Intent to Harm

"Remarkably compelling... an amazingly detailed book, intricately suspenseful... It's easy to get caught up in the chase of Intent to Harm..." —Jackie Jones, San Francisco Chronicle Unrelenting psychological suspense and a hauntingly realistic police investigation form the crackling center of this remarkable debut novel, which moves as swiftly and unpredictably as the assailant at its heart: a savage serial rapist. Taunting his intended victims with subtle violations of their homes—possessions slightly out of place, doors left ajar—he leaves no solid evidence except the awful degradations inflicted upon carefully selected women in a quiet college town. Beat cop Toby Parkman jumps at the chance to join the manhunt; after all, the force's informal credo is "protect the weak, nail jerks." But after interviewing victims—imploring women to share details of a horror they can never forget—it's not easy for Toby to return home to the simple embraces of his wife and two children, or to back off when their best friend brushes away his concerns for her safety. With the attacks growing increasingly vicious, panic spreads, but a likely suspect finally emerges. Then a carefully laid trap backfires, and Toby is caught in the fallout—forces to confront the limits of the law... and to weigh the cost of stepping over them. "Intent to Harm is a smart, fast-moving thriller of uncommon sensibility. Stan Washburn takes us into a world where intelligent cops must stare directly into the face of human evil." —Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama