Suspicion of Innocence: Volume 1

Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana #1

by Barbara Parker

Edgar Award This Miami-set crime thriller by a New York Times–bestselling author is “an exhilarating debut [and] a sizzling page-turner” (Publishers Weekly).

Gail Connor is a fast-rising attorney in a major law firm, about to make partner—until her life is derailed by the discovery of her sister’s murdered body and the quick revelation that Gail herself is the prime suspect. Gail must fight for her life as she gets a firsthand look at the dark underside of the legal system.

Written by a former prosecutor, Suspicion of Innocence is “a sun-drenched variation on the work of Scott Turow and Patricia Cornwell” (Library Journal).

Suspicion of Innocence is the 1st book in the Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

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

346 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Barbara Parker was an American mystery writer. She wrote 12 novels, the first of which, Suspicion of Innocence, was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best first mystery novel by an American author. Parker was on the national board of the Mystery Writers of America and was the chair of its membership committee for two years.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good legal thriller! I've had this in my TBR for quite a long time. So glad that I got the chance to read it. I hope I have more of the Gail Connor series in my stacks of books.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novel about the intense circumstances brought upon Gail Connor when her estranged sister is found dead possibly murdered) immediately after a party they both attended at their mother’s home, leaving her utterly confused about her complicated feelings about their past together, her present circumstances, and her unknown future. She is especially concerned about her newly developed relationship with Anthony Guintana, a well-known Cuban criminal attorney. There was no lack of suspects in this mystery. There was a constant congruity between the progression of the events that unfolded to lead you to the final curtain for this part of Gail’s journey through life. It was an interesting read and enticed me to read more of her books. That's when I discovered this was #1 in a series!

[Ronald Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is almost a generic murder mystery, but it is interesting in its presentation. There is a surprise ending, which I, of course, will not reveal. Somewhere around halfway through the book, I made a correct guess as to the killer, but I had no idea until the end as to the motive. There were enough minor mysteries as the book progressed to keep reader interest alive as various theories, suspects, and motives were adopted and discarded.

I first read the Kindle sample. In the first chapter Jimmy Panther, a Native American is working as a tour guide piloting a boat in the Florida Everglades. His Scandinavian passengers happen to see an object in the water which turns out to be a body. Jimmy recognizes the body. That was well written enough to make me want to buy the book.

Immediately in chapter two we are introduced to Gail, a high powered attorney so devoted to her occupation that her marriage is falling apart, she has problems with her mother, doesn’t particularly like her chosen profession, and has problems with her entire family except for sister, Renee. The sister was the body in the water.

Then we have the Cuban connection; after all, it is Florida. Cubans are suspect because they are sneaky and Cuban. There is the possibility of drug involvement on the part of the Cubans, because they are Cuban. All the Cubans in the book, with the exception of the grandfather patriarch, are sex magnets for almost every female in the book, maybe because they are Cuban.

This is a comfortable read; I chose it as a break from more serious reading. Reading this as like running a leisurely 5K race. Not challenging, but satisfying.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice thriller with lots of plot twists. Nice leisurely read and a break from more “serious” reading. I’d read the next in the series! Enjoy!

[Sandy Bartles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspicion of innocence

I bought a copy of this book years ago, when it first came out, and I have read each consecutive book in this series. I wish the author would write more Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana books.

The author began getting my attention at the first page and the tension increased with each page thereafter. Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana, as lawyers, make the perfect adversaries. I enjoyed watching them grow closer as things fell apart in Gail's personal life. I loved how he was there for her and she for him.

I highly recommend this book.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Kellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

My neighbor gave me a box of paperbacks to do with as I see fit. I was so excited to have a ton of "candy" to read when my bookshelves were empty. Ahhhh this book sucked. Really there is no way around it. The characters were so blah. The main character was so unlikeable I about tossed the book several times. I simply did not care what happened to the self centered beeyotch. Not one to give up, at least the mystery element picked up about half way thru the book. But even that is a stretch. Avoid at all costs. Spend your time on something much better.

