Equivocal Death: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: At twenty-six, Harvard law graduate Kate Paine feels she is heading to the big time after just one year at the prestigious Manhattan law firm, Samson & Mills. She knows that company big shot Carter Mills likes his young protege. Still, another partner, Madeleine Waters warns Kate to watch her butt because things are not quite what they seem at the law firm.

Kate plans to ask Madeleine to explain, but before they meet again, someone murders the older female attorney. A dismayed Kate begins to look beneath the cosmopolitan veneer of the company's surface. She soon uncovers acrimonious rivalries and the use of sex to gain an edge. Kate fears for her own life when she realizes how much she resembles a younger Madeleine.

EQUIVOCAL DEATH is excellent when the subplot deals with the trials and tribulations of a young lawyer trying to make a name in a distinguished law firm. When the tale turns to a well-written legal thriller it loses some of its oomph because Kate seems out of character as an amateur sleuth. She is a wonderful tyro attorney struggling to float in a sea of piranhas and even retains that fresh exuberance of the newcomer while conducting the investigation of her superiors. Amy Gutman is clearly a talented author, but needs to decide between a legal thriller and a legal expose. Hopefully, she chooses the latter starring a maturing Kate.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Bravo! A super read!
Review: Everything one could want in a legal thriller . . . and more. The story works on many levels: it's a page-turner that kept me up most of the night; a subtle, cool, and cutting portrait of high-powered law firm life (and death); a well-wrought character study with Kate Paine as the complex, likeable protagonist; and a savvy exploration of bigger issues such as sexual harassment at work. "Equivocal Death" is fabulously written and tightly edited. I loved the book, recommend it highly, and look forward to Amy Gutman's next.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, boring
Review: It seems every cliche ever written is in this drawn out tale that is unrealistic and uninteresting. Luckily my copy came from the library so no money was wasted...just time not well spent.