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"Natural Suspect"
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| This book seemed a bit disjointed. Perhaps the various authors took off in totally different directions. |
What Carl Hiaasen and a host of South Florida’s finest authors did for Sunshine State crime capers in the New York Times bestseller "Naked Came the Manatee," William Bernhardt now does for legal thrillers–with the help of a "Dream Team" of today’s hottest suspense writers.
Like a literary game of telephone, "Natural Suspect" begins with a chapter from Bernhardt. Then each writer contributes a chapter and passes it along to the next.
The result is a completely inventive, brilliantly plotted novel of suspense with more twists than a schizophrenic's train of thought.
Can you guess who wrote which chapter?
"Hate Crime"
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| Bernhardtuses an interesting technique in this novel, the major victim keeps a diary and writes about his thoughts -- even to the last of the story. |
Bestselling author William Bernhardt is an unsurpassed master at blending psychological suspense with gripping, surprise-filled legal action. Now, Bernhardt and his crusading attorney Ben Kincaid return in a thrilling story of love, hate, and the power of a courtroom to separate deception from the truth.
In Tulsa, Ben Kincaid has built a national reputation as a stalwart defense attorney who will fight tirelessly for his clients. In Evanston, Illinois, Johnny Christensen has built a national reputation as a sadistic bigot who beat and stabbed a gay man and left him to die. When Johnny’s mother comes to Ben and begs him to defend her son, he has one secret reason for saying no.
But while Ben turns down the case, his younger, beautiful partner, Christina McCall, does not. Traveling to Chicago and facing an explosion of controversy and deadly violence surrounding the trial, Christina steps into a case that is already nearly lost. Her client’s only defense is his claim that he left his victim bludgeoned but alive. To prove that someone else committed the actual murder, Christina needs a little bit of evidence—and a good motive to go with it.
When unforeseen circumstances force Ben Kincaid to enter the trial, the defense attorney sees only one way to prove Johnny’s innocence. But Ben’s plan means luring a killer out of the woodwork—even though he may kill again. . . .
A novel of gut-wrenching twists and surprises, this thriller brilliantly explores the passions between lovers—and the passions behind society’s most heinous crimes. Once again, the remarkable William Bernhardt makes us challenge every assumption, second-guess every judgment, and feel the terror of the truth.
"Final Round"
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| This was a different kind of book from the usual Berhhardt. But, It worked. |
Connor Cross, golf pro/first-time sleuth, is a Peck's bad boy whose antics are threatening to get him kicked out of the Masters tournament at Georgia's snooty Augusta National Golf Club in this entertaining if implausible whodunit from veteran Bernhardt Cross can't seem to take anything seriously, not even his own game, which is suffering grievously. But when his best friend is found murdered and he's suspected of the crime, Cross takes it very seriously indeed, especially after he learns that the murder weapon was his own nine-iron.
He soon teams up with red-haired Lt. Nikki O'Brien of the Augusta P.D., who would rather arrest him than accept his assistance. In the pair's running duel of words, the chemistry Connor and Nikki generate consistently delights.
You don't have to be a golfer to appreciate the anecdotes about actual events at past Masters that introduce each section.
Bernhardt may resort to a B-movie ending with the real killer trying to evade capture by seizing the heroine around the neck (you just know that sucker's not going to make it out the door), but he's clearly having fun with the genre clichés and so will the reader.
"Criminal Intent"
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| Another real page turner. The ending was shocking and left me a bit confused. |
When a priest with radical ideas and a parish council with traditional
values lock horns over the beliefs they hold most sacred, there’s bound
to be controversy—and consequences. But murder crosses the line between
committing a sin and committing a crime, turning a battle over faith
into a battle for justice. And smack in the middle of the explosive case
is Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid.Kincaid rescued Father Daniel Beale once before. When the priest’s renegade views and violent temper nearly cost him his position as rector of St. Benedict’s Church, Ben intervened and saved the day. Now Beale is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a female parishioner—though lack of evidence has left the case unsolved. But as Father Beale struggles to escape the shadow of suspicion, another woman is savagely slaughtered. And this time, Ben himself discovers Beale literally red-handed . . . with the blood of the victim.
As Father Beale declares his innocence, Ben and his team feverishly work to build a defense that will deliver the man of God from a date with the death chamber. But each new revelation that emerges in the packed courtroom only serves to tilt the scales increasingly in the prosecution’s favor. And Father Beale’s own shocking testimony ignites a firestorm of controversy that could doom his last best hope for acquittal.
In his heart and in his gut, Ben knows Father Beale is innocent. But proving it means taking a leap of faith that will plunge Ben into the whirlpool of dark secrets and dangerous intentions that surround St. Benedict’s. And ultimately, it will force the idealistic attorney to confront the chilling face of evil in the most unexpected of places.
