Barbara Holloway Books in Order
Part ofKate Wilhelm Books in OrderBrowse the Barbara Holloway books in order by Kate Wilhelm, with short summaries, series background, and help choosing the best place to start.
Last updated: June 30, 2026
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Publication Order
15 books
Death Qualified
by Kate Wilhelm
1991
Former lawyer Barbara Holloway is pulled back into practice when her father asks her to defend Nell Kendricks, accused of killing the husband who suddenly returned after years away. The case leads into missing years, buried secrets, and a legal fight Barbara cannot leave alone.
The Best Defense
by Kate Wilhelm
1994
Barbara Holloway takes on the defense of Paula Kennerman, a battered woman accused of killing her young daughter and setting fire to a safe house. What looks open-and-shut becomes a fierce case about abuse, power, and who gets believed.
Malice Prepense
by Kate Wilhelm
1995
Barbara Holloway defends a man with the mind of a child after he is charged with murdering an Oregon senator. The case forces her to cut through politics, prejudice, and assumptions about guilt.
For the Defense
by Kate Wilhelm
1996
Barbara Holloway defends a man with the mind of a child after he is charged with murdering an Oregon senator. The case forces her to cut through politics, prejudice, and assumptions about guilt.
Defense for the Devil
by Kate Wilhelm
1999
When a killing grows out of fear and long-standing damage, Barbara Holloway is drawn into a case where evil feels close and personal. The deeper she digs, the more the past refuses to stay buried.
No Defense
by Kate Wilhelm
2000
Nurse Lara Jessup wakes to find her older husband dead in a van on a dangerous mountain road and herself at the center of suspicion. Barbara Holloway heads into a small Oregon town where too many people want the truth left alone.
Desperate Measures
by Kate Wilhelm
2001
Barbara Holloway agrees to defend a badly disfigured man accused of murdering his neighbor. When the case twists and another suspect emerges, she finds herself battling not only the prosecution but her own father in court.
Clear and Convincing Proof
by Kate Wilhelm
2003
A murder tied to a rehabilitation clinic pulls Barbara Holloway into a knot of family money, loyalty, and competing visions for the clinic's future. The clues are there, but the people involved make every answer harder to trust.
The Unbidden Truth
by Kate Wilhelm
2004
Barbara is hired through an anonymous patron to defend a gifted young pianist accused of murdering a piano-bar manager. As she investigates, a hidden past begins to explain why someone wants the wrong woman convicted.
Sleight of Hand
by Kate Wilhelm
2006
What starts as an antique theft case for former pickpocket turned performer Wally Lederer soon darkens into something much bigger. Barbara Holloway has to look past appearances, old grudges, and stagecraft to see the real crime.
A Wrongful Death
by Kate Wilhelm
2007
Trying to rest at a remote retreat, Barbara Holloway instead finds a battered woman, a terrified boy, and a trail leading to kidnapping and attempted murder. Before long, she is not just on the case, she is a suspect.
Cold Case
by Kate Wilhelm
2008
When controversial academic David Etheridge returns to Eugene and a state senator winds up dead, Barbara Holloway must defend him against both a new murder charge and an old unsolved one. Past and present start closing in at once.
Heaven is High
by Kate Wilhelm
2011
Barbara Holloway tries to help Binnie Santos, a mute woman facing deportation, and soon uncovers a tangled history that reaches from Oregon to Belize and Haiti. Immigration trouble turns into a much larger story of corruption, violence, and survival.
By Stone By Blade By Fire
by Kate Wilhelm
2012
Travis Morgan appears to have walked into his father's house and shot the wrong man in front of witnesses. Barbara Holloway takes the impossible case and finds that murder is only one part of a family history built on fear and control.
Mirror, Mirror
by Kate Wilhelm
2017
The death of a family matriarch and two brutal murders throw a successful nursery business into chaos. Defending the obvious suspect, Barbara Holloway must sort out secret wills, old greed, stolen art, and one very important mirror.
Series background & context
Barbara Holloway is a defense lawyer in Eugene, Oregon, and that matters. These books are legal mysteries, but they are not only about courtrooms and clever objections. They are also about a woman who stepped away from the law in disgust, then keeps getting dragged back because someone needs her, or because a case will not let her go.
At the center of the series is Barbara's complicated bond with her father, Frank Holloway, a respected older lawyer who knows both her strengths and her weak spots. Frank is often the one who pulls her into a case, and their back-and-forth gives the books much of their warmth. They argue, prod, and frustrate each other, but they also trust each other when things get serious.
The setting is grounded in Eugene and the wider Oregon landscape. Wilhelm uses college towns, small communities, back roads, coastlines, and stretches of rural country in a way that feels lived in. The Pacific Northwest is never just wallpaper here. Its weather, distance, and local politics shape the mood of the stories, and sometimes the danger too.
Most of the cases begin with a murder charge or a defendant everybody is ready to condemn. Barbara's job is not simply to win. It is to slow things down, ask the questions no one wants asked, and force the legal system to look harder at what really happened. That means witness interviews, hidden family histories, small lies that grow larger, and courtroom fights where the emotional truth matters as much as the technical one.
These are thoughtful mysteries. Barbara is sharp, stubborn, and often uneasy with the role she has to play, especially when the law and justice do not line up neatly. Wilhelm likes moral pressure. A case might involve domestic abuse, missing evidence, public outrage, political influence, or a community eager for a quick answer. Barbara keeps pushing anyway, even when it costs her.
Across the series, you can expect character-driven legal suspense rather than nonstop action. The books have investigations, trials, and real stakes, but they also make room for family strain, old loyalties, grief, and the private damage people carry into court. If you like mysteries where the law is part of the drama, not just a backdrop, Barbara Holloway is a very good place to settle in.
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