Customer Reviews

A Wrongful Death: A Barbara Holloway Novel [With Headphones]

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Thirty-four year old Elizabeth Kurtz is a woman in distress in Kate Wilhelm's "A Wrongful Death." Her ex-husband, Terry, barges into her office one day to announce that his father is dying. Terry wants Elizabeth to help him find an important document that will mean a great deal of money for them and their son, Jason. If Terry's malicious mother, Sarah, were to find the paper first, she would immediately shred it, and Terry, Elizabeth, and Jason would end up with nothing. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to assist in the search, but much to her shock, she comes across a thick folder with contents so potentially explosive that she hurriedly grabs it and leaves town with her son. Her impulsive actions come back to haunt Elizabeth when she realizes that someone is willing to kill her to retrieve the stolen files.

Oregon-based attorney Barbara Holloway is at a turning point in her life. She is disillusioned with the law and is seriously considering giving up her practice. She also has qualms about accepting a proposal of marriage from the man she loves, Darren Halvord. Barbara's therapist advises her to "confront what it is you fear; only then can you resolve it." She retreats to a secluded spot to consider her options. While walking along the beach one day, Barbara is suddenly accosted by Elizabeth Kurtz's hysterical son who tearfully informs her that his mother has been hurt. Barbara takes the boy back to the cabin where he and his mother have been staying; she finds Elizabeth Kurtz lying on the ground bleeding from a head wound. After Barbara makes the injured woman comfortable, she locates the caretaker and returns with him to the cabin, only to discover that Elizabeth and Jason have both disappeared.

Much to her consternation, Barbara unwittingly becomes embroiled in a case involving a bitter family feud, greed, corporate fraud, insanity, and murder. Fortunately, Barbara's father, Frank, a respected criminal defense lawyer, and Bailey Novell, a crackerjack private investigator, are on hand with much needed advice and support during the grueling months to come. The police suspect Barbara of lying when she insists that she has no connection to Kurtz and does not represent her. Although she would prefer to wash her hands of the Kurtz matter, Barbara decides that she has no choice but to investigate this dysfunctional family.

"A Wrongful Death" is a convoluted, talky, and far-fetched story that requires a great deal of exposition to clarify all of the players and their roles in what turns out to be a messy and protracted domestic melodrama. Cozy scenes of Barbara eating her father's scrumptious meals and enjoying his loving concern alternate with brainstorming sessions in which Frank, Bailey, and Barbara try to figure out what is really going on. Wilhelm has written a pedestrian mystery hampered by stilted dialogue and cardboard characters that rarely come to life. The police detectives are incompetent, the villain (who is telegraphed from the beginning) is a one-dimensional monster, and Barbara is never in any real danger. A few twists bring the book to life briefly, but "A Wrongful Death" is a mediocre thriller with too few thrills.

Attorney Barbara Holloway only wants a little time, a little peace, in which to contemplate some personal and career moves. Should she marry? Should she teach? Her solitary sojourn in the mountains is interrupted when she bumps into a child alone and in distress. Naturally, she is moved to assist him, and the following day finds that this simple scenario has exploded into a convoluted mystery. There are few enough characters in this novel to make guessing who the perpetrator is a relatively easy task. It can't be Barbara, although the police consider her their prime suspect, and with her father she sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name. Until that occurs, Barbara is prevented from determining which direction her life will take.
This is an interesting enough tale, but with only one surprise and little suspense or excitement, there is little to raise it above the norm for the genre.

Lawyer Barbara Holloway is on a retreat after her personal life takes a complicated turn. Little did she know that the peace and serenity of her surroundings on the Oregon coast is an illusion. Barbara discovered the abused and battered body of a young woman along with they woman's frightened young son. By the time Barbara gets back to the scene with help the woman and boy are gone. There are many conflicting stories as to who would want to harm the woman hiding in the woods. People jump to the conclusion that Barbara was helping her escape and before long she is immersed in a murder investigation.

I've always enjoyed the characters of Barbara Holloway and her father Frank. They have such an endearing father/daughter relationship that I feel drawn in. I was really hooked on this story from page one even though there are several eye-rolling moments. For instance, wouldn't a motive be good if someone were to be accused of a murder, and the almost untouchable power of some of the characters was a little over-the-top. The villains were more caricatures than real people, but for all the faults, I read the book in one afternoon. So even though much of this story is unbelievable, it's still a good read.

