Ali Reynolds is renovating her inherited home when her contractor's wife is brutally murdered. Dave Holman is convinced the husbad did it, but Ali investigates along with the help of super nerd, B. Simpson. Meanwhile, her son Chris and Athena get engaged and her family helps save Ali's life when the murdered tries to eliminate loose ends. Suspenseful. ( )

This was a pretty interesting book and the fourth in a series. It follows Ali Reynolds, a former LA newscaster, who now lives in her hometown of Sedona, Arizona. While fixing up her new home, her hired contractor is under suspicion in relation to his wife's gruesome murder. In typical "Ali" fashion, she becomes curious and tries to solve it with the help of a friend and gets more than she bargained for.

The story was interesting and did have some pretty thrilling parts, but I did rate it 3 out of 5 stars for a reason. Ali Reynolds is a character I love, no doubt, but she is also constantly getting involved in things that are better left to the police. I'll admit, she does have a knack for crime fighting, but I find it hard to believe that she just happens to come across the answers every single time.

That being said, I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it. ( )

The reader knows about the serial killer and his evil ways, but no one else, including Ali, figures it out and it seems like he has an airtight method. We know Ali will end up in serious danger, along with people she cares about in her family and community, so the tension builds right up until the end. This is the book when we are introduced to B. Simpson, important to Ali's future. ( )

Cruel Intent is the fourth book in J.A. Jance's Ali Reynolds series. I've read two of her others and can say this is my favorite so far. It's a light, easy read without any glaring holes in the mystery and Jance has done a wonderful job of creating a character in Ali Reynolds who has day to day problems she seems to handle in imperfect ways. I like that. It gives a sense of reality to a mystery series where the crimes find the main character rather than the other way around.

Cruel Intent is about a man who uses his computer skills to find and hurt women. That's clear in the first couple of pages, so it's not a spoiler. But there are other characters in the book who balance the pure evil in this man: another computer expert who operates a legitimate business and cares about his clients, a construction contractor who loves his children and is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for theirs, a weak bureaucrat in a loveless marriage who would rather sneak around to find some happiness than face up to his situation. And Ali's family is an important part of this story. Her son, Chris, and his fiance are planning a wedding and experiencing typical problems with that process. That part was fun. Her mother is also a major player in this story. The one issue I had with this story concerns Ali's relationship with her mother and a choice Ali makes late in the book. I won't say anything more than that.

Cruel Intent is a good choice for people who like light, but sometimes violent, mysteries with characters we readers feel we know.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions ( )

very good book. I like this Ali Reynolds character and that the stories are set in Arizona ( )