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Feminist Mystery Reviews
UNTIL THE BOUGH BREAKS
Christine McGuire
Pocket, Oct 1998, $6.50, 306 pp.
ASIN: 0-671-53619-2
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Residents of Santa Rita County are enjoying the Fourth of July
holiday. Amidst the fireworks is the annual local parade being watched
by much of the townsfolk including prosecutor Kathryn Mackay, her
daughter Emma, and a friend investigator Dave Gantz. However, the
family day off is abruptly ruined when both Kathryn and Dave's beepers
go off, which can only mean a possible homicide has occurred. Apparently,
Anna Lancaster has killed her spouse Lawrence. The culprit claims
battered women's syndrome as her defense and her attorney is one
of the best in obtaining not guilty charges for her clients. Kathryn
and Dave strongly suspect that not only did Anna plann the murder
of her spouse, but the woman was never a victim of an abusive husband.
Now all they have to do is prove it when many of the female groups
rally around Anna and accuse Kathryn of being a traitor. UNTIL THE
BOUGH BREAKS is an intriguing legal thrill that is a page burner
because of the genuine feel to the characters and their motives.
The story one is fast-paced as the lead protagonists struggle to
disprove the seemingly solid evidence that the victim is Anna and
not Lawrence. A secondary subplot surrounding Dave and a former
lover add a personal feel to a top rate thriller. Christine McGuire
novels keeps getting better and better.
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