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Capitol Threat (Thorndike Basic)
 
 
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Capitol Threat (Thorndike Basic) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

William Bernhardt (Author)
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Thorndike Basic May 2007
When Oklahoma attorney Ben Kincaid came to Washington, D.C., to defend a senator caught in a red-hot sex scandal turned murder case, he never dreamed he’d end up trading the courtroom for the senate chamber. And after his not-so-distinguished client stepped down, Ben found himself appointed to complete the sullied senator’s term. Now, having barely gotten his political sea legs, he must rise to yet another challenge: advising the president’s next Supreme Court nominee during the sometimes thorny confirmation process. Luckily, Judge Thaddeus Roush’s popularity on both sides of the aisle looks to make him a shoo-in. Until he decides to out himself on national television–igniting a Beltway uproar and setting the stage for a bare-knuckle partisan brawl.

Forced to scramble for spin control, Ben hastily calls a press conference for the now controversial candidate. But the photo op becomes a tabloid nightmare when, on live TV, a brutally murdered woman is discovered in the judge’s backyard. For the political forces out to torpedo the nomination of a gay Supreme Court Justice, the shocking turn of events is pure gold.

With the secret backing of the president and a made-to-order new candidate waiting in the wings, the cagey senate majority leader and his most ruthless allies mount a smear campaign that would put Joe McCarthy to shame. But Team Kincaid isn’t about to let the best man for the job get derailed.

While Ben uses his best courtroom strategies to wage a war of words, his crack private eye, Loving, hits the capital streets to fight a much more hands-on battle–with hustlers, hit men, and homicidal hoods–as he digs for dirt in places even Deep Throat would avoid. It’s soon clear that this game is anything but politics as usual.

In Capitol Threat, William Bernhardt serves up a resounding one-two punch of political intrigue and legal suspense peppered with a volley of his trademark plot twists, sly wit, and persistent thrills.
--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in a near future in which "the Christian Congregation, one of the most powerful lobbies in the country... helped put the last three Presidents in office," Bernhardt's 15th political thriller (after Capitol Murder) to feature Oklahoma attorney Ben Kincaid opens with an intriguing premise, but rapidly devolves into a series of improbable twists and turns. Thaddeus Roush, the Supreme Court nominee of Republican President Blake, confounds his natural base on the right by coming out of the closet ("Ladies and gentlemen, I am a gay American") during the Rose Garden ceremony announcing his selection. The reverberations from this shock wave are still being felt when Roush finds an unknown woman's corpse in his home during a televised press conference. The Democratic Party leadership turns to Kincaid, newly appointed to complete the term of a former Oklahoma senator, for help in saving Roush's nomination. Unfortunately, the book lacks the credible insider information that might offset the unlikely plot developments, while too many supporting details (tokens in the D.C. Metro?) ring false. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Ben Kincaid is now a U.S. senator, but he barely has time to settle into his office before he has another murder to solve. Thaddeus Roush, Supreme Court nominee, has just revealed he is gay, and when the body of a woman is discovered during Roush's press conference--and Roush's partner is implicated in her death--Ben comes to the man's defense. Bernhardt has his formula down pat by now (the first Kincaid novel, Primary Justice, appeared in 1992), and those familiar with the series won't encounter many surprises. This one will feel either tired or comfortable, depending on whether readers think of Kincaid as an old friend. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 579 pages
  • Publisher: Thorndike Press (May 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0786294817
  • ISBN-13: 978-0786294817
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,009,205 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.
-------
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

11 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
2.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Capitol Threat is a triple delight!, March 3, 2007
By 
Just when you think Mr. Bernhardt's books can't get any better, he surprises you by one-upping himself. This one has more twists and turns than a Twister game and more ups and downs than a roller coaster.

In Capitol Threat, we're taken through the sordid and dangerous process of getting a Supreme Court Justice nominee to actually make it to the Supreme Court. Just when Ben thinks he's out of his league and can't possibly help Judge Roush, the ball bounces into his court.

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down - finished it in two days. Thanks for another wonderful story Mr. Bernhardt!

Lois Karklus
[...]
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Author's Alter Ego, April 20, 2007
By 
R. S. Litman (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm not a lawyer and don't profess to be any kind of an expert on the law. But in the past few years, I've become hooked on the "legal thriller" genre. I've now read all of William Bernhardt's books, most of which feature attorney Ben Kincaid. I've also read books by several other lawyer/authors, and while literary criticism has never been my strong suit, I've begun to understand that each such author has his or her own unique style of approaching a story.

William Bernhardt's books are among the most lighthearted that I've discovered in this genre. I don't take him as seriously as I take some of the others, such as Scott Turow. Bernhardt's books have an element of fantasy to them. Because I've learned that Bernhardt and his protagonist Ben Kincaid have a lot of things in common in their lives, I see Ben Kincaid's exploits as those that lawyers like William Bernhardt fantasize happening to them to liven up their lives.

I am politically liberal, so I have not been upset by the underlying agenda items Bernhardt's recent books have embraced. In fact, I've found that most of the lawyer/authors I've read lean to the left more than to the right. I'd welcome the chance to read a well-written legal thriller by someone whose politics are different from mine.

Since I once lived in the Washington, DC, area and still visit there a few times each year, I spotted a few inaccuracies and stretches of the imagination. There are no turnpikes leading from Montgomery County, MD, to Washington, and there is no shopping mall with a parking garage, escalators connecting each floor, and a department store anchor in the vicinity of Georgetown. But I know that authors are entitled to literary license; John Grisham even admits to inventing Washington landmarks in his author's note in "The Street Lawyer".

For those who have been following the Kincaid stories, the usual cast of characters returns in this book. Jones, his administrative assistant, and Christina, his partner and now fiancee, play small but important roles in this story. But it's his investigator, Loving, who deserves top billing with Kincaid this time.

In terms of the suspense generated by this story, I pretty much had it figured out who did it. There are a couple of surprises at the end, but I did turn out to be correct. Still, I had a lot of fun getting there as the story progressed.

I look forward to more stories featuring Ben Kincaid, whether he continues as a U.S. Senator or decides to return to Oklahoma after his appointed term ends.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars 'awful', November 25, 2007
Just awful,,,totally unrealistic plot (I do realize it's a novel!), plodding story, and absolutely zero research into the DC area ie, discussion of areas of the city are inaccurate at best.
Amazon wont let me put up zero stars that's why there is one. Save your money.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
wilderness bill, press confer ence
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Supreme Court, Judge Roush, Thaddeus Roush, Senator Matera, Judge Haskins, Senator Hammond, Chairman Keyes, Senator Keyes, Pretty Boy, The Boy, White House, Rose Garden, Christian Congregation, President Blake, Judiciary Committee, Caucus Room, United States, Senator Bening, Gina Carraway, Senator Dawkins, Mister Chairman, Richard Trevor, Senator Kincaid, Ray Eastwick, Senator Potter
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