In-Laws & Outlaws (G. K. Hall (Large Print)) [Large Print] [Library Binding]

Barbara Paul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991 | Series: G. K. Hall (Large Print)

All three siblings of the Decker family were killed as teenagers in bizarre accidents, and when their father dies too, his widow suspects that murder has become a family affair. Reprint. K. PW.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran mystery writer Paul ( The Renewable Virgin ) here crafts an absorbing, suitably horrific mystery that centers around the wealthy and influential Decker clan, a politically powerful and much-publicized Boston family experiencing a nightmare: someone is out to get them. When Gillian Clifford Decker, widow of Stuart Decker, reads that Stuart's father, Raymond, has been killed in a fire, she ignores a longstanding estrangement and hurries to Boston to comfort Raymond's widow, Connie. Fearful and indecisive, Connie is sure of a conspiracy: within the last four months, two of her teenage nephews and one niece have died in suspicious and particularly gruesome accidents; four years earlier, Connie and Raymond's son Theo had been kidnapped and murdered in a grisly and sensational case. Gillian, invited to the family enclave on Martha's Vineyard, gradually feels that she is being involved in an elaborate charade. But to what purpose? Astute readers may spot the key to this intense story early enough to find the finale unduly melodramatic--but the tale is nonetheless a potent mix of deception, manipulation and murder.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 323 pages
• Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Company. (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081615239X
• ISBN-13: 978-0816152391
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,687,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All in the family --, April 12, 2001

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In-Laws and Outlaws: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Barbara Paul is both a wonderful and wonderfully-inventive writer. My own particular favorites of her large list of books are the ones featuring the operatic soprano/part-time detective Emmy Destin, with a little help from Enrico Caruso and other such notable luminaries of the time.

The books in which she incorporates her theatre background would stand out for that reason alone, (to me, at least) even if they didn't possess all the other star qualities necessary to produce a first-rate, entertaining book.

This quirky book is no exception, with former stage director Gillian Clifford, now a theatre-museum director, as the main protagonist. In her younger days, she had been married, all-too-briefly, to Stuart Decker, younger brother of the renowned venture capitalist Raymond. Stuart was the victim of a hit-and-run driver. The male Deckers, along with twin sisters, Michelle and Annette, comprise the current generation of a Boston family, which will immediately bring to mind other noted New England families, in more than one respect.

Raymond and his wife Connie, had one son, Theo; Annette, married to Tom Henry, a son, Ike; Michelle, married to Rob Kurland, Raymond's partner, had two sons, Bobby and Joel. Uncle Oscar and Aunt Elinor Ferguson had a daughter, Lynn. Theo had been the first to die, some years earlier, during a botched kidnapping attempt. But now, just in the last three months, Ike, Bobby and Lynn had all died, too, in apparent accidents. The final death was Raymond himself, in a fire at his home on Martha's Vineyard. "Whom the gods smile upon . . ."

While reading her Chicago newspaper, Gillian stumbles over the death notice for Raymond, and is compelled to travel to Boston, to re-visit the family of which she was once a member. The family, however, thinks differently. Once a Decker, always a Decker. In many more ways than one, it would appear.

Connie thinks Raymond was murdered, and in a short time, convinces Gillian to agree with her. From then on, it's no holds barred, as Gillian allies herself first with one, then another of the Deckers to get to the bottom of this murderous marry-go-round. Delicious!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Invest in Murder, July 23, 2011

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In-Laws & Outlaws (Hardcover)

The Decker family is deluged with the deaths of their children. Gillian Clifford, an aunt by marriage learns of the deaths when she reads the final one of Raymond Decker in the paper.
Aunt Gillian can't leave well-enough alone when she comes from Chicago to attend Raymond's funeral. The family is obsessed with appearance and will do anything to hide their secrets, while protecting their own. They escape to a compound on Martha's Vineyard to regroup their forces and ensnare Gillian back into the fold from which she escaped ten years before.
Returning could be the mistake of Gillian's life if she can't discover who murdered three children and Raymond before more bodies pile up including her own.
Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery about "Family", March 27, 2011

By 

Mami - See all my reviews

This review is from: In-Laws And Outlaws (Paperback)

Yes, this is a mystery but not just about crime or murder...this is a mystery about "family". Those distinctive and memorable characters present wonderful ensemble work, and each clue, carefully put through the book, takes you to the last page without stopping, and it makes you think about your own family, including "in-laws", again but not the same way anymore...