Customer Reviews

Executive Privilege: A Novel

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Get ready to lose some sleep. I was not able to put this book down, and stayed up until 4 a.m. to finish it! The same thing happened to my mom, who was listening to it on the audio CD version.

I believe this is Mr. Margolin's best effort to date.

The book was fast paced, great characters, and a very credible, entertaining plot. If you like books that cover the U.S. from the West Coast to the East, politicians that you love to hate, lawyers, judges and law enforcement heroes that make you root for the home team and a little romance thrown in, then this is the book for you.

I was very sorry to read that Mr. Margolin's beloved wife passed away early last year. I think that it is possible that this great loss has made him a more powerful, gifted writer, and I sure wish that she was able to read this book. It is truly one of his best.

Phillip Margolin is up to his old tricks. He has again come up with a novel which I guarantee you will have a hard time putting down as you read about the trials and tribulations of the two main characters, Dana Cutler and Brad Miller.

Cutler is a former policewoman, now a PI living in the DC area and Miller is a new associate at one of Portland, Oregon's most prestigious law firms. Each accepts an assignment; Cutler to due some surveilance on a young college student and Miller to do a pro bono appeal for a serial killer on Death Row. The common denominator that brings them together is Christopher Farrington. Farrington is the President of the United States.

He was elevated to that position while occupying the Vice Presidency when the elected president died. Farrington, as it turns out, has a zipper problem. He also has a close friend who is his top aide, who has been spending a fair amount of his time fixing that problem for quite some time.

How all of this blends into a real pot boiler of a novel is for the reader to discover and more telling of the story in this review would only dilute the fun.

If you are looking for a book to take on vacation, this would be a good choice, however you might lose some sleep.

Having read and enjoyed a number of Margolin's previous works, I looked forward to Executive Privilege. Although perhaps not his best work, it is close and I was not disappointed. As the story unfolds, Margolin brings forth an intriguing murder mystery / conspiracy thriller that pulls in the ultimate executive, the President of the United States. It is somewhat reminiscent of David Baldacci's Absolute Power. The author is very effective is his use of movement between two murders and two corresponding sets of characters that come together as the story progresses. As with most of Margolin's works, you will find Executive Privilege to be a fast, enjoyable read.

Brad Miller isn't having his best year. He moved the width of an entire continent, from New York to Oregon, in order to put maximum distance between himself and Bridget Malloy, yet he still thinks of her almost constantly. It was his hope that his new position as junior associate in the state's most prestigious law firm might take his mind off Malloy and their traumatic breakup. Several months of a grueling workload, getting to know his colleagues and learning the ropes, has eased his pain somewhat.

Just when he is starting to feel better, a case is assigned to him that involves potentially appealing the conviction of Clarence Little, the most notorious serial killer Oregon has ever seen. While this may provide the sort of distraction Miller needs to help him forget Malloy, it does not provide much in the way of comfort. Little insists, though, that he has been framed for one of the murders, despite an eerily similar MO.

On the opposite side of the country, in Washington, DC, Dana Cutler is embarking on a new case too, one that will take her places she had never envisioned. An ex-cop with a host of her own bad memories, Cutler now works as a private investigator. She can usually count on high-powered DC attorney Dale Perry to throw business her way at least occasionally. The latest: A simple surveillance of a pretty young college student. Sounds easy. Of course, it isn't. In DC, not much is as it seems. There is always a hidden agenda. And Cutler should have known. The money was just too good.

As the client instructed, Cutler follows Charlotte Walsh and ends up surviving a harrowing evening of jaw-dropping surprises and heart-racing chases. Unfortunately, Walsh does not. As it dawns on Cutler, who was pursuing her during the night, she is filled with a terrifying dread. She devises a little insurance for her safety, thinking that she might yet come out of this all right. But when she sees the news about the young woman's death, Cutler decides to take a powder, even though the murder is being attributed to the DC Ripper, a serial killer at work in the nation's capital.

