A Wrongful Death

Barbara Holloway #10

by Kate Wilhelm

Who knew that being a Good Samaritan would lead Barbara Holloway to face her biggest challenge ever: being named prime suspect in a high-profile kidnapping?
The peace and quiet of Barbara's retreat on the Oregon coast is shattered when a terrified young boy calls to her as she walks along a deserted beach. Frantically he leads her to a cabin deep in the woods where his mother lies senseless and battered--clearly left for dead. Barbara runs for help, but by the time she returns with the police and medics both mother and son are gone.

The puzzle only deepens when, back in the city, Barbara learns that the boy she met is the grandson of a wealthy and prominent family-- and that they have accused her of aiding and abetting his disappearance.

With the help of her father, Frank, Barbara delves into the mystery of the missing child, only to realize that the kidnapping is a ruse for a more sinister plan--a plan that pits the meaning of family against cold hard cash.

But the more she learns, the more questions she has, and troubling obstacles continue to thwart her every move--from the justice system that employs her, to the false identities of those around her. Yet none of these things compares to the shocking murder scene that awaits her.

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

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2007

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

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I'm a Barbara Holloway groupie and I look forward to any and all Barbara Holloway mysteries. I love her father Frank and wish he'd been my dad. I love reading about how they eat (Wilhelm's characters know how to make a great sandwich and put together a formal meal). I love Bailey the private detective and the cast of characters who live in Barbara's world. This series is terrific and I'm always left pining for the next and delighted when one appears. There are things I adore about this book and things I'm not wild about (sme plot things mostly). But the bigger issues Wilhelm explores, like greed and prejudice and inequity make for a compelling read, and there's so much tension in this book that once you start reading you will not put it down. Perfect airplane book or one to help tune out the family. It's a standalone book but I'd recommend reading Desperate Measures or Death Qualified first.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize when I started this that it was part of a series. After being disconcerted a couple of times by characters/relationships being mentioned as if I should already know about them, I looked up Wilhelm's bibliography and discovered this wasn't just in a series, it was no less than #10 in that series!

The setup's great. Our lawyer heroine, Barbara "Bobby" Holloway, needs to get away for a while to think over her relationship with her boyfriend and ends up renting a cabin on a remote stretch of coast. One day on the beach she encounters a small boy in obvious distress. He leads her to where his mother lies, savagely beaten and left to die. Barbara administers what first aid she can, then goes for help. By the time she gets back both boy and woman have gone . . .

That incident will have great consequences for her, because she has stumbled into the fringes of a case involving fraud on a vast scale and eventually murder. Worse still, the cops suspect Barbara of being deeply involved in affairs of which she's initially completely ignorant, and believe her to be complicit in the abduction of the little boy. Aided by retired-lawyer father Frank, resourceful PI Bailey Novell and a raft of others, can Barbara bring not just the killer but the conspirators to book?

Although this book was published in 2007 it reads -- the occasional cussword aside -- like something from a far earlier era. This is no criticism (the effect is rather refreshing, in fact) but from time to time I was so lulled into the quasi-historical ambience that I'd then find myself startled by what seemed momentarily to be anachronisms -- someone whipping out a mobile phone, for example.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the tale -- perhaps too many of them, because by the end of the book I was beginning to feel a tad weary and to wish Wilhelm would sinply cut to the chase and reveal the baddy or baddies. Otherwise, though, this was a quick, entertaining and moderately engaging read -- enough so to encourage me to put a couple of Wilhelm's crime standalones on my TBR list.

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:

Currently on Audible Plus

In the last book, I had wanted Barbara to confront her own demons and figure out what she wants. That and a bunch of other things happened in this book. I would have to say that this was one of the zanier capers out of the 10 I've read. She's such a quirky character mix of lawyer, detective and justice seeking torpedo. =P

Entertaining for sure.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mystery series titled "Barbara Holloway" and it is the 10th book in the series, but it happens to be the one I started with. So maybe I shouldn't have started with #10. I actually liked the MC. She was likable, but at times she seemed a little clueless for someone trying to solve a mystery and trying to keep the innocent party out of jail. There were obvious oversights here. I'll only mention one. There is a scene where they are wondering if the husband was the killer....is he lying...is he a good liar....is he genuine in his denial. That made absolutely no sense to me. I can't give too much away here, but it is these kind of details that don't match up with the story being told. This happened a couple of times and each time it takes me right out of the story as I explore that in my head. So, 2.5 stars.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a good series, and I've read through the series starting from the first book. Although I think each book could pretty much stand alone, if you don't have the history of previous books, you would miss the significance of various characters who have been added to the cast. One thing I like about these books is the courtroom procedure. This book is a departure from that format, as Barbara becomes involved with a missing woman and her son. The plot follows Barbara's investigation and eventual solution of the mystery. Another great audio version as well.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed the Barbara Holloway series and one night, unable to sleep, I picked this on one of my listening devices, and started listening. The initial premise hooks you right away. Elizabeth Kurtz flees her nere-do-well ex-husband after she discover a file of documents that, we learn later but suspect from the beginning, has information that will damage her ex-husband’s father’s corporation. The father is on death’s door and her ex- is desperately trying to find a document that would assign him part of the corporation before his father dies and his mother can retrieve it. Or so we are lead to believe. Elizabeth’s ex-mother-in-law hates Elizabeth and her grandson Jason.

Elizabeth flees with her son attempting to hide (why she hides in the father-in-law’s cabin in the woods seemed ill-advised or at the very least dumb.) Barbara, hiding from her own demons and a proposal from her boyfriend (another strange reaction,) is found by a frantic Jason on a deserted beach seeking help for his mother who has suffered what appears to be a beating. Elizabeth makes the woman as comfortable as possible, but when she and her cabin’s caretaker arrive back on the scene, both the boy and his mother are gone. Barbara returns home to discover she is suspected of complicity in the suspected kidnapping of Jason and killing of his mother. The plot thickens as Elizabeth and Barbara try to avoid the law and the killers and still maintain some important secrets. The denouement was reminiscent of the classic Rex Stout and Agatha Christie where the detective/lawyer gets the principles in a room and forces out the truth.

Personally, I would have preferred more courtroom antics and less personal soul-searching by Barbara over Darren, her on-again-off-again boyfriend. Some of the antagonism with the police seemed forced and my eyes kept rolling back into my head as I remarked to myself, “come on, people, if you sat down and everyone explained what they knew,. . . Then again, I suppose there would have been no story. Still, an enjoyable audiobook.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

By Kate Wilhelm is a great read... after all, who doesn't like a lady attorney named Barbara Holloway, and her dad FRANK?

I haven't read a Barbara Holloway book in a while but always love them. She is so so so calm, cool and collected! It is always like going home and you can count on some home cooking and a good meal... well, YOU won't get to eat, but everyone in the book will and it WILL be good. OH, this is a series and this is book 10. I don't think it is really important to read them in order exactly, but it is always helpful to understand this is a series with a set of fans that follow it.
Greed is driving this one... others might be driven by other social issues...

4 stars

Happy Reading!

[Barbara Schultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than 3 but not 4 stars.
This my 6th Kate Wilhelm novel. I have only read a few Barbara Holloway’s and this is #10 in the series. However, it seemed to me it is okay to read out of sequence.
This was a good read on a hot summer afternoon as I so love Christmas lights and snow ~something we don’t experience in SoCal and have to travel to or read about!
Although a bit predictable, I did like this Holloway novel. Perhaps it is a Barbara thing!

[Sep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Barbara Holloway book. I enjoyed the way she and her father relate. Elizabeth Kurtz finds out something she is not supposed to know and goes on the run with her little boy. Barbara, who has a different set of issues, arrive at Elizabeth's cabin just in time to save her and her son's lives.

Great mystery with crosses and double crosses.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining! I didn't know this was part of a series, and started with this one first. This was really good, but I definitely recommend reading from the beginning of the series so you don't feel a little lost like I was.

[Su · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the first novel of Wilhelm's I have read that featured the main character Barbara Halloway. I had no idea that this protaganist had been in previous books and nothing on the bookjacket blurb mentioned that either. Therefore, I found myself mystified the entire time I read the book. Who were these characters the author assumed I knew? She would refer to their traits or idiosycrasies and I would wonder if I had accidentally skipped pages. Whenever I read Sue Grafton novels, she always fills the reader in from the beginning of each new book, so you know who all the figures are. Enough I guess. I did not care for this book.

[Kathleen Hagen]

