20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Ann L. Bruns for Bookreporter.com, March 27, 2000
REVIEW There are times when I'm just plain tired of high powered legal thrillers. You know the type. The featured attorney is either the most eligible bachelor in town or the most drop-dead gorgeous female to ever grace a courtroom. And while defending their clients, they become embroiled in a life-or-death struggle with the real villain of the piece --- barely escaping bullets, bombs, and the like. Sound familiar?
In NO DEFENSE Kate Wilhelm has recaptured the good old-fashioned courtroom drama, the Perry Mason style of suspense, and done it admirably. No fireworks, no superhero stunts, no murderers lurking in dark hallways; just tough investigating, smart deducing and a few courtroom theatrics to heighten the anticipation. It works.
Wilhelm's featured character, Barbara Holloway, is a defense attorney with a passion for seemingly hopeless cases. When her father Frank is approached by a young woman with a mysterious request for legal advice, he enlists Barbara's help to unravel a peculiar puzzle. Lara Jessup's husband has died under mysterious circumstances. Was it suicide or murder? What happened to the documents he was supposedly taking to Harris McReady that night, and what was in them? And what does a large box of papers --- years worth of investigation into this powerful man, Judge McReady, --- have to do with Vinny Jessup's death and the disappearance of Vinny's son years ago?
Even though the Holloways suspect McReady is involved, as well as his powerful in-laws, Thomas and Anna Lynch (who are backing McReady for a Supreme Court judgeship), they soon find that their client was seen at the site of the murder and is the one being charged. It doesn't help that the Jessup's were a May-December marriage and there's a large insurance policy involved. With no apparent defense, Barbara and her team must research the perplexing mound of paperwork to discover why the judge, his wife Babe, and his father-in-law are all so anxious to find the originals of those missing documents and railroad Lara into a plea bargain.
Not only is the blow by blow courtroom narrative fascinating, but the characters that Wilhelm has fashioned are interesting people that add further dimension to the storyline itself. Take Manny Truewater, for instance. A Native American lawyer who shared a practice with Vinny, he knows the history behind the Jessups, the Lynchs and McReady. He moves in and out of scenes, dropping tantalizing details and throwing up a few roadblocks here and there to antagonize the opposition. He's a man with more insight than others realize and who knows far more than he's telling.
Barbara's father is someone you'd love to know; someone you'd fondly describe as "a character." He's the anchor that keeps Barbara from drifting into trouble, the calming influence when the case appears lost, and the inveterate social butterfly who can get literally anyone to tell him anything. Toss in a wiseacre investigator named Bailey, who hates working in the desert heat and never met a meal he didn't like, and you've got a mix of people ripe with personality to add a bit of fun to the lawyerly proceedings.
NO DEFENSE may be a little too laid-back for those who demand larger-than-life heroes, psychotics running amuck, and a body count that could populate Toledo. But then again, if you enjoy grappling with whodunnits that will keep you riveted, Kate Wilhelm is just the ticket.
--- Reviewed by Ann L. Bruns
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much more than a legal procedural-it is mesmerizing, December 30, 1999
The beautiful Lara Jessup married Vinnie, a man more than twice her age for financial gain. He takes out a large life insurance policy on himself, naming her his beneficiary. Most of the residents of Bend and Salt Creek believe Lara married Vinnie for his insurance money. However, Lara and Vinnie know she wed him out of love, gratitude, and protection against her abusive ex-husband.
Vinnie dies in an apparent accident. However, the autopsy reveals a bullet to his head was the cause of death. They feel Vinnie committed suicide. On the night of his death, Vinnie was supposed to deliver important papers to Judge McReady, but none are found on his corpse. The Judge and his powerful father-in-law put an inordinate amount of pressure on Lara to give them the documents or be charged with murder. Lara turns to attorney Barbara Holliway to represent her in a case in which all legal avenues appear to convict her client.
NO DEFENSE is more than just a finely written legal thriller that will elate the sub-genre audience. The tale concentrates on the hopes and dreams, strengths and weaknesses of individuals. The story line is a superior character study that few authors can do as well as Kate Wilhelm can. Already a fan favorite, this may be Kate Hollaway's best appearance as the complex tale has crossover appeal to fans of contemporary fiction as well as the mystery crowd. Readers who miss this excellent legal procedural story will have NO DEFENSE when it comes to refusing to read an excellent work.
Harriet Klausner
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent outing for Wilhelm's character, Barbara Holloway.., December 5, 2001
"No Defense" brings out the best in Kate Wilhelm's style of courtroom drama. The reality of the criminal courtroom in her series is really not the time in court (punctuated by unexpected admissions of guilt or anguish by witnesses or defendants, that you see in TV courtrooms) but the planning, strategy and negotiation that goes on before the trial starts, during the trial, in and around the offices of the defense and the prosecutor, and the location where the defendant is held until the trial is concluded.
Without the hystrionics, Wilhelm's courtroom may be a little too colorless for both, as well might her main character, Barbara,
who has no quirky behaviors or hidden secrets. Barbara's main relationship in life is with her attorney father - another reason why the series may be too boring for those who like the addition of sex and violence.
Nevertheless, the straightforward telling of a murder case that may have been a suicide was difficult for me to put down, and the final actions and reactions that reveal the murderer, and a lot of the town secrets, kept me guessing up to the final pages.
Throw in some terrific writing about scenic Oregon (most of us will learn for the first time about the desert in the eastern part of the state), and a bit of comedy connected with Frank Holloway's budding career as a writer, and you get a terrific tale that you will really enjoy.
A talented, award-winning novelist who can outcraft the "attorneys who are also novelists", Wilhelm will quickly become a favorite for you.
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