Intent to Harm (Kali O'Brien Mysteries (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: fast paced
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Jacobs does it again
Review: As a reader of Jonnie Jacobs' Kali books from the beginning, I really looked forward to Intent to Harm, and it lived up to my expectations. The characters were superbly realized--the hit man was so human, so understandable, but no less evil. The variouis viewpoints really engaged me.The plot kept me guessing until
the end. And the relationship between Bryce and Kali was just just right. I love where it ended and can't wait for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Every bit as good as "Cold Justice"!
Review: Gotta hand it to writer Jonnie Jacobs. Her 5th novel in the Kali O'Brien series, "Cold Justice", was such a winner, I went back in time and read the first four. In this 6th outing, Kali's still running her own small legal firm in San Francisco, but much of the action takes place around Lake Tahoe, where Kali has a mysterious new client, and in Las Vegas. (Some minor plot details, below, no big spoilers!)

The plot opens with a bang as Kali never gets to find out what her new client, Betty Arnold, needed her to do, and why she was maintaining such secrecy. Kali and Betty become targets at their meeting place, and Betty is killed. Over time, Kali's vague memories of the shooting and Betty's words lead her to continue to probe what her client was hiding, and why she was a target. O'Brien shows the mettle and instincts we've seen her develop over the series to chase down people from Betty's past, and to follow it home, despite the danger that might await her.

An active second subplot that seems well-written and true to life involves sheriff's deputy Kim Wong, who is assigned to the case, helps to wrap up a plausible suspect, and then follows her own instincts (with help from Kali), to undermine the "false case" and focus on the real killer. Jacobs goes out of her way to present a fair synopsis of how the police feel pressured to lock down a case for trial, even though loose ends are bothersome. If Jacobs' interest in O'Brien is waning, she's certainly set an interesting new character to follow in Deputy Wong, who feels a fish out of water as the highest ranking woman in the department, a transfer from LA and an outsider..."not only was there a glass ceiling, but glass walls, too"....let's hope Kim Wong returns to Jacob's dance card in the future.

By page 130, you are wondering how a contract kill "arranger", Sid Mertz, and a Las Vegas waitress, Irene Thompson, will tie in to the plot. Jacobs admits excerpts from both their storylines, and although you are making a connection, your suspicions don't start to crystallize until around that time. The rest of the book is a fast-paced roller coaster, with more surprising twists at the end.

Bryce, the SFPD offier that Kali became interested in, in "Cold Justice" is back, and the relationship between the two of them stays interesting...Kali "doubted she'd affected his heart so much as assaulted his ego". Jacobs gives us the right mix of professional and personal, and the right stuff with her heroine, Kali O'Brien.

There's intensity in the plot of "Intent to Harm", and you'll want to get to the bottom of it, as soon as possible.

Highly recommended....best if you've read the books in series, though.

Rating:
Summary: Every bit as good as "Cold Justice"!
Review: Gotta hand it to writer Jonnie Jacobs. Her 5th novel in the Kali O'Brien series, "Cold Justice", was such a winner, I went back in time and read the first four. In this 6th outing, Kali's still running her own small legal firm in San Francisco, but much of the action takes place around Lake Tahoe, where Kali has a mysterious new client, and in Las Vegas. (Some minor plot details, below, no big spoilers!)

The plot opens with a bang as Kali never gets to find out what her new client, Betty Arnold, needed her to do, and why she was maintaining such secrecy. Kali and Betty become targets at their meeting place, and Betty is killed. Over time, Kali's vague memories of the shooting and Betty's words lead her to continue to probe what her client was hiding, and why she was a target. O'Brien shows the mettle and instincts we've seen her develop over the series to chase down people from Betty's past, and to follow it home, despite the danger that might await her.

An active second subplot that seems well-written and true to life involves sheriff's deputy Kim Wong, who is assigned to the case, helps to wrap up a plausible suspect, and then follows her own instincts (with help from Kali), to undermine the "false case" and focus on the real killer. Jacobs goes out of her way to present a fair synopsis of how the police feel pressured to lock down a case for trial, even though loose ends are bothersome. If Jacobs' interest in O'Brien is waning, she's certainly set an interesting new character to follow in Deputy Wong, who feels a fish out of water as the highest ranking woman in the department, a transfer from LA and an outsider..."not only was there a glass ceiling, but glass walls, too"....let's hope Kim Wong returns to Jacob's dance card in the future.

