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DEATH ROW
by William Bernhardt
Ballantine Books, June 2003
320 pages
$25.95
ISBN: 034544174S


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Seven years ago the Faulkner family was massacred, all but 15-year-old daughter Erin, who was brutalized, but allowed to live. A co-worker of the father's was charged with this heinous crime and Oklahoma attorney Ben Kincaid agreed to represent him. The killer wore a mask and the evidence against Ben's client, Ray Goldman wasn't overwhelming, but when young Erin testified that she recognized his voice as that of the killer, nothing Ben could do kept the jury from sending Ray to death row.

Ray's time on death row is about to end . . . in the death chamber. Ben gets one final stay of execution, but with no new evidence on which to base an appeal, it seems unlikely he'll be able to save a client he believes is innocent. Then a witness to the crime comes forward, giving Ben new hope until, once again, things go horribly wrong.

Ben's friend, Homicide Detective Major Mike Morelli, is charged with investigating a possible suicide that Ben is certain is related to his case. Mike, who is convinced Ben's client is guilty and that the investigation of the suicide is a waste of time, starts to have a change of heart when another apparent suicide occurs on his watch, with several indications that it wasn't a suicide after all.

Ben and Mike race the clock in pursuing their respective investigations, while Ray's execution draws ever nearer. Meanwhile, Mike is trying to adjust to a new partner with whom he is incapable of seeing eye to eye and Ben is finally facing up to the fact that his life, aside from his work, is all too empty.

Death Row is a page turner of a book, from the opening pages, which transport the reader to the horror that took place in the Faulkner house, to the resolution which, far from being pat, is more than satisfying. Bernhardt's plotting is exquisite, with multiple threads that never unravel. His characters are appealing, warts and all, and Ben Kincaid continues to grow from book to book.

Fans of this series will be thrilled with this latest entry and newcomers will soon be seeking out Bernhardt's earlier books. Death Row isn't for the faint-hearted, with its graphic (but never gratuitous) descriptions of some grisly crimes, but those who don't find such realism off-putting will be rewarded with an engrossing read.

Reviewed by Susan Anderson, December 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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