Book Review: Women Before the Bench

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

[5 stars]

Women Before the Bench Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Carolyn Wheat
Class/Genre: Mystery Legal Setting Woman Main Character [Short Stories]
Berkley Prime Crime, Mar 2001, $21.95, 304 pp.

This collection of thirteen short stories centers on female attorneys as the stars of each tale working a wide variety of cases in diverse settings that run the sub-genre's gamut. The authors are a who's who of the legal procedural sub-genre and though mostly female, not totally. Each contributor insured that the tale was top quality (or perhaps the editor separated the chaff from the wheat) and fun to read regardless of the gender of the audience. Some of the lead characters are so good, readers will hope to see them reappear in a full-length novel. WOMEN BEFORE THE BENCH shows we've come a long way in the law and literature.

Harriet Klausner

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