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Daniel Pike #8
Justice For All
Daniel Pike faces his ultimate courtroom showdown—and death may be the final verdict.
Florida defense attorney Daniel Pike is dragged into his first civil case to represent a comic-book writer suing to recover the rights to a character that makes billions—while he lives in poverty. Pike’s opposing lawyer is Kenzi Rivera, lead attorney from the Seattle “Splitsville” firm, representing a woman who believes those rights should go to her. Everyone wants control, but powerful secret forces are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to get it. The first indication? A decapitated head found at an airport baggage drop, a horrifying murder pointing directly to this case.
The more Pike learns, the more he realizes that nothing is what it appears to be. Despite his efforts to reach a mutually acceptable compromise, Rivera informs him that this case is “all-out war.” Pike will need his dazzling courtroom abilities, every trick and tactic, to prevail. After a bloody confrontation on the courtroom steps proves just how dangerous this case is, Pike is drawn into a longstanding conspiracy surrounding this billion-dollar character. Dan soon realizes that civil cases aren’t that civil, and the thirst for profits makes this case more treacherous than all his criminal cases combined. Can Pike uncover the secrets before he becomes the next victim?
Gripping for newcomers and fans, Justice For All pits Daniel Pike against Kenzi Rivera, the protagonist from the author’s Splitsville series. If you like spellbinding courtroom drama, unexpected revelations, and fast-paced action, you’ll love William Bernhardt’s thrill-packed courtroom cage match.
Take a stand! Read Justice For All today!
Florida defense attorney Daniel Pike is dragged into his first civil case to represent a comic-book writer suing to recover the rights to a character that makes billions—while he lives in poverty. Pike’s opposing lawyer is Kenzi Rivera, lead attorney from the Seattle “Splitsville” firm, representing a woman who believes those rights should go to her. Everyone wants control, but powerful secret forces are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to get it. The first indication? A decapitated head found at an airport baggage drop, a horrifying murder pointing directly to this case.
The more Pike learns, the more he realizes that nothing is what it appears to be. Despite his efforts to reach a mutually acceptable compromise, Rivera informs him that this case is “all-out war.” Pike will need his dazzling courtroom abilities, every trick and tactic, to prevail. After a bloody confrontation on the courtroom steps proves just how dangerous this case is, Pike is drawn into a longstanding conspiracy surrounding this billion-dollar character. Dan soon realizes that civil cases aren’t that civil, and the thirst for profits makes this case more treacherous than all his criminal cases combined. Can Pike uncover the secrets before he becomes the next victim?
Gripping for newcomers and fans, Justice For All pits Daniel Pike against Kenzi Rivera, the protagonist from the author’s Splitsville series. If you like spellbinding courtroom drama, unexpected revelations, and fast-paced action, you’ll love William Bernhardt’s thrill-packed courtroom cage match.
Take a stand! Read Justice For All today!
- GenresLegal ThrillerLegal
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2024
119 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
William Bernhardt
99 books518 followersWilliam Bernhardt is the author of over sixty books, including the bestselling Daniel Pike and Ben Kincaid legal thrillers, the historical novels Challengers of the Dust and Nemesis, three books of poetry, and the ten Red Sneaker books on fiction writing.
In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writers Center to mentor aspiring writers. The Center hosts an annual writers conference (WriterCon), small-group seminars, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-weekly podcast. More than three dozen of Bernhardt’s students have subsequently published with major houses. He is also the owner of Balkan Press, which publishes poetry and fiction as well as the literary journal Conclave.
Bernhardt has received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award eighteen times in three different categories, and has won the award twice. Library Journal called him “the master of the courtroom drama.” The Vancouver Sun called him “the American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse and John Mortimer.”
In addition to his novels and poetry, he has written plays, a musical (book and score), humor, children stories, biography, and puzzles. He has edited two anthologies (Legal Briefs and Natural Suspect) as fundraisers for The Nature Conservancy and the Children’s Legal Defense Fund. OSU named him “Oklahoma’s Renaissance Man.”
