I was a little dismayed at first because this is a prequel--it fits in chronologically between book 1 and book 2. However, it was still the suspenseful, complex, and well-written Holloway that I've come to love.
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I enjoy the Barbara Holloway series and have read or listened to most of them. I find them frequently underrated by others, but this one is a departure from her norm. I only recently found out that this one from 2011 was published out of sequence and ought to be read between #1 and #2. I was happy to get the backstory on Martin and Binnie Owens, who appear in some later episodes. Although the plot has a legal backdrop, there are no courtroom scenes. As usual, Barbara comes across as an independent, intelligent attorney devoted to her clients, but, in this story, she acts even more like a private detective than her devoted, dour P.I. assistant Bailey. It requires more than the usual suspension of disbelief to appreciate her in this role. Her father plays only a minor part, although his presence is repeatedly felt by Barbara. I liked the plot although there were several questions left hanging. I wonder whether any will be resolved in future. ( )

I always like Barbara Holloway series, you just have to ignore some of the facts that is not realistic. ( )

Story about a lawyer working with an immigrant woman. Immigrant smuggled onto a party boat of football players, and one of the fell in love with her and is fighting for her to stay in US.
Federal drug officer in her trail.
A little hard to follow, but worth listening to. Tends to retell story several times. ( )

The Barbara Holloway series is one I always enjoy.  Practicing law in a restaurant booth in Eugene, Oregon, concentrating on people who can't afford high powered high priced practitioners,  Barbara is a loner defense attorney who periodically teams up with her father, one of the area's most noted defense attorneys to work on some seemingly hopeless cases.  Kate Wilhelm has managed to hold our interest throughout the series by constructing interesting scenarios with an assortment of both clients and crimes.

In Heaven is High, her client is Binnie, the mute wife of a retired NFL player. Binnie has come to the US illegally to escape enslavement in her native land.  The problem is that no one can prove which country --Belize or Haiti -- is her country of origin.  There is no documentation, no relatives, nothing to prevent this woman from being deported to a certain death.

At first Barbara, having no experience in the Immigration services area, declines the case.  But when she is unable to locate a competent attorney to take the case on short notice, she decides to do some preliminary work herself.  Fans of the series know what that means--preliminary quickly turns to full-blown!  She's off and running, pulling in her investigative team, and trying to collect evidence to prevent Binnie's deportation.  It's an exciting story, with several plot twists, and a satisfying ending. Barbara is certainly moving toward a new chapter in her life, moving away from her father's practice, but will that separation continue in future chapters?

The father-daughter partnership is one I've thoroughly enjoyed in past books of this series, and one that I hope will re-surface in the future, but this one continues the capable, competent and feisty Barbara Holloway we're used to, and is another definite winner. ( )