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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
3.0
According to her bio author Karen M Davis was a New South Wales police officer for twenty years. Starting her career on the streets of Newtown, she went on to work as a detective and undercover operative in a variety of sections, all of which specialised in the investigation of organised crime. You can tell when you're reading SINISTER INTENT that the author knows what she's writing about very well. She also knows how to tell a yarn.
In amongst the obvious parallels between the author's career and that of the central character, Lexie Rogers, there's also a sneaking suspicion that there could be elements of this plot that are not completely fictional. If they are, then it's very believably done. Given it's also a first novel from this author, there's good execution of the plot elements, combined with a bit of fast and furious action, some romance, some psychological suspense and a lot of tension.
All the characterisations are strong, in what is basically a police procedural format with enough twists and variances to give it a refreshing feeling of difference. The strength of many of the characterisations is that overt clichés are avoided - the bikie's are not all lurking muscle-men, all brawn and no humanity. The supporting cast of cops aren't all brain dead chauvinists, although they are also real with a tendency towards hard drinking and hard working.
Interestingly, the character who is probably least sympathetically portrayed is Rogers herself. Dealing with a near death experience in the recent past and the murder of her brother, she's obviously suffering PTSD. Which seems undiagnosed, or at least unmanaged. She's not coping well with it. One is left to ponder why an author would be so hard on her. And, obviously, there's romantic tension between Rogers and her new partner which was predictable although reasonably well handled.
SINISTER INTENT is no "write what you know" novel though. It's a story about a world that the author must know very well, but there is real storytelling skill here. Which has generated a strong debut novel showing enormous potential for an ongoing series.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/sinister-intent-karen-m-davis
In amongst the obvious parallels between the author's career and that of the central character, Lexie Rogers, there's also a sneaking suspicion that there could be elements of this plot that are not completely fictional. If they are, then it's very believably done. Given it's also a first novel from this author, there's good execution of the plot elements, combined with a bit of fast and furious action, some romance, some psychological suspense and a lot of tension.
All the characterisations are strong, in what is basically a police procedural format with enough twists and variances to give it a refreshing feeling of difference. The strength of many of the characterisations is that overt clichés are avoided - the bikie's are not all lurking muscle-men, all brawn and no humanity. The supporting cast of cops aren't all brain dead chauvinists, although they are also real with a tendency towards hard drinking and hard working.
Interestingly, the character who is probably least sympathetically portrayed is Rogers herself. Dealing with a near death experience in the recent past and the murder of her brother, she's obviously suffering PTSD. Which seems undiagnosed, or at least unmanaged. She's not coping well with it. One is left to ponder why an author would be so hard on her. And, obviously, there's romantic tension between Rogers and her new partner which was predictable although reasonably well handled.
SINISTER INTENT is no "write what you know" novel though. It's a story about a world that the author must know very well, but there is real storytelling skill here. Which has generated a strong debut novel showing enormous potential for an ongoing series.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/sinister-intent-karen-m-davis
balthazarlawson's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't really enjoy this and found it to be a long drawn out story. Perhaps it was because I didn't care one bit about the victims in this story and because there was always a background story to the main character, Lexie Rogers, that took so long to be told. It should have come out earlier in the story and not in the last quarter. I just found it frustrating, not thrilling or exciting. There was no reason for the story to be as long as it was.
More than one star, but not two.
More than one star, but not two.
busyreading's review against another edition
4.0
Working for eight years in Sydney's Kings Cross district as a uniformed officer, Lexie Rogers had seen it all from drunken brawls to drug overdoses. She is now returning to work after being brutally attacked and stabbed by a bikie gang member. Although her physical scars may have healed it's the psychological scarring that still haunts her. Returning as a detective and the the newest member in Bondi Junction could be more of a challenge than she thought it would be.
Lexie's is partnered with detective sergeant Brad Sommers and one of their first jobs is to execute a search warrant on a bikie clubhouse known as the Devil's Guardians. Rex Donaldson is the boss of the clubhouse and instantly, Lexie becomes intimidated by him which brings back memories from the previous months. Finding drugs on the premises Rex starts to get quite angry as he claims to know nothing about the drugs and he believes he's being set up.
