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Ben Kincaid #5
Cruel Justice
A ten-year-old case puts Ben Kincaid on a collision course with a serial murderer
Ben Kincaid’s air-conditioner is on the fritz, his staff is on half-pay, and his sister has just disappeared, leaving him holding her baby. He needs fast money, and a quick-and-dirty personal injury suit could do the job. But what looks like a sure-fire case turns out to be something far more complicated. His prospective client hopes to rescue his son—a twenty-eight-year-old with the mind of a child. Ten years earlier, Leeman was accused of murdering a woman with a golf club, and he has been locked in a mental institution ever since. Now he is finally about to come to trial, and Kincaid sees no way to save him.
Ben Kincaid’s air-conditioner is on the fritz, his staff is on half-pay, and his sister has just disappeared, leaving him holding her baby. He needs fast money, and a quick-and-dirty personal injury suit could do the job. But what looks like a sure-fire case turns out to be something far more complicated. His prospective client hopes to rescue his son—a twenty-eight-year-old with the mind of a child. Ten years earlier, Leeman was accused of murdering a woman with a golf club, and he has been locked in a mental institution ever since. Now he is finally about to come to trial, and Kincaid sees no way to save him.
But when a young Tulsa boy goes missing, Kincaid senses a connection between the two cases. Finding the abductor and could mean saving lives—Leeman’s, the kidnapped child’s, and those of the countless victims to come.
481 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 23, 1996
393 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
William Bernhardt
97 books514 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 - 30 of 43 reviews
September 14, 2020
I’m consistently surprised at how much I love this series. I probably shouldn’t be surprised about it at all or anything but it’s just so well written and I get drawn into each new book in a different way. I’m so happy that there are so many books left in the series so that I can read many more to come. So many mysteries get to be unraveled… Totally worth it
March 31, 2023
If you love courtroom drama, if you love manipulation by an author into a state of temporary hopelessness from which you immerge glorious, if you enjoy good writing that propels you to the back page in grand style, this ought to be your kind of series. And book five is the best in the series so far.
Ten years before the book begins, law-enforcement officials in Tulsa accuse a severely developmentally disabled black man of murdering a Peruvian woman at a golf club. The judicial system locked him away in an institution for 10 years, and it’s finally time for his trial. A state-paid psychiatrist pronounced the young man fit for trial. Ben Kincaid, an attorney in private practice who can barely pay his bills, takes the young man’s case because, after all, someone must defend the poor guy.
There are wonderful subplots in this book that interweave beautifully. Ben’s sister, Julia, is the ex-wife of Ben’s friend on the police force. She shows up at Ben’s office and unceremoniously dumps her baby in Ben’s lap, announcing that she’s off to a graduate program and can’t keep the child. That means Ben’s mother gets involved, and suddenly you can see this series going in a host of directions. I’m thrilled there are more books I’ve not read in it.
If these books have a downside, it may be that they’re a bit alike. Ben gets a hard case, he can’t defend it, then suddenly he figures out how to bring everything together.
Incidentally, one of the subplots involves a pedophile and a 10-year-old boy who is a crucial part of Kincaid’s case. The scenes of pedophilia gave me the weak-stomach collywobbles. They seem all too thoroughly researched to me, and while they creeped me out, I kept reading as if my life were in play.
Ten years before the book begins, law-enforcement officials in Tulsa accuse a severely developmentally disabled black man of murdering a Peruvian woman at a golf club. The judicial system locked him away in an institution for 10 years, and it’s finally time for his trial. A state-paid psychiatrist pronounced the young man fit for trial. Ben Kincaid, an attorney in private practice who can barely pay his bills, takes the young man’s case because, after all, someone must defend the poor guy.
There are wonderful subplots in this book that interweave beautifully. Ben’s sister, Julia, is the ex-wife of Ben’s friend on the police force. She shows up at Ben’s office and unceremoniously dumps her baby in Ben’s lap, announcing that she’s off to a graduate program and can’t keep the child. That means Ben’s mother gets involved, and suddenly you can see this series going in a host of directions. I’m thrilled there are more books I’ve not read in it.
