Customer Reviews

Capital Crimes: A Will Lee Novel (Will Lee Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Someone with an impressive array of murderous skills is systematically assassinating right-wing political figures one after another. The FBI and the CIA, who suspect that the killer comes from somewhere in their ranks, join forces to try to track down the assassin. An imprisoned former CIA traitor, who claims to know the identity of the assassin, wants to trade that information for a pardon and freedom.

This is Woods' best Will Lee novel, even though President Will and his wife, CIA head Kate, are peripheral to the action. Woods produces some good character development in both Robert Kinney, a Deputy Director of the FBI, and in Ted, the assassin. The story is very fast-paced. There are plenty of high-tech gadgets, chase scenes, computer hacking, and SWAT team action to keep things interesting. You will find it hard to put this book down.

This is the fifth book in a long series by Woods, and in my opinion, the best of the lot. He never seems to run out of steam and his characters are always believable and well thought out--as are his plots. Highly recommended.

Also recommended: THE SECOND CHAIR and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

I totally enjoyed this Woods novel. His last 2 were not that
interesting to me. Will Lee, as President, and his wife Kate, head of the CIA, are faced with a serial killer who is knocking off big-name right-wing conservatives. How to find the killer?
Someone in prison knows the answer and wants to help. But Kate is hesitant to use this knowledge. Robert Kinney, the prime investigator, steps forward as a strong character...standing up to his media-hungry boss. We question his success up until the final pages. It was a 2 day read for me.

This may very well be the worst novel I have ever read. It reminded me of the hokey mysteries I used to write in my free time when I was in elementary school. This author (Stuart Woods) has absolutely no knowledge of human relationships or how to accurately and believably portray them. He makes a dinner between a married couple sound like a Pentagon intelligence briefing. Not a single moment of the dialogue ever comes close to being believable.

It is clear that this novel was written in a weekend and that no research of any kind was done. It is beyond me where Mr. Woods got his information about the interworking of American government. The President of the United States essentially acts as a local police chief, being called everytime a piece of evidence is found and holding press conferences to announce arrests. Even more ridiculously, we are asked to believe that an expert CIA agent who never leaves a trace would be stupid enough to use his best friend's name as an alias. We are also supposed to believe that the investigators would look at a list of hundreds of names and randomly pick out the killer by chance on the first try. The most inane premise by far is that the killer runs a website in which he lists all his victims. When the FBI finally decides to trace the website, they can't do it because he changes the server every day. The author expects us to buy that the nation's top investigations unit can't track an amateur website because he changes it every DAY?

Now on to the plot. In addition to the worst written novel I have ever read, this is the worst developed novel I have ever come across. Instead of focusing on a few central characters, Woods decides to bring in about about 30 "main" characters. In addition, none of them are ever developed whatsoever and the reader begins to forget who any of them are and doesn't really care. A subplot will be developed for an entire 30 pages and then will never be mentioned again. It's almost like parts of the book were written when the author was using some kind of hallucinogen. A dialogue will ensue between 2 characters who were never introduced, the dialogue will make no sense and mean nothing to the reader, then the characters and their story will never be alluded to again. And, of course, the central plot is never even resolved or explained. Not a mention is ever made as to why the man is assassinating these people other than the fact that he is a liberal and they are conservatives.

It is mind-boggling that this man has made millions of dollars and owns 4 mansions. In closing, a truly wretched book that should only be read for the sheer (and frequent) laughter that will ensue from the juvenile plot and inept writing.

CAPITAL CRIMES, a slapdash poltical novel, involves the FBI's pursuit of a serial killer who is targeting well-known right wing figures - a talk show host, a supreme court justice, etc. The killer is someone with a wealth of technical knowledge and capability to carry out elaborate murders, and for most of the book there's little suspense as to how he'll behave. The murder victims are all caricatured as leering idiots
A deputy FBI director is put in charge of the case and for much of the book seems to be one of only 2 competent people in the bureau, along with his young sidekick. The FBI director, for no particular reason, is made into a preening buffoon. CAPITAL CRIMES is filled with improbabilities. One character repeatedly ignores communications about the identity of the killer, and the killer himself publishes his intended targets on a website. A subplot involving a British raid on the web server goes nowhere. There's nothing the least bit original or interesting in this book. Skip it .

As a long-time fan of Stuart Woods, I just hate to say it but his novels are just getting too simple, predictable and just plain mediocre, and this book is not an exception. Both the characters and story are not very well developed in this one. I like my thrillers to be a bit more challenging and provide a little more excitement. I always liked the Will Lee character, so thought I was in for a good read. However, Will's role is on the sidelines and the new character, Kinney, just doesn't have a lot of depth. It was just very light reading suitable for a time when one wants to lie on the beach and not have to think too much.

I am a big fan of novels by Stuart Woods. This latest novel is the 4th in the Will Lee series.

Someone with a great knowledge of how to kill people in many different ways has gone out and started assinating right-wing conservatives. Deputy Director Robert Kinney must figure out who is commiting these crimes. Will Lee, the president, and his wife Kate Rule Lee, the CIA Director, are there to help Mr. Kinney in his quest to find the assassin. The relationship between Kate Rule Lee and her mentor gone bad, Ed Rawls, is revisited when Ed sends information to Kate concerning the murders.

