Capitol Offense (Thorndike Thrillers) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

William Bernhardt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Thorndike Thrillers | Publication Date: January 20, 2010

In his thrilling novels of suspense, William Bernhardt takes us into the fault lines of the criminal justice system, where one mistake, a twist of fate, or an explosive secret can mean the difference between justice and its cataclysmic undoing. In Capital Offense, attorney Ben Kincaid stands amid the chaos of a violent collision between vengeance and death–and it’s up to him to discover where the truth lies.

Professor Dennis Thomas arrives at the law office of Ben Kincaid with a bizarre request: Thomas wants to know if Kincaid can help him beat a murder charge–of a killing yet to happen. The professor’s intended victim: a Tulsa cop who had refused to authorize a search for Thomas’s missing wife. For seven days, Joslyn Thomas had lain in the twisted wreckage of her car, dying a horrifically slow death in an isolated ravine. Now, insane with grief, Thomas wants to kill Detective Christopher Sentz. Kincaid warns him not to, but that very same day someone fires seven bullets into the police officer.

Suddenly Kincaid’s conversation with Thomas is privileged and Thomas is begging Kincaid to defend him. Thomas claims he didn’t shoot Sentz–even though he’d wanted to. Something about the bookish, addled Dennis Thomas tugs on Kincaid’s conscience, and against all advice, he decides to represent this troubled man in the center of a media and political firestorm.

But the trial doesn’t go Kincaid’s way, and a verdict of capital murder is bearing down on Dennis Thomas. That’s when Kincaid’s personal private detective, Loving, starts prying loose pieces of a shocking secret. Working in the shadows of the law, using every trick that works, Loving risks his life to construct an entirely new narrative about Detective Sentz, Joslyn Thomas, and madness in another guise: the kind that every citizen should fear, and no one will recognize–until it is too late.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ben Kincaid is back in Tulsa, Okla., after finishing a term as an appointed U.S. senator at the start of Bernhardt's solid 17th thriller to feature the humane, principled lawyer (after Capitol Conspiracy). Dr. Joslyn Thomas spends seven days trapped in the wreckage of her car after a terrible accident before dying. During this period, her frantic professor husband, Dennis, tries to persuade police detective Chris Sentz to open a missing person case, but, inexplicably, Sentz resists until Joslyn is dead. Later, Dennis goes to a hotel where Sentz is conducting an undercover sting operation and shoots—or maybe doesn't shoot—the detective. Ben has a political campaign to plan, but since he's always a soft touch for impossible legal cases, he's easily talked into defending Dennis against a murder charge. Series fans will be happy with the legal and romantic byplay, but those who expect a complete resolution to the case will be disappointed. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

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 text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 550 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (January 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410422860
• ISBN-13: 978-1410422866
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,955,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.
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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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong fresh entry, October 3, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Capitol Offense: A Novel (Hardcover)

Following his time in DC as a temporary appointed US Senator (see CAPITOL CONSPIRACY) Ben Kincaid has returned home to Tulsa to practice law and consider a run for the permanent seat. Professor Dennis Thomas visits Ben asking the attorney to defend him on a murder rap that has not yet occurred. Dennis hates bureaucrat Police Detective Christopher Sentz who ignored his begging to do a missing person's search for his wife Josylyn. She died after being trapped inside her car for a week following an accident while her vehicle was in a ravine.

Dennis visits a hotel where Sentz is conducting a sting operation. Soon afterward someone fires seven shots at Sentz killing the cop. Dennis swears to Ben he never killed the man though his rage put him over the edge. Caught with questions of client privilege, Ben wonders if he was set up. Still even as he has a political campaign to run, Ben decides to defend the still fuming professor who is at the center of a media frenzy in which everyone believes he killed the cop, but debate whether grief or madness is a justification. Private Investigator Loving begins to uncover dark secrets involving their client, his late wife and the murdered detective that makes the defense even more insane.

The latest Kincaid thriller will delight long time fans as the hero is back in Oklahoma, but working on a case that his chief of staff tells him to drop as it is political suicide. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Professor Thomas asks Kincaid to defend him from a murder he had not yet committed. Fans will enjoy Ben's latest CAPITOL OFFENSE as he defends a client who confessed his plan before hand and was found at the murder scene with the corpse. William Bernhardt provides a strong fresh entry with a great unexpected climax and coda.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Win for Bernhardt!, October 2, 2009

By 

Linda Holman "L A Jewel" (Chatsworth, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Capitol Offense: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ben Kincaid, an ongoing character in many of Bernhardt's books, is back in Tulsa, OK, while the Senate is in recess. If you have read this series, you will know that Ben, a prominent local attorney, was appointed as a Junior U.S. Senator when the previous office holder resigned. If you haven't read this series, this book is still fine to read as a stand alone, but I would definitely go back to the beginning, to read how the characters have evolved, especially Ben.

Ben is well known for not being able to say no to anyone who needs help. In a bizarre first meeting, Professor Dennis Thomas, a teacher of Victorian literature at the University of Tulsa, basically asks Ben how to get away with murder. Ben doesn't want anything to do with this man, but has empathy for Dennis' motivation for revenge. Dennis' wife, Joslyn Thomas, a renowned cancer specialist, was left to die a slow death after a car accident, in which the police refused to search for her over a 7 day period while she was missing.

Soon after, the police officer that refused to look for Dennis' wife is found murdered, with Dennis passed out in the hotel room where the officer was on a stake-out. The murder weapon was found underneath Dennis, and he had gunshot residue on his hands. Unfortunately, Dennis claims he was unconcious for two hours after the murder, and doesn't remember any details about what occurred in that hotel room.

Ben's new wife, Christina, his law partner for many years, doesn't want Ben to take this case, as she feels it would be bad for the re-election campaign that Ben must launch in order to stay a Senator. But, true to her love for Ben, she agrees to help him, even if she does not believe this man is innocent. Dennis presents himself as a cold, calculating killer, and my feelings for him were like being on a roller coaster...one minute I had extreme empathy for him and the next, I thought he deserved everything that the justice system wanted to throw at him.

Mr. Bernhardt's portrayal of the trial itself, from the seating of the jury, the conferences with the judge, and the many battles with the district attorney are absorbing and fast paced. With a shocking twist at the end, this book will leave you impatiently awaiting the next installment!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get caught up in this fantastic novel!, October 27, 2009

By 

Bob Roberts (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Capitol Offense: A Novel (Hardcover)

While I haven't read the Kincaid series before, I've now become an instant fan. The premise is grabbing from page one -- when the client wants to know how to beat a murder charge ... that hasn't been committed yet. The protagonist, Ben Kincaid, is engaging, and suffers the doubts and moral agonies of a real person. And the story takes enough twists and turns to keep anyone guessing. It's been quite a while since I've read a book in one sitting, but this one caught me up in the story and didn't let go long enough for me to escape.

All of the characters have the qualities of real people, and Bernhardt has done his homework on the technical side of the issues. But Bernhardt's real strength is in the power of words. I found myself re-reading lines just because I loved the way they rolled off the tongue. My friends may find pieces of this book floating around in my conversations for quite some time. Being a huge fan of the English language, I love it when someone uses it so artistically.

I heartily recommend Bernhardt's latest work. Now...on to Nemesis.