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Rating: 
Summary: Too many plots spoil the thriller.
Review: "Hate Crime" is the latest book in William Bernhardt's series featuring the likeable Ben Kincaid, a defense attorney with a penchant for taking on hopeless cases. Ben's former legal assistant, Christina McCall, is now his partner. Christina would like to take her relationship with Ben to the next level, but Ben has never been able to acknowledge his deep feelings for Christina.One day, a mysterious woman comes into the law firm of Kincaid and McCall, asking for Ben's help. Her name is Ellen Christensen, and her son, Johnny, has been arrested for the vicious murder of a gay man named Tony Barovick. When Ben sees Ellen, he is visibly upset, and he is adamant that he will not take Johnny's case. After Christina realizes that she will not be able to persuade Ben to change his mind, she decides to defend Johnny herself. "Hate Crime" is one of the busiest books that I have read in some time. Bernhardt starts off his novel with a kidnapping, and he then segues to Johnny Christensen's murder trial. Mike Morelli, Ben's former brother-in-law, is also featured in this book. Along with his attractive female partner and an alluring FBI agent, Mike is investigating a series of gruesome murders. Ultimately, all of these plot lines somehow tie together. Bernhardt's heart is in the right place when he tackles the theme that gay people have the right to live in peace. The author demonstrates, through scenes of graphic violence, how hatred and prejudice can lead to brutal actions. However, as a thriller, "Hate Crimes" is flawed. There are too many twists and turns that come out of left field, and some of the startling revelations at the end are incredibly far-fetched. On the plus side, we long-suffering readers finally learn what has been bugging Ben all these years. Bernhardt reveals some secrets from Ben's past that explain why he behaves so awkwardly around Christina. These few tidbits, however, are not enough to redeem "Hate Crime," which is too unfocused and heavy-handed to succeed as a legal thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: Graphic! Gripping! Great!
Review: "Let's consider the facts. The defendent is painfully unpopular and has been crucified in the press. I understand the evidence is hopelessly stacked against him...the case is impossible and unwinnable...you don't have any money. Will Ben take your case? I'd say it's a sure thing!" And so would most of best-selling, legal thriller author William Bernhardt's legion of fans: those of us who have faithfully followed Tulsa-based, defense attorney Ben Kinkaid's ardent championship of the down and desperate in and outside the courtroom ever since his debut appearance in "Primary Justice". Surprise! surprise! Ben wants no part of defending Johnny Christensen who's on-trial in Chicago for the sensational, gay-bashing, torture-murder of Tony Barovick...a trial which has come to screeching halt when Johnny's co-defendent and fraternity brother, Brett Mathers, and his defense attorney are gunned down in open court by a member of a militant, gay rights group. Now Johnny's desperate mother wants Ben to take over his case. Johnny has admitted to his participation in the bashing, but not the murder. If Ben can't get him off, Illinois has a death penalty. In the face of Ben's flat-out refusal to do so, aggravated by his equally firm refusal to explain why, his partner, spunky Christina McCall, decides to go it alone, gets their client's reluctant consent and steps up to the plate for her first major, criminal trial. While she and other series regulars (Jones and Paula, Loving and their newly-hired intern, Vicki Harmon) are desperately searching for alternative possibilities which just may be enough to get Johnny a lesser sentence, back in Tulsa, Detective Mike Morelli is still licking his wounds over his recent failure...yeah, he got the kid back BUT!...to apprehend a daring band of kidnappers and/or recover the ransom money despite full cooperation and support from Chicago FBI Special Agent Danielle Swift. An exceptionally horrific murder unexpectedly brings Agent Swift back to Tulsa where she again teams with Morelli and his feisty new partner, Detective Kate Baxter, to try and put faces and names to both killer and victim. Nothing is adding up until another, inexplicably brutal murder provides an obscure connecting link and, suddenly, things start falling into place. Inevitably, all roads lead back to Chicago and the Christensen trial. Secrets which have been hidden for years start emerging from the shadows. A breath-taking series of slam-bang, cliff-hanger events first put Ben and his entire crew in deadly peril and then lead Morelli inexorably to the master criminal and the shocking truth behind both the murders and what really happened to Tony Barovick. Plan to stay up late with this one! It's a winner! Nobody does grippingly complex plotting and hair-trigger suspense better than William Bernhardt. Yes! This stunning book absolutely stands alone, but it's even more absorbing reading for fans of the entire action-packed series. What we have here are characters who are so realistic and true-to-life that one of this novel's real joys is the light which it sheds as backstory on Ben and his friends' lives and involvements. I've read them all. I've yet to find a more timely, engrossing, un-put-down-able case for Ben & Company than "Hate Crime".
