Equivocal Death

Gutman's debut woman-in-peril crime thriller set amid the skullduggery of a prestigious New York City law firm provides doses of good, light entertainment but suffers from a serious case of plot overload and red herringitis. Weaving her way through the tangle is Kate Paine, a rising star at Samson & Mills and a favorite of the firm's managing partner, Carter Mills. Soon after immersing herself in an important sexual harassment case, Paine is taken aside by Madeleine Waters, one of the firm's few female partners and Mills's former lover, and is cryptically told to be careful. Before Paine has time to ask for an explanation, Waters's body is found in the Hudson River. Paine, horrified but intrigued by Waters's death, starts poking around and uncovers sinister evidence of bitter rivalries, sexual affairs and a billing scandal at Samson & Mills. When she is sexually assaulted one night in her office, she begins to fear for her life. Is it coincidence that she resembles Madeleine Waters? Then Carter Mills is shot. Did he commit suicide? In between these breathless twists and turns, Gutman, an attorney, colorfully describes what life is like for young lawyers in high-powered law firms. Her story, despite its many unnecessary sidelights and extraneous characters, maintains a measure of suspense until the end. Paine, however, disappoints as a marquee player. Weak-willed and prone to flee from trouble, she's hardly the take-charge type truly prepared to battle evil. Agent, Nick Ellison. (Jan.)