Powers of Attorney - Softcover

Mimi Latt

3.5

58 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671869167 ISBN 13: 9780671869168

Publisher: Pocket, 1994

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Chronicling the lives of three women attorneys, a murder case pits the power of old money against the solidity of the law and forces each of the lawyers to put much more than their careers on the line. Reprint.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Finally, a distaff legal thriller--attorney Latt's debut--in which the male bodies are as lovingly described as the female: three law-school classmates duke it out, in and (mostly) out of court, over the murder of fabulousy wealthy James D'Arcy. Classmate #1, Kate Alexander, is the politically minded defender hired, through her married lover and Manning & Anderson mentor Charles Rieman, by D'Arcy's ancient, iron-willed mother to defend his young, beautiful, foul-mouthed widow Sandra. (Not that the D'Arcys are terribly enthusiastic about the defense--especially after the revelation that Sandra was carrying on with grimy Tommy Bartholomew, whose footprint at the scene makes him the obvious police suspect.) Classmate #2, Madeline Gould, is the assistant D.A. determined to nail Sandra, though she tries to maintain her friendship with Kate throughout. Not so classmate #3, poisonous Texas belle Lauren Cunningham, who begins as Kate's leading competition for the vacant partnership in Manning & Anderson and then gets down and dirty when she thinks Kate's stealing her beau Andrew Stewart, Tommy's attorney. There's less action in the courtroom than between the sheets, as Andrew takes Kate to bed en route to quizzing her about a possible plea Sandra may be copping, as Kate agonizes about a future as Charles's other woman, as Madeline hesitates between her unexciting boss Philip and her erratic, passionate colleague Gary, as Andrew and Lauren (back in his muscular arms again) take turns satisfying each other's innermost fantasies. Eventually, Kate uncovers a background of abuse against Sandra that suggests a burning-bed defense--but then an even more ideal (and readily foreseeable) resolution turns up. Despite its title, this isn't much of a courtroom drama, or much of a detective story--but if you can't decide whether to pack a mystery, a legal triple-decker, an Ecstasy romance, or a soap opera, it'll take up less room than the four of them together. -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

First-time novelist Latt delivers a terrific thriller ripe with romance, intrigue and legal convolutions. When Kate Alexander decides to defend Sandra D'Arcy, accused of enticing her construction-worker lover to kill her wealthy husband, the beautiful, intelligent lawyer finds her personal and professional lives intertwined in an intricately woven tapestry of love, deception and betrayal. A competition between old law school chums for the office of District Attorney and the battle for a coveted partnership at Kate's prestigious firm combine with a spicy series of sexual liaisons to create compelling commercial fiction. Latt's quick, easy narrative voice makes an effective contrast with the slow, tense pace at which the courtroom drama develops. Kate and Sandra head a cast of intriguing, multifaceted characters that also includes Kate's lover, a partner in the firm, and her murder-trial nemesis, a female deputy D.A. More stereotypical figures--a snotty Southern belle, the D'Arcy clan's controlling matriarch and a handsome, self-serving criminal defense attorney--slightly detract from a generally high level of intrigue but do serve to keep the action moving towards a surprising and satisfying happy ending. Latt makes her mark among the recent pack of lawyers turned novelists with this juicy read. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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