"Criminal Intent"proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the author of Murder One has earned his critical reputation as the master of the courtroom drama whose novels of legal suspense consistently offer a one-of-a-kind reading experience.
"Capitol Murder"
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| Kept me guessing throughout this book. Great ending. |
William Bernhardt’s bestselling novels featuring Oklahoma defense
attorney Ben Kincaid capture the bare-knuckles reality of high-stakes
criminal defense, as lofty ideals of justice clash with power,
corruption, and wealth. In Capitol Murder, Bernhardt’s hard-charging
hero takes on his most shocking, headline-making case yet.Kincaid’s legal success has earned him a dubious reward: a journey through the looking glass into the Beltway. Here, in the heart of the nation’s capital, a powerful U.S. senator has been caught first in a sordid sex scandal, then in a case of murder.
Senate aide Veronica Cooper was found in a secret Senate office beneath the Capitol building, on Senator Todd Glancy’s favorite couch, blood pouring from the knife wound in her throat. The young woman’s death comes on the heels of the release of a sordid videotape depicting her and Senator Glancy in compromising positions.
With the senator’s reputation in tatters, the evidence against him–as a sexual predator and possibly a killer–mounts. By the time a nationally televised murder trial begins, Kincaid and his team know they’re facing the challenge of a lifetime. According to public opinion, and even in Kincaid’s most private thoughts, Glancy is one more politician who cannot admit his own culpability.
But while a dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom–loaded with pitfalls, traps, and an astounding betrayal–another trial is taking place on the mean streets of D.C., as Kincaid’s investigator pursues a young woman who was a friend of Veronica Cooper’s, plunging Kincaid into a bizarre world of Goths, sadomasochists, and a community of self-proclaimed vampires. Somewhere in this violent underworld lies the secret behind Veronica Cooper’s demise . . . and the crux of Senator Glancy’s innocence or guilt.
In a case that pits Kincaid and his freewheeling partner Christina McCall against the brutal machinery of Washington politics, the answers they seek are hidden in a murderous maze of lies and hidden motives. And in William Bernhardt’s best novel yet, getting to the truth is an unparalleled experience in pure, satisfying suspense.
Capitol Threat |
| Kincaid takes on a difficult job and finally solves the problem. |
And after his not-so-distinguished client stepped down, Ben found himself appointed to complete the sullied senator's term.
Now, having barely gotten his political sea legs, he must rise to yet another challenge: advising the president's next Supreme Court nominee during the sometimes thorny confirmation process.
Luckily, Judge Thaddeus Roush's popularity on both sides of the aisle looks to make him a shoo-in. Until he decides to out himself on national television–igniting a Beltway uproar and setting the stage for a bare-knuckle partisan brawl.
Bernhardt writes: I love my job. Even on the worst day when I can't seem to put together a coherent sentence, I am grateful for having been given this magnificent opportunity to participate in the literary exchange of ideas. My mother says I was telling people I wanted to be a writer when I was seven.
I know that seems incredible, but she's my mom, so we have
to believe her. I never missed an opportunity to visit the library,
which was blissfully near my home, and the librarians there took a great
interest in this nerdy, shy, bespectacled kid who kept reappearing
almost every day. They encouraged me to read widely and to read the best
of everything, and that is exactly what I did and have continued to do
all my life.
I sent off my first submission when I was eleven, to Highlights Magazine. This was a poem of which I was particularly proud concerning the Oklahoma Land Run. They turned me down. Yes, that was my first rejection letter.
Over the next 20 years, I collected more than 300 more. No, I'm not exaggerating. I still have them. Every last one. There was a reason, I realize now, why all those compositions were being rejected. They weren't very good. But they improved over time. I didn't know it, but during the entire torturous process of submission and rejection, I was learning how to write.
Bernhardt writes: I love my job. Even on the worst day when I can't seem to put together a coherent sentence, I am grateful for having been given this magnificent opportunity to participate in the literary exchange of ideas. My mother says I was telling people I wanted to be a writer when I was seven.
I know that seems incredible, but she's my mom, so we have
to believe her. I never missed an opportunity to visit the library,
which was blissfully near my home, and the librarians there took a great
interest in this nerdy, shy, bespectacled kid who kept reappearing
almost every day. They encouraged me to read widely and to read the best
of everything, and that is exactly what I did and have continued to do
all my life.I sent off my first submission when I was eleven, to Highlights Magazine. This was a poem of which I was particularly proud concerning the Oklahoma Land Run. They turned me down. Yes, that was my first rejection letter.
Over the next 20 years, I collected more than 300 more. No, I'm not exaggerating. I still have them. Every last one. There was a reason, I realize now, why all those compositions were being rejected. They weren't very good. But they improved over time. I didn't know it, but during the entire torturous process of submission and rejection, I was learning how to write.
