Attorney Barbara Holloways toughest battle may be in the court of public opinion as she fights for a client facing a double charge of murder, for both the recent death of a senator and the death of a coed twenty years before.
Cold Case (Barbara Holloway Novels)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In Wilhelm's sluggish 11th Barbara Holloway legal thriller (after A Wrongful Death), controversial academic David Etheridge returns to his hometown of Eugene, Ore., to lecture on his latest anti-everything book. But when his college nemesis, Sen. Robert McCrutchen, is shot dead, David is fingered for the hit—and for the 22-year-old unsolved murder of co-ed Jill Storey, David's assumed former lover and the assumed unrequited love interest of McCrutchen. Enter Barbara Holloway, whom David hires as counsel, just before an unknown assailant beats David within inches of his life. The story hinges on a meager twist—Jill may have been a lesbian—that's learned early in the investigation and, despite its implications, fails to catalyze deeper discoveries. The plot stalls, and Barbara spends most of the book rooting around in the dark for clues. A lengthy block of exposition delivers a tidy ending to one of the weaker entries in this popular series. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Amy McCrutchen thought it was the first time she had ever really fallen in love. At fourteen, she had been in love before, but not for real. Billy Cook in fourth grade, then Johnny Stillman in sixth, but they didn't count, not like this. She and her best friend Greta had hovered on the outskirts of the big party that night, watching, commenting, giggling at the silliness of the celebrants, most of them in Robert's graduating class. Earlier, they had been banished from the family room, where the furniture had been pushed back against the walls for dancing. But they could still see everything, and they could help themselves to the plentiful food spread out on the dining-room table.
Earlier Amy had pointed out those she knew. "That's Chloe," she had said, indicating a girl in a red tank top and skintight white pants. "She and Robert are engaged. They're going to announce it tonight."
"She's pretty," Greta said.
Amy examined Chloe appraisingly. She had dark hair, almost black, straight, and halfway down her back. Her pants were so tight she couldn't sit down, and she bulged a little in them. "Too fat." She spotted Jill Storey and pointed. "She's prettier."
Jill was blond and slender nearly to the point of emaciation. She wore a black sheath that clung to her torso like a sealskin and flared at the hips. Her hair was cut short and curled about her face. She was the best dancer, Amy had decided.
"Too skinny," Greta said judiciously after studying Jill, "but she is pretty. Boy, can she dance! Who's that old guy dancing? He's good, too."
"Dr. Elders. He's not a real doctor, not like my dad, just a professor. They live next door." Her father was a surgeon, and he had gone to bed an hour earlier. Amy lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Mrs. Elders has something wrong with her. Leprosy or something. Her skin peels off, and she smells bad. She doesn't come out much."
Greta grimaced. "She peels? Like a sunburn?"
"Not like that. Great big flakes of skin, with red patches. All over. Face, arms, everywhere. It's yucky."
"Gross," Greta said. "That's too gross."
"Yeah, she can't go in the sun, or where it's hot or anything. He comes over a lot, but not her. She has to be in air-conditioning all the time." Amy shuddered. "And she's real fat."
"Double gross!" Greta said. And for a time they were both silent, savoring the grossness.
They danced on the deck, helped themselves to party food and watched. And later, hot and sweaty, Amy said, "Let's sneak some beer."
Greta grinned and nodded, and they picked up glasses and made their way to the keg. Amy had half a glass and Greta was filling her own glass when Dr. Elders came out, closely followed by Amy's brother, Robert, both carrying empty glasses.
"Are you girls drinking beer?" Dr. Elders asked in a low, pained voice. "Amy, does your mother know you're drinking beer?"
Robert glared at Amy. "I told you kids to beat it, and put that beer down!" His words were a bit slurred and his voice was loud. "Get lost, brats!" Other guests had turned to look, to Amy's mortification.
Behind Robert, David Etheridge looked at her, rolled his eyes, shook his head and then winked. At that moment Amy fell in love.
Her mother walked out and said calmly, "Amy, why don't you and Greta make yourselves a sandwich and take it to your room."
Amy and Greta fled.
They had talked a long time, cursing Dr. Elders with the worst curse they could think of, that he would catch whatever it was his wife had, and that his nose would fall off. Secretly Amy wished the same fate on her brother, but she didn't say it aloud.
After Greta fell asleep, Amy was thinking dreamily of David, who had winked at her. She didn't know what color his eyes were, she realized. She had not paid attention before when she had seen him as just another one of boring Robert's stupid pals. She twisted and turned a short while, then put on a sweatshirt and jeans and cautiously made her way downstairs.
