CLEAR AND CONVINCING PROOF
Kate Wilhelm, . . Mira, $23.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-1-55166-697-6
In Wilhelm's latest Barbara Holloway legal thriller, intrigue swirls around a rehab clinic. Erica Castle, a newcomer to Eugene, Ore., volunteers at the Kelso-McIvey Rehabilitation Center in order to make connections in the community. There she meets a network of friends and neighbors, all of whom become suspects in a murder when one of the clinic's owners, ruthless neurosurgeon David McIvey, is found shot dead after he threatens to shut down the place. The possible guilty parties are legion: McIvey's emotionally abused wife, Annie, is waiting for her pre-nup to expire so she can exit a loveless marriage with something to show; Darren Halvord, a brilliant physical therapist and handsome single father, was spotted at the scene of the crime; Naomi and Greg Boardman, founders of the clinic, have put their hearts and souls into an institution that's about to be destroyed. Enter criminal lawyer Barbara Holloway, known to Wilhelm fans for her appetite for difficult cases. Spunky, with a penchant for legal aid work and jeans and sweatshirts instead of suits and hose, she is retained by the Boardmans to disprove the police's theory: that Halvord and Annie McIvey are lovers who eliminated David McIvey so they could be together. The characters never really rise off the page, but there are engrossing plot twists aplenty, including one last humdinger in which Holloway proves she's well worth her fees.
Reviewed on: 08/18/2003
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-7861-2588-3
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-7861-2597-5
Compact Disc - 978-0-7861-8943-4
Hardcover - 429 pages - 978-0-7862-6011-9
Mass Market Paperbound - 368 pages - 978-0-7783-2077-7
Open Ebook - 400 pages - 978-1-4603-0575-1
Open Ebook - 352 pages - 978-1-74369-802-0
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 368 pages - 978-1-4268-3341-0
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4332-6835-9