In his spare time, he has enjoyed surfing, digging for dinosaurs, trekking through the Himalayas, paragliding, scuba diving, caving, zip-lining over the canopy of the Costa Rican rain forest, and jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet. In 2013, he became a Jeopardy! champion winning over $20,000.
When Bernhardt delivered the keynote address at the San Francisco Writers Conference, chairman Michael Larsen noted that in addition to penning novels, Bernhardt can “write a sonnet, play a sonata, plant a garden, try a lawsuit, teach a class, cook a gourmet meal, beat you at Scrabble, and work the New York Times crossword in under five minutes.”
In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writers Center to mentor aspiring writers. The Center hosts an annual writers conference (WriterCon), small-group seminars, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-weekly podcast. More than three dozen of Bernhardt’s students have subsequently published with major houses. He is also the owner of Balkan Press, which publishes poetry and fiction as well as the literary journal Conclave.
Bernhardt has received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award eighteen times in three different categories, and has won the award twice. Library Journal called him “the master of the courtroom drama.” The Vancouver Sun called him “the American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse and John Mortimer.”
In addition to his novels and poetry, he has written plays, a musical (book and score), humor, children stories, biography, and puzzles. He has edited two anthologies (Legal Briefs and Natural Suspect) as fundraisers for The Nature Conservancy and the Children’s Legal Defense Fund. OSU named him “Oklahoma’s Renaissance Man.”
In his spare time, he has enjoyed surfing, digging for dinosaurs, trekking through the Himalayas, paragliding, scuba diving, caving, zip-lining over the canopy of the Costa Rican rain forest, and jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet. In 2013, he became a Jeopardy! champion winning over $20,000.
When Bernhardt delivered the keynote address at the San Francisco Writers Conference, chairman Michael Larsen noted that in addition to penning novels, Bernhardt can “write a sonnet, play a sonata, plant a garden, try a lawsuit, teach a class, cook a gourmet meal, beat you at Scrabble, and work the New York Times crossword in under five minutes.”
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 14, 2024
William Bernhardt is back with another great legal thriller starring gritty defence attorney, Daniel Pike. In a unique case, Pike is working in civil court to help a man wrest control of a comic book character he helped create away from a multi-billion dollar corporation. All the while, severed heads have shown up across St. Petersburg, turning the quiet Florida city into a place of panic. Bernhardt does well to tap into legal matters in which the reader can revel.
Daniel Pike has made a name for himself in St. Petersburg legal circles, mostly as one of the strongest defence attorneys in Florida. Working with a rag-tag group, they take key cases that are sure to make a difference. However, their latest may be a stretch, as Pike heads to civil court to help a comic-book writer sue to recover the rights he has to a character whose explosive notoriety had begun earning billions while he wallows in poverty. Not Pike’s chosen field, but a challenge is always welcome.
When Pike comes up against a gritty Seattle attorney, Kenzi Rivera, he may have met his match. Rivera represents the wife of the other character creator, who feels she is due the riches. It is sure to be a stunning clash, though there is little evidence and Pike’s client is showing signs of mental dullness as age and time have whittled away at his acuity.
Seeking control is widespread, with this much power and money at hand. Severed heads appear, the first at an airport baggage drop, show that someone is trying to flex their muscle, with a solid connection to the case at hand. The war-like nature is heightened as Pike is unable to get his opponent to work towards a reasonable settlement. Civil court is tough, more so than anything Pike has seen while working on the other side.
