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Jeri Howard Mystery #6
Credible Threat
With the dramatic, sometimes menacing Northern California coast as her backdrop, Janet Dawson consistently writes gripping, psychologically adept mystery novels featuring a socially conscious detective in unforgettable stories torn from today's headlines. "With both author and sleuth," raves Julie Smith, "you know you're in the hands of true professionals." In A Credible Threat, Dawson once again has written a chilling and accomplished work of fiction that is also a vivid reflection of our dark and troubled times.
The pleasant old brown shingle house was similar to many in Berkeley's Elmwood district, a home away from home for serious university students. There seemed to be no reason for the unnerving anonymous phone calls or the vicious mutilation of plants in the front yard. Mere random vandalism, perhaps. But what about the pipe bomb thrown through the window?
Private investigator Jeri Howard, who for a brief while had been stepmother to one of the residents, is alarmed by the escalating violence directed at the house. Especially when she learns that any one of the five women who live there could be innocently attracting it.
Marisol works at a counseling center for battered women. Rachel does escort duty at an abortion clinic. Vicki and Emily have both been harassed by a man who won't take no for an answer. And Sasha, who owns the house, is the outspoken president of the African-American law students' organization.
Intuition warns Jeri that there's more involved than simple hostility. On the cool Bay breezes she catches a whiff of mortal danger. And from her own not-so-distant past, she remembers the pattern of a chilling madness, the approach of an evil that knows no limit and feels no remorse.
The pleasant old brown shingle house was similar to many in Berkeley's Elmwood district, a home away from home for serious university students. There seemed to be no reason for the unnerving anonymous phone calls or the vicious mutilation of plants in the front yard. Mere random vandalism, perhaps. But what about the pipe bomb thrown through the window?
Private investigator Jeri Howard, who for a brief while had been stepmother to one of the residents, is alarmed by the escalating violence directed at the house. Especially when she learns that any one of the five women who live there could be innocently attracting it.
Marisol works at a counseling center for battered women. Rachel does escort duty at an abortion clinic. Vicki and Emily have both been harassed by a man who won't take no for an answer. And Sasha, who owns the house, is the outspoken president of the African-American law students' organization.
Intuition warns Jeri that there's more involved than simple hostility. On the cool Bay breezes she catches a whiff of mortal danger. And from her own not-so-distant past, she remembers the pattern of a chilling madness, the approach of an evil that knows no limit and feels no remorse.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 1996
273 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Janet Dawson
65 books71 followersJanet Dawson is the author of The Sacrificial Daughter, first in a new series featuring geriatric care manager. She has also written thirteen novels featuring Oakland private investigator Jeri Howard. Her first, Kindred Crimes, won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America contest for best first private eye novel. The most recent book in the series is The Devil Close Behind.
Her Jill McLeod historical mystery series features a Zephyrette sleuthing aboard the long-distance train called the California Zephyr in the early 1950s. The first in that series is Death Rides the Zephyr.
In the past, Dawson was a newspaper reporter and a Navy journalist. She has worked in the legal field and on the staff of the University of California Berkeley. She is a long-time member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Her Jill McLeod historical mystery series features a Zephyrette sleuthing aboard the long-distance train called the California Zephyr in the early 1950s. The first in that series is Death Rides the Zephyr.
In the past, Dawson was a newspaper reporter and a Navy journalist. She has worked in the legal field and on the staff of the University of California Berkeley. She is a long-time member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 25, 2021
In the sixth novel in the series, Oakland PI, Jeri Howard, investigates a dangerous stalker. It starts with hostile phone calls, moves on to damaging plants and in particular decapitating lemon trees, and escalates to a pipe bomb.
The targets are a mixed group sharing a house. Each one has something that makes them a target, which makes Jeri’s job difficult, to say the least. Vicki, the daughter of her ex-husband, called her in to help, but not everyone in the house is happy about it.
With tensions high and suspicions rife, Jeri finally gets on the right track when her mentor and former employer is mugged in Carmel. Suddenly, the case takes a sinister turn as Jeri has a race against time to prevent a murder.
The Jeri Howard novels are always interesting as they tackle different issues from the usual missing persons and murder. Many of these are social issues, and this story is no different. While it starts as a classic stalking, it turns into something much more dangerous. There’s also a personal element to the story, which increases the stakes and tension, leading to a highly enjoyable and satisfying read that kept me turning the pages.
I would also say that the story is easier to follow than some of the previous books, which may be why I read it fairly quickly. Or it could be that it’s an excellent story that gripped me from intriguing start to exciting climax.
Looking forward to the next in the series.
The targets are a mixed group sharing a house. Each one has something that makes them a target, which makes Jeri’s job difficult, to say the least. Vicki, the daughter of her ex-husband, called her in to help, but not everyone in the house is happy about it.
With tensions high and suspicions rife, Jeri finally gets on the right track when her mentor and former employer is mugged in Carmel. Suddenly, the case takes a sinister turn as Jeri has a race against time to prevent a murder.
The Jeri Howard novels are always interesting as they tackle different issues from the usual missing persons and murder. Many of these are social issues, and this story is no different. While it starts as a classic stalking, it turns into something much more dangerous. There’s also a personal element to the story, which increases the stakes and tension, leading to a highly enjoyable and satisfying read that kept me turning the pages.
I would also say that the story is easier to follow than some of the previous books, which may be why I read it fairly quickly. Or it could be that it’s an excellent story that gripped me from intriguing start to exciting climax.
Looking forward to the next in the series.
August 10, 2021
WOW!! And I thought that there couldn’t be a better book than the ones I had already read but the storyline just blew me away! It was a roller coaster ride of thrilling discovery!! The backstory just slapped me in the face and I could not put this book down!!
May 5, 2022
I’ve read that Janet Dawson’s writing style has been characterized as “plodding and pedestrian.” For lack of a better description, I’d have to agree with that. Unfortunately, I also discovered A Credible Threat contains many typos. For a professional and acclaimed writer, that’s clearly a faux pas.
Having said that, Dawson is certainly a good storyteller. With her rather plain choice of words, she still manages to weave a suspenseful and entertaining tale. She slowly builds tension, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat right up until the dramatic and action-packed climax.
If you enjoy mystery and suspense and a strong female lead character, you won’t be disappointed.
Having said that, Dawson is certainly a good storyteller. With her rather plain choice of words, she still manages to weave a suspenseful and entertaining tale. She slowly builds tension, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat right up until the dramatic and action-packed climax.
If you enjoy mystery and suspense and a strong female lead character, you won’t be disappointed.
March 28, 2021
Decapitated lemon trees hold the answer to the mystery that Jeri must solve in this installment, which involves her former step daughter. Trying to discern who the target of the mischief is hard enough, let along trying to figure out the why behind the assaults on both plants and people. Solving this mystery takes Jeri up to Mendocino, as Dawson expands her range from the Bay Area to more of Northern California. I like the way this author takes up social causes, here domestic violence, and works the issue into the mystery.
April 6, 2017
A young man named Ted Macauley is stalking two undergraduate women at UC Berkeley. Someone, presumably the same man, has been calling the Elmwood District house they share with several other students and hanging up without speaking. And now the residents have returned to find all the flowers in the front yard of the house trashed and their lemon tree decapitated. One of the two women, Vicki Vernon, calls in Jeri Howard to look into the matter. Jeri is an Oakland private investigator who had been married to her father, an Oakland cop. Vicki has carefully avoided calling her dad, knowing he would go on a rampage against her stalker. Thus begins Janet Dawson’s A Credible Threat, the sixth novel in her Jeri Howard series.
Shortly after Jeri meets the residents of the house, the threat escalates. Stalking eventually turns to murder, involving both Jeri and her ex-husband in a dangerous investigation that harkens back to a murder case early in Jeri’s career as a P.I. The inquiry requires her to take several quick trips from Berkeley to Boulder and to Mendocino, as the case broadens.
A Credible Threat was published in 1996 and reflects the passage of the nation’s first anti-stalking law in California in 1990. The title refers to the central definition in that law: “a credible threat to place [a person] in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family . . .”
Dawson writes serviceable prose and has mastered the art of plotting that brings suspense into the open. My only complaint is that she digresses into over-lengthy descriptions of the scenery on Jeri’s trips away from Berkeley.
About the author
Janet Dawson has written 12 novels in the Jeri Howard series and two in a newer one, an historical mystery series with a woman protagonist, as well as a standalone suspense novel. She was a U.S. Navy officer, a journalist, and an employee in legal affairs at UC Berkeley.
Shortly after Jeri meets the residents of the house, the threat escalates. Stalking eventually turns to murder, involving both Jeri and her ex-husband in a dangerous investigation that harkens back to a murder case early in Jeri’s career as a P.I. The inquiry requires her to take several quick trips from Berkeley to Boulder and to Mendocino, as the case broadens.
A Credible Threat was published in 1996 and reflects the passage of the nation’s first anti-stalking law in California in 1990. The title refers to the central definition in that law: “a credible threat to place [a person] in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family . . .”
Dawson writes serviceable prose and has mastered the art of plotting that brings suspense into the open. My only complaint is that she digresses into over-lengthy descriptions of the scenery on Jeri’s trips away from Berkeley.
