Final Design - Softcover

Gilpatrick, Noreen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0446403245 ISBN 13: 9780446403245

Publisher: Mysterious Press, 1995

Synopsis

Landing her own homicide case when a Liz Taylor look-alike is poisoned in her Seattle graphics studio, detective Kate MacLean suspects that one of the victim's three business partners is responsible. Reprint. PW. NYT. K.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Gilpatrick follows her chilling debut (The Piano Man, 1991) with a more conventional police tale featuring warmhearted Katie MacLean, of Seattle's neighboring Eastside Police Force (EPF), who has just been named D.I.C. (detective in charge) of a homicide investigation. Gorgeous Catherine Fletcher, one of four partners in a small graphics studio, succumbed to morphine-laced tea. In quick order, two more partners die, as does the husband of the remaining firm member, Phyllis Walsh, who's now charged with four counts of Murder One. But Katie's gut feeling tells her Phyllis is innocent, and--despite her cop partner Sam, her chief, and her sexist co- workers--she stays with the case. Under scrutiny, Catherine's life disintegrates into a passel of lies, scam jobs, and vendettas--then tissue analysis reveals a virulent cancer. Did Catherine choose suicide, while someone else killed the others? Following a romance with a former suspect in the case, Katie zeroes in on the real killer--but nearly dies of morphine-poisoning herself before the close. Each time the story threatens to peter out, Gilpatrick tosses in another twist, but the final one strains credulity. Still, Katie's a keeper, and the writing's fluid and easygoing. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

Although Gilpatrick ( The Piano Man ) sacrifices a modicum of suspense by tiptoeing too noisily around her villain's identity, this intricate whodunit still provides steady excitement. When Catherine Fletcher, a partner in a four-woman advertising agency, dies of drinking morphine-laced tea, Seattle police detective Kate MacLean takes the case. Fletcher's death may have been suicide, but suspicion also falls on her co-workers, her smarmy ex-husband and her alleged fiance. Three morphine murders later, MacLean has become emotionally involved with two of the potential killers--one whom she instinctively believes to be innocent and the other whom she casually excuses for lack of evidence. As the list of suspects dwindles, it becomes abundantly clear that disappointment, heartbreak and mortal danger await Kate. Several of Gilpatrick's scenarios stretch credibility; for instance, many characters cooperate too easily with police, evincing neither curiosity nor mistrust when interrogated. Still, this mystery conveys both the tedium of procedural work and the satisfaction of obtaining results. In the end, as the guilty party and MacLean reach the requisite dramatic standoff, adrenaline kicks in and minor quibbles fade.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446403245
• ISBN 13: 9780446403245
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 384