A couple of things that I didn't like: I felt that some of the characters were sort of flat. We never get a sense of who Robert Kinney really is and what his interests are. Also, there is no real explanation as to why the assassin wants to kill right-wing conservatives other than the fact that he doesn't agree with their politics. It would have been nice for there to have been some kind of underlying reason for the killings other than the guy just felt like doing it. Lastly, even though this novel is presented as a "Will Lee" novel, the story really centers around Robert Kinney with Will and Kate being supporting characters to the story. It should be interesting to see what Mr. Woods does in the future with these characters.

As always, Woods creates a great plotline and a hard-to-put-down page turner despite some of the characteristics that the novel is lacking (hence the reason for 4 stars instead of 5). Mr. Woods will continue to be my favorite author, even if I don't agree with his political views.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a quick and easy read!

Will Lee is back in this Stuart Woods Novel. This is not one of the best ones he has had in the series. Though, a lot of the old characters are back from this series. Will is president and one of his most notable opponents is found shot dead in his retreat cabin. Then another opponent of that Will Lee stand for is blown up.

Before long (with the help of a kid) the FBI is able to find a web page that tracks the potential victims. But, who is doing the killing?

I found this one to be a good thriller but not up to the standards of the normal Woods stories. Many of the characters we already know and they don't develop a whole lot. You do have a couple of tricks and turns in the story, especially near the end. I felt he spent a bit of this book setting up the next one, which means I am glad I listened to this one or I would be lost. Not a bad listen but not in my top 5 Stuart Woods books.

The first person executed is South Carolina Republican Senator Frederick Wallace, an extreme right wing politician. The crime scene is clean and the kill is professional. The next victim is right wing radio talk show host Van Vandervelt whose car explodes. The killer attains official serial status when conservative TV commentator Tim Brennan is poisoned. The republicans, borrowing a page from Senator Clinton, blame the murders on a vast left-wing conspiracy to destroy the United States. Of course politics must be included so they tie the killers to President William Henry Lee IV.

First Lady Katharine Rule Lee as the CIA director leads a thorough search for clues and any ties besides extreme right wing beliefs of the victims. The usual left wing suspects fail to pass the test as clever killers. Leads are almost non-existent though Her Majesty's Military Intelligence believes there is a link to a radical British group. Ed Rawls, in jail for treason, offers the identity of the murderer in exchange for a full pardon and a million dollars. Pondering deals with the devil and who will be next, Katharine and FBI agent Robert Kinney must find a way to stop these left wing terrorist assassinations.

Though quite exciting, readers will have to accept several premises such as the First Lady remaining as CIA director, etc. The story line is fast-paced, but requires loads of acceptance that events play out the way they do in the plot. Still Stuart Woods provides an exhilarating political suspense thriller that if one belies reality will still find pleasurable.

Harriet Klausner

The idea of a "vast right wing conspiracy" is used as background in Stuart Woods's latest book, titled "Capital Crimes." Labeled on the cover as well as on the jacket copy as being about his character Will Lee, it isn't. Will Lee is in the book, occasionally, as President of the Untied States as well as other characters readers have seen before in other books. Will Lee isn't the focus nor is he the one leading the investigation as is claimed on the misleading jacket copy. Instead, as President, he wants the job done and occasionally approves actions taken by Robert Kinney.

The novel revolves around Robert Kinney, the Deputy Director for Crimminal Investigations in the FBI. Not only is his boss the Director of the FBI, James Heller, portrayed as a political appointee and an idiot who impedes the investigation, he also has the problem of tracking down a killer in the glare of the media spotlight. The killer is a brilliant tactician who is now using his vast skills to kill prominent conservatives by various methods. He has targeted politicians, media pundits and others because he believes that they are obstructionist and preventing America from becoming a great nation once again. Not only is he doing a favor for the sitting President, as he sees it, he is saving America from enemies within. One by one, he is killing than and despite having his target list via his website, they can't find him or protect those on the list.

This book is better than normal Stuart Woods. Not only is the writing slightly more intense than normal as is the plotting, there is some actual character development in this novel. Robert Kinney is a character with interesting possibilities and I suspect will be spun off into a new series. It seems to have all the hallmark Woods signals that this could happen especially in the light of the misleading jacket copy and the fact that the Will Lee character as drawn has done just about everything he can logically do. For him to make another appearance as the actual focus of a novel would require fundamental character restructuring which is not something Stuart Woods has done in the past with characters such as Stone Barrington, Jesse Stone and others too numerous to mention.

As in his other books featuring those characters, action is the primary component and motivation behind all elements. This fast read is almost entirely about the hunt as the pov shifts at times through other characters but primarily between Robert Kinney and the suspect. Like many of his more recent works, no deep intellectual questions are raised and the book is quickly forgettable. For what it is, sheer escapist reading, it is better than most and perfect to escape reality for a couple of hours.