Silent Justice

by William Bernhardt

Book Overview

When a powerful corporation is charged with dumping toxic chemicals into a community's drinking water and killing innocent children, Ben Kincaid knows the class action suit is a suicide mission.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345428137
• ISBN13: 9780345428134
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Toxic Dumping and a Serial Killer too

A twelve year old child dies from acute lymphocytic leukemia and he's not the first in the small town of Blackwood, Oklahoma. Eleven other children between the ages of eight and fifteen have recently died of the disease. Blaylock Industrial Machinery has been doing a little toxic dumpin and Attorney Ben Kincaid, champion of the underdog, is seeking justice for the victims. This is almost a suicide case for Ben as he's a sole practioner up against a well heeled, powerful law firm. Then there is the small matter of the serial killer who appears to be targeting Blaylock employees. So you can see there is room for plenty of suspense in this book and Mr. Bernhardt does not disappoint or shrirk his writer's duties. He delivers well rounded characters, a first-rate plot and plenty of action in this gem of a story that showcases Mr. Bernhardt's great trial writing.

BERNHARDT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

A practicing attorney in Tulsa, Bernhardt has added Silent Justice to his well received series beginning with Primary Justice. To date, this series has won him a legion of fans and garnered the Oklahoma Book Award. With Silent Justice Bernhardt continues the story of almost-too-honest-and-courageous-to-be-true lawyer Ben Kincaid. This time, although every nerve ending urges him to back off, Ben takes on a powerful manufacturing company that has contaminated the city's water supply by dumping toxic waste. Ben's stance puts him head to head with Tulsa's most powerful law firm and his former employer, Raven, Tucker & Tubb. A hater of civil defense "because there's nothing civil about it" Ben prepares to take on the city's legal and financial structures as well as a judge who leans toward big business. He has been moved by the plight of the middle class families whose children died dreadful deaths due to the contaminated water. "I think we're doing the right thing here. Not the smart thing," Ben declares. "Certainly not the safe thing. But the right thing." The riveting courtroom drama is set against a string of brutal murders perpetrated by a fiend gone amok. Bernhardt takes no chances here as he injects suspenseful subplots, which serve to propel the non-stop action. There are plenty of thrills in Silent Justice for those who like their reading spattered with blood and smattered with legalese. - Gail Cooke

Perhaps Bernhardt's Best Yet

Eleven children in a small town near Tulsa have died of leukemia, and the parents are convinced it is because a factory has been illegally dumping poisonous industrial waste where it seeps into the well that provides the water supply to the homes of the children who have died. Ben takes the case after nearly every other lawyer in town has refused to touch it. Ben is up against his former law firm, the biggest and richest in town, and they will stop at nothing to defeat him. They manage to keep Ben from finding out about the one piece of evidence that would really make his case. The judge is a great admirer of the leading attorney for the defense, and he blatantly favors them. Meanwhile, Ben's landlady is dying and knows it, and she begs to see her estranged son. Jones locates him in New York, but the son flatly refuses to have anything to do with his mother, even on her deathbed. There is also a series of grisly murders connected with the case, but the connection is not apparant. Also, Christina graduates from law school. Not only is the plot complex and full of action and surprises, but the main characters, Ben and Christina, are interesting and sympathetic characters, people you would like to have as neighbors and friends. Every book in the series leaves one eager for the next episode in their lives. watziznaym@gmail.com

Shades of A Civil Action

Ben Kincaid takes a break from his usual criminal law activity to take on a civil case. Aided by his trustworthy support staff, including his girl friend (if not girlfriend) Christina, Ben battles the evil forces of big business accused of polluting well water that causes an outbreak of leukemia in a small Tulsa suburban community. The pieces of the story take time to come together, including reasons for including apparently dissimilar incidents which took place months and years before the novel's main action. In addition to the civil action, there are several murders related to Ben's case, although he does not make the connection until late in the plot. Bernhardt keeps the action moving, interspersing the usual Ben Kinkaid humor. The courtroom scenes may not resemble real-life litigation, but the reader remains interested in the precedings, and nervously waits with Ben for the verdict. Silent Justice is the flipside of A Civil Action, and a far easier read.

This is one of his best books

In Blackwood, a small town near Tulsa, a stunned Cecily Elkins learns that her beloved little boy is dying from leukemia. Even more shocking, his doctor Harlan Freidrich gives her a list of other families with children who also suffered from the deadly disease. After her child dies, Cecily learns of the illegal dumping of toxins in the drinking water by the Blaylock Industrial Machinery Corporation.Cecily and the other parents turn to lawyer Ben Kincaid for help in filing a class action suit for wrongful death against the big corporation. Though civil law is not his strength and the odds against winning are astronomical, he accepts the case. However, his calculations fail to include the other side retaining a powerful attorney with questionable connections to the judge who is a friend to big business. Additionally, a serial killer surfaces whom murders Blaylock employees.SILENT JUSTICE is an exciting legal thriller from one of the sub-genre's best. However, the story line is very similar to A CIVIL ACTION though kept fresh by William Bernhardt's writing skills. The class action suit is extremely entertaining and will thrill the audience. The serial killer subplot is also well written and ties back to the main tale, but feels unnecessary as it diverts attention from the exhilarating prime plot. Kincaid continues to dream of being a superhero like Captain Marvel while his support crew adds vigor and wit as they struggle to right social injustice. Mr. Bernhardt remains one of the best authors of legal thrillers and anyone who has not tasted a Kincaid tale will want to try this novel and the previous works, which are all excellent stories.Harriet Klausner