Pike decides that he will have to find a way to impress the judge and jury to put this case to bed. However, the power grab turns violent on the courthouse steps and tensions run high over ownership of this lucrative comic book character. Worried that he has entered a realm with no clear way out, Pike will have to resolve things before he loses his head—literally—and becomes a victim. Bernhardt dazzles throughout with this great legal thriller
Not only has William Bernhardt done well for himself as a great thriller writer, he has passed along his skills through a number of high-profile symposiums, thereby extending the stellar writing for scores of others. Bernhardt prepares a solid foundation for the reader to enjoy and where the story can expand. The narrative flows with ease, mixing detail and depth peppered with needed humour to keep the reader enthralled. Developing many characters, none of whom are stagnant from one book to another, Bernhardt is able to connect with the reader in other ways and touching upon key issues of the day. The plot is both unique and binding, keeping the story exciting and free from overt predictability. This helps serve as a great launching point for a series that keeps impressing.
Kudos, Mr. Bernhardt, for a strong addition to the series.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Daniel Pike has made a name for himself in St. Petersburg legal circles, mostly as one of the strongest defence attorneys in Florida. Working with a rag-tag group, they take key cases that are sure to make a difference. However, their latest may be a stretch, as Pike heads to civil court to help a comic-book writer sue to recover the rights he has to a character whose explosive notoriety had begun earning billions while he wallows in poverty. Not Pike’s chosen field, but a challenge is always welcome.
When Pike comes up against a gritty Seattle attorney, Kenzi Rivera, he may have met his match. Rivera represents the wife of the other character creator, who feels she is due the riches. It is sure to be a stunning clash, though there is little evidence and Pike’s client is showing signs of mental dullness as age and time have whittled away at his acuity.
Seeking control is widespread, with this much power and money at hand. Severed heads appear, the first at an airport baggage drop, show that someone is trying to flex their muscle, with a solid connection to the case at hand. The war-like nature is heightened as Pike is unable to get his opponent to work towards a reasonable settlement. Civil court is tough, more so than anything Pike has seen while working on the other side.
Pike decides that he will have to find a way to impress the judge and jury to put this case to bed. However, the power grab turns violent on the courthouse steps and tensions run high over ownership of this lucrative comic book character. Worried that he has entered a realm with no clear way out, Pike will have to resolve things before he loses his head—literally—and becomes a victim. Bernhardt dazzles throughout with this great legal thriller
Not only has William Bernhardt done well for himself as a great thriller writer, he has passed along his skills through a number of high-profile symposiums, thereby extending the stellar writing for scores of others. Bernhardt prepares a solid foundation for the reader to enjoy and where the story can expand. The narrative flows with ease, mixing detail and depth peppered with needed humour to keep the reader enthralled. Developing many characters, none of whom are stagnant from one book to another, Bernhardt is able to connect with the reader in other ways and touching upon key issues of the day. The plot is both unique and binding, keeping the story exciting and free from overt predictability. This helps serve as a great launching point for a series that keeps impressing.
Kudos, Mr. Bernhardt, for a strong addition to the series.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
September 29, 2024
Another one bites the dust!
All right! I thought I had this one figured out only to get blown away! William Bernhardt does it again. Now on to the next book
All right! I thought I had this one figured out only to get blown away! William Bernhardt does it again. Now on to the next book
December 31, 2024
A Daniel Pike tale about intellectual property, beheaded bodies, and getting justice for the creators. Writing this WAY too long after I read, when I try to get my 2024 books listed before year's end. Hence super short.
July 8, 2025
Not much
It was ok but a civil trial is not as good as a murder. And why in the world did you make that guy trans. Just to be cool. It didn't add anything to the story. It didn't do anything for character development. Your editor should have slapped you
It was ok but a civil trial is not as good as a murder. And why in the world did you make that guy trans. Just to be cool. It didn't add anything to the story. It didn't do anything for character development. Your editor should have slapped you
December 16, 2025
More like 3.5⭐
January 16, 2026
Terrific!
What a beautiful novel. Fun and fear always arrives with Pike. Thank you for a wonderful book. Looking forward to next one.
What a beautiful novel. Fun and fear always arrives with Pike. Thank you for a wonderful book. Looking forward to next one.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews