Jeri Howard Novels by Janet Dawson A Killing at the Track (2000) Investigator Jeri Howard is fascinated by the beautiful horses and the zealous spectators at stylish Edgewater Downs. But behind the scenes, where the owners, trainers, jockeys, and grooms mingle, life is not so pretty... "This little gem of a mystery centers around murder, mayhem and race-fixing at a fictional racetrack named Edgewater Downs in Northern California... Dawson confesses to being a longtime racing fan and has really done her homework well... California racing fans should enjoy the local flavor of A Killing at the Track." -California Thoroughbred Read an excerpt   Where The Bodies Are Buried (1998) Do you know Where The Bodies Are Buried? Jeri is about to find out. Her client was murdered before he could tell her why he needed a private investigator. Jeri thinks the answer is at the company where he worked. So she polishes up her word processing skill, borrows a suit and goes undercover as a secretary. "Janet Dawson writes a terrific story that is riveting from the first page." -About.com Mysteries Read an excerpt   Witness To Evil (1997) Darcy Stefano is seventeen, going on forty, according to her father. She swiped her mother's credit card and went to Paris. The Stefanos have more money than sense and they pay Jeri to head for the City of Lights and retrieve their errant daughter. But Darcy and Jeri come face-to-face with long-ago evil and its modern-day counterpart in Witness To Evil. "...a well-written, fast-paced page-turner that perhaps reveals more about our society than we care to know." -Mostly Murder Read an excerpt   A Credible Threat (1996) A Credible Threat is a term from California's anti-stalking law. And it looks like the University of California students who share a big old house in Berkeley are under siege. Vandalism, threatening phone calls, then frightening violence. Could murder be next? Or has it already happened? "The last third of the book is a classic deduction, investigation, chase sequence. In Dawson's capable hands, the characters are believable and the story moves forward in a lively fashion." -The Contra Costa (CA) Times Read an excerpt   Nobody's Child (1995) In Nobody's Child, a young runaway is dead, her body dumped at a construction site. And her two-year-old daughter is missing, last seen on the mean streets of Berkeley among the homeless. It's a cold rainy winter and time is running out for the little lost toddler. Can Jeri find the child before it's too late? "A rich plum pudding of a story sprinkled throughout with memorable characters." -The Washington Post Book World Read an excerpt   Don't Turn Your Back On The Ocean (1994) Jeri takes a much-needed vacation and goes to Monterey to visit her mother, Marie, and a host of other relatives. Some vacation. Things go downhill rapidly in Don't Turn Your Back On The Ocean. Some sicko is mutilating pelicans, and a saboteur plays nasty tricks at Marie's restaurant, and Jeri's cousin Bobby is suspected of murdering his girlfriend. "Mother/daughter feuds, family solidarity, an ecological mystery: Dawson blends these familiar ingredients with a chef's elan." -Kirkus Reviews Read an excerpt   Take A Number (1993) "Sam Raynor was the biggest slug that ever oozed across my path. Anyone who wanted to kill him would have to take a number and get in line." In Take A Number, Sam Raynor is indeed dead, and Jeri's client is the number one suspect in a long, long line. "Entertaining, enlightening, and most satisfying...For readers who demand not only a fine mystery and wonderfully realized characters, but a story filled with social conscience and heart that resonates long after the final page." -Mostly Murder Read an excerpt   Till The Old Men Die (1992) The past plays a major role in Jeri's second case, Till The Old Men Die. A Filipino-American professor at California State University in Hayward has been murdered, his body found by Jeri's father, a colleague. Now, several months after the funeral, a mystery woman shows up, claiming to be the dead man's widow. "Dawson keeps suspense and interest at a high pitch." -Publishers Weekly Read an excerpt   Kindred Crimes (1991) Jeri's first case was Kindred Crimes, which won the St. Martin's Press-Private Eye Writers of America Contest for Best First Private Eye Novel. The book was nominated for three awards in the Best First category: the Shamus, given by the Private Eye Writers of America; the Anthony, awarded at Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, and the Macavity, given by Mystery Readers International. In Kindred Crimes, Jeri is hired to look for a wife who has disappeared. What Jeri calls "a simple missing persons case" turns out to be complicated -- and deadly. People aren't who they seem, and the past comes back with a vengeance. "A welcome addition to this tough genre." -The New York Times Book Review Read an excerpt   All material on this web site © 2002-09 Janet Dawson. Send E-mail to Janet