Death Qualified

A Barbara Holloway Novel

By: Kate Wilhelm

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Kendricks'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.

It's legal: download more of Barbara Holloway's cases.

©1991 Kate Wilhelm (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Wilhelm is a masterful storyteller whose novels have just the right blend of solid plot, compelling mystery, and great courtroom drama." (Library Journal)

Chaotic

An undisciplined rambling with just enough plot to keep me plodding through.
Don’t think it was worth the effort.

Very captivating 📗

The narration is awesome. Such a well written book I’ve found a new author just love her stories. There are bits that are even funny.

Excellent Book ? Poor Mastering

I loved the story and was sorry to see it end. However, I would have preferred a happier ending. Wilhelm gives us enough detail about the characters and the setting that we have no trouble imagining them.

The mastering, though was very poor! In quite a few places, a paragraph was repeated. Also, I had to download both parts of the book twice because the originals were completely garbled from some point into each part until the end.

Get out the Tissues

What did you love best about Death Qualified?

great story, mystery with a who dunnit, and of course a bit of romance.

What other book might you compare Death Qualified to and why?

Best Defense, by same author. Good story teller. You will be glued to your listening devise.

What about Anna Fields’s performance did you like?

I purchase as many of the late great Ms Fields stories that I can. Her voice is so very much missed. Her male voices are my fave, but she always brings out each and every character as the author wanted. See Susan Elizabeth Phillips with Anna reading them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending just blew me away and left me heartsick for our heroine. It took me two days after listening to write this review.

Any additional comments?

the author is good, but a bit more internal introspection than I like. If ms fields did not read these, I would not buy more. I have purchased 5 of this author that ms fields read.
I have 3 more to listen. This is a must listen and do buy Best Denfense as it is not as dark, frankly better as you have a happier ending. Good clues.

I’d give it a 3 1/2 if possible.

The book was good. My mane complain was that it was a bit too long with so many side stories. Overall liked it but not anxious to read another in the series. The narrator was ok. Didn’t enjoy her rendition of the male voices in the book.

Really good story line

Really good story. great suspense. Not a lot of profanity. A fine brain teaser.

Great Book But Ending Sucks!

I really enjoyed this book. It was long but kept me engaged until the very end. After investing so much time listening, enjoying all the twists, turns, and red herrings, I was devastated by the ending. Actually pissed off. And although it was lauded to, they didn’t talk about ballistics, trajectories, or investigating other crimes. The characters swung between brilliance and absolute stupidity. The plot line was very complex but at points it trudged on as if an LSD Trip.
The writer is very talented, but needs to tighten up the storyline. The voice actors did a very good hub with Frank and Barbara standing out. I recommend the story if you can handle being disappointed with the ending.

Complicated and compelling!

Lots of different characters does not turn out the way you think it will. I liked it.

Pretty good

I enjoyed the story, but the ending was unsatisfying, it needed another chapter to tie up all the loose ends. I thought the narrator did a good job, but the editor could have removed all of those repeated bits. I may listen to one more by this author, just to see if she always ends a story instead of finishing it, or if she just did it on this one. I did like the story, but I like for books to feel more complete.

It's so complicated

Story within a story, within a story. struggled with all the characters and their relationships. Found it difficult to follow the stories, and I still don't know what the experiment tried to accomplish.