[Meeko · Rating 3 out of 5]

んーーー。良くもなく悪くもない。って感じの本でした。
長編のわりに、スリリングな展開があるわけでもなく、なんとなく単調で盛り上がりに欠ける。
でも、ストーリー自体は悪くないし、インディアンの歴史など読んでて面白かった。

やっぱり妹と姉だから、ゲイルのような感情を持ってしまうのか。。。弟がいる私には、分かりそうでわからない。
わたしはゲイルよりもレネーの方が好きだなぁ。

[Kelvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 1994 book by Barbara Parker and is the first book in the Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana series. The setting is in 1990s Miami. It is more a legal thriller than a mystery. The writing is average and sometimes long winded and distracting. Both Gail and Anthony are attorneys. Gail is in civil litigation practice and Anthony is a criminal defense attorney. The book does have a good backdrop on law firm life in the 1990s (when lawyers still dictate documents with tapes) as well as the life of the Cuban exile community in Miami at that time. Through the eyes of Gail, Parker also provided a good description of billable hours pressure of law firms and its impact on the work life balance especially in the case of a female attorney with a young kid at home. Parker tried to write a suspense thriller with a strong psychological twist. However I think she overdid the psychological side at the expense of making it a good mystery story so the book reads just like a written soap opera filled with all kinds of family bickering and drama such as sibling rivalries, marital problems and infidelity, as well as conflicts and petty jealousies in multigenerational families. The book is filled with constant flashbacks of Gail remembering various jealous moments she had with her younger sister Renee. The soap opera aspect of the book totally overshadowed the murder mystery in the case and made the book more like a family drama with the mystery aspect just an afterthought. The first half of the book is especially slow going and is painful to read. At the end, the solution came about more by accident than any logical detection or deduction.

The story is about the death of Gail’s younger sister Renee, who is a free spirit and is mentally unstable. She has got into various troubles in her life from multiple abortions to drug taking to various misdemeanors as well as drug trafficking. At first everybody thought her death was a suicide. However, when the police started looking into it and arrested Gail for Renee’s murder, Renee with the help of Anthony, tried to solve the case to prove Gail’s innocence. It turns out Renee was killed by her mother’s cousin, Judge Ben Strickland, who often visited the Connor household since Gail and Renee were kids. Ben is a pedophile who had been showering the emotionally needy Renee with gifts since she was young and had been sexually molesting her since she was twelve. When Renee finally tried to end the relationship and threatened to expose him, Ben murdered her and made it look like a suicide. Gail discovered all those at the very end through an accident when she saw the missing pendant that Renee wore the night before her death on Ben’s neck. Ultimately, Ben committed suicide and confessed in his suicide note the murder of Renee as well as Carlos Pedrosa, who for a while was a red herring in the book as a possible suspect.

[PWA Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story, well written. A girl is murdered. Her sister is charged. As they start pealing back the layers of her life and her sketchy friends, more and more suspects appear. This was fast moving, tense. I was engaged the whole way through, the author was perfect at drawing you into the scene. And of course that twist at the end. I hope there's more on Gail and Anthony. Need to see how that romance goes. I can't wait to find more books from this author. She truly knows how to tell a story!!

[Kal · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an excellent and exciting novel! Can't wait to start the sequel.

By about halfway through I had a guess as to who the killer was, and ended up being right. But the story is written with enough twists and turns that you aren't 100% sure until the very last page.

Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the novel is the relationship between Gail and Anthony. I found myself reading through as quickly as I could, hoping for Anthony to pop up again.

Overall, a fun and easy mystery with just enough of a payoff to keep it worthwhile.

[Drew- Pickleball Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Parker wrote some excellent legal mysteries that took place in Miami. I would start with her "Suspicion of Innocence." Her whole Suspicion series was excellent!

