From Publishers Weekly
Veteran writer Wilhelm ( Sweet, Sweet Poison ) has produced another intricate, many-layered novel, in equal parts murder mystery, science fiction, psychological study and consideration of legal ethics. Nell Kendricks is charged with murdering her estranged husband, Lucas, who disappeared years ago while working on a top-secret experiment attempting to use chaos theory to change the observer's perception of the universe. Now it appears that Lucas had spent the intervening years drugged and amnesiac, a handyman at the university where the studies had taken place. Attorney Barbara Holloway, who is "death qualified" (i.e., legally permitted to act in capital cases), agrees to defend Nell, despite having left the profession, disillusioned by its practices. Barbara decides the key to the case lies in the chaos project and the mysterious death of one of the researchers. Facing a politically motivated, hostile prosecutor, Barbara is helped by a young mathematician, who becomes her lover. Wilhelm sensitively depicts her characters and their relationships, creating an insightful study of what is and what might be, ending in thought-provoking ambiguity. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Noted for both her science fiction/fantasy novels as well as her mysteries, Wilhelm combines these genres in her latest fiction. The novel begins with an arresting first paragraph, and the intensity is sustained until the final page. Lucas Kendricks, an unwilling participant in a scientific study on the mathematical theories of chaos, is murdered, allegedly by his wife Nell. Lucas had suffered from an altered perception of reality as a result of being used as a guinea pig. The story gradually unfolds during the aftermath of Lucas's murder. The novel's title refers to the lawyer who defends Nell, who is "death qualified," i.e., qualified to conduct a case with a potential death sentence. It is difficult to describe the novel's many dimensions, ranging from tense courtroom scenes to the almost fantastic descriptions of the scientific study. Most astonishing is the author's ability to peel off one layer after another, revealing new ways of looking at the same facts. Highly recommended for general readers. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/91.- Kathy Armendt Sorci, IIT Research Inst., Annapolis, Md.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Another heaven-storming hybrid of mystery and fantasy from veteran Wilhelm (Cambio Bay; Sweet, Sweet Poison, etc.): What's the link between a powerful mind-altering computer program and two murders in the Oregon woods? Seven years ago Lucas Kendricks deserted his young family and took off for mathematician Emil Frobisher's research project in Colorado. Now, after one day's warning--he ordered a monster computer to be sent to his old address--he's back, and then, moments later, he's dead, along with a young woman he gave a lift to only a few hours before. The police think Lucas raped and killed the hitchhiker and was shot down by his tiny, sharpshooting wife Nell; but defense attorney Barbara Holloway, needled by her estranged father into coming back to him and the law (she'd been on the run from both for five years after a dose of professional disillusionment) is convinced that Lucas's death had more to do with the mysterious men who followed him from Colorado. Taking on her share of clich‚s--alliance with her curmudgeonly, reluctantly supportive father; opposition from prosecutor/former lover Tony DeAngelo; romance with mathematician Mike Dinesen (whom she's called in to make sense of the connections Lucas had with Frobisher, psychiatrist Ruth Brandywine, and computer expert Walter Schumaker)--Barbara delves into those blank seven years, and comes up with answers that are even scarier than the questions: a set of the most user-unfriendly computer disks in literature. What does all this have to do with Lucas's murder? Not enough, unfortunately: the mixture of metaphysical fractals, courtroom drama, psychological thrills, and formal detection never quite jells. But the audacious scope of Wilhelm's cosmic riddling may spoil you for mysteries that merely ask whodunit. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


New York Times Book Review
"A book not about ideas but about the impact of ideas . . . The ending . . . makes good on all her promises."


Book Description
Five years ago Barbara Holloway gave up practicing law, disillusioned with a profession that put politics before justice. Then she receives a phone call, with a simple message: "I need you." Nell Kendrick's husband disappeared seven years earlier, abandoning his young family. Nell hasn't seen him since -- until the day Lucas Kendricks arrives at the edge of her property and is shot, instantly killed. Accused of his murder, Nell turns to lawyer Frank Holloway for help. But Frank knows he cannot win this case alone. He calls upon his daughter, Barbara, who remains "death qualified" -- legally able to defend clients who face the death penalty if convicted. Barbara is determined to stay distanced from the case, but the more she learns, the more questions she finds herself asking. Is Nell innocent, as Frank attests? Where has Lucas Kendricks been for the past seven years? Despite her vow, Barbara finds herself drawn to the case . . . and reclaims the search for truth that first led her to the law.

ANNOTATION

An award-winning science fiction author juggles genres with this highly-acclaimed legal thriller. Barbara Holloway has given up the law but she is still "death qualified"--able to defend clients facing the death penalty. And now her father needs her back in court to defend a woman indicted for killing her estranged husband. Martin's.

FROM THE PUBLISHER