William Bernhardt masterfully captures the tension of the courtroom while delving into deeper human motivations. His extensive body of work spans thrilling legal dramas to poetic reflections, showcasing his remarkable versatility. Bernhardt's style is marked by keen psychological insight and precise language that immerses the reader in the heart of the action. His writing often explores the complexities of American society and the human condition, earning him accolades such as 'master of the courtroom drama' and the 'American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse and John Mortimer.'
Focusing on the craft of world-building, the book offers practical guidance on how to create immersive fictional settings that engage readers. William Bernhardt emphasizes the importance of sensory details and "stealth description" to enhance storytelling without disrupting the narrative flow. He advocates for showing rather than telling, helping writers develop characters and settings that resonate. With insights drawn from his extensive experience and accolades, Bernhardt inspires committed writers to refine their skills and embrace their craft.
A struggling lawyer. A bitter custody battle. A deadly fire. This case could cost Kenzi her career—and her life.Kenzi Rivera is furious. Passed over for promotion at her own father’s firm, the talented divorce lawyer is tired of fighting chauvinism every single day. When a desperate scientist begs for help getting her daughter back, Kenzi can’t resist…even though this client is involved in Hexitel, a group she calls her religion but others call a cult.Kenzi uncovers evidence of disturbing practices at Hexitel involving large sums of money, servitude, and sex. She also learns her client’s lab has been plagued by death threats and cutthroat competition. After the workplace burns to the ground and her client is charged with murder, the ambitious attorney knows there is much more at stake than a simple custody dispute.Can Kenzi find a path to the truth before she’s trapped in a maze of death?Splitsville is the dramatic first book in the Splitsville Legal Thriller series. If you like gutsy heroines, diverse characters, and page-turning suspense, then you’ll love William Bernhardt’s twisty tale.
The protagonist, a writer known for crafting thrilling gunfights and high-stakes scenarios, finds himself in a perilous situation when he is kidnapped. His captors demand he orchestrate a genuine crime, turning his fictional expertise into a dangerous reality. As he navigates this harrowing experience, the line between his imaginative plots and the real-life consequences blurs, leading to unexpected and explosive developments.
As Tulsa's first black mayor and a former college football hero, Wallace Barrett was a city treasure--until he became the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of his wife and two daughters. Seen splattered with blood and fleeing his house after the crime, the mayor needs a miracle. Enter Ben Kincaid.While Kincaid may not be the slickest attorney in Tulsa, he has a knack for pulling off the impossible. But with a frenzied media, a string of damning expert witnesses for the prosecution, and surprise testimony that could rip right through Kincaid's already tenuous defense, impossible never looked so tough.
In a gripping high-stakes trial, Daniel Pike employs all his cunning to safeguard a young orphan from a terrifying destiny. As the courtroom drama unfolds, unexpected revelations and breathtaking surprises challenge his skills and resolve, making for a tense and unpredictable narrative.
Oklahoma attorney Ben Kincaid put his reputation on the line when he represented Ray Goldman. The seemingly mild-mannered man was charged with massacring an entire suburban Tulsa family. When the prosecution’s star witness—Erin Faulkner, the lone survivor of the slaughter—took the stand, Goldman’s fate was sealed. But just as his date with the death chamber is imminent, Erin abruptly recants her testimony; after seven years of silence, she is desperate to keep an innocent man from dying. Yet the next day, Erin is discovered dead, an apparent suicide. And Ben Kincaid is the only witness to her stunning confession. Now Ben must hunt down the killer who is determined to cover his tracks . . . with blood.
The crime is remarkably heinous: veteran police detective Joe McNaughton is found savagely slain, mutilated, and hung from a public fountain in downtown Tulsa. The accused is a tabloid reporter’s dream: stunning, nineteen-year-old Keri Dalcanton, a stripper involved in a kinky affair with the married McNaughton. Crusading attorney Kincaid takes up her defense. But when a police raid on his office uncovers the bloodstained murder weapon, Ben himself is charged with conspiracy and murder. What follows is a breathlessly twisting battle of legal wits–and lethal surprises–in which no holds are barred, no secrets are left unexposed, and ultimately, nothing is what it seems. . . .
Kincaid's legal triumph leads him into the heart of a scandal in Washington, D.C., where a U.S. senator faces accusations of murder following the death of Senate aide Veronica Cooper. Found in a secret office with a fatal knife wound, her death coincides with the release of a compromising videotape featuring her and Senator Todd Glancy. As evidence mounts against Glancy, public opinion turns against him, painting him as a sexual predator and potential murderer. When a nationally televised trial commences, Kincaid and his team confront their toughest challenge yet, grappling with the senator's apparent inability to accept responsibility.
As the courtroom drama unfolds, filled with unexpected twists and a shocking betrayal, Kincaid's investigator delves into the life of a young woman connected to Veronica, leading him into a dark underworld of Goths, sadomasochists, and self-proclaimed vampires. Here, the key to understanding Veronica's death—and determining Glancy's guilt or innocence—lies hidden. In a gripping narrative that pits Kincaid and his unconventional partner Christina McCall against the ruthless forces of Washington politics, the pursuit of truth becomes an exhilarating journey through a maze of deception and ulterior motives, delivering a thrilling experience in suspense.
Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid plunges into a deadly maelstrom of dark secrets, conspiracy, and church politics as he defends his client, a radical parish priest on trial for murder and facing the death penalty if convicted.
Disillusioned with both the legal system and his private life, criminal attorney Ben Kincaid abandons his practice for a less stressful pastime: playing with a combo at Uncle Earl's Jazz Emporium. The musician's life is bliss--until a corpse crashes through the ceiling with a grisly smile carved on its face.The body is that of "Cajun Lily" Campbell, legendary singer and onetime girlfriend of club owner Earl Bonner. The cops are convinced that Bonner killed her--and Kincaid knows he didn't. Though he swore he was through with law forever, Kincaid descends into an underworld of gangs, drugs, Internet sex "clubs," and long-standing vendettas. And at the bottom, a killer waits, targeting Kincaid as the next to die with a smile on his face.
