Book Review: Deadly Justice by William Bernhardt

Deadly Justice
Author: William Bernhardt
Series: Ben Kincaid (Book 3)
Publication: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (May 29, 1993)

Description: Ben Kincaid is not a superstar attorney. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there are only a few lawyers who win headlines and big bucks. So when the notorious Apollo Consortium offers Ben a job as their in-house counsel, he takes it--for the money.

The violence in the streets outside the Apollo is nothing compared to the backstabbing politics of the firm. And when Ben wins his first case, he unwittingly sets up some bitter rivalry with his colleagues--rivalry that will culminate in a fellow lawyer's dead body and Ben charged with murder.

My Thoughts: This is the third book in the Ben Kincaid series. He's a lawyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has a single practice and is barely making ends meet when he is approached by the Apollo Corporation to be one of their in-house attorneys. Despite concerns from his paralegal Christina, he decides to take the job for the financial security.

Ben is greeted with open arms and effusive praise by the head of the legal department. Other lawyers aren't so excited to see him. The firm is filled with rivalries, back-stabbing, and sexism. And Ben's idealism doesn't look like it makes him a good fit for the company. His first job is a case where the company is being sued because a faulty design has caused the death of a young man. Luckily for Ben, the lawyers the victims hired is not at all competent and Ben quickly wins the case.

But then a fellow attorney is murdered, and his body is found in Ben's car outside his apartment. Ben is given a week by the Chief of Police to find the real murderer, or the Chief will have him arrested. Ben has to dig into relationships and rivalries to find out who murdered his fellow attorney.

Meanwhile, the Tulsa police are very busy trying to find a serial killer who is leaving headless and handless bodies of teenage girls around town. Ben's investigation and the police investigation do come together eventually.

I enjoyed this book and really liked Ben who was a hard-working, smart, and ethical attorney. The side cast were also well-developed characters. Even though this is the third in the series and only the first I have read, I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I am tempted to read earlier and later books in this series because I enjoyed the characters and the writing. 

Favorite Quote:

"That's great! Brilliant!" Crichton rose to his feet. "My God, you're winning cases for us already. I knew you were a champ."

Ben felt his face flushing bright red. He hadn't heard such effusive praise since he memorized "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in second grade. 

I received this one as a Christmas Gift. You can buy your copy here.