Product Description

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.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279143 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-01
• Released on: 2003-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

From Library Journal
In the latest Ben Kincaid mystery, one parish priest may be going to heaven soon; he's facing the death penalty for murder.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Here's a series that found an audience early and has just kept rolling along, repeating its successful formula again and again. The eleventh Ben Kincaid novel (the first, Primary Justice, appeared in 1991) is pretty much like its predecessors: a solid, by-the-numbers legal drama, suspenseful enough but saddled with frequently awkward dialogue and off-the-rack characters. There's nothing particularly wrong with the Kincaid mysteries, but there's nothing particular right about them, either. They deliver the basic legal-thriller package, but without any of the style or intensity that readers have come to expect from, say, Philip Margolin or John Lescroart. This time around, Ben is defending an Episcopalian priest on a charge of homicide; the prosecution's theory is that this man of the cloth murdered an associate because she was among a group of parishioners who wanted him replaced because he permitted gay and lesbian groups to hold meetings at the church. There are witnesses, suspects, false leads, and various legal-thriller shenanigans, but it all has the feel of been-there-done-that. Still, Bernhardt clearly has found his readers, and they are a loyal bunch. Readers'-advisory librarians might like to try an experiment: for those who request this distinctly middling Ben Kincaid novel, recommend in addition Jane Haddam's thematically similar but far superior 2001 thriller, True Believers, which concerns a Catholic priest accused of murder and a parish that ministers to the gay community. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap
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.

Customer Reviews

Sordid tale of a priest accused of murder.
"Criminal Intent" is the latest entry in William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid series. Ben is a criminal defense attorney in Oklahoma who is shy in social situations, but he is a barracuda in the courtroom. Assisted by his partner, Christina, a flamboyant lawyer who started out as his legal assistant, Ben defends anyone he believes in, even if the defendant cannot afford to pay his legal fees. As a result, Ben's firm is often in the red, and the patience of his loyal and underpaid staff is sometimes strained to the breaking point.

This time, Ben is defending an Episcopal priest named Father Daniel Beale, who is on trial for murdering one of his female parishioners. Father Beale is also suspected of murdering two other women in his congregation. Ben has known Father Beale since childhood, and the lawyer is convinced that Father Beale is incapable of murder.

Unfortunately for the priest, he has a reputation as a hothead, and he was heard threatening the victim before she was killed. It seems that the priest has always been a political radical. His views on abortion and homosexuals are much too progressive for his conservative parishioners, and the homicide victims all wanted Father Beale ousted from his post. Ben is determined to save Father Beale, and he hopes to uncover the identity of the real murderer.

As always, Ben Kincaid is a sympathetic character, and a champion of the underdog. However, this novel is one of the weakest books in the Kincaid series. Bernhardt loses his focus with the myriad characters and the convoluted plot lines that he unsuccessfully attempts to juggle. Although one of the trademarks of this series is the light bantering among the members of Kincaid's firm, the jokes this time around are somewhat forced.

Worst of all, as the book progresses, the narrative becomes more and more unbelievable, and the ending is extremely weak and illogical. Bernhardt throws in a host of messages about the fallibility of man, the need for tolerance and forgiveness, and the inequities in the criminal justice system. However, the story never coalesces into a coherent narrative, and as a mystery, "Criminal Intent" falls flat. I recommend this book only for diehard Ben Kincaid fans, but I fear that even they may be disappointed after finishing this unimpressive novel.

Ben Kincaid & Friends Just Keep Getting Better
First, and most important, this is a cracking good story, with surprises right up to the end. Even if you have never read anything about Ben Kincaid before, you can start with this one and enjoy it tremendously, but it is all the more fun if Ben, Christina, Jones, Loving, and the others are old friends.

William Bernhardt created several likable and interesting series characters in addition to Ben Kincaid, and as the series has progressed, some have ben dropped and some have been added. In "Criminal Intent," Paula, one of the more recently added characters, marries Jones, but, as you might expect, their wedding is marred by murder. One of the mysteries is the lack of any fingerprints on the presumed murder weapon other than those of Father Beale, who is charged with the murder. Ben is unshakably (and correctly) certain that Father Beale did not murder anyone, but the D.A. is absolutely determined to convict him.

Ben comes up with an ingenious explanation for the lack of fingerprints, but misses an obvious possibility that I was expecting, because Bernhardt himself didn't think of it until I mentioned it in an e-mail to him. (I found the address of Bernhardt's web site on page 390 of the paperback edition.)

The observations Father Beale tells Ben about on pp. 384-5 may (one hopes) lead to developments in the next novel, "Death Row," that we fans of Ben and Christina have been hoping for for some time.

A very welcome development in the most recent Ben Kincaid novels, especially including this one, is an involvement with social issues. Bernhardt doesn't preach; he just presents a situation involving controversial ethical choices, and lets that situation speak for itself. Your conclusion, or mine, may or may not agree with Bernhardt's, but we are almost compelled to reconsider our thoughts and conclusions, and possibly to modify some of them. I suspect that some of the reviewers who didn't like this book were discomforted by the need to think critically about the situation presented.

But if, like me, you find food for thought an invigorating bonus, you will now find it in the more recent mysteries of William Bernhardt, as well as those of Miriam Grace Monfredo, and some of those of Tony Hillerman and Judith Jance, all of which I highly recommend.

Thank you, William Bernhardt. I am looking forward to many more of your novels.

watziznaym@gmail.com

The Best Legal Thriller From the Best Legal Thriller Writer
I can't understand why more people don't know about and read William Bernhardt. He is the best of the legal thriller writers and I think this is his best book yet. I know Bernhardt has a very loyal cadre of fans, but it seems as if so much is said about Grisham and Margolin and others. Bernhardt is a much more interesting, more exciting writer. I love his lead character, Ben Kincaid--a more human lawyer than some of the tough-guy stereotypes of other authors. His books always have a sprinkling of humor, which I appreciate, and are always filled with twists and turns--one big surprise after another. His last two books--Silent Justice and Murder One--have been more mature and shown more writing style, and this new one--Criminal Intest--is his best yet. What's more--this book is very timely, given that it involves a priest accused of a horrible crime. If you haven't read William Bernhardt before, do yourself a treat and check out Criminal Intent and find out what you've been missing.