Rating:
Summary: Too many plots spoil the thriller.
Review: "Hate Crime" is the latest book in William Bernhardt's series featuring the likeable Ben Kincaid, a defense attorney with a penchant for taking on hopeless cases. Ben's former legal assistant, Christina McCall, is now his partner. Christina would like to take her relationship with Ben to the next level, but Ben has never been able to acknowledge his deep feelings for Christina. One day, a mysterious woman comes into the law firm of Kincaid and McCall, asking for Ben's help. Her name is Ellen Christensen, and her son, Johnny, has been arrested for the vicious murder of a gay man named Tony Barovick. When Ben sees Ellen, he is visibly upset, and he is adamant that he will not take Johnny's case. After Christina realizes that she will not be able to persuade Ben to change his mind, she decides to defend Johnny herself. "Hate Crime" is one of the busiest books that I have read in some time. Bernhardt starts off his novel with a kidnapping, and he then segues to Johnny Christensen's murder trial. Mike Morelli, Ben's former brother-in-law, is also featured in this book. Along with his attractive female partner and an alluring FBI agent, Mike is investigating a series of gruesome murders. Ultimately, all of these plot lines somehow tie together. Bernhardt's heart is in the right place when he tackles the theme that gay people have the right to live in peace. The author demonstrates, through scenes of graphic violence, how hatred and prejudice can lead to brutal actions. However, as a thriller, "Hate Crimes" is flawed. There are too many twists and turns that come out of left field, and some of the startling revelations at the end are incredibly far-fetched. On the plus side, we long-suffering readers finally learn what has been bugging Ben all these years. Bernhardt reveals some secrets from Ben's past that explain why he behaves so awkwardly around Christina. These few tidbits, however, are not enough to redeem "Hate Crime," which is too unfocused and heavy-handed to succeed as a legal thriller.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of the same old... but still good
Review: Being his 13th novel, William Bernhardt sticks to his tried-and-true formula to feature Tulsa defense attorney Ben Kincaid. Johnny Christensen, a hate-filled frat boy is accused of beating a gay man to death outside a singles bar in a Chicago suburb. Ben Kincaid is assigned to the case and is reluctant to take the case. The well-paced plot weaves the hate crime of the title together with an Oklahoma kidnapping, Kincaid's romantic past, another grisly unsolved murder and a detective gone bad. Bernhardt offers agood read, full of courtroom fireworks, double-crosses and even a bit of romance. Not a bad book, overall.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: If you are a fan of Bernhardt's previous books, you might well enjoy this one too, but it isn't the best.The usual well paced plotting faulters a bit, but it does, in the end work. Without giving away the end, I think it fell a little flat, disappointing in some ways, as I said, if you are a fan, you'll get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast and easy story
Review: Lawyer Ben Kincaid takes on another case he seemingly has no chance of winning, but he "back doors" this one because he initially refuses to have anything to do with the case, and he
refuses to give a reason to anyone, but after his partner Christina takes the case, and is faltering, he has to take over.
The case consists of two parts, seemingly unrelated, the first
the big murder case involving a "gay bashing" killing by a couple of ignorant, hapless frat boys, and the other a sophisticated kidnapping where the criminals got totally away.
