By Stone, by Blade, by Fire (Barbara Holloway Novels) Hardcover – December 1, 2012

I love reading this series and have all the books in both hardcover and Audible versions. Kate Wilhelm's characters, main and supporting, for this series are outstanding and many of them appear in this book, including a favorite previous client of Barbara. The story plot is well developed -- perhaps over-developed since the build up to the trial is quite long. I purchased the Kindle version (since it was released weeks before the hardcover) and lost interest along the way, finally was able to finish by listening to the Audible version.The trial, itself, had some great moments but they were few and the court action seems, to me, to lack the fiery dialogue I have come to expect from Barbara Holloway. And the way in which the trial and the whole story plot wrapped up was anti-climatic, with the pivotal scene between Barbara and the bad guys coming off as unbelievable and out of character. I found myself actually disappointed with the story, which is a shocking first in this series!It was a good book, but not one for which I will purchase the hardcover nor am I likely to re-read or re-listened to, unlike the others in this series.

I've read all of Wilhelm's works, ever since I received the short story collection, The 'Mile Long Spaceship', back in the early sixties. This novel will be familiar to all readers of the Barbara Holloway series. It's a typical Holloway "comfortable" story with known/likeable characters and everything resolved in the end, although a little more disturbing due to the horrific nature of the crimes. For readers not familiar with the author, there are better starting points ('Welcome, Chaos' is my favorite) for the Holloway series. The Constance and Charlie series is very good and most of her earlier science fiction works are superlative classics.

I love Kate Wilhelm - have ever since I started reading her science fiction in high school. The Barbara Holloway series is one of the best mystery/legal thriller type series I've read, and the first book in the series, 'Death Qualified' is MOST interesting. The only thing she could do to make me even happier is come out with a cookbook with some of the recipes described in the various books.

Though I really enjoy all of Kate Wilhelm's books, the Holloway series is by far my favorite. Each book just gets better. This one was fantastic, and I had trouble putting it down. I just wish she could crank one of these out every few days, as I really hate waiting for a new one to appear. I keep very few books after I've read them, nor do I think many are worthy of reading again another year, but these are at the very top of my read again list.

Kate Wilhelm is tops. Everything she writes is riveting. I also love her "educated" writing. When your're great there is no need for rude language.There is to much of it going on with other authors.

I like it, but it just didn't fit the pattern of her usual mystery. But it was a touchy subject to write about, and I think she made it work. The end did surprise me. Kate Wilhelm , please keep the Barbara Holloway books coming, I can't wait till the nextone comes out.

I have read every Barbara Holloway novel she has published. These books meet my criteria for entertainment; I get involved in the characters lives because they matter to me. When I am reading fiction, I want to feel compelled to continue to read and that always happens with her novels.

I love the Barbara Holloway novels and this doesn't disappoint. However, the series has gotten just a bit to predictable; the details change but the books don't.