About the author
Janet Dawson has written 12 novels in the Jeri Howard series and two in a newer one, an historical mystery series with a woman protagonist, as well as a standalone suspense novel. She was a U.S. Navy officer, a journalist, and an employee in legal affairs at UC Berkeley.
February 10, 2024
got free eboxed set 1-9
female pi, divorced, her x is a cop. his 19 yr old college student daughter called her, she didnt want her dad to know. they had been vandalized in the front yard, cutting down the lemon tree and leaving the top on the porch at the house she shared with roommates. and phone calls with hang ups . she started investigating , it could be from any of the roommates. the calls escalated when the man said disturbing things on the phone while she was there
she investigated everyone living there and all the people who didnt like each one of them. when she was questioning a man that was harassing her former step daughter, her cop x husband shows up and threatened him to leave his daughter alone. the next day the man went to the police and filed a complaint against him. then internal affairs was looking into him
then someone cut her lemon tree down the same way, as well as a pi she worked with and he was mugged and in the hospital.
then she realized who it was, the man was in prison, they got him on fraud but couldnt pin the murder of his wife on him. his daughter went to live with her aunt.
he got out of prison the month before all this started. she figured out one of the girls living in the house with her step daughter was the daughter of this man. she told the girl she knew who she was. the girl said she cant get ahold of her aunt who was in hiding in mendacino so the pi went up there to see if she could find her
she found her and found out her boyfriend had known the man that killed her sister. she found them in the botanical gardens and so did the killer. he shot the gun, the aunt got grazed but the pi threw a rock at his head and he went through the window to the rocks below in the ocean and died
she went back home, got her cats out of boarding. the girls were doing fine in the rooming house and the little boy got some kittens. her x was not in trouble at work, but got a good talking to. he has a new girlfriend now
female pi, divorced, her x is a cop. his 19 yr old college student daughter called her, she didnt want her dad to know. they had been vandalized in the front yard, cutting down the lemon tree and leaving the top on the porch at the house she shared with roommates. and phone calls with hang ups . she started investigating , it could be from any of the roommates. the calls escalated when the man said disturbing things on the phone while she was there
she investigated everyone living there and all the people who didnt like each one of them. when she was questioning a man that was harassing her former step daughter, her cop x husband shows up and threatened him to leave his daughter alone. the next day the man went to the police and filed a complaint against him. then internal affairs was looking into him
then someone cut her lemon tree down the same way, as well as a pi she worked with and he was mugged and in the hospital.
then she realized who it was, the man was in prison, they got him on fraud but couldnt pin the murder of his wife on him. his daughter went to live with her aunt.
he got out of prison the month before all this started. she figured out one of the girls living in the house with her step daughter was the daughter of this man. she told the girl she knew who she was. the girl said she cant get ahold of her aunt who was in hiding in mendacino so the pi went up there to see if she could find her
she found her and found out her boyfriend had known the man that killed her sister. she found them in the botanical gardens and so did the killer. he shot the gun, the aunt got grazed but the pi threw a rock at his head and he went through the window to the rocks below in the ocean and died
she went back home, got her cats out of boarding. the girls were doing fine in the rooming house and the little boy got some kittens. her x was not in trouble at work, but got a good talking to. he has a new girlfriend now
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2024
I was disappointed in the last Jeri Howard mystery I read so I didn't pick up the next book in the series for four years. Things have not improved. It almost seems as if Ms. Dawson is being paid by the word as there were so many pages of unnecessary filler. In the second half of the book I skimmed the boring descriptions about every pastry and cup of coffee Jeri consumed and went straight to the quotation marks.
I love Berkeley and Oakland so my familiarity with the locations elevated this book to two stars. I'm not sure all the street names would be interesting to someone out of state. Drudgery aside, this novel is propelled by two amazing coincidences which I found odd for a author of Dawson's experience. This seemed more the work of a self published writer than an award winning novelist. I hate to give up on this series, but there are too many wonderful stories waiting.
I love Berkeley and Oakland so my familiarity with the locations elevated this book to two stars. I'm not sure all the street names would be interesting to someone out of state. Drudgery aside, this novel is propelled by two amazing coincidences which I found odd for a author of Dawson's experience. This seemed more the work of a self published writer than an award winning novelist. I hate to give up on this series, but there are too many wonderful stories waiting.
April 9, 2022
A P.I.'s investigation into the harassment and possible stalking of her former stepdaughter and her housemates leads right to her back door. A cunning and devious killer is on a mission for revenge. Jeri is determined to stop him before he causes any more damage.