But then some low-level people are killed, in gruesome fashion,
and Ben's buddy, a detective on the Tulsa PD, starts seeing some
common threads in the murders, and the chase is on.
How Bernhardt handles the two crimes, and the various factors,
is well-done, and he does a very nice job of tying up loose
ends.
Some readers will think those loose ends are too quickly tied
up, and the final solution sort of falls together too easily,
so there will be some dissatisfaction here, but, overall, this
is a nice story well done.
Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: Mr Bernhardt writes legal thrillers like no other. When it comes to Ben, Christina, Jones and Loving, he doesn't disappoint. This was a well written story, that really disturbed me when it came to the details of the beating. Too sad to even imagine. The court room theatrics are the best and the twist and turns were very surprising.
An excellent, fast paced read. Very entertaining.
As always, I anxiously wait for what's next.
Rating:
Summary: Great legal thriller
Review: See book summary above. With Bernhardts latest, he proves to be one of the best legal thriller writers out there. The storyline and it's subplots-- one hinting on how weak minds can become so brainwashed into believing something--makes for a great and sometimes graphically violent novel.
Keep'em coming William. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Further exploration
Review: This Ben Kincaid mystery further explores both the surface
interactions between Ben and his partner Christina as well
as the concept of a "hate" crime.
Here, a gay man is tortured and murdered, apparently by two
stupid, drunken college frat boys, and when Ben, the champion
of the unpopular defendant, is asked to defend one of them,
he surprisingly refuses. Everyone who knows him is mystified.
But then his partner Christina, over his objections, takes on the defense, and the case plods along with the defendant looking
worse all the time.
A parallel case, which doesn't seem to have any connection with
the gay murder, is also tackled, and Ben's pal, the Tulsa PD
detective who loves driving his vintage high-powered Pontiac,
is working that one. The Tulsa case involved a kidnapping with
ransom, where the victim was left unharmed, but the kidnappers
suddenly, and surprisingly since they were surrounded by both
local police and the FBI, disappear. Mike, the detective, pursues the case as long as possible, until his superiors assign
him to more current cases. But Mike doesn't forget, and he keeps trying to remember details of some aspect of the case that
is in the background of his mind and won't go away.
As Christina's case is nearing its end, with virtually no hope,
Ben is visited by the defendant's mother, and that whole visit
is quite mysterious, and Ben's office-mates wonder what is going on. Christina is determined to learn how and why that other woman seems to know Ben, when Ben denies such knowledge.
This Kincaid entry is rather more complex than most of these,
and the cases come to a nice conclusion; the only drawback to
many readers will be that the ending is a bit too pat and too
sudden. It has a feel that the author sort of took the easy
way out at the end by offering up a solution that isn't entirely
logical.
But it is interesting and very readable.
Rating:
Summary: A Painful Book to Read
Review: This is one of the most painful books I've read in a long time. It was so violent but I felt I had to read every word because the horrendous beating was so integral to the story. I had to keep closing my eyes to try to get the images to go away but it didn't work. Unfortunately, most of the people who could learn from the book will never read it but it is important to keep writing about the hatred in our society. I live in the Chicago area and was quite interested in having the book set here after all we have been through with the death penalty.
I think Ben is a fascinating character and, while slow, his social development is coming along. At this point, I think he is only ready to take care of the cats although this book truly, but painfully, peeled off several layers of his psyche. I am fascinated to see where he will go from here.
I always feel that I am back with old acquaintances when I read one of these books. The characters have become so familiar that I find myself thinking back to how they appeared in previous books. I am always amazed at how he can insert such snappy dialog into a story as jarring as this one but then I realize that this keeps us further off balance. The exchange between Christina and Jones about Scrabble is priceless, as is Baxter's realization about Dr. Seuss.
I feel that the characters and plots are first-rate as is the writing and the editing. The only criticism I have is that we have to wait another year for the next book!
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