If these books have a downside, it may be that they’re a bit alike. Ben gets a hard case, he can’t defend it, then suddenly he figures out how to bring everything together.
Incidentally, one of the subplots involves a pedophile and a 10-year-old boy who is a crucial part of Kincaid’s case. The scenes of pedophilia gave me the weak-stomach collywobbles. They seem all too thoroughly researched to me, and while they creeped me out, I kept reading as if my life were in play.
January 16, 2024
Ten years before our story begins, Oklahoma law officials accuse a young, developmentally disabled man of murder and institutionalize him. Doctors have now determined that he is competent to stand trial and lawyer Ben Kincaid agrees to represent him.
I have such mixed feelings about this series. I originally gave this book four stars simply because there were many times when I simply could not put it down. There is a subplot here that deals with a pedophile and a young boy that is so well written that it both sickened and captivated me. The main plot, however, seems quite weak. The portrayal of the developmentally disabled man didn't ring true for me; he is almost totally unresponsive and the way in which he does respond felt manipulated and forced, especially during the final scenes. I enjoy quirky characters, but Kincaid's courtroom antics, while funny, just didn't ring true. I did a lot of thinking about why that bothered me since I'm perfectly okay with it in some other series, such as David Rosenfelt's books featuring Andy Carpenter. The problem here is that Kincaid's silliness doesn't feel right given the intensity with which the crimes, especially the child molestation, are portrayed.
Kincaid is also experiencing a challenge in his personal life: his sister suddenly decides to pursue a master's degree and, since she can't afford daycare, she comes to Kincaid's office and leaves her child there with a note telling Ben that she expects him to care for the baby until she is able to do so. I admit that I laughed long and loud at Kincaid's efforts to deal with this challenge, but, even for a light mystery, the way this came about was simply ridiculous.
I find it interesting that the author was a practicing attorney before turning to writing; I wish that background was more evident in his plot. Still, this is an entertaning series; so I'm not ready to give up on it just yet.
I have such mixed feelings about this series. I originally gave this book four stars simply because there were many times when I simply could not put it down. There is a subplot here that deals with a pedophile and a young boy that is so well written that it both sickened and captivated me. The main plot, however, seems quite weak. The portrayal of the developmentally disabled man didn't ring true for me; he is almost totally unresponsive and the way in which he does respond felt manipulated and forced, especially during the final scenes. I enjoy quirky characters, but Kincaid's courtroom antics, while funny, just didn't ring true. I did a lot of thinking about why that bothered me since I'm perfectly okay with it in some other series, such as David Rosenfelt's books featuring Andy Carpenter. The problem here is that Kincaid's silliness doesn't feel right given the intensity with which the crimes, especially the child molestation, are portrayed.
Kincaid is also experiencing a challenge in his personal life: his sister suddenly decides to pursue a master's degree and, since she can't afford daycare, she comes to Kincaid's office and leaves her child there with a note telling Ben that she expects him to care for the baby until she is able to do so. I admit that I laughed long and loud at Kincaid's efforts to deal with this challenge, but, even for a light mystery, the way this came about was simply ridiculous.
I find it interesting that the author was a practicing attorney before turning to writing; I wish that background was more evident in his plot. Still, this is an entertaning series; so I'm not ready to give up on it just yet.
November 2, 2023
Ben Kincaid could have it all if he wanted.. His family was wealthy. His father, a physician, cut him off when Ben decided to go into law instead of medicine.
He had worked for large firms and found that it did not work out for him. He decided to do criminal defense work and it has been touch..no money, behind on bills and dealing with people who cannot pay..
