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The Four Ms. Bradwells

by Meg Waite Clayton
Ballantine. Apr. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780345517081. $25. F
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Mia, Ginger, Laney, and Betts met in law school in 1979, when they were nicknamed the Ms. Bradwells by a professor citing an antiquated ruling that denied women the right to practice law. Twenty years later, the four friends have supported one another through marriage, motherhood, divorces, and death. Both Mia and Ginger have left the law to pursue writing, Laney is running for public office, and Betts is a law professor. When Betts is nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate hearing exposes a suspicious death that occurred during a vacation weekend at the home of Ginger's mother, a renowned feminist lawyer. In multiple perspectives, the four Ms. Bradwells reveal secrets they've kept for decades.
VERDICT As she did in her best-selling The Wednesday Sisters, Clayton here explores female relationships but far less engagingly. Instead of true characterization, Clayton resorts to literary quotes, legalese, and Latin verbiage to give her characters unique voices. Still, fans of Elizabeth Noble, Ann Hood, Elin Hilderbrand, and other luminaries of female friendship fiction will find much to captivate them. [Author tour; library marketing.]
Reviewed by Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY , Jan 01, 2011
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