Book Review: Suspicion of Malice

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Suspicion of Malice     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Barbara Parker
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Legal Setting   Romantic Suspense
Series: Gail Conner / Anthony Quintana # 5
Dutton, May 2000, $22.95, 352 pp.

Once they were lovers planning to marry until Anthony Quintana turned his back on his obligation to the law, forcing Gail Connor to walk out on him. He went to Spain to forget his feeling of betrayal while she remained in Miami just as determined to overcome her feeling of deceit. She started to make a life for herself and her daughter from a previous relationship. Unbeknownst to Anthony when he left her, Gail was pregnant with his child.

A chance encounter with Anthony’s eighteen-year old daughter Angela results in Gail accepting the teen’s boyfriend Bobby as a client. Bobby, who has been previously convicted of some petty criminal activity, is suspected of killing Roger Cresswell, owner of Cresswell Yachts, who fired the lad for allegedly stealing. One person who Bobby insists can provide him with an alibi and prove he is not guilty is

Judge Nathan Harris, a person under consideration for an appointment to the US District Court. Heeding the advice of his attorney, Nathan sends his lawyer Anthony to deal with Gail. As the two former lovers closely work together to prove Bobby’s innocence, their relationship flares to life once again.

As suspense novels go, the Connor-Quintana novels rank with the best ones, but SUSPICION OIF MALICE provides the audience much more than an exciting legal thriller. The tale is a relationship drama that will remind readers of the works of Delinsky and Siddons. The investigation is fascinating but the heart and soul of the tale rests in the relationship between Gail and Anthony, two obstinate but compatible individuals. Barbara Parker shows much talent in this exciting thriller has cross-genre appeal.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner