Cruel Intent

by J.A. Jance

Book Overview

From New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance comes a chilling tale of suspense, where a cold-blooded murderer lures former newscaster Ali Reynolds into a chilling web of online romance--and doom. On a dating site, SingleatHeart.com, bored housewives can find romance with married men looking for sex without strings. But these "married singles" are flirting with more than just their vows. At the heart of this seemingly innocent service, a vengeful...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141656635X
• ISBN13: 9781416566359
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Exciting Crime Thriller!

The hero of this Jance book is TV journalist Ali Reynolds. The villain in this novel is Dr. Peter Winter and ER doctor. He uses the internet for very evil purposes. He has created a web page called Singleheart.com for married couples who want to have affairs. He uses the information that he has obtained to help with crimes that he wants to commit. He kills a Local neighbor of Reynolds through the use of his web page. Her husband is the contractor who is working on Reynolds house. He immediately becomes the chief suspect and is placed in jail. In the meantime Ali and B start to unravel the computor scheme. This winds up placing Reynolds in immense danger from Dr. Winter. He comes to Sedona trying to find her. It is very scary. You have all of the regulars from previous books. Detective Holman, Edie and Bob and the other characters from the Jance novels are featured. This book will keep you in a tense state until the end. Be sure to read rhis book.

Fast paced and entertaining!

Ali Reynolds (divorcee and single mother) is having her Sedona home renovated and finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Bryan Forester, her contractor, is the prime suspect in his wife's (Morgan) death, and only Ali believes in his innocence (after all she was blamed for her ex-husband's death). While uncovering clues to Morgan's death (which involve a single's dating site) and cheating spouses, Ali also deals with a well meaning mother (Edie), an ex-lover/Detective (Dave Holman) who is convinced of Bryan's guilt, her son's pending marriage, the construction of her house, a serial killer, and the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays (of which she has promised to host and prepare dinner for her entire family). Two things that I loved about the story were the well meaning butler (Leland Brooks) and the one-eyed cat. While I am not sure that this was a stand alone novel (there were several references to past novels or storylines) I really enjoyed "Cruel Intent". This was my first Jance novel, and I found it to be easy to understand and entertaining. And although you know from the beginning who the killer is, you enjoy reading about his eventual unmasking and capture.

The Web Stalker

We often hear of the dangers from predators lurking on the internet. Now, prolific mystery writer, J.A.Jance, has written a nicely chilling and satisfying tale of a psychopath stalking women on the web. He uses a web site, singleatheart.com, that attracts married women looking for sex with someone besides their husband. Ex-TV journalist Ali Reynolds (You may have met her in Jance's Hand of Evil, Web of Evil, and Edge of Evil.) becomes interested when the wife of the building contractor restoring her house is brutally murdered. Naturally, the husband is suspected, but Ali does not believe it. She starts snooping, finds the web site, and innocently draws the attention of the psychopath. After that, the story plunges into breathtaking suspense, as the murderer decides that Ali is a threat, and he must find her and kill her. It comes to a great climax in a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Fast-Paced, Gripping and Dripping with Tension

Ex California Newswoman Ali Reynolds is both remodeling her dream home and trying to get re-established in the laid back Mountain Community of Sedona, Arizona when her contractor, Bryan Morgan's wife Morgan is found murdered and Bryan is the prime suspect, so says Ali's on again off again main squeeze Yavapai Co. Sheriff's Detective Dave Holman. Ali, who believes herself a good judge of character, doesn't believe Bryan killed his wife, but Dave keeps getting more evidence, so Ali investigates and finds out Morgan wasn't exactly a content stay at home mom. In fact she was apparently a bit B-O-R-E-D, because she'd been a member of a dating service that specialized in married woman getting a little on the side. This is a clue, a big one, so Ali joins the service herself, to see if she can find out anything about Morgan, but unknown to her the creator of the website, emergency room physician Peter Winter, has a side occupation that is just the opposite of saving lives, in fact he's into taking them, he's a serial killer and now he has Ali in his sites. Like every novel by J.A. Jance this one will have you on the edge of your seat. I'll admit that I was pretty much into Joanna Brady and didn't think I was going to like Ali at all, but we're four books into the series now and I'm liking her just fine. And I think you'll like this book just fine too as it's fast-paced, gripping and dripping with tension.

Internet Dating Nightmare!

I just finished reading the 4th in the Ali Reynolds series, Cruel Intent. I loved it! A lot of the returning characters were like getting together with old friends, and a lot of the new players would certainly be welcomed back by me. Ali is still in the middle of renovating her dream house, with the help of the faithful, self appointed manager nee personal assistant, Leland Brooks. Boy, I wish I had one of him in my life! In the meantime, her son Chris has a surprise announcement, and Ali's mom, Edie, is cooking up trouble with her new pink taser! Ali's contractor, Bryan Forrester, is suspected of murdering his wife. And boy, can Ali relate...she was previously accused of murdering her almost ex husband. So, while Ali is helping to defend Bryan's good name, she stumbles across a dating website called Singleatheart. I have a lot of friends, including my own daughter, who have used internet dating sites, and this storyline was just riveting to me. It scared the heck out of me at the same time. As in all of this author's books, it seemed well researched and certainly timely, with all of the scams going around on the internet. I was not disappointed in this addition to the Ali Reynolds series, and can't wait to get my hands on the next one!