Practice to Deceive

by Janet L. Smith

Overview

Much to her surprise and relief, smart lawyer-sleuth Annie MacPherson is being wooed by Seattle's most eminent law firm and its most renown partner. But when she enters the rich and hushed halls of Kemble, Laughton, Mercer, and Duff, she discovers office politics isn't a game, it's a deadly obsession. And everyone is a player. Annie hasn't even cut through the paperwork when top partner Gordon Barclay's secretary and not-so-secret lover kills herself. The dead woman's sister refuses to believe appearances, and wants Annie, so far unseduced by Barclay's legendary charms, to investigate the high and mighty machinations of Seattle's most feared litigator. Things heat up when a sniper targets Annie--just as a shocking glimpse into her family's past blows her life wide open. Soon Annie finds herself caught in a destructive web of love, lies, and murder that only her sharp insight and fierce intelligence can unravel. The second in the Annie MacPherson mystery series, which began with Sea of Troubles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935347989
Publisher:	Epicenter Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2018
Series:	Annie MacPherson Mystery , #2
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Janet L. Smith, founder of NORTHWEST ELDER LAW GROUP PLLC, is an attorney and mediator providing services in elder law, estate planning, estate administration, guardianship, and elder mediation. She is a graduate of Pomona College and the University of Washington School of Law. She has been practicing law in the State of Washington for more than 30 years. Although she found writing mystery novels to be extremely satisfying, she took the advice of many wise mentors who told her not to quit her day job. Her favorite part of writing Sea of Troubles, Practice to Deceive, and A Vintage Murder was taking road trips to research all the wonderful Northwest locations. Janet lives in Edmonds, Washington, and in her spare time enjoys hiking, sea kayaking, gardening and traveling.

Editorial Reviews

"A fully charactered, cleverly plotted, active and atmospheric thriller." --Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

Seattle law partners Annie MacPherson and Joel Feinstein, last seen in Sea of Troubles, agree to a merger proposition tendered by megafirm Kemble, Laughton, Mercer and Duff, and championed by senior partner Gordon Barclay, for whom Annie would work. Involved in researching an article about her late father for a book about prominent attorneys, Annie learns that he and Barclay were once good friends. She and Joel have been at the big firm less than a week when Barclay's secretary and mistress, Nancy Gulliver, apparently commits suicide; Annie is distressed to hear rumors that the womanizing lawyer intends her to be his next conquest. Leaving a restaurant with him, she is shot at; then another woman linked to him is killed. Annie, a likable enough but formulaic character, must dig into the past before she can solve the mystery in this tenuously plotted, unrealistically resolved tale, which is freshened mainly by its Pacific Northwest setting. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Smith continues her cogent characterization ( Sea of Troubles , LJ 4/1/90), as she again drops California lawyer Annie MacPherson into a pile of trouble. MacPherson joins the prestigious Seattle law firm her late father once worked for, where she becomes grist for the rumor mill: her famous boss, a known ladies' man, monopolizes her time despite carrying on an affair with his secretary. After an apparent suicide, a sniper attack, and murder, Annie uncovers an old scandal in the firm that points to a present-day murderer. Nice ambience, realistic lawyer politicking, and plenty of movement. Recommended.

Library Journal