Murder One (Ben Kincaid) - Softcover

Bernhardt, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345428153 ISBN 13: 9780345428158

Publisher: Fawcett, 2001

Synopsis

The crime is remarkably heinous: veteran police detective Joe McNaughton is found savagely slain, mutilated, and hung from a public fountain in downtown Tulsa. The accused is a tabloid reporter’s dream: stunning, nineteen-year-old Keri Dalcanton, a stripper involved in a kinky affair with the married McNaughton. Crusading attorney Kincaid takes up her defense. But when a police raid on his office uncovers the bloodstained murder weapon, Ben himself is charged with conspiracy and murder. What follows is a breathlessly twisting battle of legal wits–and lethal surprises–in which no holds are barred, no secrets are left unexposed, and ultimately, nothing is what it seems. . . .

About this title

Review:

It doesn't seem possible that petite, blonde Keri Dalcanton could have stabbed police sergeant Joe McNaughton 20 times, dragged his body to a public square in downtown Tulsa, chained the corpse naked to a fountain, and hog-tied him, breaking several of his bones before she cut off his penis, stuffed it in his mouth, and wrote "Faithless" across his chest in his own blood. But McNaughton's friends on the force are convinced that the stripper was responsible. When Ben Kincaid takes Keri's case, they do everything they can to ensure that the hero cop killer's lawyer pays for her defense with his own blood, too.

Ben is convinced that Keri was framed. Beyond that, he's a little bit in love with her. The "blue squeeze" put on him by the Tulsa PD does nothing to convince him that he's wrong, not even when he's arrested and charged with complicity in McNaughton's death. Kincaid, Bernhardt's series hero (Dark Justice, Silent Justice), is a decent, hard-working lawyer who has offended too many Tulsa movers and shakers to put his still-struggling law firm into the black. When the girlfriend of one of his staffers is attacked as she's zeroing in on evidence that could free Keri, Ben plunges ahead with his defense, regardless of the danger it puts him in. Bernhardt's trademark pacing and courtroom expertise deliver this legal thriller to a riveting conclusion, with a surprise ending that most readers won't see coming. --Jane Adams

From the Back Cover:

“A first-rate storyteller.”
–Tulsa World

About this edition

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0345428153
• ISBN 13: 9780345428158
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416