CAPITOL OFFENSE by William Bernhardt
Former Trial Attorney William Bernhardt now makes his living writing crime thrillers, and he has been very successful at it. Most of his books concern a set cast of characters who get involved in, or learn about a situation, that ends up in a crime that eventually comes to trial. The criminal cases are always interesting, as is the one in Bernhardt’s newest novel CAPITOL OFFENSE, but it is the characters that keep his readers coming back for more.
In CAPITOL OFFENSE Attorney Ben Kincaid is home for a while in Tulsa. He has been serving in the Senate in a seat to which he was appointed. Now it is time to replenish the coffers with his private firm, at which his wife Christina is a partner. They also employ an office manager and a private investigator.
One day a man comes to see Ben asking about possible representation – in the future. He says if a hypothetical man commits a crime, possibly murder, could he then claim temporary insanity. When Ben is astonished by his request and then angry at the implications, the man backs up and says he was only testing the idea for a book he is writing.
Later this same man is arrested for murder and asks Bent to represent him, and he does. Despite everything that went before, Ben accepts the man’s story of what happened and is ready to go into court to fight for his freedom, or at least to save his life. He knows he has an uphill battle but he is willing to give his all. Christina initially is angry at Ben for taking the case, but she soon comes on board as second chair.
The courtroom scenes in Bernhardt’s books are always riveting and the ones included here are no exception. Ben has a lethal opponent in District Attorney David Guillerman and he has to be at the top of his game. Guillerman is not only in the case for the power, but also because of the exposure. He is running for re-election and knows a win in this case could boost him in the polls.
Politics and power are two of the major forces influencing the characters in this story. And while the parties do battle in court one man’s life hangs in the balance. Will justice prevail, and better yet what is justice in this story? Who is guilty and who is not? The answers is not always clear.
There are some holes in the plot, at least for this reader, but overall the story is complete. Plus Bernhardt’s way with words in creating his characters and giving them identifiable traits is always the draw. As you read the book you feel you are becoming better and better acquainted with people who live fascinating lives.
If you like mysteries, courtroom battles, and twisting and turning plots then you will like CAPITOL OFFENSE. Bernhardt has once again assembled his cast of characters and placed them in an intriguing situation. They get better with each story and so does he.
CAPITOL OFFENSE is published by Ballantine Books. It contains 336 pages and sells for $26.00.