The party was a lot quieter, with piano and guitar music and a low murmur of voices the only sounds. She met no one and made her way out to the deck and beyond to a dogwood tree where she could see into the family room and hear the music but still be concealed in shadows.
There were only a few people left, gathered at the far end of the family room by the piano. The music was soft and dreamy, the spinning disco light turned off, and no one was dancing anymore. Several people were sitting on the floor; someone was sprawled on the sofa. Dr. Elders must have left, she was relieved to see. She spotted David, took a deep breath and sat down in the grass.
He would go out into the world and make a fortune, and the day she turned eighteen he would return and they would be free, run away, or maybe have a grand wedding with a diamond tiara and a ten-foot-long satin train for her, and a white tuxedo for him.
The kitchen lights dimmed, the patio door opened and her mother came out, paused a moment, then went to the far side of the deck, beyond the light from the family room and kitchen. Amy could not see her any longer, and she didn't think her mother could see her, either.
Her butt was getting cold and wet, she realized, shifting slightly, then she stopped moving. Jill Storey came out to the deck. She had a dark sweater over her shoulders. She passed the pale light to the family room and went to the railing on the side, where she became a dim figure. A lighter flared, then the glowing tip of a cigarette.
After a moment Robert followed Jill out, and Amy knew she was doomed. She was close enough for Robert to see her if he happened to glance her way. She scrunched down lower and pulled her sweatshirt up around her face.
Robert's voice, while not as loud as it had been yelling at her and Greta, was still quite audible as he drew near Jill.
"Hey, Jill baby, let's duck out of this, go up to my room for a little while."
"No way. Take Chloe," Jill said.
"Nah. You're the one, honey. We hit it off just right. Don't we?"
"I said no. Leave me alone."
"Not what you said a couple of weeks ago," Robert said.
"That was then. This is now."
"How 'bout you pay me back my twenty-five bucks, then? Take it out in trade?"
"You already took it out in trade. You got what you wanted, and so did I. Leave me alone," Jill said angrily.
Amy, freeing her eyes of the sweatshirt, watched the scene, frozen. Robert was slurring his words even more than he had been earlier, and he was swaying. He caught on to the rail near Jill. She moved back a step or two and he made a grab for her arm.
"You bitch! You just wanted the dough? Is that what you're telling me? You were in it for a lousy twenty-five? All smiles and come on, big boy, spread your legs for a lousy twenty-five. How many others? Spending money? Mad money? You liked it just fine then."
Jill's voice was furious as she said, "Liked it? Liked it! You disgust me, you and all the others. Stick it in, that's all you think of ! Stick it in anything that moves. Think with your prick, that's all you know. Well, listen to me, you filthy ape. I don't need you now. I was going to be evicted, now I'm not. So beat it! Leave me alone!"
Amy drew in her breath sharply.
David had stepped out onto the deck. He crossed to stand close to Jill and Robert. "When you're ready to leave, I'll drive you home in your car," he said to Jill. "You're in no shape to drive tonight."
"So that's it," Robert cried. "You've got yourself a new patsy! I saw him pass you a key! You have the key to his apartment, don't you? You're moving in with him?" He was facing her, but his words were aimed at David as he said, "What's the deal for a key to an apartment—twenty-four-hour access? She'll keep her legs spread day and night for a whole apartment?"
"Robert, shut your mouth," David said in a low voice. "Go duck your head in cold water."
"You going to make me?"
Robert swung at David, who moved aside, deflected Robert's arm and sent him sprawling off the deck into a bush. With a cry, Jill ran to the kitchen door and entered. David watched Robert right himself and stumble to his feet, then he turned and reentered the house.
Amy realized that her mother had risen, taken a few steps toward the small group at the other end of the deck, then stopped and sunk back down onto a chaise, again out of sight. Amy pulled her sweatshirt up over her eyes again and hugged her arms around herself, shivering. It was a long time before her mother rose and went inside, and Amy didn't dare move until after that.
The next day, Sunday, the news spread like a grass fire—Jill Storey's body had been found that morning outside her apartment, partly hidden in shrubs. She had been strangled.
"I think the worst is over," Barbara Holloway said, standing at her office window. Shelley and Maria were at the matching window, all three watching a wind-battered tree across the street. Although it was still raining, sheets of rain were no longer racing down the street. The tree appeared safe now, but the street looked like a river, with wavelets surging up over the curb. The power had gone off half an hour earlier and, according to the radio reports, damage was extensive throughout the county.