A Wrongful Death, by Kate Wilhelm. A. Produced by Blackstone Audio and downloaded from audible.com.
Another fine visit with Barbara Holloway. At the beginning of this book we found her wandering and trying to figure out what she should do. Should she continue to practice law? Should she give in to her feelings and marry Daron, or would she make his life, and his son’s life, a living hell because of her work? She sought counsel from a therapist in San Francisco, and then drove to an isolated part of Oregon to continue thinking. But she found she didn’t have the isolation to herself. She saw a young woman with a small boy. The two women waved to each other but it was clear neither wanted contact. Then one day she saw the little boy rushing toward the lake. His mother wasn’t with him. He was crying. He came up to her and said his mama was hurt. Barbara followed him to a cabin where she found the woman in the doorway with cuts and bruises around her head. She got the woman into the cabin and told her she would return with help. When she came back with the cabins caretaker, the woman and boy were gone. Then people started coming to her asking where Elizabeth Curtz and her son were and threatening all manner of things if Barbara didn’t tell them. She kept insisting, for once truthfully, that she didn’t know anything about them. Then she got a call from Elizabeth Curtz who asked Barbara to come to her apartment to meet her. When she got there, one woman, apparently Elizabeth, was shot dead, and another woman, her adopted sister, was crying hysterically. People really suspected Barbara now since she was again on the scene of the murder. She began to realize that until she sorted it all out, she would be the main state witness against the remaining young woman, whom she did not believe had shot Elizabeth. As usual, a very compelling and complex plot. This time Barbara seemed to be pushed toward a peaceful family, Daron, and continued practice of law. Even with all the mayhem, this was more than a usually peaceful Barbara Holloway book. It could be an ending book. I hope not.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara Holloway has run away as she fears the commitment of a relationship with Darren and is afraid that she will disappoint him as she knows that she when she is mesmerized by a case, she forgets relationship responsibilities. Darren has been pushing for marriage so Barbara takes a 2 month vacation, traveling aimlessly. While on a deserted beach, she is approached by a 6 year old boy who drags her back to the cabin where his mother has been attacked and left for dead. Barbara calls for an ambulance and the police. When the woman takes off with the child, the police refuse to believe that Barbara doesn't know the woman or where she has gone. The in-laws asset that Elizabeth was kidnapping her son despite the fact that Elizabeth has custody and they have only seen the child a few times. Weeks later, Barbara receives a call from Elizabeth asking her to come to her hotel so she can get legal advise on what to do with some information that she removed from the files of her in-laws which would have great bearing on the prospective sale of the in-laws firm
When Barbara gets to the scene, a young woman is dead. As she is calling the police, the police arrive accompanied by someone they say is Leonora, Elizabeth's friend who was raised as her sister. Barbara accepts this only to realize after she promises to help Leonora that Leonora is actually Elizabeth who is hiding from her murderous in-laws. If Barbara can't prove who is really responsible for the attack on Elizabeth and the supposed death of Elizabeth (actually Leonora), she and Elizabeth both may have very short lives.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

After deciding to try one of the Ebooks from the metro library I happened upon this book. It was an enjoyable read although I felt like I didn't know the main characters. Evidently Wilhelm has written a series of books about the main character, a lawyer who works with her father's firm. The investigator, the love interest and the police detective were not set up very well for someone who had just picked this book off the shelf. I will probably look for other books by Wilhelm, decide which was the first with the main character and give her another try.

[Kem · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of twists and turns in this unique plot. Sometimes it's hard to keep track. I did like the closure as it was unique also. It's a little too unrealistic in part as cops don't give in to a meddlers wishes very often if at all. I do like the characters. I listened to the audio version of this one. I'll see if reading will change anything for the next one I read by this new author, new to me anyway.

[Ele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was boring. The main character is so shocked that "no one" believes her. Ha, why would they? It also seems implausible, in many ways...

[Shawn Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking off just weeks after the previous book, Barbara Holloway encounters another shifty and sketchy family while trying her best to relax and recharge in a quiet coastal retreat. Here the various involved parties are family members centered around a failed marriage between a scientist and an editor, involving a power struggle over a fortune in patents. Meanwhile, a young boy goes missing amidst repeated attempts on his mother's life.

It's very convoluted, but it's entertaining, and the big climax isn't a courtroom scene, but a mixed family/corporate conference where Barbara makes sure to have the law on hand. She knows they may be needed. Sometimes she likes to set up a powder keg and see what blows first, hoping it will reveal the criminals rather than blow back on her clients. It's a risky move, but she's a very brave woman.

[BeParticular · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been four years since I read the last book in the series. Thanks Covid! Now that I am reading again, it was a pleasure to spend time with Barbara and her cohorts. The story hooked me right away. I was genuinely shocked by the big reveal. And the cat and mouse machinations kept me thoroughly engaged right up to the end.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half is kind of haphazard and by the end the story flows better - I think the author has too many characters to try and juggles and to keep involved in the story- line. An interesting puzzler…mild suspense as Barbara works with her father and others. I didn’t realize this was 10th in a series and that may be why I had trouble with so many characters.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Barbara Holloway book that I have read. Some minor details would be better explained ( her past relationship with Darren). Overall it was a great book and the minor details didn't matter.

[Ada Iaboni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Wilhelm must have been a heck of a lawyer or have a great lawyer do her research!
This was another complicate case that had many moving parts, secrets and bad guys in every corner.
But with her usual smarts, Barbara Holloway solves the case!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope it's not a spoiler, but it made me laugh that the major component of a character's disguise in this book was they had their eye LASHES trimmed. Seriously. It's mentioned at least 4 times. Too funny.

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was over the top of believable. Birds and animals dancing in the forest would be the only thing not covered.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Kate Wilhelm book

Barbara, the main character is human as well as a great problem solver. Her interactions with other characters are believable and she always gets the job done.

[Fiona Forthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid plot and good characters.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another good book from Kate Wilhelm, who is a good writer for this genre. This book, as usual, has lots of twists and turns in the plot; but in the end, Barbara Hollaway's client is freed.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

listened - good presentation. More of a legal thriller than a mystery. Enjoyed it.

[Leslie McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

How is it that this series just keeps getting better and better? Wilhelm is a master storyteller. Can't wait to see what happens next!

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre!

[Bev Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of her page turner for me. I’ve read 5 in this series and some good some not so. I know all the characters now and enjoy them. It depends on the plot. This one was great.