Justice for Some

by Kate Wilhelm

"First-rate...Accomplished...A welcome change from the expected."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Judge Sarah Drexler is still trying to recover from her husband's death, when she is asked to run for Oregon State judge. She leaves for her father's California home to think about it, and reunite with her moody son and pregnant daughter. Then her father dies suddenly. A private detective is killed. And one of her own children is a murder suspect. Suddenly, everything she holds dear is at stake. She's desperatetly trapped between her unrelenting love for her familiy and her staunch loyalty to the law. Whose justice should she serve?

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

10 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Bodosika Bodosika · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started well but I later found out that the whole book was almost Sarah's thought and to an extent became boring.... 2 star

[LaRita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilhelm is one of my favorite authors, so I probably judge her books stiffly. This book is earlier than others I've read, and it was fun to fill in some of the background. The story itself doesn't have the character development that kept me riveted in some of her other books. That being said, this book was interesting and believable. The location and the locals were well described and likeable.

It is a good read as an escapist novel that keeps you guessing. Even when I suspected whodunit, I didn't know why or how. I gave it four stars because it is good, but not great. Some of Wilhelm' other stories ARE great. Take a look if you haven't read her books!

NOTE: I have not yet read any of her award winning SciFi books. My comments here refer to her lawyer/mystery books only.

[Salsadancer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman judge visits her father's home in California. Her two grown children are there and they find out her father hired a private detective, then he was killed and the detective was killed. It becomes a family mystery with a lot of introspective soul searching on the judge's part.

[Elsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

another one that you don't know whodunit until the very end

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, Kate Wilhelm puts John Grisham to shame with every novel she writes. This is no exception.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good story and setting

[Afiketchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of slow but I actually loved it! Definitely recommend