| Amazon.com Harvard Law School graduate Kate Paine， heroine of Amy Gutman's Equivocal Death， is supposed to be smart. But as the new hire at Samson & Mills， one of the country's most powerful and successful firms， she can't figure out who's behind the murder of partner Madeleine Waters. She's also gullible enough to buy the lies the other partners are spinning to keep the firm from collapsing， or maybe she's too busy to figure out their deceptions. When she's not working 90 hours a week， she's fretting over the law school romance that went up in flames and left her unwilling to trust any man except Justin Daniels， her platonic buddy from her Cambridge days， and Carter Mills， the senior partner who hired her. She barely has time to spare for the appealing inner-city teenager she's supposed to be mentoring， but Josie understands Kate enough to know that when she's late for an appointment， she must be in trouble. Unfortunately， Josie's not around when Kate has an ugly encounter with the firm's biggest client--an incident Kate keeps to herself， which further underlines the reader's impression that she's too dumb to have made it as far as she has in the cutthroat world she inhabits. Certainly， she's too slow on the uptake to see the clues that point to the murderer， whom most readers will have figured out many pages before the conclusion of this tepid thriller. Gutman's writing is clear enough， but her characters are one-dimensional. Fans who aren't too choosy about their legal thrillers or just can't wait for the next Grisham may not be bothered by these shortcomings. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly Gutman's debut woman-in-peril crime thriller set amid the skullduggery of a prestigious New York City law firm provides doses of good， light entertainment but suffers from a serious case of plot overload and red herringitis. Weaving her way through the tangle is Kate Paine， a rising star at Samson & Mills and a favorite of the firm's managing partner， Carter Mills. Soon after immersing herself in an important sexual harassment case， Paine is taken aside by Madeleine Waters， one of the firm's few female partners and Mills's former lover， and is cryptically told to be careful. Before Paine has time to ask for an explanation， Waters's body is found in the Hudson River. Paine， horrified but intrigued by Waters's death， starts poking around and uncovers sinister evidence of bitter rivalries， sexual affairs and a billing scandal at Samson & Mills. When she is sexually assaulted one night in her office， she begins to fear for her life. Is it coincidence that she resembles Madeleine Waters? Then Carter Mills is shot. Did he commit suicide? In between these breathless twists and turns， Gutman， an attorney， colorfully describes what life is like for young lawyers in high-powered law firms. Her story， despite its many unnecessary sidelights and extraneous characters， maintains a measure of suspense until the end. Paine， however， disappoints as a marquee player. Weak-willed and prone to flee from trouble， she's hardly the take-charge type truly prepared to battle evil. Agent， Nick Ellison. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews |
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