DWD's Reviews

Originally published in 2006. Years ago I worked at a used book store and I was introduced to William Berhnardt's Ben Kincaid series by a co-worker. Pretty soon, all of us were reading the series and recommending it to others and they were moving off the shelf pretty briskly. Ben Kincaid does that to you - he is a likable guy with a rumpled suit and no ego that just wants to do what is best for his friends, family and, of course, his clients. I haven't read a Ben Kincaid novel in a long time (8 years according to the other Ben Kincaid review by me: Murder One ). The good and the bad thing is that William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid is a lot like Janet Evanovich' s Stephanie Plum. Despite all of the different adventures and experiences, the characters just do not change. Read book 5, book 10, book 14 - it does not matter. Just jump right in. Of course, this is a mixed blessing. It is an invitation to being stale, but also a recognition that people like comfortable char...

Not as good as the others in the series William Bernhardt has a whole collection of books he has written concerning small-time lawyer Ben Kincaid and his (mis)adventures and legal maneuverings. Most of the books feature Ben and his ragtag office staff going against well-funded corporate lawyers or the District Attorney's office and somehow coming up with a win. Murder One is no different, except that it is not as good a book as the others he has written. In fact, I would not have reviewed this book for this forum at all except for the review quote on the cover that says, "...You never see the end coming." In today's over-hyped marketplace I've seen a lot of quotes like this, but this time it was true. I did not see it coming and that (and the accurate quote) deserves recognition. This book, however, only rates a "3 stars" from me - it did not stay true to the strong character development that was present in the other books and I thought Ben Kin...