After having an accident at home Brad Sommers will be out action for a short while, so now Lexie is temporarily partnered with Josh Harrison. Getting a call out to a shooting at a residential address, Josh and Lexie soon quickly realise the victim is a member of the Devil's Guardian. Lexie hears the victims last dying words which is the nickname of the person who shot him. Finding out who did this will be harder than they think as bikie members don't give out information easily. It seems that bikie gangs have a "code of silence" and nothing and no one will break it. Speaking with different gang members they soon realise if they don't find the shooter soon they could have a bikie war on their hands. After receiving a few nasty text messages Lexie feels her life could also be in danger.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a very easy and yet quite an entertaining and engrossing read. Well written with twists and turns that will keeping you guessing. Looking forward to seeing what Aussie author, Karen M. Davis comes up with next. I do hope it's a sequel to this one. HIGHLY recommended.
Lexie's is partnered with detective sergeant Brad Sommers and one of their first jobs is to execute a search warrant on a bikie clubhouse known as the Devil's Guardians. Rex Donaldson is the boss of the clubhouse and instantly, Lexie becomes intimidated by him which brings back memories from the previous months. Finding drugs on the premises Rex starts to get quite angry as he claims to know nothing about the drugs and he believes he's being set up.
After having an accident at home Brad Sommers will be out action for a short while, so now Lexie is temporarily partnered with Josh Harrison. Getting a call out to a shooting at a residential address, Josh and Lexie soon quickly realise the victim is a member of the Devil's Guardian. Lexie hears the victims last dying words which is the nickname of the person who shot him. Finding out who did this will be harder than they think as bikie members don't give out information easily. It seems that bikie gangs have a "code of silence" and nothing and no one will break it. Speaking with different gang members they soon realise if they don't find the shooter soon they could have a bikie war on their hands. After receiving a few nasty text messages Lexie feels her life could also be in danger.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a very easy and yet quite an entertaining and engrossing read. Well written with twists and turns that will keeping you guessing. Looking forward to seeing what Aussie author, Karen M. Davis comes up with next. I do hope it's a sequel to this one. HIGHLY recommended.
shelleyrae's review
4.0
A retired Australian police officer, Karen M. Davis draws on her years of career experience in Sinister Intent, her impressive debut crime fiction novel.
After surviving a violent attack from a crazed Bikie in a Kings Cross laneway, Lexie Rogers is disconcerted when her first big case as a new detective with the Bondi Junction office involves the increasing rivalry of two local Bikie gangs known as the Devil's Guardians and the Assassins. It's rumoured the animosity between the outlaw clubs began over a woman but Lexie is about to discover this latest quarrel has been carefully orchestrated and she is at risk of becoming the next casualty of war.
Well paced with a balanced dose of action, psychological suspense and romance, Sinister Intent is an enjoyable novel. The plot holds a few surprises circling around the outlaw Bikie gangs, police corruption, a missing daughter and a police officer's death.
Sinister Intent is in part a police procedural as Lexie and Bondi Junction detectives chase leads and gather evidence trying to identify the man, presumed a Bikie, known only as 'The Grub' responsible for the hit on the Devil's Guardians member. Stymied by the Bikie's code of silence it's a difficult investigation and the pieces don't all fall into place until it is almost too late.
I thought the characters were portrayed authentically from the cops who drink a little more than they should do, to the casual chauvinism of a predominately male workplace, to the Bikie's who have little respect for the law and believe in loyalty to each other above all. I probably would have rated Sinister Intent slightly higher if Lexie had been a little stronger, both emotionally and physically. Though she has good reasons to be paranoid and vulnerable given her recent brush with death, and the murder of her brother, I thought Lexie was a little too often at the mercy of her post traumatic distress.
The only other niggle with this novel for me was the fairly frequent use of exclamation marks - it's a petty thing to point out, but they distracted me every time and mostly seemed unnecessary.
I really enjoyed Sinister Intent, I read it almost straight through and was reluctant to put it down. I am glad to welcome another great woman writer to the Australian crime fiction genre and I hope we see more from Karen M Davis soon.
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