Witness to Evil (Jeri Howard Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Janet Dawson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997 | Series: Jeri Howard Mysteries

The atmospheric setting of San Francisco's Bay area. A no-nonsense female investigator. And an unflinching look at contemporary social issues. These are the enduring strengths of Janet Dawson's tough, entertaining detective series. Now, in Witness to Evil, she elevates P.I. Jeri Howard's adventures to new heights of suspense and surprise.

Private investigator Jeri Howard can scarcely believe that someone is actually paying her to go to Paris, even if it is only to fetch a wild teenager home. But the wanderer, eighteen-year-old Darcy, turns out to have a serious reason for her unauthorized jaunt: to visit Holocaust memorials and to meet the French family who sheltered her grandmother as a girl from the Nazis.

But back home in California, Darcy stumbles on evidence that Nazism is alive and well in the terrifying present. And Jeri has the deadly work of trying to extricate Darcy from the frightening consequences of her discovery.

Like all Janet Dawson's novels, Witness to Evil is a star in the white-knuckle sweepstakes--and a hair-raising portrait of the society we live in.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The atmospheric setting of San Francisco's Bay area. A no-nonsense female investigator. And an unflinching look at contemporary social issues. These are the enduring strengths of Janet Dawson's tough, entertaining detective series. Now, in Witness to Evil, she elevates P.I. Jeri Howard's adventures to new heights of suspense and surprise.

Private investigator Jeri Howard can scarcely believe that someone is actually paying her to go to Paris, even if it is only to fetch a wild teenager home. But the wanderer, eighteen-year-old Darcy, turns out to have a serious reason for her unauthorized jaunt: to visit Holocaust memorials and to meet the French family who sheltered her grandmother as a girl from the Nazis.

But back home in California, Darcy stumbles on evidence that Nazism is alive and well in the terrifying present. And Jeri has the deadly work of trying to extricate Darcy from the frightening consequences of her discovery.

Like all Janet Dawson's novels, Witness to Evil is a star in the white-knuckle sweepstakes--and a hair-raising portrait of the society we live in.

From the Back Cover

"Jeri combines V.I. [Warshawski]'s social conscience with Kinsey [Millhone]'s bad-ass attitude and snappy narrative voice."
--The Washington Post Book World
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449000427
• ISBN-13: 978-0449000427
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,907,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In elementary school, Janet Dawson wrote mysteries in longhand on lined binder paper, influenced by those blue-backed Nancy Drew books she devoured. Now Janet writes about private investigator Jeri Howard. Her first book, Kindred Crimes, won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America contest for Best Private Eye Novel, and was nominated for Shamus, Anthony and Macavity awards. Other books include Till The Old Men Die, Take A Number, Don't Turn Your Back On The Ocean, Nobody's Child, A Credible Threat, Where The Bodies Are Buried, A Killing At The Track, and the latest entry in the series, Bit Player.

Janet was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Colorado. With a journalism degree from the University of Colorado, she worked as a newspaper reporter, then joined the Navy. An enlisted journalist, she wrote news and features in public affairs offices in Guam and Pensacola, FL. As an officer, her duties took her to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives in Alameda. Janet has a master's degree in history from California State University East Bay and can't think of anything she wants to study enough to go back to grad school. She currently works at the University of California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good solid thrills, March 26, 2001

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witness to Evil (Jeri Howard Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This author is developing into a rival for the Paretskys and Cornwells of the genre. Jeri is an engaging, courageous and honest protagonist and, along with secondary characters, is well-drawn by the author. The plotting here is compelling and frighteningly topical. Jeri and her exploits rank highly on my must-read list.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not her best, August 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Witness to Evil (Jeri Howard Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Private detective Jeri Howard is excited over her latest assignment.
She is to travel to Paris to bring home a runaway, teenager Darcy Stefano,
the daughter of wealthy parents. When Jeri arrives in France, she learns
that Darcy is paying homage to her beloved grandmother, who, as a French
Jew, was hidden away from the Nazis during the WW II occupation. Jeri
accompanies Darcy as she visits various holocaust memorials and other
Jewish sites. Upon completing her quest, Darcy and Jeri return to
California.

A few months later, The Stefanos hire Jeri to once again track down
their errant daughter, who has vanished from her school. Jeri begins her
investigation with the school. She quickly uncovers a Neo-Nazi movement
that apparently Darcy previously discovered. Jeri knows that it will take
all of her skill to keep Darcy alive from the Nazis who are not ready to
divulge their existence.

WITNESS TO EVIL is a strange novel in that both parts are well
written and fun to read, but the two halves fail to blend together into a
credible novel. This is one time where the sum of the parts is greater
than the whole. Jeri remains a very good female sleuth and the story line
is well designed and written, but Paris and California never connect.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Good plane book...buy it if you see at airport!, October 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Witness to Evil (Jeri Howard Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I was so excited to see another Jeri Howard adventure by Janet Dawson as I've read all her previous ones and thoroughly enjoyed them as bits of fluff that held your interest for a plane ride or a w/end at the beach...thought that this would go in more deeply about the "hidden children" but she whet one's appetite for more but barely skimmed the surface....didn't pay for that trip to Paris...and as previous reviewer stated, the two stories never really got together to make one really good story...I still liked the one set in Monterey the best..."Never turn your back on the ocean"....It still was like spending time with an old friend...keep on writing, Janet Dawson...this one showed a definite change in your writing...more depth...thanx for a good read...anyone who read her previous books, will enjoy this one as well...