Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Bernhardt (Author)
Key Phrases: deep throat, Senator Glancy, Judge Herndon, Veronica Cooper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In Bernhardt's somewhat predictable 14th thriller to feature ace Oklahoma trial lawyer Ben Kincaid (after 2004's Hate Crime), Ben goes to Washington, D.C., to defend his home state's senior senator on a murder charge. Sen. Todd K. Glancy, a former law school colleague who later became "a successful and fabulously wealthy oil magnate" (a fact Ben's mother never lets her son forget), has been caught on video in flagrante with a much younger intern. Soon after the video is shown endlessly on television, the young woman is found dead in a tunnel leading from the Capitol to the Senate offices, and Glancy is charged with her ritual murder. Worst of all, Ben begins to distrust his own client, though dropping the case would be a political and financial disaster. The author has obviously had fun with his research, letting Ben and his team wander around the seats of power, making observations that range from the ironic to the openly gung-ho touristy. If Bernhardt occasionally makes Margaret Truman's books look shrewd and sardonic by comparison, his zeal should please his loyal readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
The author shakes up this long-running series by taking his lead character, attorney Ben Kincaid, out of his familiar Oklahoma surroundings and sending him to Washington, D.C., where an old law-school chum, now a U.S. senator, is, well, waist deep in a sex scandal. When the scandal turns murderous, Ben realizes he needs a crash course in Washington law--not to mention backroom politics--if he hopes to keep his old friend out of prison. Assuming, of course, that the senator really is as innocent as he claims. Despite its serious subject, this Kincaid novel is funnier than many of its predecessors. The new surroundings are a plus, too, focusing the reader on the unfamiliar setting instead of the rather-too-familiar legal-thriller formula. All in all, series fans will be satisfied. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345451503
• ISBN-13: 978-0345451507
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,144 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #10 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Bernhardt, William

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring...and partisan, March 13, 2006

By	A. Baker (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So slow, January 31, 2006

By	www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloodsuckers in Washington, D. C., February 9, 2006

By	E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Capitol Murder: A Novel (Ben Kincaid) (Hardcover)

In his fourteenth Ben Kincaid novel, "Capitol Murder," William Bernhardt moves from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Washington, D. C. Ben's old chum, Democratic senator Todd Glancy, has been having an affair with his beautiful young aide, Veronica Cooper. Glancy and his staff are understandably alarmed when a sordid and explicit videotape is released to the media showing the senator and Cooper in an extremely compromising position. Glancy summons Ben to handle any legal fallout that may ensue. Unfortunately, the senator's problems are just beginning. Soon, Cooper is found brutally murdered in Glancy's senate hideaway, and the police immediately suspect that the politician decided to silence his lover permanently.

Bernhardt has made his reputation by combining lively courtroom theatrics with suspense, romance, and campy humor. This time around, he has chosen an unsubtle metaphor to describe the goings-on in our nation's capital--vampirism. It seems that a bloodsucking cult is operating in Washington and Veronica Cooper, along with other young and beautiful female victims, was under the spell of an insane, Svengali-like leader. Kincaid's investigator, the hulking but good-hearted Loving, makes the rounds of vampire hangouts and meets some extremely sick puppies who are into sex, sado-masochism, drugs, and very eerie and painful rituals. If Loving can prove that Veronica was involved with these weirdoes, there may be enough reasonable doubt to get Glancy off the hook.

"Capitol Murder" is brisk and, occasionally, laugh-out loud funny; however, too often it is cutesy, heavy-handed, and preachy. The stomach-turning torture scenes and the light-hearted banter make for an incongruous combination. As if this unusual blend of dark and light themes weren't enough, Bernhardt also inserts heavy-handed political commentary about ambitious, greedy, and promiscuous elected officials who operate without a conscience or moral code. The courtroom scenes are lively and the mystery is fairly compelling, but the far-out ending is completely implausible.

Still, the lead characters are as likeable as ever. Ben is a sweet nebbish and a man of integrity who is also a brilliant courtroom strategist. Christina is Ben's partner and a knowledgeable and poised defense attorney in her own right. Fans of this series have long been rooting for these two lovebirds to finally pass beyond the snuggling stage. Will Ben's commitment issues forever prevent him from declaring his intentions to his lady love? Although "Capitol Murder" is far from perfect, those readers who, like me, have stayed with Ben and Christina since day one will want to read the latest installment.