cover image Death Benefits

Death Benefits

Michael A. Kahn. Dutton Books, $19 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-525-93456-1

The second appearance of Chicago attorney Rachel Gold (after Grave Desire ) is marred by flat characters and an overly complicated plot. Rachel travels to her hometown, St. Louis, when her former boss requests that she look into the suicide of lawyer Stoddard Anderson. If Anderson is judged sane at the time of his suicide, his widow will be denied extra benefits under his life insurance policy. Since Anderson anonymously moved into a hotel three days before he was found dead in the bathtub, his state of mind at the end is in question. By interviewing the people Anderson saw in the week before he secluded himself, Rachel discovers that he was in the middle of a shaky multimillion-dollar transaction. Apparently Anderson found and hid a jewel-encrusted artifact that U.S. Customs, a representative of the Mexican government and an American religious fanatic each would like to have. Having access to Anderson's records, Rachel decides to find the artifact herself. Despite her tough professional image, Rachel acts like a teenager around a handsome New Mexico lawyer; her waffling about whether the artifact should be returned to the Mexican government or sold to the highest bidder further diminishes her credibility. (July)