From Publishers Weekly
This explosive new novel by the author of An Isolated Incident takes aim at both sides of the abortion debate as it follows the trial of an all-American suspect in an abortion clinic bombing. Seattle defense lawyer Dana McAuliffe is horrified when the Seattle Family Services Center, known as Hill House, is destroyed in a mid-morning bomb blast that kills and maims hundreds. Dubbed an abortion clinic by the media, but primarily a maternity ward, day-care center and domestic counseling and homeless support unit, Hill House becomes the focus of abortion rights and pro-life extremists who try to skew the trial's outcome to further their causes. Dana's shock turns to chagrin when the senior partner at her firm assigns her to defend bombing suspect Corey Latham, a submarine lieutenant whose wife aborted at Hill House. Arrested by the DA and demonized by the media, Corey is assumed guilty by Dana's colleagues, the surviving victims, extremists on both sides and at first even by Dana herself. Meanwhile Dana's personal life collapses as she becomes immersed in the trial and a tabloid reporter pulls a damning secret from her best friend. Rainy Seattle and a murderous political climate lend the perfect backdrop to Sloan's nail-biting plot turns, which make up for her sometimes predictable characterizations. Though Sloan impugns radicals on both sides of the debate, she also suggests that the power of the abortion rights adversaries is as menacing as the bomb itself. The provocative final twists may ruffle feathers. Major ad/promo.

From Library Journal
The Seattle Family Services Center, or Hill House, is a general purpose health clinic that provides care for the homeless, counseling, ob/gyn services (including abortion), and daycare for some 50 babies and toddlers. On a busy day in February, with approximately 250 people inside, a bomb goes off. The building is destroyed, and some 176 people are killed. Under extreme pressure from the media, the public, and the political candidates in the upcoming election, the police arrest a suspect who is not a convincing terrorist. He is a young naval officer, newly married, and a devout Christian, and though the evidence against him is largely circumstantial, public opinion has already convicted him. Dana McAuliffe, junior partner in a prestigious Seattle law firm, is assigned to the case, despite her reservations. Abortion and anti-abortion factions keep the trial in the media, while political candidates on both sides of the issue secretly pay the lawyers. The story ends with a twist or two, although expert listeners will have it figured out before its conclusion. Sloan (Guilt by Association) vividly describes the courtroom drama as it unfolds, as well as the complex emotions and machinations surrounding guilt, innocence, and "reasonable doubt." Well read by actress Pamela Nyberg, this is recommended for general fiction collections.Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Pamela Nyberg's soft, low-pitched voice and neutral approach are boons to this politically charged presentation. One hundred-seventy-six people have perished in the bombing of a Seattle clinic that, among many social services, provides abortions. A squeaky clean naval officer whose wife secretly aborted is a likely suspect. Defense attorney Dana McAuliffe must deal with a despised client, an unscrupulous journalist, jurors with agendas, and bosses who don't want her to succeed. This is a long story, full of characters and subplots; most of both will stick with you, thanks to the even-handed and well-paced reading. Some characters get voices, and some don't; male voices are lower, Southern accents appear for fundamentalists, and Nyberg gives the defendant's wife a hard edge to suggest that all is not well there. You probaby won't guess the ending, so keep listening. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Sloan grafts the spy-novel technique of rapid cutting from scene to scene to the traditional legal thriller, successfully reminding readers of the scope of the central crime throughout this somewhat overlong novel. A bomb explodes in the Seattle Family Services Center, leaving 200 adults and children dead and many other grievously injured. A U.S. Navy weapons officer on a nuclear submarine has been arrested for the crime. It falls to young defense attorney Dana McAuliffe, a junior member of a prestigious Seattle law firm, to mount the defense against one of the most hated men in America. McAuliffe is the most unsatisfying aspect of this thriller: she's a Mary Higgins Clark heroine clone, brilliant and beautiful, with the requisite sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Still, some readers will find this formulaic character comforting in a thriller that unflinchingly focuses on the aftermath of terror. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The Seattle Family Service Center is a city landmark. For more than half a century, its health services have reached out to every sector of the community, from the homeless who come for comfort to the working parents who use its day care facility. The center also provides complete obstetrical and gynecological services, including legal abortions. At two o'clock on a chilly February afternoon it becomes the target of a deadly bomb - one eventually responsible for the deaths of over a hundred men, women, and children." "Dana McAuliffe, a partner in a prestigious Seattle law firm, is given the daunting task of defending the accused bomber. Despite the career-enhancing potential of the high-profile assignment, she has serious misgivings. She leans toward being pro-choice and has never tried a capital case. Yet she agrees to represent the defendant, Corey Dean Latham, a young naval officer." Although Corey's chances of acquittal seem slim, Dana hires her own investigator to challenge the state's evidence. Amid the clamor of extremists from both sides of the abortion issue demonstrating outside the courtroom and using the case to promote their agendas, she begins to see a glimmer of hope for her client. Then the media further feeds the frenzy by exposing Dana's personal life to public scrutiny...even as a conspiracy stretching far beyond the courtroom works to manipulate the verdict using the attorney as its unwitting pawn.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This explosive new novel by the author of An Isolated Incident takes aim at both sides of the abortion debate as it follows the trial of an all-American suspect in an abortion clinic bombing. Seattle defense lawyer Dana McAuliffe is horrified when the Seattle Family Services Center, known as Hill House, is destroyed in a mid-morning bomb blast that kills and maims hundreds. Dubbed an abortion clinic by the media, but primarily a maternity ward, day-care center and domestic counseling and homeless support unit, Hill House becomes the focus of abortion rights and pro-life extremists who try to skew the trial's outcome to further their causes. Dana's shock turns to chagrin when the senior partner at her firm assigns her to defend bombing suspect Corey Latham, a submarine lieutenant whose wife aborted at Hill House. Arrested by the DA and demonized by the media, Corey is assumed guilty by Dana's colleagues, the surviving victims, extremists on both sides and at first even by Dana herself. Meanwhile Dana's personal life collapses as she becomes immersed in the trial and a tabloid reporter pulls a damning secret from her best friend. Rainy Seattle and a murderous political climate lend the perfect backdrop to Sloan's nail-biting plot turns, which make up for her sometimes predictable characterizations. Though Sloan impugns radicals on both sides of the debate, she also suggests that the power of the abortion rights adversaries is as menacing as the bomb itself. The provocative final twists may ruffle feathers. Major ad/promo. (Apr.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The Seattle Family Services Center, or Hill House, is a general purpose health clinic that provides care for the homeless, counseling, ob/gyn services (including abortion), and daycare for some 50 babies and toddlers. On a busy day in February, with approximately 250 people inside, a bomb goes off. The building is destroyed, and some 176 people are killed. Under extreme pressure from the media, the public, and the political candidates in the upcoming election, the police arrest a suspect who is not a convincing terrorist. He is a young naval officer, newly married, and a devout Christian, and though the evidence against him is largely circumstantial, public opinion has already convicted him. Dana McAuliffe, junior partner in a prestigious Seattle law firm, is assigned to the case, despite her reservations. Abortion and anti-abortion factions keep the trial in the media, while political candidates on both sides of the issue secretly pay the lawyers. The story ends with a twist or two, although expert listeners will have it figured out before its conclusion. Sloan (Guilt by Association) vividly describes the courtroom drama as it unfolds, as well as the complex emotions and machinations surrounding guilt, innocence, and "reasonable doubt." Well read by actress Pamela Nyberg, this is recommended for general fiction collections.-Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

Pamela Nyberg's soft, low-pitched voice and neutral approach are boons to this politically charged presentation. One hundred-seventy-six people have perished in the bombing of a Seattle clinic that, among many social services, provides abortions. A squeaky clean naval officer whose wife secretly aborted is a likely suspect. Defense attorney Dana McAuliffe must deal with a despised client, an unscrupulous journalist, jurors with agendas, and bosses who don't want her to succeed. This is a long story, full of characters and subplots; most of both will stick with you, thanks to the even-handed and well-paced reading. Some characters get voices, and some don't; male voices are lower, Southern accents appear for fundamentalists, and Nyberg gives the defendant's wife a hard edge to suggest that all is not well there. You probaby won't guess the ending, so keep listening. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews