Cold Case (Barbara Holloway Series #11) » (Reprint)

Kate Wilhelm has published numerous novels as well as collections of short fiction. Kate and her husband, Damon Knight, live with their family in Eugene, Oregon.

With no strong evidence, attorney Barbara Holloway's legal instincts are all she has. If they can't lead her to the truth, her client will die. But if she succeeds, her own life will be on the line.

Controversial author and scholar David Etheridge is not the kind of company an aspiring politician wants to keep. But ambitious state senator Robert McCrutchen has a history with Etheridge--a history he's desperately trying to keep under wraps.

Twenty-two years ago, while attending the University of Oregon, both men were investigated in the death of a young coed, but the case was never solved. A circle of secrecy guaranteed it. But the old stories resurface when Etheridge returns to Eugene, Oregon. Tied to their past, McCrutchen is his grudging host--until the senator is found shot dead.

Now Etheridge is back where he was more than two decades ago--suspected of murder. Only this time, with the cold case reopened, he's facing a double charge. And Etheridge might not be so lucky again.

Barbara must battle the prosecution and the court of public opinion, which has already tried and convicted Etheridge for both murders. As the pressure mounts, Barbara ties the past and present together, risking her own life to protect a client and preserve justice.

Publishers Weekly

In Wilhelm's sluggish 11th Barbara Holloway legal thriller (after A Wrongful Death), controversial academic David Etheridge returns to his hometown of Eugene, Ore., to lecture on his latest anti-everything book. But when his college nemesis, Sen. Robert McCrutchen, is shot dead, David is fingered for the hit-and for the 22-year-old unsolved murder of co-ed Jill Storey, David's assumed former lover and the assumed unrequited love interest of McCrutchen. Enter Barbara Holloway, whom David hires as counsel, just before an unknown assailant beats David within inches of his life. The story hinges on a meager twist-Jill may have been a lesbian-that's learned early in the investigation and, despite its implications, fails to catalyze deeper discoveries. The plot stalls, and Barbara spends most of the book rooting around in the dark for clues. A lengthy block of exposition delivers a tidy ending to one of the weaker entries in this popular series. (Aug.)

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