Customer Reviews

Primary Justice

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Primary Justice was William Bernhardt's debut novel. It was also the novel that introduced us to attorney Ben Kincaid and his sidekick, Christina McCall as they try to solve the mystery of a not so typical adoption case. The story is fast paced, written with humor, and Mr. Bernahrdt has no trouble humanizing Ben. If you read a "Justice" novel, you need to start with this one, as Mr. Bernhardt does carry characters and information over from one Justice novel to another.

I wanted to go back after reading one and start with his first book. I found it OK but not what I would have expected. It had the young lawyer and interestng characters but it seemed to lack something. Even with the surprise ending well done it still left me with a little wonder. He certainly has written many more so I will continue to proceed.

You won't be dissapointed with this series which has it all: humor, suspense and great characters. These books are very easy to read and you will find yourself finished with them sooner than you expected.

I hope you give this series a try!

and so I did, with "Primary Justice". And it was OK. And maybe "pretty OK" for a first novel. There's enough of interest in here to make me want to continue with at least one more book, but, I tend to agree with "a reader from San Antonio" (see review following mine), that there is a lot to be desired in plot and writing style. Rough around the edges; let's see if he can develop the characters better in the next go round!

I can believe this was a first novel. Although I stuck it out to the end, I felt the writing was less than compelling--this book did not make me want to read more about Ben Kincaid or his faux-French sidekick, Christina. Kincaid is billed as wanting to do the right thing, but seems clearly a fish out of water when it comes to practicing law. He is bullied and intimidated by stereotypical "shark" lawyers, wrings his hands over a sex-starved woman who is a partner's wife. Christina calls him a wimp at one point; she is right. Surrounded by unrealistic characters including other new lawyers and his sister, he is in poor shape to combat evil. It's no wonder he is constantly in the bathroom, retching his guts out. For someone who had worked in the D.A's office, why didn't he have any sense of courtroom protocol? Where was the editor on this one? If I get desperate, I might check out a novel further into the series to see if things get better.

As someone else said in a review, you can tell this is Bernhardt's first book. I agree it was good enough to try another one but not great. Cannot believe Ben was so bad in court. After all he had been in DA's office, what did he do there. Sounds like he can solve a mystery better than try one. Hope his character and that of Christina McCall get better as time goes on. Glad he left the big deal law firm. Reminds me of a lot of Attorneys and business people in general----the dollar is the only thing that matters. A fair mystery, a fair attorney. Glad I started with this one.

I had never heard of this author until my last book club when someone recommended him. What a great read! In the tradition of other lawyers who have turned to novel writing, Bernhardt draws on his experience and knowledge to put together a believable story. I flew through this book. The characters and situations rang true, although there definitely was an element of "larger than life" in some of the characters. I liked the sprinkling of clues and the slightly misleading references which kept me guessing. Highly recommended if your like mysteries and whodunnits with a legal flavour.

After reading 22 of Williams books over the past 2 years, I finally got this one from the library, they actually bought it for me and for the stacks. For a first book it was OK, but more importantly it set the stage for the great books and characters to come. Lovell, Mrs. Marmelsetin and of course Giselle will com along soon to add to Ben and of course Christene and then of course the wrestlers.

So don't be too hard on William. It is an OK book and it is enjoyable, but clearly just the beginning of the past 20 years of great writing.

In my opiniom, it wasn't until Naked Justice in 1997 that Bernhard hit his stride with my first 5 rating and there have been a few great and decent boooks since then.

But I will admit, a few stickers as well, the aboslute worst being Final Round in 2001, OMG was that terrible.

My last read before this was Nemesis 2009, about Elliott Ness and that was a solid 4 read and very different.

Two more to go, Capitol Offense 2009 and Capitol Betrayal 2010, so I'll see how they go.

For some truly fabulous authors who never dissapoint try Silva, Flynn, Baldacci Coben and Michael Connelly as well as some of the very VERY early Woods books like Chiefs, Under the Lake and Palindrome. Woods' new stuff is simply crap like Paterson's.

This is the first book in this popular series. It had mystery, action and was well written. Perfect book for a trip, beach or poolside.

If you are going to get into William Bernhardt don't start here. You will read this and never want to continue. This is his first novel and the plotting is terrible. The mystery is set up well enough but the unravelling makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. You get about 80% into the novel and then the unlikely protagonist makes his appearance for no clear reason. No explanation given for his crime. Nothing. Terribly, terribly disappointing. Particularly as I have read the other Justice's in the series + Murder One, and I know what William Bernhardt is capable of. Stay away from this book if you like a good mystery. If you like science fiction you might enjoy this absurd rubbish.