This is a pretty goid read. It really picks up once Jeri identifies the killer. The first half is way too chatty with lectures and lessons on domestic violence and the housemates' boring activism. There are too many characters and lots of unnecessary detail like what everyone ate, how her omelet was humongous, etc. But once it focuses on the bad guys it picks up.
This is a pretty goid read. It really picks up once Jeri identifies the killer. The first half is way too chatty with lectures and lessons on domestic violence and the housemates' boring activism. There are too many characters and lots of unnecessary detail like what everyone ate, how her omelet was humongous, etc. But once it focuses on the bad guys it picks up.
April 29, 2018
keep reading
I definitely enjoyed this story and the author's style than previous books in the series. She is good at making the characters very human. I also like the social conscience of Jeri Howard without being too preachy.
I definitely enjoyed this story and the author's style than previous books in the series. She is good at making the characters very human. I also like the social conscience of Jeri Howard without being too preachy.
July 4, 2021
Her stories are always well-told, even if they feel dated reading now in the 2020s
In this case it involves a house of college roommates in Berkely, one of which is the daughter of her former husband.
In this case it involves a house of college roommates in Berkely, one of which is the daughter of her former husband.
April 6, 2022
Good story but
Disliked the Old out worn cliches about nuns only encouraging women to be " good mothers and wives. Met too many who did their utmost to encourage everyone regardless of sex to fulfil their potential.
Disliked the Old out worn cliches about nuns only encouraging women to be " good mothers and wives. Met too many who did their utmost to encourage everyone regardless of sex to fulfil their potential.
June 12, 2022
Good
Good storyline ,liked all the characters . Liked that the ending didn't just dribble away .
Worst thing about it ,much tooo much description. Makes reading it faster though !
Good storyline ,liked all the characters . Liked that the ending didn't just dribble away .
Worst thing about it ,much tooo much description. Makes reading it faster though !
July 2, 2022
First time reading Janet Dawson and have to say I like her writing style. Story dragged in the beginning but then picked up nicely. Would've gave a 4 star but the errors in the book were way to many. Recommend.
April 10, 2025
A good story but poorly written. Too much extraneous dialogue that was
irrelevant to story. The overly descriptive storytelling of extraneous
characters, travel, scenery, etc. made this a 4 star book rather than a 5.
irrelevant to story. The overly descriptive storytelling of extraneous
characters, travel, scenery, etc. made this a 4 star book rather than a 5.
January 1, 2026
An ok PI procedural. Author spends a lot of words on descriptions of scenes and clothes. Too much. Also panders to the so called marginal populations. Starts out with a misdemeanor and ends up with murder on a reasonable path.
February 1, 2021
Engaging characters, well written, believable plot
May 17, 2021
Great mystery
Jeri is trying to unravel a series of incidents at a house off campus. Add in the mix more cats.
Jeri is trying to unravel a series of incidents at a house off campus. Add in the mix more cats.
June 4, 2021
Love this series
April 9, 2022
Mind blowing drama
Extraordinarily and deeply intriguing story. There are slides and turns across every page which held me totally mesmerised throughout the whole book.
Extraordinarily and deeply intriguing story. There are slides and turns across every page which held me totally mesmerised throughout the whole book.
April 12, 2022
A good read
Plot was a bit slow for me. For more than half of the book I couldn't see what warranted all of the investigation.
Plot was a bit slow for me. For more than half of the book I couldn't see what warranted all of the investigation.
April 24, 2022
Wow
I found it very interesting and likeable. I thought I had a lot of twists and turns revolving around a multide of characters.
I found it very interesting and likeable. I thought I had a lot of twists and turns revolving around a multide of characters.
April 28, 2022
Good story, though the book could do with a proofreader, lots of spelling mistakes (including calling one of the characters Audi instead of Andi a few times)
May 1, 2022
Good story
The characters are well described and interesting. The story moved along well with enough twists and turns to keep you interested.
The characters are well described and interesting. The story moved along well with enough twists and turns to keep you interested.
May 28, 2022
I loved this book. It was filled with drama and a real man hunt.
June 28, 2022
Not a bad read. A little boring. Could have been shorter, or maybe it just seemed to take forever to read it. Glad I finished it. Rating it just OK.
February 27, 2023
A Terrifying Tale
A murderer & sociopath invades Jeri's life along with several others. Once again, Jeri metes out justice. This time in a satisfying way.
A murderer & sociopath invades Jeri's life along with several others. Once again, Jeri metes out justice. This time in a satisfying way.
March 14, 2023
Solid book, just slower than the previous books in the series.
Read
April 16, 2025Read 4/25
June 2, 2025
Waste of time and money I DO NOT LIKE this book
January 28, 2026
An engrossing mystery.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews