Bitter Business

Gini Hartzmark has become a master of legal suspense. The San Francisco Chronicle praised her last book, Final Option, as "explosive...a cleverly plotted and convincing look at freewheeling crooks and wizards." Now Hartzmark returns with another high-stakes novel that could have been torn from the headlines, a tale of the worst kind of greed in the best of families. It's no secret that Chicago corporate attorney Kate Millholland went to law school to avoid the gauntlet of parties and...
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Gini Hartzmark has become a master of legal suspense. The San Francisco Chronicle praised her last book, Final Option, as "explosive...a cleverly plotted and convincing look at freewheeling crooks and wizards." Now Hartzmark returns with another high-stakes novel that could have been torn from the headlines, a tale of the worst kind of greed in the best of families. It's no secret that Chicago corporate attorney Kate Millholland went to law school to avoid the gauntlet of parties and shopping that in her parents' wealthy world fills the gap between debutante and bride. But once Kate began her studies, she found herself falling in love with the law--and forever fighting the cozy, privileged image cast by the shadow of her family tree. Now, at the request of a dying colleague, Kate Millholland agrees to represent the Cavanaugh family business and finds a nest of vipers. Patriarch and CEO Jack Cavanaugh, who built Superior Plating & Specialty Chemicals into a stunning success, runs a tight ship and sails it intrusively into the lives of his four children, all of whom have problems of their own. The oldest son, Philip, the heir-not-so-apparent of the company, wrestles with agonizing guilt and a shameful secret; his sister, Dagny--a polished, educated, charismatic executive--is not as loyal as her father thinks when it comes to taking over the helm; Eugene, a tough-talking ex-marine, may never outgrow a tragedy from his past; and Lydia, the baby of the family with the loudest scream, loves trouble. As Kate enters the picture, Lydia is threatening to sell her shares of stock and the family be damned. Kate finds her hands full with this fierce clan. But when murder strikes, she must delve into a dark and twisted family history--where she uncovers oily opportunists, emotional scars, and fatal passions on a collision course with disaster and unexplained death. Brilliantly plotted with unforgettable characters and shocking suspense, A Bitter Business hails the hardcover debut of a major new work of fiction by an author who gets better with every book she writes. From the Hardcover edition.