Murder One
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- € 9,99
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- € 9,99
Beschrijving uitgever
A cop killing pits defense attorney Ben Kincaid against the boys in blue in this national bestseller. "Outstanding . . . amazing . . . You never see the ending coming" (Tulsa World).
It is one of the most gruesome murders Oklahoma has ever seen. A horribly mutilated man is found chained to a statue in the middle of downtown Tulsa, secured so tightly that it takes the police hours to get him down. As the city's workforce stares, the police realize something terrible: The victim is one of their own.
They arrest the dead cop's girlfriend, a nineteen-year-old stripper whose camera-ready appearance quickly turns the trial into a media circus. And when idealistic young defense attorney Ben Kincaid gets the dancer off on a technicality, the city erupts. Unable to try their suspect a second time, the Tulsa police build a case against Kincaid, arresting him after they stumble across the murder weapon in his office. Every instrument in the state's justice system is turned against him, but Kincaid isn't worried. He's faced worse odds before.
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Perhaps fans of Bernhardt's Silent Justice will welcome the return of Tulsa defense attorney Ben Kincaid in a twist-filled sequel, but others will find little to cheer for in this clumsy, implausible courtroom thriller. After the gory, ritualistic murder of police sergeant Joe McNaughton, Kincaid finds himself unpopular with the public and police for his vigorous defense of McNaughton's sexy 19-year-old mistress, Keri Dalcanton, who has all but been convicted of the murder. Despite damning evidence, Ben gets her off on a technicality; both attorney and client subsequently feel the "blue squeeze" as angry cops conspire to attain justice by any means possible including raiding Ben's office, physically abusing him, planting evidence and cooking up charges of homicide and conspiracy against him. McNaughton's angry widow is equally eager to get Keri, and soon even Ben's staff may be in danger. Ben, meanwhile, is fighting to contain amorous feelings for Keri that may be clouding his judgment, and he's breaking in a new partner, his former legal assistant, Christina McCall, who may have similar feelings for him. Although Ben and especially Christina who's intelligent, crafty and engaging are easy characters to root for, little sounds natural here: secondary characters, plotting, dialogue ("Please hold me") and even courtroom arguments disappoint. And while readers may not guess all the twists in the plot, neither are they likely to believe them. Abundant clich s and crude contrivances give a surprisingly amateurish feel to this disappointing effort from veteran Bernhardt.
