Capitol Murder (Ben Kincaid #14) by William Bernhardt

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 characters.

In Capitol Murder, an aide to Oklahoma's senior Senator is found dead in his secret hideaway in the capitol building itself just after a video of them involved in a sexual act is released. Ben Kincaid grew up with the senator and Ben is summoned to lead his defense. His investigator, Loving, digs up enough information to discover that there is a lot more to this case and the victim than meets the eye, including a hidden world of vampires and sex clubs.

Bernhardt decides to keep Kincaid's defense hidden from the reader. The reader learns about the strategies as the case proceeds, which is not the way most legal thrillers work. I found it frustrating and I found the back story on the victim to be quite ridiculous.

I have to give this book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Capitol Murder (Ben Kincaid #14) by William Bernhardt.

Reviewed on September 22, 2012.

Murder One (Ben Kincaid #10) by William Bernhardt

Not as good as the others in the series

Published in 2001.

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 Kincaid strayed from the character that has been built throughout the rest of the books.

I do, however, recommend any of his very early books - they are fun and well-written.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Murder One (Ben Kincaid series Book 10)

Reviewed in August of 2004.