Take a Number

"Intelligent and determined, Jeri holds her own among the ranks of impressive female detectives." Publishers Weekly A Jeri Howard mystery by the author of "Till the Old Men Die." In Alameda County, east of San Francisco, the all-American pastimes of adultery, divorce, and mindless violence prosper -- and Petty Officer First Class Sam Raynor, USN, fits right in. Private investigator Jeri Howard is working for Raynor's battered wife, who wants not only a divorce but half of everything Raynor's got. It turns out Raynor's hidden some big bucks from Uncle Sam. And that's not all he's hidden. Barely concealed behind his blond and muscled good looks is a vicious psychopath, whose wife-battering episodes are only the tip of an ugly iceberg. It seems Petty Officer Raynor's been getting away with murder . . . or close to it. And now that Jeri is on his trail, can murder be far behind?