Cold Case

By Kate Wilhelm

With no strong evidence, attorney Barbara Holloway's legal instincts are all she has.

If they can't lead her to the truth, her client will die. But if she succeeds, her own life will be on the line. Controversial author and scholar David Etheridge is not the kind of company an aspiring politician wants to keep. But ambitious state senator Robert McCrutchen has a history with Etheridge–a history he's desperately trying to keep under wraps.

Twenty-two years ago, while attending the University of Oregon, both men were investigated in the death of a young coed, but the case was never solved. A circle of secrecy guaranteed it. But the old stories resurface when Etheridge returns to Eugene, Oregon. Tied to their past, McCrutchen is his grudging host–until the senator is found shot dead. Now Etheridge is back where he was more than two decades ago–suspected of murder.

Only this time, with the cold case reopened, he's facing a double charge. And Etheridge might not be so lucky again. Barbara must battle the prosecution and the court of public opinion, which has already tried and convicted Etheridge for both murders. As the pressure mounts, Barbara ties the past and present together, risking her own life to protect a client and preserve justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Nov 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781408955529

Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm's first novel was a mystery, 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. Her works have been adapted for television and movies in the United States, England, and Germany. Wilhelm's novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov's Science Fiction, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan. Wilhelm and her husband, Damon Knight (1922-2002), also provided invaluable assistance to numerous other writers over the years. Their teaching careers covered a span of several decades, and hundreds of students, many of whom are famous names in the field by their own rights today. They helped to establish the Clarion Writer's Workshop and the Milford Writer's Conference. They have been the guests of honor and panelists at numerous conventions around the world. Wilhelm continues to host monthly workshops, as well as teach at other events. She is an avid supporter of local libraries and participates in fundraisers when she is able to.

Reviews for Cold Case

[jim53_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun addition to this very readable series. Not as good as the best Holloway stories.

[tgpistole · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good Barbara Holloway book. Although still focusing on her role as a defense lawyer, there is no trial here. All of the action occurs before the case is tried.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Barbara Holloway series by Kate Wilhelm is just a absolutely excellent batch of detective, legal, personal, and other interesting sidelights. Like Linda Fairstein's stories, I'm always learning something new feel so disappointed when the story ends. I'm glad the cases are adjudicated (no one wants to sit on a jury any longer than they have to) but I always want to know more, to see into the future. And so far, I've not been disappointed.

[kp9949 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Have read several Kate Wilhelm books. This is not one of her best but very readable. An old murdery mystery connects to a new one in this Barbara Hollaway thriller. Is the first mystery connected to the second? And, if so, how? I like the Hollaway character and the way her private life melds with her professional. Very entertaining although I solved it right away.

[jenforbus · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When David Etheridge, a controversial author and scholar, returns to Eugene, Oregon for a speaking engagement, he rents an apartment from Robert McCrutchen, an old classmate from college. Robert is none too happy about this arrangement because he's involved in politics and wants to stay far away from the controversy that follows David. Robert also wants to keep a 22-year-old unsolved murder under wraps, a murder for which he and David were both investigated.When Robert winds up dead, that old murder resurfaces and David becomes the prime suspect for both. David hires attorney Barbara Holloway and her father Frank to clear him of the murder charges.I listened to Cold Case on audio, read by Carrington MacDuffie. The reading was nicely done. I've not read Kate Wilhelm before and evidently this book is the eleventh book in a series with Barbara Holloway. I probably will not be clamoring to read anything else, though. Unfortunately I found Cold Case to be quite predictable and was relieved when Barbara finally locked on to the guilty party. I felt like the clues throughout were about as obvious as a large neon arrow. GUILTY *blink*blink* GUILTY *blink*blink.* The other big factor for me was the dialogue. Much of it sounded contrived or forced, not natural or believable. When dialogue is stiff in that manner, the character development suffers. For example, there is a woman in her mid-30s in the book who sounds like she's an adolescent, not an accomplished career-woman. The one character I connected with and enjoyed the development of was Frank, Barbara's father. He's proud of his daughter but still has parental concern about her. He's an educated, insightful, wise character who has obviously learned from life's experiences. There are several threads to the plot that seem to be left hanging. And I found myself wondering what their purposes were at all. They are definitely superfluous and could have been eliminated altogether, making the plot tighter and eliminating unanswered questions. While it wasn't as big a factor in my opinion of Cold Case, the climax of the novel is a rather overused device. In order to avoid any spoilers, I'll refrain from describing it any further. Suffice it to say, I've seen it used often enough in books and movies that it's lost its effectiveness for me. I wish I had more positive comments to throw out on this one, but sadly, I really was not impressed with this book. Unfortunately, you'll run in to those.

[reannon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the Barbara Holloway series by Kate Wilhelm. Barbara is a defense lawyer who often works with her father, Frank. This case starts from the murder of a young woman, a college student, 22 years ago. . The crime is never solved, and when one of the persons involved with the old case is murdered, the same man is arrested for both crimes and Barbara is his defense lawyer.I always enjoy the books in this series. The characters are so real one I feel I know them. And, for the most part, they are rational, decent people, which makes what happens to them sadder, or more frightening. Highly recommended.