Customer Reviews

Dark Justice

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

For the first 400 pages, I thought this is one of the best "legal-thrillers" that I have read. The author digs the protagonist in deeper and deeper. Yes, the judge is one-sided, but there are such judges. But the ending is somewhat disappointing--it takes too easy a way out. Still it is well worth reading.

I was so annoyed with the way the book was read that it was hard for me to relax to the story, which, incidentally, was on a subject that interests me very much. The man who reads it ends every sentence with a rising inflection, whether it is a question or not. It becomes a monotonous attention stealer, a cruel destruction of a perfectly good book. You wonder why he was hired to do the reading. Don't they audition their readers? Or listen to them while they're reading? If you like to be read to, get your twelve-year old to read it. He'll do a better job.

Though this book had a good start, the trial to the end of the book was slooooow. I ended up skimming through most of the latter parts of the book and still managed to get the story line. The scene of the fire at the cabin was oh too unbelievable. The author and story lost credibility with me there. Also, the confession by the murderer was too speech like as a previous reviewer noted. Not natural. The relationship between Christina and the Sheriff was fine, but why did the author feel he had to belabor Kincaid's opinion on that relationship? For goodness sake, enough is enough. I didn't feel the book was too pro-environmentalist and preachy though. I felt the writer did a good job in that respect of illustrating both sides of the economical vs. conservation conflict. I did enjoy the story for the most part, mostly because it wasn't the same trite plot that is in most murder mysteries. The loggers vs. conservationists battle does continue to rage on and I was eager to hear more about this. The author did a good job in this respect of including facts into the story so you could learn as you read along, more about what goes on with respect to logging. Aw yes, a few details re: facts were off, but as a previous reviewer stated that didn't affect the story, and last I checked, editors are still human.

This was the first William Bernhardt book I ever read. I read it right before William Bernhardt came to our library. He is an amazing, twisted man! But anyway, about the book. I thought this was an excellent book when I read it, but then as I started reading more of his books, I realized that it was not his best work at all. He is so similar to John Grisham, it's really quite amazing! In this book, a logging company fights conservationists until the very end, eventually leading to murder. In Dark Justice, Bernhardt reminds us of the age-old problem of the battle between conservationists and logging companies.

This was my first introduction to Mr. Bernhardt's books, so I can't claim that any before were better than this one. He does a good job introducing the ongoing conflict between environmentalists and those whose livelihoods would be affected by sanctions. As is usual, both sides act out of emotion, and refuse to see the other side's point of view. This is a constant theme yet it rarely ends in murder. Accidents yes, but outright murder, no. It obviously would be all to easy for another group to take advantage of this situation and use it to their own advantage. Bernhardt does a good job of writing about the people involved, though characterization takes a back seat to the plot in this case. Maybe he has set up the characters in previous books which I need to go back and read, and believe me I will! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh, klsst23@pitt.edu

Vividly described charcters, great courtroom drama sequences, clerverly woven plot which does not permit you to predict the outcome until the very end. A great book - and - even without sex.

This was my second book in the Ben Kincaid series, and I definitely plan to read the rest of them from the beginning of the series. What I most like about these books is that while they are serious, they don't take themselves too seriously. They have a good mix of wit and humor to go with the more serious parts. It's a good, fast paced book as well, without many boring parts breaking up the action. The only thing that wasn't that great was the ending. It seemed to be somewhat contrived, and seemingly from out of nowhere, Kincaid had all the answers. But overall, highly recommended.

Having read and very much enjoyed this series in the order that they were published, I was extremely disappointed with this book. While the environmentalist side of the issue is presented reasonably well, the lumber industry portion seems to have been extracted from an Earth First comic book. Bernhardt apparently didn't see fit to research the "other side" at all, because errors (both technical and philosophical, major as well as minor) flow endlessly from page to page. I have always admired authors who can get the details right. Based on that test, Kincaid needs to stay in Tulsa, not in timber country.

"Dark Justice", the 8th installment in the Ben Kincaid series, proves to be possibly the best offering from William Bernhardt.

I've always felt that Will Bernhardt is probably one of the most underrated authors in the legal genre.

Nonetheless, his latest book is a thoroughly entertaining read. I've followed his work since the first "Primary Justice" several years back, and I've watched progressively how each book is better than the previous one.

"Dark Justice" is a very timeless book; it presents a very controversial topic that is heavily debated today. I was also surprised to know that all of the events in the book (most of which have been spoiled to you by the reviews above) have all occurred in the last 15 years.

Bernhardt's exhaustive research and true mastery of the genre proves an asset.

Bernhardt probably read an Edward Abbey book and got the idea for this poorly researched novel. I doubt if he ever got closer to the Pacific Northwest forests than his booksignings. There are numerous errors of fact and a lack of comprehension about the area. At least Abbey wrote his wonderfully skewed views based upon actual experiences that vividly capture the environment. Perhaps the protagonist's aversion to the outdoors is shared by the author. It certainly appears so based upon really dumb statements and scenarios. Perhaps all the research that he brags about was just ineptly integrated into this one location. I think the Tulsa chair-bound author may have heard of the farms that raise hybrid trees for pulp harvest within a few years of planting. They use machines that cut up to 12" trees for paper production. An old growth virgin forest in the Pacific Northwest would most likely be Firs, 3 feet or more in diameter, used for lumber production. You don't see much gasoline powered heavy equipment in a diesel world. Who ever heard of a pine baseball bat? Perhaps I'm picking nits but the list of errors is too long to go further. I normally enjoy reading Bernhardt, but the unreality of so much of this book that is outdoors, spoiled it for me.
On the other hand, Eco-terrorism is terrorism. Understanding a defense for our environment is reasonable and supportable. There is a valid drama here that needs to be explored. A ridiculous, trite tale of misguided 'heros" and ignorant, savage lumbermen is just frustrating. Please Mr. Bernhardt, stay in the courtroom that you know, or at least stay indoors.