Bearing Witness: A Rachel Gold Novel [Paperback]

Michael A. Kahn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2003

Savvy attorney Rachel Gold wanted no part of any age discrimination case against Beckman Engineering-a corporate powerhouse known both for its good deeds and for its nasty pack of litigation pit bulls. But, when pressured, Rachel reluctantly agrees to represent her mother's best friend, Ruth, who was axed by Beckman just shy of her sixty-third birthday.

As she feared, things get ugly fast as Beckman's lawyers try every dirty tactic possible to tarnish her client's reputation. But Rachel soon discovers that Ruth had stumbled upon a dark secret, or at least the possibility of one, during her years at Beckman-a secret that just might help even the odds in the lawsuit.

Suddenly, their ordinary case mutates into something far more sinister. Skeletons-both in and out of the closet-start piling up as Rachel probes a mystery that spans decades of treachery, bribery, and cold-blooded murder. As Rachel's key witnesses are murdered, one by one, Rachel realizes that she faces a shadowy conspiracy from the past with a deadly grip on the present . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Rachel Gold, a St. Louis attorney, doesn't think much of her client's chances for succeeding in an age-discrimination suit against one of the city's biggest engineering firms. Only her mother's plea that she represent Ruth Alpert convinces Rachel to take on what looks like a sure loser, until Ruth mentions her suspicions that her former employer has been involved in rigging bids for government contracts with five other regional construction-related companies. Tracking the bidding process is a tedious job, more suited for a powerful law firm with plenty of resources than for Rachel's more modest practice. But with the help of a law school professor who's an old friend and his eager minions of young students, Rachel soon uncovers a conspiracy that's more than an illegal bidding scam and much older than she is.

Before World War II, Nazis channeled looted gold to anti-Semitic sympathizers in the American Midwest, some of whom are still alive and are closely connected to a contemporary group of Aryan nation skinheads led by a charismatic preacher known as the Spider. Rachel's age-discrimination case quickly morphs into a much deadlier enterprise. The bodies pile up as her key witnesses are murdered and the defendant and his allies move to locate and destroy the 50-year-old evidence that could ruin them. With a fascinating historical background and a likable heroine, this taut little thriller, the sixth in the Rachel Gold series, sheds new light on an obscure era in the American heartland. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Kahn's latest legal thriller sets his series protagonist (and narrator) against a Goliath law firm and a crew of ex- and neo-Nazis in an intricate St. Louis civil suit. A secretary's age-discrimination case against litigious Beckman Engineering leads Rachel Gold to discover a multimillion-dollar bid-rigging conspiracy, which becomes the basis for a new and far more consequential suit. Beckman's no-goodnik law firm Roth & Bowles retaliate with volleys of counterclaims, metric tons of irrelevant evidence and an array of tactical harassment. Other parties strike back violentlyAan angry ex-wife with all the dirt on Beckman is gunned down before Rachel's eyes. Rachel's lawyer boyfriend, Jonathan Wolf, investigates Missouri's neo-Nazis for the state attorney general; he ties the gunmen to a skinhead group called the Spider. When Rachel, her law professor pal Benny and his students plow through boxes of Beckman info, they discover a six-firm cabal dating back to the 1940s, when an undercover Jewish activist kept tabs on St. Louis's powerful anti-Semites. Could the cabal be linked to the Spider as well? Though much of the plot involves library research, Kahn (a St. Louis lawyer himself) renders it all exciting; what could be bookish tedium becomes a treasure hunt over perilous ground and a chance to look at some of the stranger, darker parts of real Midwestern history. Kahn (Death Benefits; Grave Designs) makes civil law seem almost glamorous. Rachel must confront huge corporations, take on a hostile judge who favors the well-heeled, outmaneuver violent white supremacists and meanwhile try to maintain a love life. Rachel and Jonathan's differing brands of Judaism flesh out both their charactersAand give their romance some comedy, since Jonathan's Orthodox beliefs forbid premarital sex. Though neither his prose nor his people transcend their genre, Kahn's likable characters and well-managed plots make this entertaining read a solid addition to its series. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (April 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812579836
• ISBN-13: 978-0812579833
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Kahn is a trial lawyer by day and an author at night. He wrote his first novel, GRAVE DESIGNS, on a challenge from his wife Margi, who got tired of listening to the same answer whenever she asked him about a book he was reading. "Not bad," he would say, "but I could write a better book than that." "Then write one," she finally said, "or please shut up." So he shut up, and then he wrote one.

Kahn is the award-winning author of: seven Rachel Gold novels; an eighth novel, THE MOURNING SEXTON, under the pen name Michael Baron; and several short stories.

In addition to his day job as a lawyer, he is an adjunct professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches a class on censorship and free expression. Married to his high school sweetheart, he is the father of five and the grandfather of, so far, three.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising the Gold Standard, August 27, 2000

By 

Charles R. Slater - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bearing Witness: A Rachel Gold Novel (Rachel Gold Novels) (Hardcover)

It's not often in a book that the heroine and her allies are so good, and the guys on the other side so bad that you utter a verbal "Yes!" when they get their comeuppance, but in happens in this marvelous continuation of the too-often-overlooked Rachel Gold legal-detective series by Michael Kahn. Taking on the age-discrimination suit of her mother's friend leads to a captain of industry with swastikas in his past and, with her oddball friend Prof. Benny Goldberg and his legal-research irregulars on the case, Rachel parries all the legal roadblocks a multimillion-dollar legal staff can throw at her in unraveling a long-buried puzzle. This sets up an unforgettable and unforgettably dramatic courtroom confrontation. And woven throughout the fabric are a reverent look at the suffering of the Jews, even in the United States, before World War II. And, oh, yes, there's a sweet, growing romance, too. And it all works together. This is a book I've savored even more afterward than when I read it, and I keep coming back to that courtroom confrontation and going "Yes!"

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better and Better, September 6, 2000

By 

Jane E Vaughan (Tampa, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bearing Witness: A Rachel Gold Novel (Rachel Gold Novels) (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed all of the Rachel Gold series novels. However, this one may be the very best. It combines humor, history and an incredible plot .The book has a very poignant side concerning anti-semitism. I don't think anyone could read it without shaking their head in disbelief at the acts of anti-semitism portrayed in the book. Rachel Gold and Benny Goldberg are my favorite mystery duo. I went through this book non-stop. One of my favorite humorous references was to Graceland. Rachel likened the jungle room in Graceland to a hill billy decorator on LSD let loose in a Pier One Imports store. Having just visited Graceland the month before that was a most accurate description. I highly recommend this book for both the fun and serious side of the plot. I do hope Mr Kahn continues the Rachel Gold series.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, September 25, 2000

By 

Maria Meylan (Genolier, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bearing Witness: A Rachel Gold Novel (Rachel Gold Novels) (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of Rachel Gold since Michael A. Kahn's first book came out, and the waiting time for "Bearing Witness" was way too long. But was worth it! This is his best ever! A very serious subject as well. I had gooseskin reading it. Considering that I live in Switzerland and that we went through serious times here with our banks and the Holocaust money, the book came at a really appropriate time. I hope there are many more Rachel Gold stories in the pipeline.