Until Proven Guilty [Hardcover]

Christine McGuire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 1993

Someone is collecting scalps - trophies from the women he's murdered. Kathryn MacKay has a reputation as a tough DA. A hard job, prosecuting murderers and rapists. She gives it her all, but nothing can prepare her for what's to come when she's appointed head of the task force to catch the killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McGuire, a California prosecutor who made her literary debut with an account of a real-life sexual enslavement case ( Perfect Victim ), turns her attention to crime fiction with gripping results. This unrelenting third-person account of a vicious serial killer all but commands readers to burn the midnight oil. It reveals the criminal's identity from the start: Lee Russell, a high-school teacher, slays and mutilates teenage Hispanic girls who remind him of his hated stepsister. While on a tour of duty in Saigon, Lee murdered Saigon prostitutes; never discovered, he now feels invincible and sends coded messages about his more recent victims to the Santa Rita, Calif., sheriff's office. There, senior trial attorney Kathryn Mackay and her partner, Inspector Dave Granz, unflinchingly sift through the gruesome evidence of Russell's horrific crimes. Kathryn, a divorcee and mother of a six-year-old daughter, juggles home life, police work and friendships with her colleagues; she also meets her nemesis, true-crime TV reporter Richard Sanchez, who jeopardizes the investigation by broadcasting information obtained from an inside source. McGuire expertly builds suspense as the killer's path converges with that of the law. Although the squeamish may want to avert their eyes from the book's hideous scenes of torture and murder, pathological details and criminal profiles unfailingly rivet the attention.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Publishers Weekly Gripping....This unrelenting...account of a vicious serial killer all but commands readers to burn the midnight oil....McGuire expertly builds suspense....[the] pathological details and criminal profiles unfailingly rivet the attention. -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; First edition (August 16, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0434440345
• ISBN-13: 978-0434440344
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,187,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow, One-Dimensional Characters, April 12, 2000

By 

Carole Henning Larson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Until Proven Guilty (Mass Market Paperback)

There are many problems with this book, but the most glaring is the one-dimensional quality of the hero, Kathryn Mackay. Ordinarily, tough female attorneys are appealing, but Mackay is not just tough, she is cruel, shallow and sloppy in her work as well. It is disappointing that she is less likable than the men in the story, though they, too, have little depth. Since it is impossible to empathize with the hero, the reader cannot feel bad for her when she gets into trouble. She states that a woman has to be tough, like a man. One must ask if she were going to try to be like a man, could she not at least have chosen a nice man? Mackay is painted as a bright, ambitious woman, but she is too ignorant of the law and too sloppy to be real. She misses the most obvious clues in the solving of the crime and behaves like the baby-sitter in the horror story who hears voices in the basement and goes looking with a tiny flashlight. The condescending nature of the novel is also annoying. There are many examples, but one occurs when a character ends a phone call with the phrase "Ten-four" and the next sentence reads, "Ten-four meant message received and understood." One wants to read to the end of this book, hoping the author will redeem herself. McGuire never does.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars promising, but falls short, March 8, 2002

By 

J. Gendreau (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Until Proven Guilty (Mass Market Paperback)

The plot and storyline of this book are pretty good and there were definately times when I could not put it down but there were a few annoying details. Not enough for me NOT to recommend it, but annoying nonetheless. There is the occassional mispelling which isn't much but it interrupts the whole flow when you are at a critical point. The main character's 6 year old is a bit too precocious for my taste with lines like "I don't mind really. I mean, eveyone knows life's not fair" and "sometimes I don't mean to cry but sometimes the tears just run out on their own". Very logical and understanding for a 6 year old. I also agree with a previous reviewer that states that the main character misses obvious clues. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to finish the book but I would have enjoyed it much more had these details been different. Details are little things I know, but as any good mystery enthusiast knows..the key is most always in the details :)

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a page-turner!, February 27, 2001

By 

"sweetnsnooty" (Antioch, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Until Proven Guilty (Mass Market Paperback)

I truly love Christine McGuire's style! This is the second book I've read - the first was "Until Justice is Done" (LOVED IT), and I am already looking for the next one! Not only does Ms. McGuire involve several plots/stories in one book, but she gives great detail about the prosecution process as well! :-)