Malice Prepense

Wilhelm doesn't fool around: she writes clean, clear prose about real people in sometimes loopy legal situations. Returning from The Best Defense (1994), Eugene, Ore., lawyer Barbara Holloway and her 75-year-old father and partner, Frank, are hired to defend strapping Teddy Wendover, a severely retarded 28-year-old accused of murdering a congressman. Teddy, stuck at the mental age of eight after a childhood accident, is a wonderfully realized character, sweet without a drop of sentimentality. As the Holloways fight the legal-psychiatric establishment's efforts to institutionalize Teddy, who lives with his loving, well-off parents, the prosecution switches its focus to Teddy's father, Ted senior. It turns out that Ted's wife, Carolyn, had carried on a 15-year affair with the late congressman, providing the DA (and a pro-prosecution judge) with motive. Meanwhile, there are two other murders that Barbara is sure are connected with this one, but the judge blocks any linkage. The Holloways' investigation uncovers a large real estate development scheme (and links to the other murders), Barbara falls in love again (suddenly but believably) and there's a corker of a trial. As Wilhelm spins her riveting tale, she not only makes the legal system comprehensible and compelling but also makes her readers care about her characters, particularly the efficient yet vulnerable Barbara. Author tour. (July)