Akin to Death [Paperback]

Carroll Lachnit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Ex-cop Hannah Barlow, now a lawyer, has just joined her former law school study partner at his new firm. Thier first case is to finalize an adoption.

It's a no-brainer that is supposed to be a formality--until a man bursts into their office, claiming to be the baby's biological father. So Hannah delves into the mystery--and what she finds is an elaborate web of deceit...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ex-cop turned lawyer, Hannah Barlow and her new partner, Bobby Terry, are working on a fairly routine adoption. Birth mother Laura Benson and new parents Stephen and Rebecca Drummond have just signed the papers when a very agitated Kurt Sundstrum interrupts their celebration claiming to be little Matthew's father. Laura has been less than truthful, and when she dies in suspicious circumstances Hannah travels from her Orange County base up and down the West Coast trying to sort through the tangled lives of her clients and their associates to discover just who wanted Laura dead. Lachnit keeps the twists coming right to the final pages of this third outing for Barlow (Murder in Brief; A Blessed Death); but it also offers greater complexity than much of the usual fare. While working toward a solution, Barlow is forced to examine her own feelings about commitment and belonging and their place in her life. Identity and the desperation to have a child figure prominently in this many-layered clash of generations, expectations and changing mores.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425164098
• ISBN-13: 978-0425164099
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,902,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book cooks!, August 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Akin to Death (Paperback)

A former police officer (see A BLESSED DEATH), Hannah Barlow is extremely proud of herself for graduating from law school (see MURDER IN BRIEF). She is now a practicing attorney, having opened up a partnership with Bobby Terry, her former law school study partner in Las Almas, California. Hannah can even stare all day at the office door that shows the sign of Terry & Barlow.

Hannah's first case involves a simple adoption. Stephen and Rebecca Drummond are already legally the parents of nine-month old Matthew, whose birth mother is Laura Benson. The final formality is the signing of a few legal documents and a simple celebration of the event and Laura has no more claim on her biological son. However, Kurt Sundstrom explodes into the legal office, irate with Laura. He has proof that he is her legal husband and claims to be the father to the boy that Laura just gave away. The old police mentality of Hannah takes charge and she begins to investigate who is w! hat to whom.

The Hannah Barlow mysteries are fabulous stories because each new edition has the lead protagonist further evolving in her personal life. Hannah goes from cop to student to lawyer in the three novels thus published. This makes each new novel a refreshing story. AKIN TO DEATH, the third book continues to show the growth of Hannah (and Bobby) as she handles her first legal case. The story line is intriguing as the simple adoption becomes tangled inside a series of lies and deceptions. Readers who enjoy watching their star grow should try all three of Carroll Lachnit's extraordinary mystery series.

Harriet Klausner