusiastic fans of Jonnie Jacobs's thrillers know what they're getting in bestseller after bestseller: riveting suspense, knockout writing, and a smart, world-weary heroine who can kick butt and take names when she needs to. Now Jacobs delivers another gripping tale of sex, lies, secrets, and murder whose razor-sharp twists and turns don't let up until the very last page is turned. A body count that's rising. A lone witness on the run. A killer who'll do anything to buy silence. It's the most dangerous case of attorney Kali O'Brien's career--and it's hitting way too close to home.

The last time Kali spoke to her brother, John, he was desperate to tell her something but too drunk to get it out. Now he's dead, an apparent suicide by overdose. That would be shocking enough, but the cops have more bad news: John was also the lead suspect in the recent double homicide of two women in Tucson. The victims include the wealthy heiress of the corporation John worked for and Olivia Perez, a pretty college coed whose family is determined to make someone pay for the crime, and Kali's at the top of their list--if she can't clear his name first. It's a tricky case that's about to get even trickier.

Kali didn't know her brother very well, and in death, the only clue he's left behind is as damning as it is mysterious. Hidden in the pages of his dictionary is a photo of three attractive young women. One is Olivia Perez. One is a street-tough runaway named Crystal. The third woman--a strip club dancer and porn actress--has just been found in a ditch, the victim of a brutal slaying. As shocking as the woman's death is her connection to Kali's brother. How did they know each other? What was John trying to tell Kali the night he died? And would someone kill to keep him from saying it? Suddenly her brother's suicide is starting to look a lot like murder.

Kali's only hope for solving the case lies in finding the last girl in the picture--a witness who knows far more than she should, maybe too much to live--and Kali has to get to her before the killer does. It's a search that will plunge her into the secrets and lies of her own family and deep into the sex industry's hidden underworld of going-nowhere-fast girls looking for easy money, where fantasies can be had for a price, blackmail is deadly, and silence can be bought with blood. And if Kali isn't careful, she could lead a cunning killer straight to the last target while putting herself in line to be the next victim...

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Customer Reviews

Plot is Appreciable in its Complexity
"The Next Victim" is the eighth book in Jonnie Jacobs' series of suspense thrillers starring San Francisco-based attorney for the defense Kali O'Brien. In it, Kali travels to Tucson, Arizona, to investigate the death of her estranged brother John O'Brien, prime suspect in the recent murders of beautiful, wealthy Sloane Winslow, and her housekeeper, pretty young student Olivia Perez. Last time Kali spoke to John, he seemed to be desperate to tell her something, but too drunk to get it out: now he's dead, apparently by a suicidal drugs/alcohol overdose.

Kali wasn't close to her brother: still, she can't believe him capable of murder. But she does come to learn he had many secrets, including investments in porn movie making. She's aided in her investigations by her sister Sabrina; they bounce off Tucson cops Erling Shafer and Michelle Parker. Jacobs writes a highly-competent chick lit thriller here; it does actually get some pretty good suspense going. She writes well; the plot is appreciable in its complexity, the principal characters are well-formed. The discussions of Tucson landscape, weather, flora and fauna are well-done, and interesting. Mind you, the book has got too much relationship/family content to my taste, but I guess that comes with the chick lit territory. Still, Jacobs is an experienced writer, and it shows to her advantage here.

2008-09-21 (Carolina Beach, NC USA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Murder and secrets
San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien is camping with her boyfriend Bryce. She gets a phone message from her brother John in Arizona who she has had limited contact with for years. She decides to call him later.

After returning from her trip, she tries to contact him, but the call is short and she doesn't learn anything about why he called. Soon after she is notified he committed suicide. He is also alleged to have killed a woman he knew and the student living with her.

Kali and her sister Sabrina meet up at John's. They can't believe he would kill anyone nor take his life. They set off to clear his name. Then another girl turns up dead that appears to be tied to John. And there's a missing girl also tied to him. Could he really have killed all these people?

In this installment in the series, we get a bigger glimpse into Kali's personal life. I really enjoyed this book. I felt that the interaction of the two sisters was great. The mystery was very believable, and there are so many twists and turns that I couldn't figure out who the killer was until it right before it was revealed. And then I was surprised!

I like that the main character is a lawyer, but I really enjoyed that this book wasn't set around a court case. It was very enjoyable. I had trouble putting the book down. I wanted to know who the killer was.

I highly recommend this book.

2008-08-18 | mysteryloverscorner.com reviewer (Lynchburg, VA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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A+Mystery Lover !
love Jonnie Jacobs books. This is another very good read.If you love a good mystery, you will love this book.Only wish she wrote faster !!!!lol

2007-08-23 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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A very good read
First Sentence: The call came a little after two in the morning and pulled Erling from a particularly pleasant dream.

San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brian is away on the camping trip but, when checking messages, finds a call from her brother in Arizona, with whom she has not had contact for some time. Returning to the city, she learns her bother allegedly committed suicide after murdering a woman and her au-pair. Kali travels to Arizona to settle John's estate and clear his name.

I've always liked Jacob's Kali O'Brien so it was nice to read a new entry. I enjoyed the balance of the investigation and look at the relationship between Kali and her siblings, as she learns things about them she hadn't known. There is an interesting conflict of the lead cop who knows he should recuse himself from the investigation because of an affair he'd had with the victim. It's nice to see Kali taken out of her S.F. environment. Jacobs gives us a good sense of being in Tucson. The dialogue is a bit stilted, but the story definitely kept me turning the pages.

2007-06-12 (Oakland, CA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Extra depth and richness in new Kali book
I have always enjoyed Jonnie Jacobs' Kali Obrien books--lots of suspense and really good writing. Her latest book shows us much more about Kali's family when her brother becomes a suspect in a string of murders involving young women in Tucson. Kali and her sister have to put aside their differences to find the truth as the mystery deepens. As well, Kali has to face the problems caused by the distance she's put between herself and her family. The book is told very crisply from different points of view, including the homicide detective investigating the crimes, who's hampered because his secret ex-lover is among the murder victims, causing him constant fear that someone will turn up this fling and endanger his shaky marriage. The mystery was intricately woven and unraveled, but the insight into Kali and her family was just as engrossing. Thanks for keeping me up late again, Jonnie!

2007-03-05 (Fremont, CA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Murder Among Us: A Kate Austen Mystery

Description

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Customer Reviews

Excellent Interweaving of Plot....
"Murder Among Us" is Jonnie Jacobs' third book in the Kate Austen mystery series. In many ways, I found it to be "darker" than her previous two, but far more intriguing. The plot is suspenseful and takes the reader down many roads as well as through a few blind alleys!

In this riveting mystery, Kate is coping with a visit from her soon to be "ex-mother-in-law." While Andy is no longer living in the same household, he and Kate are still on friendly terms, largely for the sake of their daughter, Anna. Kate has no desire to stay married to her charasmatic, but flighty husband. Her affections are still for the dependable Dectective Michael Stone,who has been living with her - at least prior to her mother-in-law's visit!

Libby continues to live with Kate and continues to be beligerent and sullen in typical fashion of her teenage status. Anna continues to be 5 going on 21.

In addition to Kate's consulting job, she is also teaching art at the local high school. Unfortunately, her work is less satisfying when a student becomes the latest victim of a serial killer. Kate feels compelled to bring relevant information to the police - not only for justice of a dear student, but because she fears that Libby is also being targeted.

"Murder Among Us" shows the extent that Jacobs is excelling at her craft. I especially was appreciative that she more fully explained how Kate was making ends meet as well as her character's realism in dealing with her children. There were times that I found it really difficult to admire the "parenting skills" of the title character because I am more of a disciplinarian - but I have to say that Kate's character and laid-back attitude is FAR more realistic of our society! In the real world, teenagers and children talk back to their parents!

This is a very good mystery series, which keeps improving. I look forward to reading the next sequel, "Murder Among Strangers."

2004-04-14 | WIAPilot (Tucson) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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A good mix of humor, suspense, and great characters
This was a well plotted, suspenseful mystery. Again, the characters are well written and very likable. The relationships between Kate and her girls continues to grow, and the humor is still great. I was sure at the beginning of the story that I knew who was the murderer. Then came many twists and turns that had me guessing until the very end. Kate Austen is a wonderful heroine. It is enjoyable to watch her character grow with each book. Murder Amoung Us was intricate and a wonderful read! This is one of my favorite series.

2000-07-31 (Plano, TX USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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an entertainig novel with substance
Kate Austen is an amateur sleuth, school teacher and mother, so I was expecting a light, maybe even frothy read. To my great delight, it wasn't. It offered more substance instead. The story moves along quickly and there are flashes of humor, but it's subtle humor. The characters seemed very real to me, and the storyline very believable. Kate's relationship with her daughters, her signifiant other and her mother-in-law were all developed and felt right. I intend to search out the author's other books.

1999-04-21 | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

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Good character development
I really enjoyed this book. It was the first I read by Jonnie Jacobs although the last one written (so far!) by her. I went back a read her earlier 2 books in this series and enjoyed them as well. Reminds me of the Christine Bennett series by Lee Harris (amatuer slueth with policemen mates).

1999-03-17 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Worth reading
I didn't think this was a great book, but I did think it was a good one. The characters are believable for the most part, and Kate is a down-to-earth person whom it was nice to spend some time with. I liked it well enough to order a book from her other series.

1999-02-22 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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