Series: Ben Kincaid | Publication Date: January 31, 2006
William Bernhardt’s bestselling 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.
Kincaid’s legal success has earned him a dubious reward: a journey through the looking glass into the Beltway. Here, in the heart of the nation’s capital, a powerful U.S. senator has been caught first in a sordid sex scandal, then in a case of murder.
Senate aide Veronica Cooper was found in a secret Senate office beneath the Capitol building, on Senator Todd Glancy’s favorite couch, blood pouring from the knife wound in her throat. The young woman’s death comes on the heels of the release of a sordid videotape depicting her and Senator Glancy in compromising positions.
With the senator’s reputation in tatters, the evidence against him–as a sexual predator and possibly a killer–mounts. By the time a nationally televised murder trial begins, Kincaid and his team know they’re facing the challenge of a lifetime. According to public opinion, and even in Kincaid’s most private thoughts, Glancy is one more politician who cannot admit his own culpability.
But while a dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom–loaded with pitfalls, traps, and an astounding betrayal–another trial is taking place on the mean streets of D.C., as Kincaid’s investigator pursues a young woman who was a friend of Veronica Cooper’s, plunging Kincaid into a bizarre world of Goths, sadomasochists, and a community of self-proclaimed vampires. Somewhere in this violent underworld lies the secret behind Veronica Cooper’s demise . . . and the crux of Senator Glancy’s innocence or guilt.
In a case that pits Kincaid and his freewheeling partner Christina McCall against the brutal machinery of Washington politics, the answers they seek are hidden in a murderous maze of lies and hidden motives. And in William Bernhardt’s best novel yet, getting to the truth is an unparalleled experience in pure, satisfying suspense.
I love my job. Even on the worst day when I can't seem to put together a coherent sentence, I am grateful for having been given this magnificent opportunity to participate in the literary exchange of ideas. My mother says I was telling people I wanted to be a writer when I was seven. I know that seems incredible, but she's my mom, so we have to believe her. I never missed an opportunity to visit the library, which was blissfully near my home, and the librarians there took a great interest in this nerdy, shy, bespectacled kid who kept reappearing almost every day. They encouraged me to read widely and to read the best of everything, and that is exactly what I did and have continued to do all my life.
I sent off my first submission when I was eleven, to Highlights Magazine. This was a poem of which I was particularly proud concerning the Oklahoma Land Run. They turned me down. Yes, that was my first rejection letter. Over the next twenty years, I collected over 400 more of them. No, I'm not exaggerating. I still have them. Every last one. There was a reason, I realize now, why all those compositions were being rejected. They weren't very good. But they improved over time. I didn't know it, but during the entire torturous process of submission and rejection, I was learning how to write.
I finally had my first novel published (by Ballantine, a division of Random House) when I was thirty-one. To some, this may seem an early age to publish, but if you clock it from my first rejection, it took twenty years. That was a great year--my first son, Harry, was born in August, and my first book, Primary Justice, was born in December. The book surprised everyone and the follow-up did even better and before I even realized it I had accomplished my goal--I was a real honest-to-gosh writer. I've been writing ever since. I've written more than twenty novels, edited two anthologies, done two books for children, and published numerous stories, essays, puzzles, and poems. I have three children now, and this job allows me to be present when they come home from school and available when they need me during the day, which is a blessing I could not have anticipated back when I was a seven-year old gazing dreamily at author photos on dust jackets, wishing I could see myself there.
My goals for the future are to continue to learn, to grow, to find new ways of doing my work and doing it better. I think the current interest in thrillers provides a marvelous opportunity to spin bigger and more exciting stories. I've learned that I enjoy teaching, which has led to the William Bernhardt Writing Programs and The Fundamentals of Fiction DVDs, as well as many speaking and teaching engagements throughout the year. My interest in mentoring aspiring writers led me to start the Small-Group Seminars and Master Classes, which allow me to teach my favorite subject all across the nation. And in my personal life, my goal is I to be the best parent possible to Harry, Alice, and Ralph, and the best possible partner to my wife, Marcia. I'm very excited about the future--my personal life with these extraordinary people, and my professional life, creating new stories for you wonderful people who still understand the importance of storytelling and the written word. ------- William Bernhardt is the author of more than twenty novels, including Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, Capitol Murder, Capitol Threat, Capitol Conspiracy, and Nemesis. He is one of fewer than a dozen recipients of the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He is also one of the country's most popular writing instructors, teaching at various conferences throughout the year. A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Marcia, and their children.
This review is from: Capitol Murder: A Novel (Ben Kincaid) (Hardcover)
The previous books in the Kincaid series were clever for the most part. Not this one. William Bernhardt discovered his thesauraus for this entry in the series and his soap box. Clearly William Bernhardt felt his political views needed to come through - and they do. Repeatedly. Made the book boring.
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I've never gotten so far in a book and then just decided to stop reading it. That happened when I realized that: (a) I really didn't care about whether the Senator was convicted or not; (b) I'd found out who the real murderer was 3 CD's before that, and (c) I couldn't stand another political rant about how evil Republicans are and how holy Democrats are. Bernhardt slanders Nixon (easy to do, I know), and Reagan, while showering pity on poor Bill Clinton for his legal troubles, all the while telling everyone how evil the insurance and oil industries are. I could read MoveOn.org if I wanted that.
Give me Tony Hillerman any day.
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This review is from: Capitol Murder: A Novel (Ben Kincaid) (Hardcover)
I am a huge Ben Kincaid fan. I was looking forward to this one big time.
What a disappointment. The storyline of a Government official who gets accused of killing an intern - because he was having an affair with her.
The book starts off very well. A murder - and a videotape of the government official and the victim in torrid sex positions (think Monica and Bill). SO far so good.
Except that is when the storyline becomes soooooo borring and soooo slow. We get pages and endless pages of dialogue between the official and Ben, then between Ben and the guy's wife and between Ben and just about everybody else who could possibly be involved in the case.
This is the first time I read a Ben Kincaid book and try to figoure out how many pages I have left to read.
This story dragged and dragged. The usual humour wasn't there, in fact, I felt as though Bernhardt went a little over the top with the "eccentricities of Ben" in this book. Sure, Ben is always a little behind in most things, but in this book, Bernhardt wrote Ben almost over the top - he made him out to be clueless AND a bit of a joke. I did not like that at all. Part of the fun of this series is that Ben is eccentric but interesting. He was neither in this book.
Also, the camaraderie I have come to love between the characters was non-existent here.
Oh, about the murderer. I had it figured out by page 58.
Not a great moment in the Kincaid series.
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