Barbara Holloway has always been one of my favorite characters. I've admired how the author gives her command of a courtroom (my husband was an attorney) and endows her with sharp. agile thought processes. I have read every entry in this really fascinating series, and some of them have been great, some of them just almost-great. Without a doubt, this is one of the author's very best. The plot is unusual, the favorite characters are all there and firing on all cylinders and the writing is top-notch. Ms. Wilhelm could give me one of these wonderful mysteries every week and then maybe I'd be happy.
One caveat: Barbara has to make up her mind about her boyfriend. After a while you tend to want to shake her and give her the backbone to take a chance on marrying someone, living with someone and being forced to just solve day-to-day problems like everyone else. Wake up, Barbara. Trust your boyfriend enough, give him credit enough, to be willing to work at it WITH you.
I really liked this book and have no problem recommending it to anyone.

Attorney Barbara Holloway needs to think. Or to avoid thinking - or maybe she just needs to get away. In any case, she has been drifting from motel to motel for weeks when she rents a remote cabin as her next stop. Of course trouble manages to find her, just as it always has. She comes upon a frightened little boy who leads her to his semi-conscious mother, who lies beaten in the rain. Left to die, and in this wilderness the little boy would have died, too, had he not found help.

Barbara gets the mother and child to shelter, and then leaves to get assistance. Of course they have vanished by the time that happens. After which she finds herself sought as a material witness, for someone powerful believes the woman kidnapped her own child and that Barbara was helping them hide. And that's how it begins...another case that obsesses Barbara and draws in her father, semi-retired criminal defense attorney Frank Holloway, while the man who just may turn out to be the love of her life holds back at the edges. Letting her know from time to time that he's still there, and still wants her on whatever terms she can offer.

This is the kind of book I finish late at night, because after a certain point I can't put it down. I'm finding that this mystery series is more difficult than some to enter in midstream; when a character's back story is mentioned, the author assumes readers already know it. That can be good (no repetition), and that can be bad (confused new readers sometimes get frustrated). I wasn't bothered enough to even dent my enjoyment, but I did notice when this happened. I'll love catching up as I come across the earlier books. This one mixed strong characters, just flawed enough to make them interesting and human, with a fast paced plot that came to a satisfying resolution.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner "Regs"

I enjoyed reading this book, its a new author for me, I certainly will save this author's name for future purchases

This order was very easy and the books from kate wilhelm always keep you guessing until the end. I could hardly put it down until I was finished.

Boyfriend Darren proposes marriage and Barbara is on soul search solo vacation where she run in to a mother and son who disappeared. There is an ex-husband, a family business, patent stealing and a billion-dollar company sell. The woman shows up in Barbara's town and gets shot to death or does she? The boy is missing and the ex-family is running crazy. Barbara, with the help of dear ole Dad & Baily solve this tangle with all of its twist and turns to save the day. Excellent story and the some of the best character ever.

When her boyfriend proposes, DA Barbara Holloway wants to put him off as she is not ready to get married at least at this time. Thus she flees to a remote cabin to have some time to herself. While walking the beach, a young boy asks Barbara to help his nearby injured mother. He takes her to his mom, who lies unconscious from a severe beating. Barbara runs off to get help, but by the time she returns the two have vanished.

She learns the missing pair is Elizabeth and Jason Kurtz; whose prominent family accuses her of abetting kidnappers. However, Barbara knows something is not right with the scenario so with the help of her father they search for the Kurtz duo. They succeed and Elizabeth agrees to meet with her. Heading to Eugene, Oregon, Barbara realizes that Elizabeth is fleeing her affluent influential former husband and his family whose illegal activities if surfaced, would destroy a billion-dollar business deal. Barbara finds Elizabeth dead, Jason is missing, the Eugene police suspect her of kidnapping and murder, and the Kurtz family wanting her silenced.

In a delightful SLEIGHT OF HAND), Kate Wilhelm takes her heroine out of the courtroom and into a therapist's office; thus providing a fresh fast-paced mystery filled with twists, red herrings, and plenty of excitement. Dedicated as ever even though this is a cove and not a court, Barbara learns the hard way how dangerous it is to be a Good Samaritan as the action-packed tale takes off from the moment that Jason tells Barbara his mother is hurt and never slows down until the DA seeks help. Fans will appreciate Holloway's latest adventures though not a legal thriller like the previous novels in this series,

Harriet Klausner