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Overview
"A thoroughly entertaining page-turner."
—Phillip Margolin
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.
"An enthralling murder mystery . . . The ending is both surprising and explosive."
—The Sunday Oklahoman
The fifth novel in the legal thriller series starring attorney Ben Kincaid--by the author of this month's new hardcover, Naked Justice. A 10-year-old case of brutal murder at a posh country club. A 10-year-old boy who has vanished and is feared to be the victim of a child molester. When Ben Kincaid discovers the shocking link between these cases, it ignites his most explosive courtroom confrontation. HC: Ballantine. (Fiction--Mystery)
Synopsis
"A thoroughly entertaining page-turner."
—Phillip Margolin
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.
"An enthralling murder mystery . . . The ending is both surprising and explosive."
—The Sunday Oklahoman
Library Journal
The loyalty of suspense and mystery fans is not fickle, so long as the author produces credible characters and allows them to develop; humor and a certain feckless quality in a major character are lagniappe and much appreciated. Cruel Justice is just such a treat. Tulsa defense lawyer Ben Kincaid finds himself with a hopeless case. His client is a mentally challenged, confessed killer. Moreover, there's a serial killer on the loose in the city, Ben's sister hands him a baby and disappears, and his mother comes to town. Ben and his helpers scramble against the clock to develop a defense for his client. The author plays fair, dropping clues in all the right places and building the scaffolding for the sequel. If the humor is occasionally a bit broad and the minor characters a bit one-dimensional, true genre fans won't care; they will be too busy hunting for Bernhardt's previous books (e.g., Double Jeopardy, Ballantine, 1995) and waiting for the next. For all popular collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/95.]-Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.