Cruel Justice (Ben Kincaid Series #5) » (Reprint)

William Bernhardt is the author of many novels, including Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, Hate Crime, Dark Eye, Capitol Murder, and Capitol Threat. He has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and in 2000 he was presented the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award “in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large.” A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service.

"A thoroughly entertaining page-turner."
—Phillip Margolin

Leeman Hayes, a black teenager in Tulsa, is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. As attorney Ben Kincaid struggles to pull together a defense, a young boy is falling into the clutches of a child molester. Ten-year-old Abie Rutherford, lonely and desperate for approval, thinks the handsome, smiling stranger in the baseball cap might be that friend he has longed for.

When Abie Rutherford vanishes without a trace one hot summer day, Ben Kincaid, like everyone else in Tulsa, fears the worst. Then a bone-chilling discovery compels Ben to forge a link between the missing boy and the seemingly hopeless case of Leeman Hayes—thereby igniting the fuse for the most explosive courtroom case of Ben's career.

"An enthralling murder mystery . . . The ending is both surprising and explosive."
—The Sunday Oklahoman

Library Journal

The loyalty of suspense and mystery fans is not fickle, so long as the author produces credible characters and allows them to develop; humor and a certain feckless quality in a major character are lagniappe and much appreciated. Cruel Justice is just such a treat. Tulsa defense lawyer Ben Kincaid finds himself with a hopeless case. His client is a mentally challenged, confessed killer. Moreover, there's a serial killer on the loose in the city, Ben's sister hands him a baby and disappears, and his mother comes to town. Ben and his helpers scramble against the clock to develop a defense for his client. The author plays fair, dropping clues in all the right places and building the scaffolding for the sequel. If the humor is occasionally a bit broad and the minor characters a bit one-dimensional, true genre fans won't care; they will be too busy hunting for Bernhardt's previous books (e.g., Double Jeopardy, Ballantine, 1995) and waiting for the next. For all popular collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/95.]-Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.