Official Privilege [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Fiction) [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

P. T. Deutermann (Author), J. Charles (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2009 | Series: Playaway Adult Fiction

In a thriller about murder, politics, and the Pentagon, by the best-selling author of The Edge of Honor, the Naval Investigative Service hires two outsiders to solve the murder of a lieutenant, and they find evidence implicating a senator. 50,000 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of The Edge of Honor Scorpion in the Sea delivers another fine suspense novel enhanced by solid background detail. When the mummified body of a murdered naval lieutenant is discovered in a decommissioned ship in the Philadelphia naval shipyard, naval perations assigns a young line officer, Commander Dan Collins, to conduct the investigation, assisted by civilian lawyer Grace Snow of the Naval Investigative Service. Despite their awkward relationship (NIS would normally handle such cases solo), Collins and Snow uncover a link between the murder and a bungled attempt two years earlier to suppress a Washington sex scandal involving a senior naval officer and an attractive young lieutenant-the dead man's sister, killed by Malachi Ward, a Washington "contractor," when he tried to scare her away from exposing the illicit relationship. In turn, a mobster friend of Ward's had the brother killed when he began pressing for an investigation into his sister's death. Racial issues (the victims were black), bureaucratic infighting and the presence in the line of command of those who want to keep the lid on the scandal (half the fun here is trying to figure out just who these villains are) result in the removal of Collins and Snow from the case. When the pair proceed on their own, they become the targets of the dangerous Ward. Deutermann provides more step-by-step investigative detail than is necessary or desirable, and his characterizations can be thin, but the authenticity implied by his naval background (he's a retired navy captain) is evident in every sentence of this absorbing and, by the end, exciting tale.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Deutermann immediately divulges the identity of the killer of two navy lieutenants, brother and sister. But which admiral caused the deeds, and why? Such intricacies within the Puzzle Palace, aka the Pentagon, retired captain Deutermann knows well from his own career. On this fictional sea, his jargon and feeling for ambition and bureaucratic politics at the navy's middle ranks ring true, as his two investigators get stonewalled. Removed from the case by the admiral who asked for them in the first place, Commander Dan Collins and civilian Grace Snow (romance a-budding, naturally) proceed as freelancers. The killer catches wind of their progress via his spy gear and becomes worried that those who employed him may consequently desire his permanent disappearance. So he lashes out at the heroes in a violent scene--which stirs up the admirals' flunkies, belatedly aware they haven't stifled Collins and Snow--and finally in a plot-resolving shootout at the Washington Naval Yard. Deutermann's third mystery, though conventionally constructed, is brought off well. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Playaway (December 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441833242
• ISBN-13: 978-1441833242
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Peter T. Deutermann
(P.T. Deutermann)


Peter Deutermann was born in Boston in 1941. His father was in the Navy, so he subsequently lived all over the United States and also in Argentina. He graduated from the naval academy in 1963 and served in the navy for 26 years, rising to the rank of Captain. While in the navy, he published one textbook on naval operations and several professional articles in navy-oriented journals. He held three commands: a Swiftboat in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, a guided missile destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet, and a destroyer squadron based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His last tour of duty was as the division director for chemical, biological, and radiological weapons arms control negotiations on the staff of the Joint Chiefs in Washington, DC.
He retired from active duty in 1989 and began his fiction-writing career. He has published fourteen novels since 1992, all with St. Martins Press, including the just-released World War II navy novel, entitled Pacific Glory. He is currently working on his next book, a thriller set at the historic mountain fortress of Masada in Israel.
In addition to a BS in naval engineering, Mr. Deutermann holds an MA in public administration from the University of Washington. He is also a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He is married and has two children. Mr. Deutermann and his wife of 42 years live in Rockingham County, in the Piedmont of North Carolina, on their family pony farm.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT MURDER MYSTERY FULL OF NAVY COVER UP, March 9, 2000

By 

Janet McGhee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Official Privilege (Mass Market Paperback)

This book kept me on the edge of my seat right until the very end with a very suprising twist. Full of Navy acronyms, military and civilian both will find very entertaining. The detailed descriptions of Washington DC were amusing and gave me a feel for the what the city and surronding area is really like. I have enjoyed many of Peter Deutermann's books and this one is surely one of the best.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great Navy-murder mystery-suspense novel? Believe It!!, October 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Official Privilege (Mass Market Paperback)

CAPT Deutermann may be one of the best kept secrets on the book shelves today. This is a great story that will snatch your attention and hold it until after the "one you would never expect" is found out. The story is 100% believeable especially if you've ever had anything to do with a military investigation or, more to the point, the NIS.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars suspenceful, July 28, 2000

By 

richard everson (brandon , florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Official Privilege (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

deuterman , built an excellant story by devoloping each charter masterfully , intertwined the story with expert knowledge of the inside of the pentagon as well as the workings of the pentagon and the people who work there. he started with introducing us to his charters and where they worked , tieing in their personal history and what had brought to this point in their life and professional careers.this allowed us to know the charters so that we were intrested in where they were going and how they were going to handle the mystery of the murder. the ending was predictable , except for who done it , and that he kept away from us masterfully. once into the book , it was difficult to put it down