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

by Jonnie Jacobs (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Jacobs's sixth Kali O'Brien thriller (after Cold Justice) starts with a bang-San Francisco attorney O'Brien is shot and nearly killed in a remote park near Lake Tahoe-but rapidly loses momentum as a mountain of red herrings pile up. O'Brien meets a mysterious new client at the park, but before she can learn anything about her case, the two women are attacked and the client is killed. When O'Brien is released from the hospital with a painful shoulder wound, she sets out to investigate, despite a daunting lack of clues. Her client, Betty Arnold, was a middle-aged woman who lived a quiet life. The only interesting bit of information O'Brien can glean about her is that her niece, a young schoolteacher named Faith Foster, was kidnapped eight years before and is still missing. A newspaper clipping discovered in Arnold's knitting bag leads O'Brien to Faith, but O'Brien is being tailed by a ruthless hit man who will do anything to wipe out Faith and finish the job he botched eight years ago. The identity of the hit man is made clear from the beginning-chapters narrated from his perspective provide some comic relief-but O'Brien is unable to pinpoint his employer until the very end. In an attempt to produce a sense of urgency, Jacobs introduces some wild cards-a high-profile doctor, a young Hispanic scapegoat, a Chinese police detective-but as each subplot fizzles, the pace slows to a crawl. The hasty, underdeveloped conclusion will leave readers scratching their heads and may make them wary of following along on O'Brien's next adventure.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien, recently off a temporary stint with the D.A.'s office (Cold Justice, 2002), is summoned to Lake Tahoe by a potential client, who sets up a mysterious meeting in a public park. Kali is speaking with "Betty" for only a moment when shots ring out, wounding Kali and killing her would-be client. Having learned nothing about why Betty wanted to hire her, Kali makes it her business to find out what led to Betty's murder. At first the pieces do not seem to fit together, but then Kali realizes that two other murders occurred the same day Betty's niece disappeared. Kali finds the niece, who insists a certain crooked doctor is to blame. Kali proceeds on this assumption, but the reader knows that the real killer is following her every step, though the mastermind behind it all isn't revealed until the satisfyingly surprising conclusion. Kali is a thoroughly likable heroine whose yearly appearances are most welcome. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786016183
• ISBN-13: 978-0786016181
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,526 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jacobs does it again, December 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Intent To Harm (Kali O'Brien Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Intent to Look for Other Books by Jacobs, February 19, 2006

By	James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Was I even reading the same book?......I totally disagree., November 13, 2004

By	E Bob (Lakeville, MA) - See all my reviews

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.