By page 130, you are wondering how a contract kill "arranger", Sid Mertz, and a Las Vegas waitress, Irene Thompson, will tie in to the plot. Jacobs admits excerpts from both their storylines, and although you are making a connection, your suspicions don't start to crystallize until around that time. The rest of the book is a fast-paced roller coaster, with more surprising twists at the end.

Bryce, the SFPD offier that Kali became interested in, in "Cold Justice" is back, and the relationship between the two of them stays interesting...Kali "doubted she'd affected his heart so much as assaulted his ego". Jacobs gives us the right mix of professional and personal, and the right stuff with her heroine, Kali O'Brien.

There's intensity in the plot of "Intent to Harm", and you'll want to get to the bottom of it, as soon as possible.

Highly recommended....best if you've read the books in series, though.

Rating:
Summary: excellent quick and suspenseful read
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Jacobs does it again
Review: In the next installation of the Kali O'Brien series, Intent to Harm by Jonnie Jacobs, Kali O'Brien is sent a retainer for five thousand dollars and only given the name "Betty." "Betty", a new client, insists that their first meeting be in an isolated park in Lake Tahoe-- insisting that Kali come alone. A bit leery, Kali agrees but is unable to find out what Betty wants. Shots ring out hitting both women- Kali survives but Betty dies only having said, "have faith." Kali soon learns that finding out who shot her, killed Betty, and why Betty called her in the first place is going to be much more complicated than sharing with local police what she remembered.

This mystery moves at a deliberate and methodical pace exposing clues in this case as well as an eight-year-old case involving the disappearance and assumed death of Betty's niece Faith. Kali must use a great deal of intuition and lawyer reasoning to put the clues together. With the main focus being from the perspective of a lawyer the story does not lend itself to a lot of action and excitement. It definitely is a search and discovery process. Kali runs back and forth from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe and even takes a trip to Las Vegas. This approach stays true to what this reader would imagine would be the situations and limitations of lawyers.

Ms. Jacobs is very clever in the way the clues are revealed and does a wonderful job of weaving together the sub-plots-local police investigation, Bay area investigations, and the killer's search to complete their job-into the body of the main story. However the revelation of the killer and motives were anticlimactic and predictable for this reader. It was also clear that in order to really get into Kali's character, reading the other books in the Kali O'Brien series would be helpful. This is my first book by Ms. Jacobs, but I can honestly say not my last.

Kotanya
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: fast paced entertainment
Review: San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien goes the extra mile for a woman she only knows as Betty when she agrees to meet her in a deserted park near Lake Tahoe. Betty was very insistent on client confidentiality and privilege, making sure that Kali was paid with an anonymous money order so that privilege would cover their first meeting. When Kali and Betty finally meet, they only have time to exchange pleasantries before shots ring out.

When Kali wakes up in the hospital, she learns that Betty is dead. The police identify the victim as Betty Arnold, the niece of Faith Foster, a high school teacher who disappeared eight years ago and is presumed dead. Unable to let matters rest, Kali does some sleuthing and discovers that Betty had found proof Faith is alive but is living under an assumed name. She knows that people are trying to find her and once again goes on the run, hoping to shake the determined killer on her trail. Kali is determined to learn why Faith is on the run and bring her out of the cold.

Jonnie Jacobs raises the bar on crime thrillers with her latest work INTENT TO HARM. The heroine is what every lawyer should be, a person who takes care of her client even when that individual is no longer alive. This is an action-packed thrill-a-minute novel that doesn't shortchange the audience on character development. Told from the perspective of the killer, the protagonist and the victim, readers know at all times what is going on in the minds of the main characters leading to a fine time for the audience.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Was I even reading the same book?......I totally disagree.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: another winner
Review: This is the best yet in a great series. I've always like Kali, and Jacobs does a great job with secondary characters too. There are several storylines, each with its own driving mystery, and it's only as we get further into the story that we see how they are connected. There's mystery, intrique, suspense and humor. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: another winner
Review: This is the best yet in a great series. I've always like Kali, and Jacobs does a great job with secondary characters too. There are several storylines, each with its own driving mystery, and it's only as we get further into the story that we see how they are connected. There's mystery, intrique, suspense and humor. Highly recommended.