Leeman Hayes, a black teenager in Tulsa, is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. As attorney Ben Kincaid struggles to pull together a defense, a young boy is falling into the clutches of a child molester. Ten-year-old Abie Rutherford, lonely and desperate for approval, thinks the handsome, smiling stranger in the baseball cap might be that friend he has longed for.
When Abie Rutherford vanishes without a trace one hot summer day, Ben Kincaid, like everyone else in Tulsa, fears the worst. Then a bone-chilling discovery compels Ben to forge a link between the missing boy and the seemingly hopeless case of Leeman Hayes--thereby igniting the fuse for the most explosive courtroom case of Ben's career.
this is a wonderful series..
He had worked for large firms and found that it did not work out for him. He decided to do criminal defense work and it has been touch..no money, behind on bills and dealing with people who cannot pay..
Leeman Hayes, a black teenager in Tulsa, is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. As attorney Ben Kincaid struggles to pull together a defense, a young boy is falling into the clutches of a child molester. Ten-year-old Abie Rutherford, lonely and desperate for approval, thinks the handsome, smiling stranger in the baseball cap might be that friend he has longed for.
When Abie Rutherford vanishes without a trace one hot summer day, Ben Kincaid, like everyone else in Tulsa, fears the worst. Then a bone-chilling discovery compels Ben to forge a link between the missing boy and the seemingly hopeless case of Leeman Hayes--thereby igniting the fuse for the most explosive courtroom case of Ben's career.
this is a wonderful series..
February 4, 2020
As much as I like the Kincaid series, with this being the fifth in the series, I’m sorry to say I’m getting a little bored.
It’s always the same thing, horrible judge, horrible prosecutor, same court room mistakes and banter. He never has a defense, always last minute, makes him appear to be incompetent then pulls out at the last minute. With all the cases he’s had so far you’d think he’d have a better reputation and better clients and get paid.
Granted we see him get better as an attorney but still, always the same. It’s like the map of his books, just change the people and the storyline.
I still enjoyed it but instead of a five star I have to go down to four because of what I’ve said. It would help if his story changed a bit.
It’s always the same thing, horrible judge, horrible prosecutor, same court room mistakes and banter. He never has a defense, always last minute, makes him appear to be incompetent then pulls out at the last minute. With all the cases he’s had so far you’d think he’d have a better reputation and better clients and get paid.
Granted we see him get better as an attorney but still, always the same. It’s like the map of his books, just change the people and the storyline.
I still enjoyed it but instead of a five star I have to go down to four because of what I’ve said. It would help if his story changed a bit.
August 7, 2019
Ben Kincaid must defend a black mentally challenged man for a murder that was committed at a posh golf country club ten years prior. Intertwined in the book is a story about a pedophile that Ben's former brother-in-law (who is a cop) is trying to capture. Also, Ben's relationship with his wealthy mother is veined throughout the book. This was a very good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2023
Ben is defending a developmentally disabled mute accused of murder. As usual, Ben is winging it when it comes to defend his client which is half the fun. To add to the mix, Mike is chasing down a pedophile and Ben's sister, Julia, drops off her 10-month-old baby for Ben to take care of. Although both subject matters are hard to read about, Bernhardt handles it well.
January 7, 2022
Unfinished book
This book ties several stories together. They all have semi good endings but none tie up a final ending which could easily. Had I known this, I probably would not have read the book.
This book ties several stories together. They all have semi good endings but none tie up a final ending which could easily. Had I known this, I probably would not have read the book.
October 24, 2017
These books are a great combination of trying to solve a case while it is being tried in court.
January 28, 2018
While I've liked all the other Kincaid books, this definitely is my favorite. It was the first one that I "couldn't put down."
Read
June 5, 2021excellent
December 21, 2021
Another MARVELOUS Ben Kincaid legal twister. Love this series.
June 8, 2022
Not very believeable but a decent book. The courtroom scenes were horrible.
July 14, 2022
I’ve found a new favorite. Always looking for a good legal thriller and this one didn’t disappoint. What’s better is there are 19 of them so lots of good reading still to come.
