Kate Wilhelm returns to the marvelous milieu of Death Qualified with this page-turning legal thriller.

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.

Then a woman comes to Barbara with a case she cannot refuse. The sister of “Baby Killer” Kennerman tells a tale so terrifying that Barbara must act, even if she does so reluctantly. What she unearths is a corrupt conspiracy, complete with incompetent lawyers, that will allow a killer to go free. The deeper she delves, the more atrocities she finds. When she finds herself up against a smear campaign of unimaginable proportions, Barbara Holloway realizes that even the best defense may not be enough.