Frank and Barbara Holloway, the Pacific Northwest father-daughter legal duo familiar to Wilhelm's (For the Defense, Defense for the Devil) many fans, go east of the Cascades to Oregon's ruggedly beautiful high desert to investigate the strange death of Vinny Jessup. Was it a suicide staged to look like murder by Vinny's young wife Lara in order to collect a big insurance policy? Or was it murder set up to look like suicide by a right-wing judge in line for a nomination to the Supreme Court---the man Vinny Jessup believed responsible for framing his beloved younger son for murder nearly two decades ago? Wilhelm's strong suit is character development; here she introduces Manny Truewater, an intriguing Native American lawyer who was Vinny's partner and best friend (and worthy of a starring role in his own book), and also adds new dimensions to both the Holloways with a love affair that tests Barbara's commitment to her personal independence and a nascent career for Frank as a published writer. She's at her best when describing the power structures of a small town and the relationships that tie the Jessups to the ambitions of the people who really run things; while the pace is leisurely, the writing is assured, the ends neatly tied up, and the gorgeous landscape of a harsh and rugged region beautifully depicted. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
The murder case against young widow Lara Jessup appears airtight after her wealthy, much older, and terminally ill husband Vinny is shot on a twisting Oregon mountain road, and legal eagle Barbara Holloway struggles mightily to construct a defense for Lara in the first half of Wilhelm's latest legal thriller. Holloway is certain that the mountain of evidence indicating that Lara shot Vinny and then tried to make it look like a suicide is part of a setup by Harris McReady, an ambitious candidate for the Oregon Supreme Court who was also involved in an earlier "accident" in which Vinny's son from a previous marriage was shot. But Holloway travels down a series of dead ends in her efforts to unearth clues in the Oregon desert town where McReady is using his ties with a powerful rancher, Thomas Lynch, to press his case, and a conviction seems imminent as depositions are taken before the trial. The resourceful lawyer hits pay dirt, though, when the final leg of the investigation leads to McReady's gorgeous but damaged wife, who is also Lynch's daughter, and the pace picks up considerably as she dissects her opponent's marriage of convenience and the Lynch family history, revealing a hornet's nest of shady deals and coverups. Wilhelm spends considerable prose developing her quirky cast of characters, using the eerie milieu of the Oregon high desert to set off the oddness of this likable group. The attention to detail slows things up a bit, but once the depositions start, the action turns electric as the story races to an intriguing ending. Her carefully crafted approach to the legal thriller continues to separate Wilhelm from the competition, and those who prefer both style and substance in their courtroom dramas will find this a satisfying read. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Vinny Jessup, a sixtyish Oregon lawyer dying of bone cancer, has been found shot in his van. Was it murder, an accident, or suicide? Barbara Holloway (also featured in For the Defense and Defense for the Devil) is the attorney selected to defend Vinny's 33-year-old widow accused of murdering him. Holloway suspects several people of having vital knowledge in the case, among them Judge Harris McCready; his wife, Babe; and Babe's father, Thomas Lynch. Add to the mix the earlier disappearance of Vinny's son Lewis and Babe's unrequited love for Roger, Lewis's older brother. The listener is given a few too many clues, leaving little room for suspense. Marguerite Gavin reads in an always clear, though occasionally melodramatic voice. For Wilhelm fans and those who enjoy legal procedurals. Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A lockstep, by-the-numbers legal procedural with all too few thrills. Wilhelm overcomes overwritten early scenes in which sunlight glints like an Aztec signal on a shard of a mirror and moves resolutely to an attention-grabbing opening in a new case for Oregon attorney Barbara Holloway (Malice Prepense, 1996, etc.). Its a hot summer in eastern Oregon when 33-year-old nurse Lara Jessup awakens to her worst nightmare: Her 60-ish husband, Vinny, an established lawyer dying of bone cancer, has been found dead in a van on a treacherous road. An accident, suicide, or murder? Thats what Holloway needs to find out when Lara becomes the prime suspect. But there are a lot of people in the small town of Salt Creek who want to stop Holloway from discovering the truth. Primary among them are the unhappily married Judge Harris McReady and his wife, Babe, treasured daughter of prime mover and shaker Thomas Lynch. McReady is in line for a Supreme Court position and doesnt want his reputation damaged by another murder that goes back many years. Vinnys son, Lewis, was accused of a double homicide, then mysteriously disappeared. Vinny was certain McReady had something to do with it. Holloway does a slick but unspectacular job of ferreting out the culprits in a meticulously presented pre-trial deposition process. A minor subplot involving Barbaras father, Frank, and his attempt to publish a book on cross-examination provides comic relief; his cooking skills offer tasty side dishes. There is also a heartfelt treatment of the emotional and moral bonds between various and sundry parents and children. But by the time Wilhelm returns from these digressive matters to trot out the solution to the mystery, the amused, well-fed reader has pretty much outguessed Holloway. Best for its regional details, fast-paced dialogue, and solid character delineation. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Barbara Holloway's a trial lawyer who tends to take on difficult cases. One involved a woman accused of killing her own child, another involved a mentally handicapped man, and her last one found her entangled in such a mess that it's a wonder she lived through it at all.

But in every previous case she has had some fragment with which she could build an argument. This time out, it seems there's no defense at all.

Lara and Vinny Jessup had a lovely May-December marriage. It renewed his lease on life after a battle with cancer, and it rescued her from a bad first marriage.

Initially, the sheriff out in Loomis County thinks that Vinny died when his car rolled over on a bad curve on Lookout Mountain. Then he finds the gunshot wound. Was it suicide or was it murder? With a large insurance policy as her motive, Lara could have staged the death—-or so it appears to the sheriff.

Barbara Holloway finds herself drawn to the Oregon desert to take on this case, accompanied by her associates: her colleague Shelley with her Barbie-doll looks, the inimitable detective Bailey Novell, and her father Frank (who's soon to be a published writer!).

But the case itself is as dead as the desert. Is there any defense at all?

Compelling and distinctive, this drama demonstrates anew why Kate Wilhelm is considered a master of the form.

FROM THE CRITICS

Toby Bromberg - Romantic Times

No Defense is a satisfying, complicated legal thriller with many exciting twists and turns. Wilhelm builds a strong plot that hooks the reader from the start.

Publishers Weekly

The murder case against young widow Lara Jessup appears airtight after her wealthy, much older, and terminally ill husband Vinny is shot on a twisting Oregon mountain road, and legal eagle Barbara Holloway struggles mightily to construct a defense for Lara in the first half of Wilhelm's latest legal thriller. Holloway is certain that the mountain of evidence indicating that Lara shot Vinny and then tried to make it look like a suicide is part of a setup by Harris McReady, an ambitious candidate for the Oregon Supreme Court who was also involved in an earlier "accident" in which Vinny's son from a previous marriage was shot. But Holloway travels down a series of dead ends in her efforts to unearth clues in the Oregon desert town where McReady is using his ties with a powerful rancher, Thomas Lynch, to press his case, and a conviction seems imminent as depositions are taken before the trial. The resourceful lawyer hits pay dirt, though, when the final leg of the investigation leads to McReady's gorgeous but damaged wife, who is also Lynch's daughter, and the pace picks up considerably as she dissects her opponent's marriage of convenience and the Lynch family history, revealing a hornet's nest of shady deals and coverups. Wilhelm spends considerable prose developing her quirky cast of characters, using the eerie milieu of the Oregon high desert to set off the oddness of this likable group. The attention to detail slows things up a bit, but once the depositions start, the action turns electric as the story races to an intriguing ending. Her carefully crafted approach to the legal thriller continues to separate Wilhelm from the competition, and those who prefer both style and substance in their courtroom dramas will find this a satisfying read. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal