Customer Reviews

Criminal Intent

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"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.

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

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.

As soon as I saw that this book was available, I whipped out my credit card and ordered it. Last year Final Round was published, and during a similar lull of common sense, I ordered that one, too. I thought why not wait for Ben, Christina, Loving, and Jones to return to form? Consequently, when I saw Criminal Intent was in the stores, I leaped for it. Mistake.
If anyone needs a vacation and a little down time, it's Mr. Bernhardt. He's a fine writer, and I imagine a nice chap. His earlier books were somewhat captivating. However, his last two attempts have been subpar even for a struggling hack.
I will not go into detail concerning the story line, which I found to be uninteresting, but will say that the dialogue is sophomore-ish at best. Ben has become a Boy Scout. And maybe that's all right. Maybe we need more of that in our society. The problem as I see it is that we have R-rated audiences reading G-rated mysteries. Fitting for prep school perusal, but not very exciting for folks who have read books written for the more adult population. This book belongs in the juvenile section of the local library right next to Bambi and the Black Stallion. Realistically, I just couldn't quite swallow this latest serving. Sorry.

William Bernhardt is one of those guys who labors mightily and persistently despite not being a household name. He actually makes this work to his benefit. He can stretch a bit here and there, and take a chance or three that he might not otherwise be able to because he, at this stage, is not quite well known enough to have to live up to certain expectations. I'm not sure why he isn't better known --- his publisher certainly believes in him, and he can craft as a compelling a page turner as anyone. If one occasionally finds their suspension of disbelief sliding into "Hey, wait a minute" territory while reading his work, it certainly doesn't keep the pages from turning almost of their own volition.

CRIMINAL INTENT is Bernhardt's latest work; Bernhardt takes a big chance here, combining the best elements of two tested subcategories of the mystery genre --- the legal thriller and the drawing room mystery. Whatever strengths and weaknesses Bernhardt's work might have, it is simply amazing how he can so seamlessly combine these elements and craft a work which keeps the reader guessing up to the last few pages while at the same time propelling the reader smartly along. On top of that, he presents an extremely unlikely suspect: Father Daniel Beale, an Episcopal priest who is not exactly the most likable of characters. He's managed to alienate at least half of his parishioners by dragging them, kicking and screaming, toward his view of what's what, with the result that his flock is inexorably straying toward other shepherds.

When Beale is accused of murder, Attorney Ben Kincaid is there to see him through. Kincaid and Beale go back a long way, practically to Kincaid's childhood, and Kincaid is more than capable of seeing the good in the man. When yet another murder occurs, however, and Beale is caught literally red-handed, it seems all but certain that he is indeed the murderer. Kincaid does his best, but even his own client seems to be working against him. For there is much about Beale that Kincaid does not know. Surprise after devastating surprise awaits Kincaid as he attempts to defend Beale --- a task which, it appears, amounts to defending the indefensible.

Bernhardt's fan base will undoubtedly consider CRIMINAL INTENT to be one of his best; certainly this is one of more compelling novels to be published by anyone this year. Kincaid is just offbeat enough, just eccentric enough, to be real and unclassifiable, and his supporting cast is interesting but never threatens to overshadow him. And if you've tried one of Bernhardt's novels in the past, but never returned to his work, CRIMINAL INTENT would be a good way to renew an old but unfulfilled acquaintance. This might be the one that puts Bernhardt's name, already on the map, in bolder letters.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Reviewer Eleanor Miller has written a first rate review of this book which I agree with without reservation. I urge you to read it for a full presentation of what this book is about.

I bring an interesting perspective to this book about an Episcopal priest who is charged with the murder of the Senior Warden of the parish and who is defended by an attorney who is a member of the choir. I happen to be an Episcopalian, an attorney, a member of the choir of my church and the Senior Warden. For that reason alone, I was interested to see where this story was going.

Well, let's say first that Father Beale of this book is no Father Timothy, of Jan Karon fame. He has a temper, some say a "muderous" one, he is on the edge of many contentious issues that the Church is dealing with at this time, his vestry wants him to resign and he is an advocate for the Liberated Christian lifestyle. I'll let you read the book and see how that fits into the story.

I found the book to be an interesting whodunit. You know it isn't Father Beale, but who the heck is it? That is revealed late in the book along with the presentation to the reader of a an issue that many may not have thought about before reading this book. I guarantee you will think about it afterwards. I leave it for you to find out what it is. Well worth reading!

Defense attorney Ben Kincaid has faced heinous crimes before, but none with the intensity of the one he is about to face.

Kincaid has helped Father Daniel Beale before, saving the priest from ruin due to his renegade values and violent temper, but now Father Beale is faced with murder. The brutal murder of a female parishioner of the church has occurred, and it's no secret that Beale and the woman hated each other, but lack of evidence halts the case until another woman is found murdered and Beale is caught over the body with blood on his hands.

Kincaid is not sure what to believe, even though Beale swears his innocence, but instinct tells Kincaid to investigate and find the killer. To Kincaid's surprise he is faced with the discovery of the priest's many secrets, as well as the lies buried within the walls of St. Benedict's, but in his heart he knows he must keep digging to bring a killer to justice. As Kincaid's journey presses on he must face the ultimate evil, an evil so unexpected he will question all he has believed in his faith.

`Criminal Intent' is a very good legal thriller. The writing is crisp and clean, the plot sharp and suspenseful, and the surprise ending exciting. Combining legal thrills, controversial religious themes, and murder `Criminal Intent' succeeds on being an enjoyable read.

Fans of William Bernhardt's previous novels will enjoy his latest, and new readers of the Kincaid books will rush out and purchase earlier novels in the series.

Nick Gonnella

You'd never guess from the title that the defense lawyer, Ben Kincaid, is going to be up to his neck in religious shenanigans...but he is. Unfortunately, in this case he is disappointed to find out how too fallible his religious guide/priest/whatever is. Bernhardt nicely involves a lot of different Christian denominations in this book...without saying anything nasty or prejudicial about them.

Many people might think the little extracurricular activities that Father Holbrook engages in and also gets his congregation to engage in is not likely to happen. Unfortunately, during the 70's it happened probably all too often. Our church did not have a building of it's own so we borrowed other churches buildings (when they would let us). One time, my mom went into the current building we were using and came out all flustered because we were going to have a children's meeting, and said we couldn't do it. I won't name the denomination, but let's just say the took the idea of 'sensitivity sessions' too far, and my modest mother who was the head of the children's organization had to wait outside and tell everyone to head home. Needless to say, we changed buildings after that!

So Bernhardt's idea isn't crazy, but it didn't make for enjoyable reading all the same. I was thrown off by who I thought was the villain of all the murders...I figured a certain somebody wanted his money sooner than later, and so had 'made arrangements.'

Bernhardt's information about how many times people are found guilty of a crime, and then when new information comes out, it doesn't necessarily exonerate them or let them out of prison because of the way the justice system worked took me by surprise. I knew that DNA was helping to free some wrongly accused. You'd have to live in Siberia, not to read about someone being let free because of sloppy or prejudicial police work. I didn't realize how bad it was, and will be interested in reading more concerning this issue.

The mystery was okay...just wasn't a good topic and didn't pack the urgency or good writing I come to look for in my mysteries...

Karen SAdler

William Bernhardt is a past master at successfully turning red-hot issues into fictional pyrotechnics. As a long-time fan, I am pretty thoroughly convinced that his latest Ben Kinkaid legal thriller is probably the darkest and quite possibly the best-written novel to date in this incredibly solid series. Ben always allies himself absolutely with his clients, but Father Daniel Beale is a voice out of his past: a political-activist Episcopal priest who served as role model, mentor and friend during his unhappy childhood. Now Father Beale is in desperate trouble. Called to St. Benedict's in Ben's own Parrish, he has polarized the small church with his radical theories and practices, outraging the predominantly ultra-conservative members of his congregation. When Helen Conrad, a prominent member of the vestry, is found brutally murdered in the churchyard, although the police haven't enough evidence to charge him directly, even the suspicion of murder is final straw enough to bring him before an ecclesiastical court charged with 'conduct unbecoming a priest'. Ben manages to talk him out of that one, but then the murderer strikes again...and again...thereby enmeshing Father Beale in a web of circumstantial evidence from which there appears to be no escape. Now facing a civil court on a charge of murder one, Ben desperately battles for Father Beale's life against increasingly lengthening odds. The only hope seems to be for Ben and his colleagues to identify the real killer in time to prevent a terrible miscarriage of justice. Bernhardt's denouement? The stuff that nightmares are made of...incredible but factual...and drawn from real life.

William Bernhardt is asking a lot from his readers with this novel. I believe that "Criminal Intent" is a brilliantly written book. It is a genuine thriller: a multi-faceted roller coaster ride of a read in terms of hard-hitting suspense and the almost unbearable human tensions implicit to the central characters' need to face and deal with bloody and brutal events which shock and appall all the more once their perpetrators are revealed. Speaking as objectively as I can, I admire Mr. Bernhardt's courage in tackling the diverse moral issues that concern his characters here and applaud the skill with which he develops some extremely ambiguous points of view reasonably and logically. However, although Ben seemed to come to terms with their complexities, I found myself genuinely repelled by much of what I was reading as well as extremely skeptical about one of this author's major plot premises: the plausibility of an aberrant behavioral pattern that Father Beale had apparently successfully imposed upon his congregation over a period of time. My inability to "willingly suspend (my) disbelief" and cope with what I can only see as an irreconcilable good priest/bad priest dicotomy marred much of the pleasure that I usually take from sharing Ben's world and regretfully made me wish on the whole that I'd ever decided to go there at all.

I have been away from reading the likes of Bernhardt, Tannenbaum, Jance et al. So on a recent holiday I happily grabbed this one based on the reviews seen on Amazon. As series writers go, as they get into their 10th book and beyond ... the twists and turns get well old and predictable. This book started out pretty well, it held my interest for a while, but some of the side entries e.g. the priest's notes became tedious so eventually I just skipped them. They did not add much to the puzzle. I flew through the book and fairly early on I figured out 2 of the twists which made the last 80 or so pages tough. When he threw the ending together in the last few pages it made absolutely no rhyme or reason. It read like the author wanted the book over so he chopped it up! Very disappointed! I threw the book away.