THE PORN STAR, THE MURDERER, AND THE DISAPPEARING WIFE… doozies at that. The whole family—criminals, abusers, and kindly aunts alike– comes alive in Janet Dawson’s first novel, prompting the New York Times to hail it as “a welcome addition to this tough genre.”
There’s clearly a lot more here than the simple matter of a wife disappearing with the grocery money. Smelling a rat or two right from the beginning of this complex and intriguing mystery, the red-haired private detective follows many a twisty trail as Dawson weaves an equally twisty tale, which, to the reader’s delight, just keeps winding back on itself, revealing brand new secrets as fast as ancient skeletons can fall out of closets.
Dawson’s Oakland is damp and properly sinister and Jeri’s as savvy as Sam Spade, with something of Spade’s seen-it-all outlook. What she doesn’t know, her chic lawyer pal, Cassie, can supply; and her cop ex-husband’s on hand to make trouble.
As winner of Private Eye Writers of America’s jointly sponsored contest with St. Martin’s Press for Best First Private Eye Novel, KINDRED CRIMES was a sensation even before it was published. It quickly went on to garner Shamus, Anthony, and Macavity nominations.
Fans of female sleuths like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone will particularly enjoy it, as well as aficionados of Marcia Muller’s fellow Bay Area detective, Sharon McCone.
“Dawson keeps suspense and interest at high pitch.” –Publishers Weekly
“A satisfyingly complex and multilayered novel. . . A wonderfully told and compelling story from a writer who’s in complete control – as is her heroine – from start to finish.” — The Denver Post.
“An auspicious debut.”— New York Daily News
“Dawson writes believable dialogue, creates quickly realized and appealing characters and has a particularly nice atmospheric touch.” –San Francisco Examiner
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An other good detective story. I’m reading through them spaced out with other books. Great!
Kindred Crimes earns 4/5 Cold Cases…Entertaining Thriller!
The recent “lockdown” environment had me venturing out beyond my usual “cozy” mysteries into a more realistic and edgier genre: the P.I. thriller! The first novel in Janet Dawson’s Jeri Howard series turned out to be an exciting choice. Set in Oakland, California, this gritty and realistic drama follows the ginger haired private investigator Jeri Howard with a clever, intense drama combining a cold case with a recent kidnapping. Dawson’s writing style is entertaining with a bit of wit, interesting characters, and hints of romance. Although originally released in the early nineties, the book holds up well thirty years later. Crime is crime, right? Quite a page turner experience!
This is the first novel in the Jeri Howard private investigator series, set in California. Like many of its contemporaries, the story’s told by Jeri in a direct, no nonsense manner. She’s a streetwise investigator with high principles and a determination to see a job through, even when the client decides he no longer requires her services.
Missing wife, Renee Foster, turns out to be anything but the person her anxious husband portrays. As Jeri digs deeper, encountering more than her fair share of obstacles and challenges, she peels away the layers to reveal family secrets no one wants to share. There’s Mark, the brother, who shot their parents and served fifteen years for the crime. He’s out and building a new life for himself, determined not to return to past events. Sister Karen, employed in the skin trade, knows more than she’s willing to tell.
Then there’s the husband’s family, who never liked Renee to start with.
And Jeri’s former husband, a cynical copper who still holds a torch for her, can’t help but make life difficult for her, especially when people start dying.
How Jeri makes sense of it all and overcomes the odds makes for a fascinating and entertaining story that’s full of surprises, humour and touching moments that all build to a slick climax and resolution. The characters are sharply drawn and realistic, vulnerable and flawed, but always interesting.
I’m delighted to have discovered this author and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys private eye stories by authors like Sue Grafton and Cheryl Bradshaw.
enjoyed my first outing with Jeri Howard all around the bay area California, she was very good & I liked the way she talked her way thru what was happening. The cast of characters were well written & interesting. The plot a family murder well done. I figured out who did it about the same time as Jeri, but we both needed more info to complete the picture. Well done for the first outing.
Good story…. flawless narration… a realistic and not a dramatic or senstionalised ending…
Wow!!! This is some roller coaster ride that I have been on reading this book. It was so good that I didn’t wanna put it down but I also didn’t want it to end. The storyline is very well written and I really enjoyed the complex characterization. Now I have to read the next book!! This is one of the best books ever!!!
Very descriptive. I felt like I was right there with Jeri the whole time. Even though I figured out early on who did the murders, it still was a page-turner for me.
Good plot and character development.
This is a well-developed series, plots are very believable and a number of viable suspects get weeded through, until the final one, which is something of a surprise, as a clever “cover story” is in place. Main character Jeri Howard is extremely likable.
The best part of the book is the setting in the San Francisco Bay Area. I enjoed knowing where Jeri is going and what the places are like. She is a super protagonist and the characters are well developed and easy to keep track of. I’m looking forward to reading more of these books.
Could have been better without the profanity.
Needs some proofreading.
The main character’s actions were monotonously repetitious. Ex: “I’m going to follow another armed and deadly person into a dangerous situation and hope I can get away or someone will rescue me but keep my boyfriend in the dark, etc.”
It kept my interest,right to the end
I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed and there were a lot of interesting curves thrown into the plot. Good mystery read!
Female hardboiled detective backed up by some good writing and a great plot.
Kept you guessing!
This was a totally unpredictable story. The main character was gutsy and smart. I found myself rooting for a romance with one of her suspects.
If you want to know how many times the main character takes a bite of food and swallows a sip of coffee this book is for you.
New mystery writers…please go back and read books by Muller, Grafton and Dawson. Female writers that have been around forever using female private investigators that have been holding their own against men and enjoying it.
Dawson has a crisp simple style of writing. In a few strokes, she lets you know Jeri Howell is a pi with a degree in history, an husband that’s a cop, loves a good case and has a cat, Abigail.
Sid, her ex, throws a case her way, a man is missing his wife. She left him and her baby.
What I love is the way she takes you through the case, she has a way of thinking and you go along for the ride. Is the missing woman a runaway? You meet her husband, his bossy father and then proceed to trace Renae only to find no such person exits.
The drama builds as you realize she was Elizabeth Willis, her parents murdered in their home by her brother. And she takes you to the small towns in Calif. to find the rest of her family. Dawson throws in tons of atmosphere in each locale and you picture yourself along for the ride. You meet Vera and Alice,sisters of the dead mother and later on Mark Willis, the son, now out if prison for killing Franny and George …his parents. There are neighbors to interview, threats to make you wary and a desire to solve this case. And Mark is a nice looking man that looks innocent and you might just have liked his kiss!
The case is solid, her investigating style is top notch, and she can get beat up and still tackle her task. Strong, smart, sexy, a woman on her own and doing what she loves…..what’s not to like??
This is her first mystery and I have read nearly all of them over again in the years since….they hold up!!! Enjoy Jeri and her cases!
Great read! A real page turner was hard to put down I just wanted to keep reading.