Several years ago, I did a presentation on free legal research sites at the Missouri Association of Defense Lawyers annual meeting and met a prominent attorney and mystery author from Miami who knew her. He said we should all have lunch together when I'm down there again. Unfortunately, Barbara passed away in 2009, and I missed my opportunity to meet her.

[Lori Robinett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself rooting for Gail Connor, a female attorney in Miami. She's in a man's world and she knows it, but is strong enough to stand up to them. Her husband seemed like a nice guy on the surface, but . . . I'll be glad to see him ship off. The plot about Gail's sister's murder and the subplots meshed well, though the mystery felt a bit rushed at the end. I'm not sure yet what I think of Anthony Quintana, and am curious to keep reading more in this series to see the character develop.

[Patti Hamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written with solid plotting and sufficient twists to maintain interest. The protagonist lacks self-awareness and is not extremely likeable. Although I did not find several of her major characters believable, the descriptions of Miami and Florida solidly anchor the reader in the locale. Hoping that the author develops greater depth and understanding as she continues, I would recommend picking up a book later in series.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and am happy to know that there are more books in the series. I liked the protagonists, Gail and Anthony, and look forward to seeing how they evolve as a couple and as individual characters. I was able to guess who the murderer was, not that it was very predictable. There were just enough clues for the reader to be able to figure it out, if paying attention. I read this for my mystery book club.

[Melissa Hood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed the book and it kept my interest throughout. I enjoyed that the mystery of the killer was well kept and there were multiple theories to keep you guessing.

I did find that at times the writing was difficult to decipher/I had to re-read a paragraph to figure out "where" I was in the story. I also found it very focused on certain relationships when I could have used more information from others.

[Debi Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book but it was somewhat predictable. I have read other books by this author and find them to be “good reads” but as I have Amazon Prime w/ Kindle Unlimited, I refuse to pay for books. While this book was included, the sequel was $7.99 which I find ridiculous! I’ll just have to skip this series and find another. 🙁

[Liz V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The relationship of sisters Gail and Renee fractured after the death of their father, but the depth of their separation isn't apparent until Renee is murdered. As Gail stands accused of Renee's murder, Gail is forced to reexamine old wounds, and new, to learn who her sister was and who might have wanted her dead.

The story is complex but predictable and Gail seems at times too stupid to live.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason I didn’t rate this higher is my own preferences. I really don’t like when the main character is accused of the crime they’re trying to solve and have to prove their own innocence. Maybe I should have figured that was the way the book would go from the title. I liked the description of Florida and the book’s ambiance, though.

[Judy Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, the author seemed to be struggling to introduce different pieces of the story so that she could "tie it all together" at the end. The characters were not so captivating that I would want to read another book in the series.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was so slow going that I wondered why I was continuing to read. (because a friend had said it was good) Then it picked up, the threads came together, and it was OK. Not a great book, but the plot was engaging after it got going.

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice leisurely read. Fairly easy to figure out the killer but enough red herrings thrown in to keep you guessing for awhile. Characters have potential for good development and look forward to reading the next In the series.

[Joan Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

lawyer, defend thy self

Gail is a high placed lawyer with a nine year old daughter and an imminent divorce.
She is charged with the murder of her kid sister. And so ensues the search.
Well written, good dialogue, excellent knowledge of Miami.

[Diane Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of an up and coming lawyer in Miami who’s estranged sister is murdered and she is charged with the murder. It is a good, old fashioned mystery with interesting characters. An easy read but entertaining.

[Carol Carmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Mary Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just know there is a good series, makes me happy. I really like the characters in this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ok-predictable.

[Calvin Preece · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very compelling story

A well written compelling tale that winds through Miami's heart. Nicely told with moments of suspense, sex, family secrets, and more. A good read.

[clark w burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

A great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great characters,great plot. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story, but gee whiz, there were a LOT of spelling and punctuation errors in the book.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good. A lot of twists and turns.