Silent Justice

By WILLIAM BERNHARDT

Leukemia is a terrible disease but also, thankfully, a rare one. So why have eleven children from a suburb outside of Tulsa have perished from this horrible illness in the last few years? The children’s parents blame Blaylock Industrial, a massive corporation whose factory lies just outside of their bucolic small town, but they have no proof beyond gut instinct-and the terrible certainty that comes with the grief of losing a child. To prove such a spectacular claim could cost millions, and no law firm is willing to take on such an expense. That is, until the parents meet Ben Kincaid. An idealistic young attorney with a shoestring practice on the rough side of Tulsa, Kincaid is nearly broke when he brings the case against Blaylock and its army of lawyers. But though the odds are stacked against him, Kincaid will risk everything to win a settlement and make sure that no more children die.

• Language: English
• Publisher: mysteriouspress.com
• Release date: Jul 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781786698483

WILLIAM BERNHARDT

William Bernhardt (b. 1960), a former attorney, is a bestselling thriller author. Born in Oklahoma, he began writing as a child, submitting a poem about the Oklahoma Land Run to Highlights—and receiving his first rejection letter—when he was eleven years old. Twenty years later, he had his first success, with the publication of Primary Justice (1991), the first novel in the long-running Ben Kincaid series. The success of Primary Justice marked Bernhardt as a promising young talent, and he followed the book with seventeen more mysteries starring the idealistic defense attorney, including Murder One (2001) and Hate Crime (2004). Bernhardt’s other novels include Double Jeopardy (1995) and The Midnight Before Christmas (1998), a holiday-themed thriller. In 1999, Bernhardt founded Bernhardt Books (formerly HAWK Publishing Group) as a way to help boost the careers of struggling young writers. In addition to writing and publishing, Bernhardt teaches writing workshops around the country. He currently lives with his family in Oklahoma. 

Reviews for Silent Justice

[dysmonia · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm not quite sure how I ended up with this book in my stack from the library. It's ninth in a series I have never read before, and according to what I've recorded, I've never even read the author before. The description on the inside cover doesn't reference the fact it's part of a series, so my best guess is I picked it up randomly and thought it looked like a decent, escapist legal thriller.

I don't have anything against series writing per se. It's just different than what I usually read these days. And anyone that cranks out that many books that quickly needs a good editor. Bernhardt seems to have one, but the mistakes that are missed are kind of big ones. Like a character's wife changing names, from Carrie Sue to Gloria (Archie Turnbull, pages 146 and 176). Or the terms "defense" and "plaintiff" being mixed up (I don't have a citation for this one, because one of my friends picked up my copy of the novel and the bookmark noting the mistake fell out).

As for the actual story -- what anyone reading this review actually cares about -- it was okay. Small-time lawyer with a big heart and loyal staff goes up against evil corporate America.

I don't think I'll be reading books one through eight, though. (Or ten through infinity.)