Cruel Intent [Hardcover]

J.A. Jance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2008

Ali Reynolds doesn't go looking for trouble - but trouble comes looking for her when the battered, bloodstained body of Morgan Forester is discovered by her twin daughters. For the prime suspect, Morgan's husband, is the contractor Ali has hired to help re-design her home. Bryan Forester swears he had nothing to do with the killing - but no one, including Ali's boyfriend, Detective Dave Holman, believes him. Was Morgan's death the result of a domestic dispute that turned violent - or is her murder part of something far more sinister? In her determination to prove Bryan's innocence, Ali finds herself drawn into a terrifying web of deceit that could cost her her life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As if remodeling an old mansion near picturesque Sedona, Ariz., isn't stress enough for Ali Reynolds, the plucky former TV newscaster must also deal with cybernetic lonely hearts, frustrated lust and murder in bestseller Jance's uneven fourth Ali Reynolds thriller (after Hand of Evil). After serial killer Peter Winter claims his fifth victim, who happens to be the unfaithful wife of Ali's contractor, Bryan Forester, homicide detective Dave Holman suspects Bryan did it. At considerable personal risk, Ali has to clear Bryan in order to get her house ready for Thanksgiving dinner with her gossipy, meddling mother, Edie; her son, Chris; Chris's amputee fiancée; sometime boyfriend Holman; and the rest of her cozily predictable entourage. A too conveniently noted license plate number and some unlikely Taser-wielding by Edie undermine credibility. Still, Jance's trademark breathless pace compensates for stale situations and shallow characterizations. Author tour. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. American Mystery Award winner Jance's (www.jajance.com) fourth entry in his Ali Reynolds series finds the ex-television journalist defending her contractor when he's accused of having murdered his wife. Ali is mercifully no longer blogging at cutlooseblog.com, a narrative element that weighed down previous books in this series. The text is well written, engaging, and humorous, and the audio production, too, is of stellar quality, with actress Karen Ziemba giving each character a distinct personality. Other factors making this the best series offering to date are the addition of new characters and a tighter plot. Recommended.—Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416563792
• ISBN-13: 978-1416563792
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #471,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.A. Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Web Stalker, December 18, 2008

By 

George Webster, Ph.D., (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Cruel Intent (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

We often hear of the dangers from predators lurking on the internet. Now, prolific mystery writer, J.A.Jance, has written a nicely chilling and satisfying tale of a psychopath stalking women on the web. He uses a web site, singleatheart.com, that attracts married women looking for sex with someone besides their husband. Ex-TV journalist Ali Reynolds (You may have met her in Jance's Hand of Evil, Web of Evil, and Edge of Evil.) becomes interested when the wife of the building contractor restoring her house is brutally murdered. Naturally, the husband is suspected, but Ali does not believe it. She starts snooping, finds the web site, and innocently draws the attention of the psychopath. After that, the story plunges into breathtaking suspense, as the murderer decides that Ali is a threat, and he must find her and kill her. It comes to a great climax in a thoroughly enjoyable story.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing work from a very good author, January 7, 2009

By 

Stephen Kalman "techauthor" (Hawley, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cruel Intent (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

JA Jance is one of the authors whose books I buy in hardcover as soon as they come out. I follow and look forward to both her Joanna Brady and JP Beaumont series. When heard that she started another series, this with Ali Reynolds, I couldn't wait to try it out.

This is the last in that series I'll read. I expect detectives, police, rescue workers and so on to approach trouble. I can even deal with an intellectual non-professional like Miss Marple or the title characters in the current TV series Numbers and Mentalist working along with the door-bangers and gun-carriers to solve the mystery. However, I just can't buy into a retired newscaster stumbling upon mayhem and murder, then being better focused and smarter than the law enforcement professionals.

In addition to all that, the underlying plot line is quite plausible, but Jance focused more on the involvement of the characters with each other than on the mystery. Other authors, such as John Harvey in Lonely Hearts (ISBN-10: 1932859446) did a much better job with the same concept.

This book took me through a long plane ride. If I had had the ability to put it down and switch to a different book, I would have.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced and entertaining!, December 28, 2008

By 

Michelle L. Beck "Always the Devourer of Good... (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cruel Intent (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Ali Reynolds (divorcee and single mother) is having her Sedona home renovated and finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Bryan Forester, her contractor, is the prime suspect in his wife's (Morgan) death, and only Ali believes in his innocence (after all she was blamed for her ex-husband's death). While uncovering clues to Morgan's death (which involve a single's dating site) and cheating spouses, Ali also deals with a well meaning mother (Edie), an ex-lover/Detective (Dave Holman) who is convinced of Bryan's guilt, her son's pending marriage, the construction of her house, a serial killer, and the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays (of which she has promised to host and prepare dinner for her entire family).

Two things that I loved about the story were the well meaning butler (Leland Brooks) and the one-eyed cat. While I am not sure that this was a stand alone novel (there were several references to past novels or storylines) I really enjoyed "Cruel Intent". This was my first Jance novel, and I found it to be easy to understand and entertaining. And although you know from the beginning who the killer is, you enjoy reading about his eventual unmasking and capture.