If you want a quality 22 at a fair price, look into used Ruger Mk. IIs.
I bought mine used in 1997 and it has been very reliable. The only problems have been the occasional stovepipe with bulk ammo (bulk 22 ammo will jam any gun occasionally) and when it gets super-dirty from bulk ammo the slide stop doesn't spring up.
Shooting good ammo and cleaning occasionally makes it 100% reliable. It is very accurate too. I think I paid $275 for it back then. You can probably get a clean used one for not too much more than this now.
I almost bought a P22 for my wife; she really liked how it felt in her hand. I found it to be a bit small for even my small hand.
I seem to recall reading that the cracked slide issue was caused by the slide slamming into the barrel weight on the extended barrel model. The standard model should have no such problems.
Another good option (if you really want a 22 that looks like a "real gun") would be a Bersa Thunder 22 or whatever the equivalent Firestorm model is. Check it out on Bud's. Gunblast did a youtube review on it. Like most other 22s, it is fine with good ammo and less so with junk ammo. It's the same size as a Thunder 380, which is quite a popular gun in its own right.
We bought a Buck Mark for my wife. Also a good gun. Better trigger and grip than Ruger, out of the box, but not as accurate and it is more ammo sensitive than the Ruger. (it feeds good ammo 100%, but stovepipes jams more often on bulk ammo than the Ruger)
In this pic, you can see my Ruger Mk. II Target and my wife's Buck Mark in the top row: