The Best Defense

Barbara Holloway #2

by Kate Wilhelm

"ENGROSSING...Wilhelm provides suspense and excitement
while adeptly portraying Barbara [Holloway] as a wily and sympathetic heroine."
--Publishers Weekly
The neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, is blue-collar; the cafe holds only three tables and four booths. But it's the only place attorney Barbara Holloway feels both productive and peaceful. Laptop computer on the table, coffee refilled regularly by the cook, Barbara gets her work done and wants for nothing more...certainly not another explosive, emotionally devastating courtroom case.
Until a woman comes to Barbara with a case she cannot refuse. The sister of "Baby Killer" Kennerman, the tale she tells is so terrifying that Barbara must act. What she unearths is a corrupt conspiracy that will allow a killer to walk away free. And when she finds herself up against a smear campaign of unimaginable proportions, Barbara Holloway realizes that even the best defense may not be enough....
"Better than any [courtroom dramas] I've read in years...Wilhelm has created an appealing and believable character in Barbara Holloway....The courtroom scenes are excellent, and narrative tension is maintained throughout the story."
--Mystery News

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Crime

422 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Kate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers.

Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit,  Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,  Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.

Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops.

Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction. 

Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.

Reviews

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the first book in the series was great, but I liked this one even more. I like Barbara Holloway and her father, Frank, but I loved the courtroom drama and proceedings even more. One more surprising turn after another!

It makes me miss all of the old Perry Mason TV episodes that I used to run home for lunch and watch at noon time.

I listened to this book narrated by Anna Fields.

[Audrey Gest]

I am enjoying this series. There is a ton of coffee drinking, and moistening of lips.

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:

Currently on Audible Plus

What a pleasant surprise! I had recently read another book by Wilhelm and enjoyed it. This book is much better in concepts, plot flow and characters. Plus, I really like Barbara Holloway. She's not crafted to be like many of the female protagonists I've read about in the crime/mystery genre.

While not all of the books in the series are available on Audible Plus, most of them are on there. I plan to read them all. =)

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read courtroom procedurals, but this author really has me hooked. I finished this book so fast, I neglected paperwork I definitely, really must get done. When I was done, all I could think was wow!! I was riveted almost immediately and literally couldn't put it down. The only reason I did last night is that I really had to go to bed. This is the best one by far that I have read of this genre. Although I guessed a few things before the end, I can never unravel the whole case, and the ends are always a surprise and a delight.

Besides the courtroom drama, Barbara has some real soul searching to do in this one, and the relationship with her father is always an added bonus to her books. The character of Barbara is a complex character and her life is followed as we proceed through the story. If you like this series, this is a definite must read.

[Jill Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very early Barbara Holloway thriller begins with an arson fire and murder of a 6-year-old girl, whose mother is arrested for the crime. But nothing is as simple as it seems. Kate Wilhelm tackles domestic abuse, right-to-life issues and repression of women while spinning a tale of heinous crimes and greed. Barbara Holloway is grudgingly pulled back into the courtroom to try her first case in a long time. "The Best Defense" is a real nail-biter, expertly written. It captures the hateful rhetoric of over-zealous conservatives, who blindly follow the lead of the editor of an ultra-conservative weekly newspaper. Amazing how a book written in 1994 could be so current.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I finish a Kate Wilhelm book, I feel as if I have actually seen it on a screen or in real life. I think that is a sign of a very good writer.

[Una Tiers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good is the relationship between father and daughter after a hiatus of near estrangement. The on point is the burnout stage suffered by attorneys. The length was too much. Fighting for the underdog, battling uphill, were well done but some of the plot lines were stretched too far. Best part, clearly the first half.

[Hazel Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really satisfying courtroom take-down of an excellent villain in this one. Prescient overarching theme about how right-wing authoritarianism and religiosity is used to cover up white-collar crime.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was a bit dated, the issues discussed are still active. Warning: this book discusses rape, abuse and abortion.

There is a fire at an abused woman's shelter and a child dies. The community immediately accuses the mother, despite the fact that there had been no abuse of the child by the mother in the past.

The right wing press jumps into the discussion and the public defender, though young, appears to want a plea deal and not a fair trial. Barbara Holloway is interested in low key issues and is practicing out of a restaurant. The sister of the accused asks her to just talk to the arrested woman since she is refusing to deal with her public defender.

This is heavily into courtroom drama, which I don't read very often.

Barbara uses the goodwill of the community that she has worked with to investigate and provide more facts about the shelter and the surrounding landscape, who is claiming what and whether they could have possibly seen what they are swearing to have seen.

Would have loved a map!

I read this for a book group discussion and borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Karla Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after reading the first in this series, I had to try #2, and it did not disappoint. A wonderfully engaging plot and characters with clever strings of irony and wonderfully woven complex people and lives. I'm hooked. Ordered the next one... Not great art but compelling mysteries, courtroom drama, and characters.

[Karen F · Rating 5 out of 5]

More court procedural than mystery. But I found it very interesting, and was hooked enough to listen to it on Audible non-stop until I was done. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't listening. To me that's the mark of a good book. This book was better than the first one by this author. I'll definitely read the 3rd.

