Primary Justice

After just a few hours on the job, a new lawyer lands his first murder case

It’s Ben Kincaid’s first day as an associate at corporate giant Raven, Tucker & Tubb, and he’s ready to start the long climb up the ladder to partnership. But he’s barely cleared the first rung when a body trips him up.
Ben’s first task is to arrange an adoption for one of the firm’s biggest clients—a bit of grunt work that becomes interesting when he meets the child in question. Emily suffers from Korsakov’s Syndrome, a rare disorder that prevents her from forming memories, and Jonathan and Bertha Adams want nothing more than to raise her as their own. But Kincaid has just begun getting the paperwork together when he gets a chilling phone call: Jonathan has been found dead, hacked to pieces in an alleyway. Investigating the killing will take Kincaid down a fearsome path, leading him to wish that, like Emily, he had the power to forget.

“An appealing mystery with a wry perspective on corporate law. . . . High adventure.” —Publishers Weekly

“Bernhardt skillfully combines a cast of richly drawn characters, multiple plots, a damning portrait of a big law firm, and a climax that will take most readers by surprise.” —Chicago Tribune

“An insider’s view of corporate lawyering. Cynical, suspenseful, and fast-paced.” —Lia Matera, author of Where Lawyers Fear to Tread

“Ben Kincaid is a refreshing change from the omniscient, holier-than-thou attorney/investigators whose courtroom acrobatics and aerial law displays are more show than substance.” —Tulsa World

“Bernhardt just gets better and better.” —The Daily Oklahoman

“Writers of popular fiction must have some gift of readability, but only a few have as unerring a narrative flair as Bernhardt.” —Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

“A first-rate storyteller.” —Tulsa World

“Bernhardt is a master legal tour guide, taking the reader through the labyrinth of the judicial system of America’s heartland.” —Mostly Murder

“Perhaps the finest courtroom series in print.” —Romantic Times Book Reviews

“Bernhardt keeps his readers coming back for more.” —Library Journal