Showing results by author "William Bernhardt" in All Categories

Welcome to the world of Susan Pulaski, an unconventional and unusually subversive Las Vegas police behaviorist who's already been canned once and has never been needed more. In Sin City, someone is ritually murdering handpicked victims, each with dirty secrets in their pasts. The killer's gimmick: Not only does he leave behind parts of the victims' bodies, he also writes obscure mathematical formulas in their blood.

This is a collection of three short stories involving lawyer Ben Kincaid and his friends and colleagues. In this short story, Ben Kincaid solves a Christmas mystery with his legal assistant, Christina McCall. Relations with Clyde Burris, the owner of the pawnshop next to Ben's law office, have always been frosty, but that doesn't stop Burris from asking Ben to investigate a Christmas Eve theft that turns out to have life-or-death ramifications.

In his best-selling legal thrillers, William Bernhardt has explored the dark side of contemporary politics, power, and the law. Now Bernhardt turns back the clock to the city of Cleveland, Ohio, in the fall of 1935. Based on true events and new discoveries about Eliot Ness, Nemesis is a brilliantly told story featuring this legendary lawman’s fateful duel with a terrifyingly new kind of criminal: America’s first serial killer.

Too often aspiring writers are frustrated by rejection, not realizing that the problem is not the story but the way they are telling it. In this audiobook, best-selling author William Bernhardt brings his down-to-earth approach to the subject of style, revealing everything you need to know to write with the art and craft of a seasoned professional. Bernhardt goes beyond memorizing rules to a fresh approach, a philosophy of writing that will transform your work and take it to a higher level.

President Franklin Blake survives a terrorist attack at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. The First Lady isn't so lucky.

In this audiobook, William Bernhardt tackles essential topics that, while smaller in scope, are nonetheless necessary to a contemporary author's survival. How do you create a memorable series character? Should you write in the first person? What does "show, don't tell" really mean? How do you add suspense? He also discusses legal issues confronting writers and marketing concerns, such as the all-important book description for online sales pages.

In this short story, Mike Morrelli, Ben's friend, former brother-in-law, and homicide detective, investigates a horrible murder involving twisted relationships, mistaken identities, and the tangled webs of love. When the investigation hits a dead end, Mike is forced to try a desperate gambit that might solve the mystery--and untie some knots in his personal life as well.

The law said America kept the black and white races separate but equal. Growing up in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Ada Sipuel learned that separate was never equal. Once she asked her father why the world was divided by race. He said it shouldn't be. "There's only one Constitution, only one Bible." He also taught her not to be afraid to challenge injustice. Years later, Ada hoped to fight for equality by becoming a lawyer. But Oklahoma's law school would not admit her because of the color of her skin.

Attorney Ben Kincaid is back with the most controversial case of his career. Ben’s former friend, Oscar Kirby, an Iraq war vet subjected by the CIA to "enhanced interrogation techniques", is the primary suspect when his "interrogator" is murdered. A dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom - loaded with pitfalls, surprises, and a breathtaking betrayal. Something else, something very dangerous lurks on the perimeter of this case, and Ben must pull every trick he knows to uncover the truth - before it's too late.

Why do some books linger in memory long after they are over? Why are some books reread, recommended, shared in the classroom? How can you add your book to this distinguished company? The key is theme, giving your story a dynamic idea that lends it power and purpose. William Bernhardt explains what theme is, how it is best revealed, and how to find the theme that, handled correctly, will distinguish your book from all the others. Plus, in the final chapter, Bernhardt explains how your book can have a positive impact on the world in which you live.

Even the most unique characters will not engage audiences if their journey - the plot - fails. In this book, best-selling author William Bernhardt reveals the secrets that will keep readers and listeners riveted. He explains the importance of matching character to plot and the key distinction between coincidence and surprise. Bernhardt discusses how to enrich your story by layering three levels of conflict and, in the final chapter, analyzes the primary plot structures that have delighted audiences since the first story was told.

In this short story, Ben Kincaid handles a personal injury trial for Tess Corrigan, a fashion model whose face has been horribly disfigured in a tragic accident. All Ben wants is justice, but a wealthy doctor and his powerful legal army conspire to block Ben's every move. When the legal system seems unable to deliver justice, Ben is forced to search for more creative ways to give Tess a brighter future.

In this short story, Ben Kincaid solves a Christmas mystery with his legal assistant, Christina McCall. Relations with Clyde Burris, the owner of the pawnshop next to Ben's law office, have always been frosty, but that doesn't stop Burris from asking Ben to investigate a Christmas Eve theft that turns out to have life-or-death ramifications. Ben soon realizes that solving the mystery is the least part of what needs to be done to set things right during the season of miracles.

William Bernhardt's best-selling novels featuring Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid capture the bare-knuckles reality of high-stakes criminal defense, as lofty ideals of justice clash with power, corruption, and wealth. In Capitol Murder, Bernhardt's hard-charging hero takes on his most shocking, headline-making case yet.

Psychologist Susan Pulaski, who has a near-empathic gift for understanding the thought processes of criminals, is a consultant for the Las Vegas police force. When the city is galvanized by a brutal murder case, stemming from the death of a young woman who has been buried alive, Police Chief Robert O'Bannon calls on Susan's services.

Kincaid is in a meeting with the president in the Oval Office when Washington suddenly explodes into chaos. Facing an imminent threat to the White House, Kincaid is whisked, along with the president and his advisors, to the underground PEOC - Presidential Emergency Operations Center - built to withstand a nuclear blast, but vulnerable to another kind of attack. Inside the bunker, defense specialists realize that a malevolent foreign dictator has hacked into the US nuclear defense system and now has a finger on the trigger of America’s most dangerous weapons.

When a priest with radical ideas and a parish council with traditional values lock horns over the beliefs they hold most sacred, there's bound to be controversy, and consequences. But murder crosses the line between committing a sin and committing a crime, turning a battle over faith into a battle for justice. And smack in the middle of the explosive case is Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid.

Dylan Taggart channels his demons through the keyboard. Knocked around by a father who believed weakness was failure, the best-selling suspense author grabs a measure of peace in his gorgeous girlfriend’s arms. But he sees fiction come horrifyingly to life when masked fanatics break in demanding he put his brilliant mind to work and help them steal a secret military super-weapon.

While in Vegas for the American Poker Grand Slam, BB Thomas - the Game Master - is suddenly arrested by the FBI and taken to a top-secret laboratory. A scientist has been murdered in a bizarre manner, and BB's daughter has been kidnapped. Reluctantly joining forces with his ex-wife, BB plunges into a labyrinthine mystery incorporating the world's oldest and best-known games and taking them to Paris, Dubai, Pyongyang, and Alexandria.

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt, with audiobook producer Jesse Ulrich, discuss the latest news from publishing, offer writing tips, and interview major authors, agents, editors, and other book-world professionals.