The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Woman with a Gun

December 5, 2014

Woman with a Gun by Phillip Margolin
Published by Harper
Publication date: December 2nd 2014
two-half-stars

woman with a gun

 

Stacy Adams wants to write a novel but is finding it difficult while stuck in a dead-end job as a receptionist at a NYC law firm. When she comes across a provocative photo of a woman wearing a wedding dress clutching an antique gun behind her back at the edge of the ocean she is instantly inspired and decides that this photo will be the basis for her novel. She learns it was taken on the Oregon coast so she decides to shed NYC and head to Portland to learn more about the photographer and the photo. And so, Phillip Margolin leads us into his newest novel, Woman with a Gun.

Once in Oregon, Stacey learns that the photo is of a socialite, Megan Cahill and was taken the night of her wedding to a man who turns up dead the next morning. Slowly she begins finding the people involved in that case, which was never solved and as she tries finding answers someone starts trying to stop her. Margolin moves the plot back and forth from present day to the original murder case and finally, back to a drug case where an untested attorney humiliated a hotshot from the D.A.’s office. With each layer it becomes clear that what was an artistic photograph actually contains the answer to a murder.

As a veteran mystery writer and former attorney Margolin keeps Woman with a Gun moving quickly with no missteps. The characters and backstories pile up but they do so with the precision of a Tetris game—each block fits together to form a cohesive whole. This makes for speedy reading but as more and more ancillary characters appear, each with their secrets and unsavory pasts, the novel moves into a realm that while not cliché does feel mechanical and a bit heavy handed. Not one of my favorites but still good mystery reading.

two-half-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 2.5 Star Books
favorite
My 8 Favorite Books of 2023
favorite debuts of 2014
Everything I Never Told You
eight
When You Read This
The Madwoman Upstairs
golden
The Golden Cage: A Novel
debut
My 6 Favorite Debuts of 2021
city
City of Women
running
Running: A Novel by Cara Hoffman
grammarians
The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine
waiting
Waiting for the Night Song
november
November Reading Wrap-Up
down
Down and Out in Paradise
four
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
midnight
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
almost
Almost, But Not Quite: Mini-Reviews

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Harper, mystery, Pacific Northwest

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in