Cold Justice

by Jonnie Jacobs

Book Overview

San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien takes on a case that hits too close to home: the murder of her best friend by a serial killer who steps from the very pages of Kali's own past . . . This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786015438
• ISBN13: 9780786015436
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Exquisite!

As this novel of exquisite suspense begins, San Francisco lawyer Kali O'Brien has been stood up for dinner by her friend Anne. And then she gets the shocking news that Anne has been murdered in an apparent copycat killing. Anne's murder is eerily similar to the crimes for which the so-called Bayside Strangler, Dwayne Davis, has recently been executed. Both Anne and Kali helped prosecute Davis 8 years earlier. When a second, and then a third victim, turns up in short order, the heat is on and a team is put together to investigate the new murders and ensure that an innocent man was not executed. The plot is wickedly clever and the tension never lets up as Kali takes a leading role in the investigation and becomes a target for this diabolical killer.I have only recently discovered Ms. Jacobs's Kali O'Brien series, and I am thoroughly hooked. She now definitely tops my list of favorites.

Great book!

I don't think I'll summarize the book because the other reviewers have already done a great job of that. But I've got to say this is my favorite Jonnie Jacobs book so far. If I remember correctly Jacobs' last books were first person viewpoint, from Kali O'Brien's point of view. Cold Justice is third person view point and it told things from not only Kali's perspective but from other characters as well. I felt this gave the reader better knowledge on the other characters' motivations. The only thing that I have a problem with is that Jacobs's minor characters (anyone besides Kali) tend to change with each book. I hope she continues some of the new minor characters in Cold Justice into her next book because they could make for some interesting developments.

Well Developed Plot and Characters

Jonnie Jacobs' Kali O'Brien legal mysteries just keep getting better and better and this is the best yet, placing her in the top ranks of legal thriller writers. The difference is this book fully develops all, even the minor characters, showing especially the heartaches behind the everyday face. Kali is particularly likeable, wearing her feelings on her sleeve, and when her good friend, Anne Bailey, is brutally murdered in a style reminiscent of the since-executed Bayside Strangler, whom Kali and Anne helped convict, there is the dual question of finding a murderer who enjoys taunting the police and finding out whether an innocent man has been convicted. Another murder quickly follows, then the killer drops a note suggesting Kali is the next victim. Kali, whose legal skills, tenacity and spunk are a lot better than her personal choices with men, straightens out everything except a budding romance which she decidedly un-straightens. Forever or for the next book? Only Jonnie Jacobs knows. But we eagerly await the answer, and the next book.

A Winner

Cold Justice is an engrossing story with likable, well-developed characters and enough plot twists to keep me guessing until the end. Kali works with the district attorney's office on a string of murders that are similar to the murders committed by a man she helped convict. Did the put away (and execute) an innocent man or are these copycat murders? As the killings continue, it becomes clear that whoever is doing them has inside knowledge. I am not a fan of serial killer books, but this one focuses less on the killer (we're never inside his head) than on the investigations into the crimes and the struggles of the characters. There is also a creepy guy who shows an interest in Kali and a nice, buddying romance. A perfect summer (or anytime) read.

Good Suspense; Good Surprise Ending

Kali O'Brien brings to Cold Justice what Dismas Hardy brings to John Lescoart's books. She is a former prosecuting attorney turned defense attorney who struggles with the dilema of defending clients who may be guilty but still entitled to defense. Her personal life is shattered with the murder of her friend, and her new love interest in Cold Justice appears to have little in common with her besides an intense chemistry which may well work into future books. When Anne Bailey, Kali's friend is found brutally murdered in what appears to be the same style used by the Bayside Strangler, Kali along with others in the DA's office in San Francisco, begin to question if the right man had been executed over a year ago. Kali had helped prosecute Dwayne Davis, the Bayside Strangler who had been found guilty of killing several women. Suddenly eight years later women are again dying in the same manner used by the Bayside Strangler. Had they executed the wrong man, or was a copycat killer at large? This was my first Jonnie Jacobs but I will quickly catch up with the other books in this series. Cold Justice was a good read that kept me turning pages from cover to cover.