Chaos has descended on the Valducci family. Gina Valducci's grandmother, mentor, and founder of the family's thriving nursery business, has died. Her death sets off a string of seemingly unrelated events, including two horrific murders.
Gina's colleague Jeff stands out as an obvious suspect, with plenty of motivation, opportunity, and means.In her most unusual and complex case yet, Barbara Holloway accepts Jeff as her reluctant client. But to defend him, she must first discover how a secret will, corporate greed, stolen art of the World War II era, family skeletons, attempted murder, and an old ornate mirror factor in to the case. Barbara must reassemble the puzzle pieces perfectly, before it's too late.
From 1966 to 1980, Damon Knight created the Orbit series of anthologies of science fiction, representing the finest writing in the genre. Nineteen of Kate Wilhelm’s stories were included in this series of twenty-one volumes. Among these are “Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang,” an exploration of infertility and cloning in the aftermath of global environmental collapse. It won the Locus, Jupiter, and Hugo Awards for Best Novel in 1977. “The Planners” reaches into the moral conflicts of a primate researcher and won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1968. Other stories include a road trip into a woman’s psyche; primal fears through the eyes of a wise and empathetic alien; an encounter in a bus depot during a raging winter storm; and the first “interactive” reality TV show. Ms. Wilhelm’s stories are prophetic yet as recognizable as a story in this morning’s paper.
"Wilhelm is a very gifted storyteller."—RT Book Reviews, praise for the author
Sam and Lori had only just met and now they are dead, the result of a car accident. Accident? No. Dead? Not exactly. In life, Sam was a successful playwright, Lori a secretary for Ben Carnahan, a scheming movie producer who wants Sam’s new script and whose negligence on a movie set twenty years earlier killed Lori’s father. Now Sam and Lori are ghosts out of sequence with the real world yet fully aware of their existence. As they work together to find out what happened to them, a plot to murder Ben is revealed. As ghosts, how can they possibly stop this conspiracy? They can’t contact the living, for rules are rules—in life and in death and even when you’re in between.
“Wilhelm is a first-rate novelist.”—Library Journal, praise for the author
Travis Morgan's case seems open and shut: a plot to kill his estranged father, fundamentalist preacher Arlie Morgan, goes awry and his bullet slays an innocent bookkeeper. Two eyewitnesses seal Travis' fate. But despite damning evidence and an admitted hatred of his father, Travis staunchly maintains his innocence.
Beseeched by his anguished mother, veteran defense attorney Barbara Holloway agrees to represent Travis. With the support of her father, attorney Frank Holloway, and crack private investigator Bailey, Barbara reveals a zealot, his ultrarich backers, and unimaginable atrocities. Travis' case proceeds to trial, and Barbara finds herself pitted against a complacent legal system and a judge eager to simply close the case and retire. Knowing she must intervene decisively to avoid a conviction, Barbara steps squarely into the path of danger. Risking her own life, Barbara confronts the killer in order to save Travis'.
"Wilhelm claims a leading place in the ranks of trial suspense writers."-Publishers Weekly, praise for the author
Hiram Granville, a modern Leonardo, secured more than a thousand patents during his lifetime, often just ahead of others who had already been working the same ideas. His son John, an economics genius, never lost a cent in the stock market-or any other financial deal-and was investigated for insider trading on more than one occasion. Now Cat, a documentarian; her researcher, Mercy; and Cracker Jack, an electronics whiz, are doing a film about the Granville clan. What they find as they research the family is madness, suicide, a seemingly total seclusion, and a frightening glimpse about what it means to peer into the future.
"Wilhelm is an accomplished mystery author, and this is the story of an investigation, detective work, uncovering a criminal conspiracy. Throughout, the shadow of danger follows the characters...Tense and compelling."-Locus
Charlie didn't want to take this case-he hated cases involving crazy wills-but when one of the new clients mentioned that the Bainbridge men are cursed, he knew resistance was hopeless: Constance could not resist confronting a curse.
In a quiet college town in New Jersey, five million dollars in cashier's checks lies hidden in a dead man's house, and whoever finds the checks gets to keep it all. Four family members have four weeks before the house and its contents become the property of a small college. Soon two deaths by drowning from the past and another clear case of murder in the present complicate matters. It takes the combined skills of a superbly trained homicide detective, Charlie, and an equally well trained psychologist, Constance, to unravel the mystery of the Bainbridge curse-and expose a killer.
"One of the masters of psychological fiction in America."-San Francisco Chronicle
In Kate Wilhelm's latest crime novel, a small Oregon town is rocked by a wheels-within-wheels case of art, fraud, and murder.
