The fourth entry in the Ben Kincaid series, and one that I struggled with. It's a quick, easy read, but the controversial topic of racism is not handled well, the plot wanders and, at times, doesn't make a lot of sense. Ben and his assistant, Christine are camping in the Ouachita Mountains when a local court appointed attorney finds Ben and asks him to help on a murder trial, since he has no experience with murder trials. Ben agrees, and Christine, finding out that this is related to a hate crime refuses to help Ben. Following the usual course of William Bernhardt's books, Ben finds himself in trouble, overcomes insurmountable obstacles, displays incredible courage and wins the case by finding the real culprit.I find the plot confusing. I wasn't sure why the AngloSaxon Patrol (ASP) was in town; were they called in by the town, or did they come on their own. I could guess at the relationship between the mysterious girl and the Vietnamese community, but that whole sub-arc felt very out of place.Christine's reason for not helping Ben was never fully explained, and since Ben was doing more to help the Vietnamese community than the ASP, it is unclear wht her motives for staying out of the fray were. It did open up the story to allow Ben to fall in love, but still ....I've read most of the books in this series, and am re-reading them again, in order. This seems to be the weakest I've read. It won't stop me from reading the others, though. I still think that it's a great series.