[David Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguingly different kind of murder mystery, "The Best Defense" has the murder almost as a side issue. The novel centers on Barbara Holloway, a lawyer living in Eugene, Oregon. She is a little like a female Perry Mason, though I do not imply that the character is a knockoff or gimmick. I mean that like Perry Mason she is extremely competent as a trial lawyer, tries to maintain a cool exterior, but really has a soft heart that leads her to work for people that other lawyers would avoid. At the beginning of the novel we find Barbara in mourning, her fiancé having drowned about two years earlier. She has removed herself from high-priced corporate lawyering, and no longer uses her office in the law firm that she still at least on paper belongs to, one co-partnered by her father. Now, Barbara has consulting sessions two days a week in a local restaurant where she helps out those in the lower end of society who need help from lawyers but cannot afford them. Then, in comes Lucille Reiner, the sister of Paula Kennerman, who has been accused of murdering her daughter and starting a fire at a safe house for battered women. At first, all Barbara is willing to do is some legwork for Lucille Reiner. However, the more Barbara gets into it, the more she comes to believe that even if she's guilty, Paula Kennerman deserves a better defense than what she is getting from the public defender. Wilhelm sticks to her format of court procedural, so that we follow pre-trial, trial, and post-trial processes. Wilhelm thankfully does not play too heavily on the "damaged" detective trope. Barbara Holloway's problems are real, and she responds to them in realistic, not over the top ways. She's not an alcoholic, and though her home is not particularly tidy, it's not a symbol of self-destruction. The trial process is compellingly written. If I have a quibble, it is that the young girl's murder is not central enough to the crime plot. I cannot say more than that without giving away too much of the plot. Otherwise, it's a very entertaining book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting, suspenseful book. I like Barbara Holloway. She is an excellent courtroom lawyer. Her relationship with her father is interesting because they both have volatile tempers. Barbara is still trying to recover from the loss of her lover (in the previous book) and is operating out of a storefront, helping people with inconsequential law issues. She becomes involved with a your woman whom she doesn't think is being represented well by the public defender. What follows becomes live-threatening and exciting.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Barbara Holloway. A woman is accused of setting fire to the house her daughter was in. Amidst crowd cries of "Baby killer!", Barbara takes on the case, meandering down a lot of freaky peoples' scary, dark pasts, to find the real truth of what happened. There is much more to the stern, radical right newspaper publisher and his Stepford wife, and what is up with the gun-crazy neighbor? Keeps you guessing right up to the end. Or it did me, in any case.

[Nancyelvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Kate Wilhelm’s books. She draws your interest quickly and holds it. What I don’t like is that she consistently maligns Christians in her books. They are written as hypocritical, evil people. Speaking as one, it offends me to see that consistently. Otherwise, her plots are interesting and the courtroom scenes are great. I’ve been listening to them as audible books, and I really enjoy the voices of the readers.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attorney Barbara Holloway was hired to defend a woman accused of murdering her daughter. Using her masterful skills as a criminal attorney, she lures the culprits to expose themselves in court. The intense courtroom drama will keep you reading because it is courtroom drama at its best! Anna Fields does an okay job in telling the story.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course it’s part of a serial. Usually I like to listen to them in order. But I started in the middle of the series and it’s a kind of book that doesn’t mind too much if you skip around. Barbara’s long term story—especially her relationship with her father— is what really follows book to book.

I used to live in Eugene and love that most of the story was set there—and nearby. It’s not a stretch to guess which town just outside of Eugene is the fictional town of Lewiston. In fact, there are many towns that could easily fit the bill in Oregon.

Heads up! There are triggers in this book. It addresses domestic abuser survivors, religious zealots, and reproductive rights.

[Ada Iaboni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the first book of this series, it was a good courtroom drama, but this one too had so many characters that it was difficult to keep track. This lawyer, Barbara Holloway, has a very strategic mind and gently pulls the threads until the truth comes out. In the first book she came on the right track almost by accident, but here it was carefully planed and executed. Good job.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! This is so good. Drama, intrigue, fanatics, red herrings, devious behavior and arrogant fools. The mystery is a little more down to earth than the first mystery, and Barbara has a new suitor. This one won't be head over heels and tumble dry; this one will be more of a slow burn. That'll be fun. It was a good edge-of-my-seat ride. Loved it!

[Sylvia Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had trouble with this story from the first because it seems that the police and investigators go out of their way to pick the least likely person to charge with murder. Barbara finds the right killers in the end and saves her client. I'm sensing a theme with these stories and I hope that the trend does not continue with the future books. I like Barbara and her Dad and am hoping for more.

[Dr Ariel Rainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, a fragile and sympathetic young woman is on trial for murder. This was a very different case from the first book, with an extremely unlikeable set of characters. But like the first, by the time you get to the end, the plot has widened considerably to include far more than one ever realized was possible.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman is charged with setting a fire that killed her daughter.Barbara and her father Frank work together as her defense team. The woman is living at a battered woman’s shelter and the right wing neighbors go out of their way to demonize the women. Scary that these views continue to be prevalent today. I enjoyed this courtroom drama and will continue this series. Closer to 3.5 stars

[Leslie McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent work by Wilhelm. Love the way she allows her characters to evolve and grow along with the plot. Though the storyline was disturbing, it was quite interesting how she spun a secondary plot, uncovering it a small piece at a time.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really 4 stars--more 3.5 but I like this series detective, she's tough and serious, not all perky girlie and no intruding romance. An unpopular defense of a publicly vilified defendant accused of murdering her child.

[Teri Pre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first one.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great courtroom drama.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping! I found the ending sad, but I was really invested in the characters and the story. Kate Wilhelm is a consistently strong writer.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Anna Fields. It left a few loose ends at the very end, but otherwise an excellent read (listen)! I would read this author again.

[Kem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Court room drama isn't one of my favorite subjects, but this book holds a reader's attention. It takes a while to get what's going on, but then you're hooked. I really like Barbara and her Dad.

[Cali Coulthard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio