Cold Justice

Imagine losing what you love most.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .

The woman gives her name as Betty. No last name. No phone number. Just a meeting place – a deserted, wooded park on the outskirts of Lake Tahoe. The one condition – come alone. San Francisco attorney Kali O’Brien understands client confidentiality, but something about Betty’s urgent request

With her unique blend of courtroom drama and feverish suspense, critically acclaimed author Jonnie Jacobs has won a legion of fans for her Kali O’Brien thrillers. Now the edgy San Francisco attorney is back to handle a simple adoption – and winds up defending her client for murder . . .

Straightforward and short term: that’s precisely the kind of case Kali O’Brien needs at the moment. Yet the Harper adoption makes her uneasy from the start. Maybe it’s because psychologist Steven Cross – a man whose path hasn’t crossed hers since the tragedy that shattered his life and their forbidden relationship years ago – unexpectedly referred the couple to her. Or could it be that Ted and Terri Harper’s previous brush with parenthood ended in heartache when the birth mother changed her mind?

This time around, the former star quarterback and his lovely blonde wife aren’t taking any chances. They’ve even moved pregnant Melissa Burke into their lavish Pacific Heights home. As Kali watches her determined clients shower the lonesome teenager with love and attention, she can’t help wondering just how desperate they are to claim the unborn child. When Melissa delivers a health6 baby girl and promptly signs the final adoption papers, Kali breathes a sigh of relief . . . until Bram Weaver surfaces.

The controversial, chauvinistic radio talk show host announces he’s the baby’s father – a claim Melissa can’t dispute. With a sinking heart, Kali prepares to defend the Harpers in a bitter custody battle that’s certain to end in the birth father’s favor – until the case takes a shocking turn when somebody murders Weaver. Despite Terri Harper’s staunch denial, the police have compelling evidence linking her to the crime, leaving Kali to wonder how far an emotion-fraught new mother will go to protect her child.

Once again, Jonnie Jacobs delivers an explosive, fast-paced thriller infused with authenticity and well-drawn characters. Witness for the Defense is a razor-sharp ride through the ethical dilemmas ripped from today’s headlines

Following the death of her brother of an apparent suicide by overdose, Kali reconnects with her sister. To their dismay, they learn that he was the prime suspect in the double homicide of a wealthy heiress and a college coed. As if that weren’t shocking enough, Kali also learns her brother might have ties to a young stripper's murder and the disappearance of a 16-year-old runaway. Kali must dig into the sinister underworld of the sex industry to find her brother’s killer before the missing girl, or Kali herself, becomes the next victim. This book was first published in print in 2007.

Abandoned by her husband who is traveling in Europe to "find himself," Kate Austen is left to make a life for herself and her five-year-old daughter. What's more, Kate is something of a misfit in her well to-do neighborhood. But when her socialite neighbor, Pepper Livingston, is murdered, and the handsome detective Michael Stone turns to Kate for information about the victim, Kate's life takes an unexpected turn.

This is the first book in the Kate Austen series. It was originally published in hardcover in 1995.

Suspense simmers in the suburb of Walnut Hills as Kate tries to figure out who killed her recently divorced friend Mona Sterling. A bottle of expensive scotch and an empty vial of sleeping pills convince the police that her death is a suicide. But Kate has her doubts. With the help of mutual friend Sharon Covington, Kate contends with Mona’s troubled teenage daughter and her surly boyfriend, Mona’s ex-husband and his suspicious wife, and a mysterious stranger plying kids with candy on the school grounds – all while trying to ferret out the killer and decide what to do about the handsome detective Michael Stone.

Kali O'Brien returns to her hometown of Silver Creek where her childhood friend Jannine is the prime suspect in the murder of her husband. Kali is convinced she's innocent until the evidence begins to mount. Secrets past and present confound Kali's investigation. This is the first in the Kali O'Brien series of legal mysteries. First published in print 1996.

The overlapping threads of two murders lead Kate from Cybersex to love sonnets, from a clandestine research project to the deepest of family secrets, and ultimately threaten Kate and those she loves.

This is the third book in the Kate Austen mystery series. It was first published in hardcover in 1998.

“This fine mystery is buoyed by rich characterization (and) a gripping plot.” Publisher’s Weekly

“Murder Among Us is a winner – a shining addition to an excellent series.” Janet Evanovich