Meanwhile, back in Oregon, Miller is reluctantly starting to believe that Little may actually be innocent as he claims, whether the MO is the same or not. Little has an airtight alibi for the time of the crime. Miller unhappily notes the direction the evidence is taking him: straight to the president of the United States.

Ex-governor of the state of Oregon, Chris Farrington was the poster boy for success and rose to the top political position in an enviably illustrious career. He is now up for re-election, and his opposition is running a strong campaign. The last thing he needs right now is a scandal. Since it can be proven that President Farrington knew Walsh, his relationship with her could be a spoiling point.

But ties to a murdered girl may be the least of the president's problems. Some people have made a connection between Farrington and another dead girl, this one in Oregon. Could the president slip out and commit murder --- several times? It doesn't seem possible. There are too many people around him at all times. So can he explain why his movements on the night of Walsh's death don't seem to coincide with the story he has told the media? Is someone trying to frame him, or is someone trying to protect him? A damaged ex-cop and an inexperienced lawyer know the answers to those questions. Now if they can only live long enough to tell someone.

EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE is chock full of harrowing chases, desperate situations and politics running rampant. Add in the corruption of power and the destructive force of lust, and you have all the ingredients for a winning thriller. Phillip Margolin's latest proves that he hasn't lost his talent for legal drama, and gives us another page-turning read.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

This kept me on my toes the whole way. I loved it and if you want a book that you absolutely can't put down....this is a great choice! Happy Reading!!!!

Taking a seemingly simple assignment to follow and report on the activities of a pretty college student, private detective Dana Cutler is forced to flee for her life when the student is murdered, while junior lawyer Brad Miller discovers strange coincidences between Dana's case and another killing with ties to the president. BT.

This was another engrossing and highly entertaining novel from one of my favorite authors. A skilled writer and a skilled storyteller. One of his best.

Highly recommended.

Pageturner (cliché), blockbuster (cliché), fastpaced (cliché. Right. You won't get many hours sleep once you have started this one. In my opinion, the best book Phillip Margolin has ever written.

The idea of this story almost made me catch my breath, so far-fetched did it seem when it finally hit me what was going on. I thought I was reading a really good, although nothing out of the "ordinary really good", thriller, until I realized to which extremes the author has gone with this book.

Down through the history, Kings and Presidents have been murdered. Also, as during The French Revolution in 1789, Kings and Queens have been charged with horrible crimes and executed. The latter is, however, a bit different and/or difficult to compare with a modern times President of The United States being under suspicion for murder.

And so cleverly has the web been woven, that it takes the reader (at least it did me) until the very last pages to figure out "who did it, and why"! In fact, I did NOT find out, but had to wait impatiently until it was finally all explained to me in great detail.

I won't reveal more of the story and spoil new readers' fun. It's simply a terrific read. A sophisticated, fascinating, horrible fairytale for grownups! Or is it? Could something like this really happen?

The idea seems daunting, and neither is the solution what you may be tempted to guess according to the synopsis.

Nevertheless, Mr. Margolin has written an amazing book. Buy it!

The story has been told by other reviewers, unfortunately one gave away the ending. The reviews are accurate. The story flows and kept me turning the pages. If one takes the time it really does not make any sense but it is summer and who cares. The characters are all predictable but that is what is expected. It is hard to rate this book but I gave it 4 stars because it delivers what is promised.

The major question I have is why the prologue is there. It gives away a lot of the story early on and it did not add to my enjoyment.

I have read several thrillers by this author who always makes sure the plot moves well and the characters are well-drawn. There are few subtleties in these books, but they are usually good reads. However, this one was ruined by a poorly thought and totally stupid ending. The scheme to trick the perpetrator is so poorly conceived and poorly executed that, in real life, the perpetrator would have gone free. An incredibly stupid and inane ending, worth of The Dukes of Hazzard or Hogan's Heroes, totally ruined this one for me. I feel that my time was wasted in reading this book.

Long book for such an obvious plot and a lot of wasted gibberish in the middle...author wants to have lots of characters...they are superflous..if you read in bed it will help you sleep.