"Another storm of the century," Shelley said. "Never mind that it's the third such in the past few years. I'm going to call Alex for a damage report."
She hurried out to her own office, with Maria following to call home, and Barbara hit the speed button for Darren's office at the rehabilitation clinic. She got voice mail, left a brief "we're okay" message, then called her father.
"I'm fine," Frank said, sounding grumpy. "The yard's an unholy mess, and Norton's poplar tree is in the middle of the street. How are you fixed for lanterns at your place?"
"On my way to check any minute," she said. "I'll round up lanterns and candles. I imagine the clinic is using the generator, and Darren will probably be there all night. Todd went to his mother's house after school. He called a while ago. So we're all right. I guess you're marooned for a bit, aren't you?"
Across town, Chloe McCrutchen hung up her phone after speaking with Mildred Ochs. Chloe wa... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Born in 1928, Kate Wilhelm the author of more than thirty novels including Where Late the Sweet Bird Sang and The Unbidden Truth. Her work has been adapted for TV and film and translated into twenty languages. She has been awarded the Prix Apollo, Kurd Lasswitz, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. In 2003, she was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Her short fiction appeared in landmark anthologies such as Again Dangerous Visions, Orbit, The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women, and The Norton Book of Science Fiction. A cofounder of the Clarion Writers' Workhops, she continues to host monthly writing workshops in Eugene, Oregon.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable regional whodunit,
This review is from: Cold Case (Hardcover)
Over two decades ago in Eugene, Oregon, someone murdered teenager Jill Storey. The police and much of the small town believed that either teens David Etheridge or Robert McCrutchen killed her. However, no evidence was found and the case went cold.
Twenty-two years later, David an author returns to his hometown and ends up staying with Robert who is a senator and his wife. Soon afterward, someone murders Robert. The police once again suspect David, believing they have motive, means and definitely opportunity. He, knowing that he is a person of interest, hires attorney Barbara Holloway to represent him. She and her team begin to investigate the two homicides with each clue making the case stronger against her client. The latest Holloway investigative thriller is an enjoyable regional whodunit starring an eccentric Oregonian cast, but not quite as powerful as most of the previous tales (see SLEIGHT OF HAND and A WRONGFUL DEATH). With humor to somewhat abating the tension, fans will appreciate Barbara's efforts to find proof that someone else committed the recent homicide although she and the audience begin to believe David is guilty until a beating occurs. Her digging means no time to mount a defense and takes away from the overall story line as she gets nowhere for much of the novel. Still COLD CASE is a fine Holloway tale. Harriet Klausner
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Latest but not the best,
By
This review is from: Cold Case (Hardcover)
Barbara Holloway is a brilliant defense attorney with little stomach for the sorts of maneuvers required to attain acquittal. When she does accept a case, it always takes a lot out of her, both physically and emotionally. At this point, she's in a great relationship, the personal part of her life in order. But her latest case, a double murder trial, involving 2 victims who died 22 years apart, in the vicinity of her client, is about to shake her up professionally. For Barbara, though she believes in the innocence of the accused, can't get a handle on an effective way to counter the charges.
Cold Case is set up well enough to build interest, and the finale is also adequately satisfying. What the heart of the book lacks, however, is a sense of urgency and danger, consisting mainly of long passages of "woe is me, what are we going to do" teeth gnashing by Barbara and her team. To the author's credit, she did not resort to any DNA/forensic rabbits in the hat, bringing Barbara to her solution with good old fashioned evidence examination. All in all, this is a lackluster outing for the Holloways.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully entertainin,
By
This review is from: Cold Case (Barbara Holloway Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
I use to read Kate Wilhelm all the time and for some unkown reason, I stopped reading her.
I am glad that I picked up Cold Case because this book features Wilhelm at her best. In Cold Case, we find Barbara Holloway is back again. I really like this character as I always found her to be extremely savy and smart and quite entertaining at the same time! So, she is always a joy to read. Cold Case takes a look at a case that was extremely delicate - 22 years ago - hence the title Cold Case. Holloway finds herself with a new murder on her hands - except that the victim was once accused of murder himself - Holloway will find herself caught up in the middle of both the Cold Case and the new murder and must beat the clock in order to save the accused who may or may not be guilty. I loved the fact that the author did such a great job of joining the past and the present - and she does it in a clever way - without making it feel as though it is "forced" or plot oriented. Great pacing as always - this is never a problem with Wilhelm's novels - she is a master at keeping the story moving. I really, really enjoyed this one.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