Silver Bay, Oregon, a small coastal resort town of under a thousand residents, is home to three generations of women: Marnie, the long-widowed owner of a small gift shop; Van, her granddaughter who is about to graduate from medical school; and Stef, mercurial and difficult, a brilliant artist who refuses to sell her work. When Stef discovers that Dale Oliver-the latest husband/paramour in a very long line-is trying to sell her work behind her back, she puts a stop to it and threatens to do the same to him. Shortly thereafter, Stef dies in an accident in her studio, and Dale shows up with a signed contract granting him the right to sell her work. Convinced that Stef was murdered to steal her artwork, Marnie and Van, grandmother and granddaughter, decide to do whatever is necessary to see that Dale doesn't get away with any of it. This includes enlisting the help of the new stranger in town, Tony, a former New York City cop who might be the only one who can prove it was murder and bring the killer to justice.
"Even after the satisfyingly surprising climax, the reader may be loath to leave Silver Bay and these affecting characters."-Publishers Weekly
Lara and Vinny Jessup had a lovely May-December marriage'until the day Vinny was found dead. Initially, the sheriff in Loomis County thinks that Vinny died when his car rolled over on a bad curve on Lookout Mountain. But then he finds a gunshot wound. Was it suicide, or was it murder? With a large insurance policy as her motive, Lara could have staged the death'or so it appears to the sheriff.
Barbara Holloway is a trial lawyer who tends to take on difficult cases, but in every previous case she has had some fragment with which she could build an argument. She finds herself drawn to the Oregon desert to take on this case, accompanied by her associates: her colleague Shelley and the detective Bailey Novell, along with her father, Frank. But the case itself is as dead as the desert. Is there any defense at all?
'Gavin's gruff reading fully voices the text. She captures Barbara's and Frank's jaded brilliance and the loving supportive relationship they share. An unusually excellent legal thriller; a powerful audiobook.' 'Kliatt
The Kelso-McIvey rehabilitation center is a place of hope and healing for both its patients and dedicated staff. For its directors, it's a lifelong dream that's about to be destroyed, if David McIvey has his way. A brilliant surgeon whose ego rivals his skill with a scalpel, McIvey now has controlling shares in what has always been a non-profit clinic. His plan is to close the clinic and replace it with a massive new surgery center, with himself at the helm. Then somebody dares to stop him'in cold blood.
When David McIvey is murdered outside the clinic's doors, lawyer Barbara Holloway must use her razor-sharp instincts and take-no-prisoners attitude to create a defense for the two members of the clinic accused of his murder.
'Unlike most writers of legal thrillers, Wilhelm cares as much about her characters as she does about her courtrooms'which is why her books are such genuine pleasures.''Chicago Tribune
Barbara Holloway is a low-key attorney in Eugene, Oregon, who left her father's high-powered firm to handle small legal problems for local residents and ponder her next move. But while trying to sort out her own future, two people, desperate for help, show up on her doorstep: former pro football player Martin Owens and his wife, Binnie. Binnie, who is mute, met her husband when she sneaked aboard his boat while it was docked in Haiti and smuggled herself into the US. Now Immigration is seeking to deport her back to Haiti, which would be a death sentence. Born to a woman from Belize who was kidnapped and enslaved by pirates, Binnie's only hope is to prove her and her mother's real identity. With only days to find the truth and protect Binnie, Holloway sets off for Belize. But what she knows is only the tip of the iceberg in what turns out to be one of her most complex, compelling, and dangerous cases yet.
'Barbara is a compelling character'intelligent and capable yet vulnerable enough for readers to worry about the danger she encounters.''Booklist
Trial lawyer Barbara Holloway has a reputation for taking on the toughest cases and winning them. But this time it looks as though she's up against an unbeatable opponent.
The trial involves the murder of Gus Marchand, a hard-working, God-fearing man who was found dead on his kitchen floor. The locals cast their suspicions toward Alex Feldman, Marchand's hideously deformed neighbor, without any real evidence linking him to the crime. At the request of a fellow attorney, Barbara agrees to defend him.
The other suspect is the high-school principal, Hilde Franz, who'd had an argument with the dead man earlier that week. But Hilde also happens to be an old friend of Barbara's father, Frank, who has agreed to defend him in court. Will Barbara have to square off in court against the man who taught her everything she knows?
"Wilhelm's sixth Barbara Holloway legal thriller sustains her reputation as a fine stylist who is able to craft compelling plots and characters."—Publishers Weekly
It started with a promise, a pact. It became a secret that no one must tell'that their parents were dead and gone, including the one they'd buried in the backyard.Now the McNair children are growing older, discovering love, college, and careers. But their lie haunts them. Their home holds them captive. Only the horrifying truth of their mother's death can set the children free. And only the truth can destroy them all.
