Take a Number

“Well-written and entertaining … you’ll find yourself turning the pages because the victim is so deliciously despicable.” – West Coast Review of Books A LYING, CHEATING ABUSER WINDS UP DEAD…“Dawson keeps suspense and interest at high pitch.” – Publishers Weekly Oakland P.I. Jeri Howard dives right into the middle of a brutal womanizer's divorce proceedings—and murder mystery—in the third installment of Janet Dawson’s compelling female detective series. And in this particular whodunit, the list of who would gladly have done it just keeps growing.
When Ruth Raynor—the mousy soon-to-be ex-wife of an abusive sailor—calls up Jeri Howard to take on her divorce case, Jeri has reservations. For one, the celebrated Bay area PI has never been a fan of petty divorce investigations. Plus Ruth’s sleek divorce attorney—isn’t exactly Jeri’s cup of tea. But Ruth just happens to be the daughter of a former client. And Jeri is as loyal as she's bold.
Sam, the soon-to-be ex-husband is a smart, slick, cocky piece of work—and a mean drunk to boot—who basks in attention (especially from women) like a lizard on a rock. Sam at first comes across as dangerously attractive, except for his pale blue, emotionless eyes—a cold, dead giveaway. Turns out Prince Charming broke his wife’s wrist, gave her a black eye, kept their small daughter hungry and in rags—and hid $100,000 when Ruth filed for divorce.
When Sam winds up with a bullet in his back, the prime suspect, naturally, is Ruth. But Jeri, working hard to keep her client out of jail, discovers a line of suspects so long someone who wanted to kill him would have to take a number and get in line.
“We believe that Janet is one of the best women private eye writers in the business; her books are both believable and compelling, with a heroine who goes about her business methodically and intelligently.” -- Tom & Enid Schantz, The Purloined Letter. Fans of intelligent female sleuths like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone will particularly enjoy this series, as well as aficionados of Marcia Muller’s fellow Bay Area detective, Sharon McCone.