The Last Chance Lawyer

Daniel Pike Series, Book 1

By: William Bernhardt

Narrated by: William Bernhardt

Getting his client off death row could save his career...or make him the next victim.

Daniel Pike would rather fight for justice than follow the rules. His unique ability to "connect the dots," to observe what others do not, has made him the most notorious criminal lawyer in St. Petersburg. But when his courtroom career goes up in smoke, he fears his lifelong purpose is a lost cause. A mysterious job offer from a secretive boss gives him a second chance but lands him an impossible case with multiple lives at stake....

To protect a young orphan from a horrifying fate, Pike must save the girl's guardian from a charge of first-degree murder. Dan uses every trick he knows in a high-stakes trial filled with unexpected revelations and breathtaking surprises as he uncovers a trail of deceit from Florida to El Salvador. When blood-soaked threats arrive, Dan realizes that winning the case might be a death sentence for him - and everyone he hoped to protect. Can Pike protect the girl and get the charges dropped before his race for the truth proves fatal?

The Last Chance Lawyer is a gripping legal thriller. If you like courtroom suspense, page-turning plot twists, and rebel attorneys, then you'll love William Bernhardt's riveting drama.

©2019 William Bernhardt (P)2019 William Bernhardt

Good story, but the main character comes of as a slimier than desirable trial lawyer—especially to a reader who is a trial lawye

Interesting story, flawed by the marginally ethical courtroom behavior of the protagonist. e.g. asking what he knows are inappropriate questions and then bragging to the reader about how he had planted an inadmissible thought in the jurors’ minds.

Couldn't put it down

First in the Daniel Pike legal series. Great story and very suspenseful. Great first read!

Suits plus my Cousin Vinny

A terrific new book by William Bernhardt. Thrilling and well worth a read. I'm eager for the next two, which I think are supposed to be out later this year. The author does the narration himself, which is usually a very bad idea. He proves that it can be possible to do it right, if you have the skills.

The author should hire a narrator.

I liked the story but the author did himself a disservice by reading it himself. Many of the characters had the same cadence to their speech and the ethnic accents were just not there.

I know it’s been said, “If you want something done right, do it yourself”, but in this case a better axiom might be “Never practice another man’s trade”, or perhaps “Stay in your lane”.

IMHO, a really solid narrator would have made it much more enjoyable. I may come back to this series, but right now I’m kinda put off.

Just my .02 cents. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Took a long time to go anywhere

I thought narration was slow. The storyline could have been brought to fruition better it seemed to drag.

Bad narration; unnecessary political mansplaining

Now that I’ve finished the book, I think I’ll have to drop it to two stars. First, the dialogue. Much of the time it’s overly formal, which is fine for the courtroom. But when people are talking to people they know well in casual situations, they have a tendency to use contractions and a more informal sentence structures. I’m getting the impression that all the characters are all overly stiff and I don’t think that was the author’s intent. It feels clumsy and unnatural. The narrator didn’t help. I was very choppy regardless of what speed I set it to playback.

I was also put off by the political commentary, and not because I disagree, but because it was unnecessary. The story in itself is enough. I’m betting the majority of the readers can get there own their own. So maybe tone down the mansplaining or author-splaining or whatever it’s called when the author doesn’t think the reader is smart enough to draw the intended conclusions on their own. It’s a huge pet peeve.

Terrific

We enjoyed this take on a courtroom drama! Very different approach. Excuse me, I am off to get Book 2.

Great book but Bernhardt should stick to writing

I’m sorry Bill, but you are not a good reader and you should leave that to professional actors. This was a great story that could have been an overall all 5 star if better reading was done. Stick to what you do best. Was this to save money? If your other books are read by you I will not be buying them. Sorry to be harsh but…..

Great Story

The story is interesting and entertaining; the narrator is not!!!! The author does not do his story justice by being the narrator. It is read in a monotonous tone most of the time and I only finished it because I wanted to know the outcome. There are so many narrators out there that do a wonderful job I wonder why the author chose to read it himself.
Disappointed !!!!

Terrible narration

Terrible narration makes it difficult to listen to. Slow, disengaged narrator, but a decent story.