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Janet L. Smith Practice to Deceive
Ballantine Books 1992 0449907449 / 9780449907443 Hardcover Very Good
0449907449 0449907449 Clean, tight and unmarked. From Publishers Weekly Seattle law partners Annie MacPherson and Joel Feinstein, last seen in Sea of Troubles, agree to a merger proposition tendered by megafirm Kemble, Laughton, Mercer and Duff, and championed by senior partner Gordon Barclay, for whom Annie would work. Involved in researching an article about her late father for a book about prominent attorneys, Annie learns that he and Barclay were once good friends. She and Joel have been at the big firm less than a week when Barclay's secretary and mistress, Nancy Gulliver, apparently commits suicide; Annie is distressed to hear rumors that the womanizing lawyer intends her to be his next conquest. Leaving a restaurant with him, she is shot at; then another woman linked to him is killed. Annie, a likable enough but formulaic character, must dig into the past before she can solve the mystery in this tenuously plotted, unrealistically resolved tale, which is freshened mainly by its Pacific Northwest setting. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Smith continues her cogent characterization ( Sea of Troubles , LJ 4/1/90), as she again drops California lawyer Annie MacPherson into a pile of trouble. MacPherson joins the prestigious Seattle law firm her late father once worked for, where she becomes grist for the rumor mill: her famous boss, a known ladies' man, monopolizes her time despite carrying on an affair with his secretary. After an apparent suicide, a sniper attack, and murder, Annie uncovers an old scandal in the firm that points to a present-day murderer. Nice ambience, realistic lawyer politicking, and plenty of movement. Recommended. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Price:
1.69 USD
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