Customer Reviews

Murder One

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Murder One" is the latest entry in William Bernhardt's series of legal thrillers featuring the nebbishy lawyer from Oklahoma, Ben Kincaid. Although Ben is far from macho, he is a true idealist, and he is an aggressive and smart courtroom attorney. Christina McCall, Ben's former legal assistant, has recently graduated from law school and she is now Ben's partner. The case in this book deals with the horrible murder and mutilation of a policeman, Joe McNaughton, who was a popular man on the Tulsa police force. McNaughton's cop buddies and his widow are sure that the killer is a nineteen-year-old stripper named Keri Dalcanton. Keri was Joe's lover until he ended their torrid affair. Ben faces formidable obstacles in his efforts to acquit Kerry. First of all, there is strong circumstantial evidence linking Keri to Joe's murder. In addition, several policemen have a vendetta against Ben and Keri in the form of "the blue squeeze," which consists of physical and verbal harassment by the police. As usual, Ben's case seems hopeless and dangerous. However, he and his loyal staff battle the D. A. and the police with some clever tactics of their own. As always, Ben and his cohorts are amusing and charming, and the case is complicated and involving. There are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. However, Bernhardt goes overboard in several areas. There are graphic depictions of sadomasochistic and kinky sex that do not mix well with the gentle humor that pervades much of the book. The ending is way over the top and the plot becomes extremely contrived in an effort to "surprise" the reader. I enjoy a good surprise, but not at the expense of believability. All in all, "Murder One" is a serviceable legal thriller, but Bernhardt should have toned down the sensationalism and made the plot play out a little more realistically.

Tulsa, Oklahoma criminal defense attorney, Ben Kincaid, is fighting an uphill battle to keep his client, Keri Dalcanton, a nineteen year old kinky stripper, out of prison. She's charged with the grisly murder and mutilation of her married lover, police detective Joe McNaughton, and even though Ben believes her to be innocent, all the circumstantial evidence points in her direction and he doesn't see much chance of winning this case. That is until a technicality sets her free. The police and D.A.'s office is outraged at what they consider this miscarriage of justice and promise they'll avenge McNaughton's death by other means, if necessary. Ben is just thankful for the lucky legal break and that this media circus of a case is finally over. Unfortunately, he couldn't be more wrong. Within days, incrimminating evidence of the murder is found in Ben's office, Keri's technicality is thrown out and Ben, himself is facing charges for obstruction and murder one..... William Bernhardt has written a fast paced, legal thriller with an interesting premise, but he doesn't always deliver. His plot needs to be tightened up and is more complicated at times, than intricate and compelling. His characters could be better developed and fleshed out and there are so many, you need a scorecard to keep track of who's who and what's what. But it's the implausible and contrived "surprise" ending I found most disappointing. After 288 pages, you shouldn't have to suspend belief to finish the last 29 pages of the book. Murder One is adequate beach reading with decent courtroom scenes, but Mr Bernhardt has written better books.

In Tulsa, Ben Kincaid defends stripper Keri Dalcarton against a charge of brutally killing police officer Joe McNaugton in a bestial manner left for public viewing. The trial goes badly as witness after witness provides testimony insures Keri's conviction. However, Ben notices that the two search warrants used to look inside Keri's car and home were illegal, forcing the judge to throw out the case on a technicality. The cops are outraged, as Keri is not only free, but also protected under the Double Jeopardy clause of the Constitution.

Officer Arlen Matthews, who looked incompetent on the stand, persuades his cohorts to pull the "blue squeeze" on Kincaid. With a legal search warrant in hand, the police rummage through Kincaid's office to find the McNaugton murder weapon. Initially Ben is accused of obstructing justice, but then the charge is changed to MURDER ONE. Ben's legal assistant now a lawyer of two days serves as his defense attorney with more trouble awaiting Kincaid.

The previous Kincaid legal thrillers were excellent novels, but the newest tale, MURDER ONE, is superior to even that high standard. William Bernhardt grips the audience with a thriller that never eases up until the final twist and turn. Kincaid and his crew remain fun to observe as they struggle with this too personal case and the potential second round in the Dalcarton defense in spite of the Double Jeopardy clause. Mr. Bernhardt has written a fabulous story that if justice were simple would lead to the top of the best seller lists.

Harriet Klausner

Tulsa, Oklahoma, attorney Ben Kincaid has risen through the ranks to become one of my favorite characters in contemporary fiction. In "Murder One", Ben has been retained to represent teenage stripper Keri Delcanton for the murder of her older, married lover. The victim, police detective Joe McNaughton, was viciously murdered, mutilated, and left hanging from a downtown fountain.

Although Ben believes in his client's innocence, the circumstantial evidence against her is so overwhelming that a conviction is almost a foregone conclusion. And then a huge technical error on the part of the police blows the prosecution's case out of the water and Keri is acquitted.

The Police Department, District Attorney, and much of the public at large are outraged and it isn't long before the cops raid Ben's office and "find" the knife used to slaughter McNaughton. Ben is quickly arrested and charged with the murder his client was freed for. Enter Christina McCall, Ben's effervescent former legal assistant who has just graduated from law school. Christina ably represents Ben on the bogus charges, which are finally dropped when a way around double jeopardy is found and new charges are filed against Keri.

The story moves forward at a staccato pace to its thrilling O Henry-like climax. This one should not be missed by legal thriller fans. It's a definite keeper.