January 3, 2023
Another great courtroom drama plus a hunt for a killer.
Read
April 13, 2025Nice read with a few surprises...
July 25, 2022
Entertaining courtroom story.
September 14, 2016
Great book best in the series thus far
I was very excited when I first got this book from my digital library . . . simply because this book was significantly longer than the previous books. One of my only complaints about the previous books was that they were just a little too short. That was not the case with this one. This one was plenty long but it was still very fast paced. I still managed to read this in just four sittings (the first sitting was only about 30 minutes) and if I could have stayed awake past roughly 4:00 AM I probably would have finished this in just three sittings.
I read a lot of books and it is pretty rare that I spend close to 5 hours reading. This book was that intriguing and that hard to put down.
If you have read the previous installments in this series grab this one and start reading as soon as possible. If you are seeing this review before reading the others in this series by all means read those books first but get to this one as soon as possible! If you like a good fast paced detective/legal thriller this is the series for you!
I was very excited when I first got this book from my digital library . . . simply because this book was significantly longer than the previous books. One of my only complaints about the previous books was that they were just a little too short. That was not the case with this one. This one was plenty long but it was still very fast paced. I still managed to read this in just four sittings (the first sitting was only about 30 minutes) and if I could have stayed awake past roughly 4:00 AM I probably would have finished this in just three sittings.
I read a lot of books and it is pretty rare that I spend close to 5 hours reading. This book was that intriguing and that hard to put down.
If you have read the previous installments in this series grab this one and start reading as soon as possible. If you are seeing this review before reading the others in this series by all means read those books first but get to this one as soon as possible! If you like a good fast paced detective/legal thriller this is the series for you!
February 12, 2017
I really like this authour and reall like the character of Ben Kincaid.
Synopis: Leeman Hayes, a black teenager in Tulsa, is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. As attorney Ben Kincaid struggles to pull together a defense, a young boy is falling into the clutches of a child molester. Ten-year-old Abie Rutherford, lonely and desperate for approval, thinks the handsome, smiling stranger in the baseball cap might be that friend he has longed for.
When Abie Rutherford vanishes without a trace one hot summer day, Ben Kincaid, like everyone else in Tulsa, fears the worst. Then a bone-chilling discovery compels Ben to forge a link between the missing boy and the seemingly hopeless case of Leeman Hayes--thereby igniting the fuse for the most explosive courtroom case of Ben's career.
My Review:
Another great book by Mr Bernhardt. I am really enjoying these series and like the fact there is actually lots of courtroom scenes in it (One of my favourite genres). Was a bit curious to know what Abi's chacater had to do with Leeman but it tied in at the end.
Synopis: Leeman Hayes, a black teenager in Tulsa, is accused of brutally murdering a young woman. As attorney Ben Kincaid struggles to pull together a defense, a young boy is falling into the clutches of a child molester. Ten-year-old Abie Rutherford, lonely and desperate for approval, thinks the handsome, smiling stranger in the baseball cap might be that friend he has longed for.
When Abie Rutherford vanishes without a trace one hot summer day, Ben Kincaid, like everyone else in Tulsa, fears the worst. Then a bone-chilling discovery compels Ben to forge a link between the missing boy and the seemingly hopeless case of Leeman Hayes--thereby igniting the fuse for the most explosive courtroom case of Ben's career.
My Review:
Another great book by Mr Bernhardt. I am really enjoying these series and like the fact there is actually lots of courtroom scenes in it (One of my favourite genres). Was a bit curious to know what Abi's chacater had to do with Leeman but it tied in at the end.
