Oregon lawyer Barbara Holloway and her father, Frank, formerly her partner, find themselves on opposite sides in the murder of Gus Marchand, a case with two suspects. Kate Wilhelm gives this smoothly told version of "Beauty and the Beast" an interesting added dimension, since the relationship between the two equally hardheaded and talented lawyers has usually been collaborative, at least professionally. But when the school principal, who's Frank's client, dies under mysterious circumstances, Frank's determined not to let Barbara pin the blame on the dead woman in order to deflect attention from her own as-yet-unidentified client. By the time Frank learns that the defendant in question is Alex Feldman, a horribly disfigured and immensely secretive young man who was accused by Marchand of stalking his teenage daughter, the reader has begun to understand why Barbara is so convinced of Alex's innocence in Gus's death and so determined to protect him from public scrutiny.

Alex is a man with a secret: was Frank's late client (and friend) killed to protect it? As usual, Wilhelm devises a clever plot and peoples it with a cast of well-developed, fully human and complex characters. There's Alex himself, who's found a way to cope with the circumstances of his disfigurement and the rage and bitterness that might otherwise have consumed him; Graham Minick, the elderly doctor who has been his friend and confidante since he was a teenager; and Shelley, Barbara's beautiful young associate, who sees beyond Alex's ugliness and into his heart. By the time the trial of the man they call "the devil's spawn" begins, Frank and Barbara are on the same side, but it's the younger Holloway's star turn in the courtroom, which is where the novel really shines. A solid page turner that should delight the prolific Wilhelm's (No Defense, Defense for the Devil) many fans. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Wilhelm's sixth Barbara Holloway legal thriller (after No Defense and Defense for the Devil) sustains her reputation as a fine stylist who is able to craft compelling plots and characters. Holloway's latest client is a brilliant young man named Alex Feldman, who has been left hideously deformed by a birth defect. He is accused of killing his next-door neighbor, Gus Marchand, a tyrannical religious zealot who saw Alex's deformity as the mark of the devil. There is little evidence against him, but Marchand has created such hostility and fear toward Alex in their small, rural community that it seems likely he will be convicted on the basis of his appearance alone. What makes his situation even more desperate is that he was born with part of his brain exposed: since any blow to the head might kill him, a prison term probably would be a death sentence. But did Alex do it? There is a real possibility (which Alex himself admits) that he is psychopathic, but he wasn't the only one with a motive: the high school principal was also at odds with Marchand, and she is a close friend of Frank Holloway, Barbara's father and mentor. This is a real puzzler in which the smallest clues are important. Readers are given all the necessary facts and Alex is an excellent character. Wilhelm does a good job of conveying his anguish and isolation, and doesn't skimp on rounding out other characters, including Dr. Graham Minick, Alex's friend and protector. The book begins and ends well, although it often fails to sustain velocity in between. Wilhelm's fans probably won't be disappointed, as its many good points outnumber the bad. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Alexander Feldman was born with extreme congenital deformities: his brain partly exposed, the right side of his face unformed with no ear, a misplaced eye, rudimentary lips, and no muscle control. Doctors covered his brain with a metal plate, fashioned a nose and lips of sorts, and sent him home with his bewildered, shallow parents. About to be institutionalized by his parents when he is in his teens, the young man attempts suicide and thereby saves his life. Soon to be retiring psychologist Dr. Graham Minick takes him into his secluded home in Oregon. Years later, Alex, who is gifted artistically and intellectually, has become a famous, if anonymous cartoonist. Then a neighbor is murdered, his wife dies accidentally, and Alex is blamed. A local principal is also found murdered. Barbara Holloway, an attorney known for taking on tough cases, agrees to defend him. She is hampered in her defense because Alex refuses to give up his anonymity. She doggedly pursues the question of who actually killed Marchand, the circumstances within his family that led to such tragedy, and the events leading to principal Hilde Franz's murder. Besides being a page-turner, the book offers real food for thought about attitudes toward the deformed physically as well as toward anyone who is "different." The consequences of hate, inflexibility, vanity, and a cruel dictatorship within a family are compellingly demonstrated. These characters suffer the consequences of their actions and leave readers with pondering their fates.Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Morals, bigotry, and sexual repression are at the center of the fifth novel featuring attorney Barbara Holloway. When a small town is jolted by the murder of a strong-willed, religious farmer, all eyes turn to one resident, a severely disfigured and reclusive artist. In the resulting trial, Holloway must contend with mounting evidence and several more dead bodies, all of which point to her client as guilty. Holloway makes an appealing lawyer-heroine, but this time the courtroom scenes seem oddly flat, adding little to drama of the story. Still, the plot itself is nicely constructed with a host of perplexing questions bubbling beneath the surface: Will vigilante justice win out? Are there more sinister plots waiting to be uncovered? And, of course, the most intriguing question of all, Did the defendant do it? That one isn't answered until the very end. Not the best of the series but a satisfying read for thriller fans. Mary Frances Wilkens
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