Loved this story; was sorry to see it end. Another Ben Kincaid legal thriller. Keri Delcanton, a nineteen yr. old stripper is accused of murdering her married cop boyfriend. Ben gets her off on a technicality and "the blue squeeze" is placed on Ben, his office and Keri. He then has to defend her again and the trial and results are very exciting. Ben also starts to fall for Keri which complicates things.

When a veteran detective is found mutilated, and hanging from a public fountain with the word FAITHLESS scrawled across his chest, all fingers point to nineteen-year-old Keri Dalcanton, a stripper involved in an affair with the married detective.

With the media, the towns people, and the police painting a picture of a woman scorned, Keri, turns to attorney Ben Kincaid for help.

The evidence clearly paints a picture of guilt, but as the case deepens, a mistake by the cops sends Keri free, sending the police force into a frenzy.

Vowing to see justice served-at any price-the police begin their war against Ben, and a raid on his office uncovers the blood stained murder weapon.

As a new case against Keri is being prepared, so is one against Ben, charging him with murder.

After years of being on the other side of the table, Ben is now fighting for his own innocence, in a legal battle where every secret is exposed, and no one can be trusted.

"Murder One" is another exciting entry in the Ben Kincaid thriller series. The plot moves like lightning as the explosive murder trial heats up the courtroom, the twists in the plot are sharp and fast, driving the novel to a stunning climax.

William Bernhardt's writing is crisp and clean, his characters well developed, and his plots totally engrossing, further establishing him as one of my favorite authors.

Fans of legal thrillers should read "Murder One", and then go back and read the earlier novels in the series. If there is any justice at all...William Bernhardt will join the ranks of Grisham, Lescroart, Baldacci and Martini, and his new novel will fly up the bestseller list's.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and never boring. I have read several Bernhardt books and this was very good.

Veteran police detective Joe McNaughton was a cop everybody liked, so when he was found murdered, his nude body hanging from a fountain with his privates severed and stuffed in his mouth in downtown Tulsa, his pals are understandably upset. Though married. McNaughton had nineteen-year-old stripper Keri Dalcanton as a main squeeze and the police quickly arrest her. The cops, along without everyone else in town it seems, want her blood and the assistant DA is seeking the death penalty.

The book opens in court and good guy attorney Ben Kincaid is looking at a loser. He believes Keri is innocent, but the police just have too much evidence, then he notices a problem with the search warrents used to obtain said evidence and through an intuitive stroke of good luck he gets Keri off on a technicality.

The cops, especially McNaughton's partner Arlen Matthews, go nuts. They decide to apply the Blue Squeeze, a term that means something like, damn the law and get even, cop style. They raid Kincaid's office and find the murder weapon, then they arrest the attorney and brutalize him in jail.

From this point on the battle lines are drawn, it's the cops verses Kincaid and the police will stop at nothing. Kincaid bails out of jail, but the cops re-arrest Keri and this time the slick DA himself is prosecuting the case. He wants to ride to re-election on the back of the conviction.

There is enough tense courtroom drama alone in this legal thriller to keep you tuning the pages at a steady clip, but the struggle leading up to the second trial and the long lead up to a climax straight out of left field will speed your reading like you wouldn't believe.

This is the second Bernhardt novel I've read, and it is much better than Perfect Justice. Bernhardt's writing style has matured. I'd give this book a B-.

A lot of writers who have reoccurring characters assume their readers have read the previous books in the series. Not so with William Bernhardt. Readers who have come to know and love Ben Kincaid will devour MURDER ONE with delight, however a reader new to Bernhardt will have no trouble picking up the book and diving right in. There is not an ounce of assumption here. It's as if MURDER ONE was the first Kincaid book penned by Bernhardt.

And there are all the elements of a first rate mystery here. The story opens in court, throwing the reader right into the heat of a death penalty case. "But wait!" you want to exclaim, "Why are we getting the climax on page one?" Good question. At first look one might think that lawyer Kincaid, after getting his client off with a dash of luck and a bolt insight, was going to kiss her goodbye and move on to another case. "Cheating!" I wanted to shout. "No fair getting me involved with this striking young woman who is fighting for her life, then to chuck her out of the story."

But I was wrong, Bernhardt knew well what he was doing. His well drawn cop characters aren't about to let a cop killer go, no matter how young and pretty she is. They quickly contrive a way to get around the constitutional double jeopardy restrictions by planting the murder weapon in Kincaid's office, then arresting and charging him with the crime. This makes for some excellent courtroom drama, not to mention some pretty disturbing scenes describing the abuse a cop killer's lawyer can expect if ever arrested and it aint't pretty.

Halfway through the book I was sure I had the ending figured out. The carefully planted clues led me right where I suppose I was supposed to go and I willingly went like an ox with a ring in it's nose. I mentally shouted, "I knew it!" and I was kinda safisfied, you know, the way you get when you've been proved right. But the book wasn't over and all of a sudden I was as wrong as Nixon`s people were when they didn't think that little Watergate thing would get them in any trouble. The who and the why of it all came as a complete surprise to me as it did to Kincaid. The subtle clues were there, but lawyer and reader glossed over them, the lawyer wanted the girl and I guess I wanted him to get her as well, so we were both blindsided. And then there was still another twist that put everything right in a way that even the most sophisticated mystery reader will marvel at. Mister Bernhardt is certainly a master of his craft.