Barbara Holloway

Five years ago, Barbara Holloway gave up practicing law, disillusioned with a profession that put politics before justice. Then she receives a phone call, with a simple message: "I need you." Nell Kendricks' husband disappeared seven years earlier, abandoning his young family. Nell hasn't seen him since-until the day he arrives at the edge of her property and is shot, instantly killed. Accused of his murder, Nell turns to lawyer Frank Holloway for help. Frank knows he cannot win the case alone and calls upon his daughter, Barbara. Barbara is determined to stay distanced from the case, but the more she learns, the more questions she finds herself asking. Is Nell innocent, as Frank attests? Where has Lucas Kendricks been for the past seven years? Despite her vow, Barbara finds herself drawn to the case and reclaims the search for truth that first led her to the law.

Kate Wilhelm returns to the marvelous milieu of Death Qualified with this page-turning legal thriller. The neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, is blue-collar; the cafe holds only three tables and four booths. But it's the only place attorney Barbara Holloway feels both productive and peaceful. Laptop computer on the table, coffee refilled regularly by the cook, Barbara gets her work done and wants for nothing more-certainly not another explosive, emotionally devastating courtroom case. Then a woman comes to Barbara with a case she cannot refuse. The sister of "Baby Killer" Kennerman tells a tale so terrifying that Barbara must act, even if she does so reluctantly. What she unearths is a corrupt conspiracy, complete with incompetent lawyers, that will allow a killer to go free. The deeper she delves, the more atrocities she finds. When she finds herself up against a smear campaign of unimaginable proportions, Barbara Holloway realizes that even the best defense may not be enough.

Forget about Grisham, Turow, and all those other scribbling ex-lawyers. The best writer of legal mysteries working today is Kate Wilhelm of Eugene, Oregon. When he was a kid, Teddy Wendover had an accident that left him stunted at the mental age of eight. Physically, he's six-foot-two and twenty-eight years old, but he acts and thinks just like a little boy. Could this big little boy be a killer? Someone has murdered one of Oregon's congressmen, and it doesn't seem to be a coincidence that this politician led the field trip during which Teddy's accident occurred almost twenty years ago. Nor does it seem to be coincidental that the killer left rocks strewn about the murder site, rocks just like the ones Teddy plays with. And the only thing that's certain is that the person who cast the first of these stones is not without sin. Malice Prepense is the most complicated and most engrossing case yet for Barbara Holloway, the dynamic star of Death Qualified and The Best Defense.

In her three previous appearances, attorney Barbara Holloway has taken on the sort of cases no one else wants, all hopeless messes. With the help of her father, Frank, she has pulled through each time. But even from the start, this new case is different. Mitch Arno always meant bad news for the coastal town of Folsum, Oregon. When they ran him out of town seventeen years ago, he left behind a wife with two daughters and a family that never wanted to see him again. When he returns, he brings trouble in the form of a lot of suspicious money. As Barbara attempts to counsel Mitch's wife about the money, a second form of trouble arrives: a corpse-Mitch's. And now Barbara is in a morass of conflicting interests, and the only way out could lead her straight into the arms of the devil. Defense for the Devil is another page-turning delight from the queen of courtroom drama.

Lara and Vinny Jessup had a lovely May-December marriage. It renewed his lease on life after a battle with cancer, and it rescued her from a bad first marriage. And thenVinny 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 with her Barbie-doll looks, the inimitable detective Bailey Novell, and her father Frank. But the case itself is as dead as the desert. Is there any defense at all? Compelling and distinctive, this drama demonstrates anew why Kate Wilhelm is considered a master of the form.

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 lawyer who taught her everything she knows. The trial involves the murder of Gus Marchand, a hard-working, God-fearing man who is 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. For the first time in her career, Barbara cannot turn to her father for advice. Quite the contrary: she has to stay one step ahead of him if she's to have any hope of saving her client. Because she knows only too well what kind of legal mind she's up against.

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 nonprofit clinic. His plan is to close the clinic and replace it with a massive new surgery center, with himself at the helm. Since he is poised to desecrate the dreams of so many, it's not surprising to anyone, especially Oregon lawyer Barbara Holloway, that somebody dares to stop him-in cold blood. When David McIvey is murdered outside the clinic's doors early one morning, Barbara must once again 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. In her most perplexing case yet, Barbara is forced to explore the darkest places people can hide-the soul beneath the skin.

When a well-bred client hands Barbara Holloway a large retainer and asks for complete anonymity, the Oregon attorney is both intrigued and suspicious. The woman, a respected music professor and member of a group that sponsors worthy causes involving women, wants Barbara to defend Carol Fredricks, a gifted young pianist who stands accused of murdering the manager of a piano bar. Not long ago, Barbara heard Carol play, and that is enough to convince her to take the case. But now the questions are coming faster than the answers. And how can Barbara explain the oddly incomplete picture she gets of the young woman herself? Soon Barbara is convinced that her client is not only innocent but being framed by ruthless foes who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. However, proving the case and keeping her client safe will require every drop of Barbara's notoriously fierce determination to get at the truth, an unbidden truth that may just damn them both.

When a seemingly simple case turns complicated, respected attorney Barbara Holloway must rethink her game plan. Gregarious Las Vegas entertainer and ex-con Wally Lederer claims he's turned his life around, but when Jay Wilkins, a childhood friend, accuses Wally of stealing a valuable artifact, it's up to Barbara to ferret out the truth. Wally swears he's innocent. But when Wilkins is murdered and the police name Wally as their prime suspect, Barbara knows he is in serious trouble. As Barbara begins to dig up the dirt, she is shocked to learn that Jay's wife is now missing and that Jay himself is far from being the upstanding businessman he claimed to be. Before long, new evidence points toward an unlikely killer. However, the truth that would protect her client could jeopardize another life she means to save. The route to justice is paved with nothing but lies, and Barbara must make a judgment call that leaves her with no option.

Who knew that being a Good Samaritan would lead Barbara Holloway to face her biggest challenge ever: being named prime suspect in a high-profile kidnapping? Elizabeth Kurtz has taken her small son and fled her ex-husband and his mother after finding a file of explosive material incriminating the family. Although the wealthy family employs a detective agency to find her, she manages to elude them. Defense attorney Barbara Holloway has sought seclusion in a cabin on the Oregon coast when her solitude is interrupted by a small boy who enlists her help with his unconscious mother. Once revived, the woman and her child disappear. Elizabeth Kurtz is again eluding searchers, and Barbara is accused of aiding and abetting a kidnapper. When Elizabeth finally contacts Barbara for help, Barbara finds the woman dead. While Barbara defends Elizabeth's housemate against murder charges, she herself is accused of obstruction of justice. Her life is put at risk as she takes on the killer.

Controversial author and scholar David Etheridge is not the kind of company an aspiring politician wants to keep. But ambitious senator Robert McCrutchen has a history with Etheridge that he's desperately trying to keep under wraps. Twenty-two years ago, both men were investigated in the death of a young coed, but the case was never solved. When Etheridge returns to Eugene, Oregon, McCrutchen is his grudging host-until the senator is found shot dead. Now, Etheridge is once again suspected of murder, only this time, with the cold case reopened, he's facing a double charge. Attorney Barbara Holloway must battle both 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 preserve justice.

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.

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'.

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 WWII-era art, 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.