A Credible Threat — Janet Dawson

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.