Product Description

"BERNHARDT IS A MASTER LEGAL TOUR GUIDE, taking the reader through the labyrinth of the judicial system of America's heartland."
--Mostly Murder
A young Vietnamese immigrant is brutally slaughtered by a crossbow. The prime suspect is a ruthless member of a white supremacy group.
When attorney Ben Kincaid reluctantly agrees to confer with the presumed murderer, he encounters a chilling certainty: an innocent man has been cast as a scapegoat. To rebalance the scales of justice, Ben chooses to represent the accused man--thereby placing both attorney and client at the explosive center of a community torn apart by xenophobia, racism, and violence.
But the real fireworks will go off in court--in an incendiary murder trial with more twists than a dustbowl tornado (.
"REWARDS ITS READERS WITH A GENUINELY SURPRISE ENDING WHILE ALSO RAISING SERIOUS ISSUES."
--The Orlando Sentinel

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #452486 in Books
• Published on: 1995-01-30
• Released on: 1995-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345391339
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
After a promising beginning, Bernhardt's latest thriller starring Oklahoma attorney Ben Kincaid, seen last in Deadly Justice , drifts into formulaic TV-movie scripting that slights its serious subject. When a young Vietnamese refugee is brutally murdered near Silver Springs, Ark., all the evidence points to Donald Vick, a member of the white-supremacist group Anglo-Saxon Patrol (ASP). When no one will defend Vick because of his politics, Kincaid, who is in Arkansas on vacation and believes that even those with heinous views deserve proper representation, agrees to take the case. For his pains, he is attacked by hooligans, beaten by a deputy sheriff, ostracized by the entire town and obliged to accept bodyguards supplied by the ASP Grand Dragon. This liberal's nightmare is simplistically portrayed: no opposing principals in the cast attempt to understand Kincaid's position, so there is no discussion of the issue at the story's heart and little narrative tension. Instead, the characters are people with permanently unchangeable opinions who mostly yell at each other. Even the story's fiery climax and the late twists of its plot have a set-piece quality that diminishes the novel's impact.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
While on vacation near Silver Springs, Arkansas, Tulsa lawyer Ben Kincaid ( Deadly Justice , Ballantine. 1993.) hastily agrees to defend a young white supremacist accused of murdering a local Vietnamese immigrant. Although time is of the essence, town hostilities and prejudices make Ben's life difficult--even with the aid of his own "A team" (male secretary, private gumshoe, and on-leave detective). Flawed plot, shallow characters, and lack of finesse, however, do not make a winning combination.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Bernhardt introduces unusual characters and story lines in his latest murder mystery. Ben Kincaid, a "big-city" lawyer from Tulsa on vacation in Alabama, gets roped into taking on a case that is more than he bargained for. A white-supremacy group, the Anglo-Saxon Patrol (ASP), has invaded the small town of Silver Springs to drive away the "gooks"--Vietnamese living in a local camp. The citizens are disturbed by the ASP's presence, and tensions mount even further when a Vietnamese boy is discovered dead. Kincaid defends the accused ASP member-- "but even hatemongering fascists deserve representation." The town doesn't take to Kincaid, and his investigation nearly falls flat. Things change, however, when Belinda Hamilton--a lawyer and founder of Hatewatch, which has set up an office to help deter ASP's actions--finally agrees to help Kincaid get access to otherwise unattainable information. The twists in the plot and the final courtroom scene make this an exciting-enough story and even make up for the sometimes gratuitous and often preachy PC dialogue. Mary Frances Wilkens

Customer Reviews

More Depth in Plot than two previous books
The previous two books in this series were similar to Perry Mason but with more humor. This books changes the series, since the tone is considerably more serious and touches upon some issues like racism and the violence created by it.

The story is very well written and the characters are lovable as always. If this change in tone is a trend which will be followed in next books I like it. Although I also enjoy the way the previous two books were written.

Best Ben Kincaid epic
This is my favorite of all of the "Justice" books. You get a strong sense of the depth of the major characters, as well as a chance to explore the "wrong" side of a case Ben has chosen to defend. This book is more dedicated to exploring the grey areas between what looks like two cut-n-dried sides than most of the others. The unusual twist at the end will have you re-reading the book again looking not for clues that you missed, but character reactions and motives.

Is this really a book for adults?
I didn't get more than halfway through this book because I was appalled by the writing, which is at a fifth-grade level. It's insulting to present this to a literate adult. The dialogue is hamfisted and trite, as are the characters.

I don't expect much out of a courtroom thriller, but I do expect something more challenging than an elementary school reader. This is just sad.