Speak No Evil [Paperback]

Rochelle Majer Krich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

The award-winning author of Where's Mommy Now? presents a suspense novel featuring young attorney Debra Laslow, an Orthodox Jew who finds herself both a suspect and a target when four of her colleagues are murdered. Reprint. LJ. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As with her last book, Angel of Death, Krich loads her mystery with a message, but this time she does a better job of lowering the polemical volume while maintaining a taut narrative. For Debra Laslow, a lawyer with a private firm, being required to defend a man accused of rape?even one as respectable as Beverly Hills internist Kenneth Avedon?makes her uneasy. With good reason: Avedon's first lawyer was shot and her tongue severed?an event that becomes even more unnerving when three more lawyers meet the same fate and Debra receives anonymous warnings to "Get out of the way of Justice." She gets little sympathy from Homicide Detective Marty Simms, who despises rapists and their attorneys. To make things worse, the woman Avedon is accused of raping is, like Debra, an Orthodox Jew whose life will be difficult indeed if Debra wins the case. Since the dead lawyers apparently knew their murderer, Debra becomes increasingly fearful of those around her. By the time it's all over, Debra's life has changed, and Krich has effectively charted her earnest heroine's struggle to find a path that satisfies both the demands of her private morality and her professional obligations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Krich quickly pulls together all the elements of a superior mystery. She establishes conflict, provides a murder victim, and then demonstrates heroine Debra Laslow's connection to the murder. Successful LA attorney Laslow is horrified after fellow attorney Madeline is mutilated. When her best friend Susan, also an attorney, meets the same fate, the tragedy hits home. Further elements contribute to Krich's solid foundation: Laslow's orthodox Jewish behavior, her involvement in a rape case, and sexual harassment at work. A well-written and entertaining addition for most collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446405051
• ISBN-13: 978-0446405058
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,268,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moral dilemmas and mortal danger, June 1, 2004

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Speak No Evil (Hardcover)

Young criminal defense attorney Debra Laslow, observant daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, faces agonizing moral dilemmas and mortal danger in this outing.

When the beautiful, brilliant and heartless Madeleine Chase is found murdered, Debra inherits her client, a respected doctor accused of date rape. She also finds herself under scrutiny for the murder - she had quarreled publicly with Chase and had been seen coming from her building around the time of the murder. Then another attorney, a friend, is murdered and Debra finds the body. As police suspicion deepens, Debra begins to get threats from the killer.

Meanwhile, her client's victim is an Orthodox Jewish girl, a member of Debra's community, and there is strong pressure on her to drop the case. And, in fear for her life, Debra begins an investigation of her own.

Krich's approach is thoughtful, literate and absorbing. She depicts the difficulties of being an Orthodox Jew in a high-powered job, the close knit comforts of the community and the application of Jewish philosophy to moral decisions.

And she doesn't neglect suspense. Her heroine is resourceful but not foolhardy in the face of mortal danger and the solution of the mystery (in a smashing climax) is a total surprise - although the reader will be a step or two ahead of Debra in the last few pages.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true page-turner, February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak No Evil (Paperback)

This is a legal thriller that you don't want to put down. I read the last 230 pages in a morning, and will now read her other books. In the genre of Faye Kellerman, Rochelle Krich's writing easily matches or exceeds Kellerman, which is quite an accomplishment.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best legal-suspense thrillers of the 90's., August 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak No Evil (Paperback)

In my opinion, Krich is the most intelligent and readable mystery novelist of the 90's. Her female heroines are always exceptional, and Debra Lazlow (of Speak No Evil) is a prime example. Krich's premise is highly believable and seems to come from today's headlines. The action moves at a rapid clip, and there are plenty of hairpin plot-twists and moral quandries to delight fans of both detective stories and legal courtroom dramas.
Also make sure to check out Fair Game, by the same author.