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A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm
3.0
‘Death Qualified’ by Kate Wilhelm is a mixed bag of plot choices. I think Wilhelm was settling into a ‘voice’ for her new character lawyer Barbara Holloway (at the time - this book, number one in the series, was published in 1991) as well as a narration style. However, the novel is still clearly a legal thriller/mystery series, with a procedural tone. It is a very busy plot with multiple points of view, and it did take the story awhile to bring Barbara eventually into the story, and longer for her to take charge of the case.
I have copied the book blurb:
”First in the Barbara Holloway mystery series, Death Qualified masterfully combines mystery, science fiction, and a keen examination of legal ethics.
Lucas Kendrick appears at his estranged wife’s home after a mysterious seven-year disappearance, and is instantly shot. Nell Kendrick, charged with his murder, calls Attorney Frank Holloway to defend her. But Frank cannot prepare her defense alone. He needs a lawyer who is “death qualified”—able to defend capital cases. He appeals to his daughter Barbara, who, out of disillusionment with a profession prizing politics over justice, abandoned her practice five years before.
Reluctantly, Barbara is plunged into a case involving chaos theory, the mysterious death of a researcher, and a politically motivated and hostile prosecutor. To complicate matters, Barbara falls in love with a mathematician whose help she seeks in unraveling the case.”
The above description is very accurate! However, I did feel a touch unattached emotionally in caring about the main characters, except for Frank, Barbara’s father.
I was drawn to this series primarily because it takes place in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon. I was born and raised in Washington State, and I often drove to Portland, as well as other tourist stops in Oregon. Its a beautiful state with a geological diversity that is unbelievable, much like Washington State.
I have copied the book blurb:
”First in the Barbara Holloway mystery series, Death Qualified masterfully combines mystery, science fiction, and a keen examination of legal ethics.
Lucas Kendrick appears at his estranged wife’s home after a mysterious seven-year disappearance, and is instantly shot. Nell Kendrick, charged with his murder, calls Attorney Frank Holloway to defend her. But Frank cannot prepare her defense alone. He needs a lawyer who is “death qualified”—able to defend capital cases. He appeals to his daughter Barbara, who, out of disillusionment with a profession prizing politics over justice, abandoned her practice five years before.
Reluctantly, Barbara is plunged into a case involving chaos theory, the mysterious death of a researcher, and a politically motivated and hostile prosecutor. To complicate matters, Barbara falls in love with a mathematician whose help she seeks in unraveling the case.”
The above description is very accurate! However, I did feel a touch unattached emotionally in caring about the main characters, except for Frank, Barbara’s father.
I was drawn to this series primarily because it takes place in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon. I was born and raised in Washington State, and I often drove to Portland, as well as other tourist stops in Oregon. Its a beautiful state with a geological diversity that is unbelievable, much like Washington State.