October 14, 2013
This my favorite Ben Kincaid novel so far. The fact that William Bernhardt had already hit his stride this early in the series makes me very anxious to continue my sequential reading of these books. There is such a strong weave of parent/child dynamic throughout the story that there is great satisfaction in reaching the resolution of the tale. Ben's character takes on added depth with the introduction of his mother in a major role. The delectable episodes involving Ben's mother, the ever intriguing Christina, Ben and Ben's sister's infant son are worth the price of admission. Watching Ben deal with the loss of respect of his long time mentor adds a dimension to this book that I haven't encountered in his earlier works. Ben grows a lot in this one. Having said all of this, the story itself touches the reader on so many levels with the two main plot components involving the challenge of defending a learning disabled man and the too often hidden tragedy of child molestation. There is so much in this story that there is a danger of too much, but Bernhardt walks this line adeptly, never throwing more at the reader than they can handle. The characters are rich and the locations are well crafted to enhance the suspense and complete the mystery. Great job!
May 8, 2015
I LOVE this author!!
William Bernhardt is now one of my favorite authors! I just read the first book in the Ben Kincaid series a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it. I couldn't wait to read the second book in the series. Now, I've read the first FIVE books in the series! And I can't wait to read the sixth! I have really enjoyed them all. I have had a hard time getting any work done the last two weeks! The characters are so likeable and eccentric. The stories take so many twists and turns that you never know what is going to happen next. AND there is a LOT of humor interspersed throughout while you are learning about the legal profession. If you enjoy legal thrillers, you'll love this series as much as I do!
William Bernhardt is now one of my favorite authors! I just read the first book in the Ben Kincaid series a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it. I couldn't wait to read the second book in the series. Now, I've read the first FIVE books in the series! And I can't wait to read the sixth! I have really enjoyed them all. I have had a hard time getting any work done the last two weeks! The characters are so likeable and eccentric. The stories take so many twists and turns that you never know what is going to happen next. AND there is a LOT of humor interspersed throughout while you are learning about the legal profession. If you enjoy legal thrillers, you'll love this series as much as I do!
April 6, 2011
This book is filled less with characters as with caricatures. The poor black people talk like poor black people, and even the black doctor speaks a bit in this manner, less we forget that she's black. The rich white people talk as spoiled, rich white people should. The rival lawyer is less deliciously evil as ridiculously portrayed. The main character isn't smart so much as lucky. I wouldn't trust him with any case that I had - it's all down to fate with the conclusion. I can't recommend this book at all.
June 23, 2012
This book scared the hell out of me! Shortly after reading it I was in a very long line at an amusement park and observed two grown men bantering with twin prepubescent boys just like the sleaze bag in this novel. It was somewhat subtle and don't know that I would have recognized it if I hadn't read this book. In case you're wondering, I told the boys' mother, the staff, and the Mecklenburg police department.
May 28, 2015
This is a wonderful court-room drama with an investigating attorney pulling a rabbit out of the hat in court. The story easily hooked me. I love the way the author gave me hints all along, without being obvious. I like looking back over the story and seeing where he planted the information I would need to put 2 and 2 together.
January 4, 2013
this book threw me for a loop during the first 20 pages or so.It was pretty graphic. Liked this book a lot.Ben Kincaid books are a great read. The other characters in the book were also enjoyable. The villian was well written and was quite scary.
February 12, 2015
Gripping, page turning story. Defense attorney, Ben Kencaid (whom I really loved), has a helluva case to solve. His client: a mentally challenged young man, accused of murder that happened 10 years before. Twisted story with a thrilling ending.
September 5, 2016
5th in a series involving a young sole practitioner lawyer defends a slightly retarded man accused of 10 year old murder. Peripheral plot involving pedephiles. The subject was grim, but author handled the story well as in the prior, this was a good read.
December 30, 2007
William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid series is similar in tone to Grisham novels. I have been working my way through them, and have enjoyed them all.
November 15, 2008
Great twist in this story. As always, Bernhardt's plots are well laid out, making it hard to book this book down! One of many great novels I've enjoyed by him so far...
January 29, 2009
Fantastic book by William Bernhardt. Thrilling court scenes and an ending that wasn't quite expected.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews