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Rachel Gold Mysteries #6
Bearing Witness
It began as a routine age discrimination lawsuit, but when a key witness is gunned down in her Cadillac, savvy up-and-coming attorney Rachel Gold finds herself with a case far older and far more dangerous than her 63 year old client.
How has Beckman Engineering, the powerful St. Louis construction monolith, been managing to rake in exorbitant profits from government contracts for over fifty years? And where has over half a century's worth of dirty money been going? The skeletons both in and out of the closet pile up as Rachel delves into a mystery with ties that span two oceans and six decades of age-old prejudice, political treachery, legalized bribery and cold blooded murder.
Luckily, the truth is in the files. With the help of wacky Professor Benny Goldberg and his beer swilling, pizza chomping hotshot law students (not to mention Jonathan Wolf, the handsome ex-hate crimes prosecutor) Rachel feels she has a chance at digging out the answers. But after Wolf's 10 year old daughter is approached outside her school by a strange man with an unmarked package, Rachel suddenly realizes she's stumbled onto an aging conspiracy with a deadly hold on the present.
How has Beckman Engineering, the powerful St. Louis construction monolith, been managing to rake in exorbitant profits from government contracts for over fifty years? And where has over half a century's worth of dirty money been going? The skeletons both in and out of the closet pile up as Rachel delves into a mystery with ties that span two oceans and six decades of age-old prejudice, political treachery, legalized bribery and cold blooded murder.
Luckily, the truth is in the files. With the help of wacky Professor Benny Goldberg and his beer swilling, pizza chomping hotshot law students (not to mention Jonathan Wolf, the handsome ex-hate crimes prosecutor) Rachel feels she has a chance at digging out the answers. But after Wolf's 10 year old daughter is approached outside her school by a strange man with an unmarked package, Rachel suddenly realizes she's stumbled onto an aging conspiracy with a deadly hold on the present.
- GenresMystery
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
18 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Michael A. Kahn
25 books44 followersPseudonym for Michael Baron.
Michael Kahn is a trial lawyer by day and an author at night. He wrote his first novel, GRAVE DESIGNS, on a challenge from his wife Margi, who got tired of listening to the same answer whenever she asked him about a book he was reading. "Not bad," he would say, "but I could write a better book than that." "Then write one," she finally said, "or please shut up." So he shut up for a few months--no easy task for an attorney--but finally wrote one.
Kahn is the award-winning author of 11 Rachel Gold novels, the most recent being BAD TRUST, and three stand-alone novels: the recently published PLAYED!, about which Library Journal wrote, "“Fans of quick reads . . . will be well served by this thriller’s fast pace"; THE SIRENA QUEST, which Publishers Weekly praised as “Equal parts rollicking adventure, existential and spiritual quest, and coming-of-(middle)-age tale”; and THE MOURNING SEXTON, a mystery novel under the pen name Michael Baron. His most recent Rachel Gold novel, THE DEAD HAND, was published last fall.
In addition to his day job as a lawyer, he is an adjunct professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches a class on censorship and free expression. Married to his high school sweetheart, he is the father of five and the grandfather of, so far, five.
Michael Kahn is a trial lawyer by day and an author at night. He wrote his first novel, GRAVE DESIGNS, on a challenge from his wife Margi, who got tired of listening to the same answer whenever she asked him about a book he was reading. "Not bad," he would say, "but I could write a better book than that." "Then write one," she finally said, "or please shut up." So he shut up for a few months--no easy task for an attorney--but finally wrote one.
Kahn is the award-winning author of 11 Rachel Gold novels, the most recent being BAD TRUST, and three stand-alone novels: the recently published PLAYED!, about which Library Journal wrote, "“Fans of quick reads . . . will be well served by this thriller’s fast pace"; THE SIRENA QUEST, which Publishers Weekly praised as “Equal parts rollicking adventure, existential and spiritual quest, and coming-of-(middle)-age tale”; and THE MOURNING SEXTON, a mystery novel under the pen name Michael Baron. His most recent Rachel Gold novel, THE DEAD HAND, was published last fall.
In addition to his day job as a lawyer, he is an adjunct professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches a class on censorship and free expression. Married to his high school sweetheart, he is the father of five and the grandfather of, so far, five.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 28, 2020
Having read the first 5 books in this series several years ago and not having found any others, I was surprised to find this book in my library hear in Las Cruces, and was delighted to be able to get it despite the fact that the library is closed because of the virus.
I love Rachel Gold and Benny Goldberg, and Rachel’s mom and consider her the St. Louis version of VI Warshasky. The books are well written and very interesting to me, and this one, with it’s connection to the Holocaust was quite well done and didn’t take me long to complete and enjoy.
I was also overjoyed to see that their are more books in the series and I hope to continue to enjoy them in the years to come, and would hope to see someone take a shot at a movie or TV series about Rachel.
I love Rachel Gold and Benny Goldberg, and Rachel’s mom and consider her the St. Louis version of VI Warshasky. The books are well written and very interesting to me, and this one, with it’s connection to the Holocaust was quite well done and didn’t take me long to complete and enjoy.
I was also overjoyed to see that their are more books in the series and I hope to continue to enjoy them in the years to come, and would hope to see someone take a shot at a movie or TV series about Rachel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
++ Rachel Gold has, despite her misgivings agreed to represent one of her mother's friends in an age discrimination suit against a prominent large turnkey construction company. Beckman Engineering brings out the big guns and the grandmotherly Jewish Ruth Alpert is made of stern stuff and remembers remarks made around her when she was at work and it turns into a whole nother kettle of fish. All of a sudden they are dealing with events that happened 40 years ago and longer. Also some of them tie in to a case that RG's man friend Jonathan Wolf is working on. Murders, Nazis, assaults, cheating and lots of money. A great read.++
January 30, 2018
It was slow dragging and only crtain parts finally goot me into the book.
July 4, 2018
Great courtroom drama with lots of local color.
August 4, 2024
An entertaining enough read, but as with a lot of books in this genre, rather implausible and predictable. Collected it from a book swap in Belize, so an easy holiday read
March 17, 2020
Great read. I think I read the first couple books in this series a few years back. Smartass attorney Rachel Gold in St. Louis starts off with an age discrimation case that soon turns into an illegal bidding investigation and ultimately becomes a chronicle of Nazi atrocities dating back to WWII. Rachel is a well-drawn and intelligent character along with her brilliantly obnoxious law school prof Benny. I loved the courtroom scenes.
June 26, 2014
An early book is a series that I like a lot. Perhaps a bit too many larger than life turns of events, but I enjoy the characters and a good run on Justice does my heart good now and then!
June 16, 2015
Don't remember. I just have a note that says this was really good.
June 16, 2016
Only about 300 pages, and yet so much is crammed in. Enjoying this series tremendously
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews