Official Privilege

by P.T. Deutermann

In the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the mummified body of a black Navy lieutenant is found bolted inside the boiler of a deactivated battleship. While the cause of death is clear, the officer's identity is not. With nerve ends raw from the media focus on recent scandals, the Pentagon bypasses its own investigative service and appoints a commander, Dan Collins, and a civilian, Grace Snow, to conduct an inquiry. Together they resolve to ignore the Navy's political sensitivities and conduct a by-the-book murder investigation. But then they uncover evidence that points back to Washington, D.C., and a two-year-old unsolved case involving another black Navy lieutenant, a beautiful young woman, who died under violent circumstances. While they search for links between the two deaths, they attract the attention of one Malachi Ward. Cunning, ruthless, well paid, and ferociously resourceful, he will do whatever it takes to protect his hidden client's privilege. In a tense, deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Malachi tracks Collins and Snow through Washington's streets and corridors of power, determined to keep them from learning the secret behind the body in the battleship.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery

392 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1995

About the author

P. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of eighteen novels, and lives in North Carolina. His World War II adventure novel Pacific Glory won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, administered by the American Library Association; his other World War II novels are Ghosts of Bungo Suido and Sentinels of Fire. His most recent novel is Cold Frame, a contemporary thriller set in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Ron Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story is good but its hard to get through. The pace sucks. But... I liked the story and the future series setup.

[Lisa Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good plot. Sometimes I became bogged down with details of the Navy element.

[Viva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead. I'm a big fan of PT Deutermann but this book was so bad I couldn't finish it. The book starts off with the discovery of a dead body in a mothballed battleship.

But the whole story is spoiled when we get to see the killer's point of view. Why? If we didn't see it, it would been have quite a perfect set-up, from the discovery of the body to finding the name and background and connecting it to the other death. Instead, we know everything, which completely spoils the suspense.

The other thread in the whole book was how the bureaucracy of the Navy pits one department against another, one branch against the next, officers against officers, the power and power structure of the elites. All very interesting stuff but it went from interesting to too much.

It went from a potentially suspenseful mystery to a quicksand miring of the investigation and the reader's interest. The romance angle is also a little too repetitive for me. Always the tall, dark haired, svelte and beautiful widow/divorcee with the protagonist. Has the author only ever met one type of beautiful person on earth? And I'm there for the mystery not a fling.

I've been reading Deutermann for like a dozen books straight. I think I'm going to take a break.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically not one for murder mysteries, I picked this up at a library sale. It did not take long into reading that I was quickly becoming engrossed.

Deutermann does a good job of laying out the scenes and developing the central characters. Each one of them becoming more and more of a person as you read. He does not just dump their backstory all at once but feeds out in appropriate points in the book.

Additionally, he does a very good job of stringing you along in trying to figure out who was behind everything and just when you think you have it solved, there is a wrinkle. Not a major one but just enough for you to cast doubt on logic.

Potential spoiler below

I finished the last quarter of the book in a single reading because I wanted to know who done it. Come to find out, I was only partially right.

[Amy E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I wanted to peruse it again recently having read it around 1994. It is "Old School" Navy and full of Navy "jargon." To me it is probably Deutermann's best book. Edge of Honor may be another but I never got into it like I did this one.
Also it came out early in the NCIS history if you think about it. There was NIS and then NCIS. (Wiki)
As an "aside": NCIS Agents can potentially be GMen (akaFBI) as well. (Also Wiki) Someone said Gmen do not have partners. Seems it could be true to me. NCIS definitely do...(as far as I know)
"Chill" or is it "chilling." Enjoy, almost educational you might say.

[Izzy Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Zero Option and Official Privilege back to back and distinguishing them from one another is hard looking back. These are written in the same style, and could easily be considered sequels, but they are not written as such. Robert Ludlum, author of the Bourne series, wrote many stand alone novels in a similar manner before Bourne became so popular and serialized. These Deutermann novels are in the same "world", but are different characters and aspects of that world. Two more books that I couldn't put down.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit slow to start, Deutermann weaves a suspenseful tale of intrigue that contains many plot twists and surprises to keep you on edge. To this naval officer and former resident of DC the in-depth organizational politics of Navy leadership and extremely accurate geography of DC draw you in with their realism. An excellent, fun, entertaining read!

[Jean Mccutchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has lots of detail and acronyms etc regarding the US Navy. If I was not a Navy vet myself, this book would have been extremely difficult to follow. Also, the story line becomes pretty predictable about half way through.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good writing. First time with this author, definitely will read more.
I think I’ve figured out the reason so many individuals in Washington D. C. Are BSC.
They have to memorize all this annoyingly ubiquitous acronyms!!!!! Causes brain rot.

[Susan]

Q

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too long! Good story though. I stress prefer Deutermann’s WWII navy novel’s!

[David D'Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

P.T. Deutermann is turning into one of my favorite authors. It's not that his writing is brilliant, or his prose engrossing, or his insight extraordinary; it's just that he can tell a good yarn and keep it moving. That, and the fact that he must be an unending researcher, as his sense of place and times always rings true. I used to think the same of Ken Follett, until recently. Deuterman is at his best when he is delving into the underside of a beaucracy, in this case the Navy, an institution he clearly knows well. I've read a number of his books and no one can show the pettiness of a beaurocrat like he can. His plots are often formulaic, straightforward villains, heroic if flawed heros, and a little bit of sex; but the pacing and plot twists keep you glued to the page. Official Priviledge is excellent. Well worth the read. This is light fiction; don't expect great insight, just a fun time. You could throw a rock at Deutermann's books and hit one that would make a good movie. This one is no exception.

There were at least three story tracks. The characters were well developed. I disliked the final twist. You’ll never see or guess the ending. Looks like the Academy does commission unprincipled and morally corrupt individuals. Read to the end.

[7$MartyQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible Read

I am NEVER disappointed in a P.T. Determine book, but this one kept me up until 2:30 AM, but I finished it. Being originally from New York city, I had my attention absolutely grabbed by what I thought was strictly New York City "slang".
When the author referred to someone as a Mr. Jim.
In New York City "hip speak" a white person who likes blacks is termed a Mr. Jim, and one who dislikes blacks is referred to as a Mr. Charlie. This goes back to my days in high school, which was 60 years ago.
Either Mr. Determine lived in New York city, or he did an incredible amount of research l before having written this book. I couldn't put the book down last night and go to sleep without finishing the book.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally a 5 more realistically only a 3 as this was a slow read. The plot and theory are good and of course personal memories fly up all the way through My ship was overhauled in Philly, My wife's grandmother and a sister (husband Navy stationed DC) lived in Washington suburbs and the BB 64 is now a museum in my home town.

[Cws]

A Deu

[Toesnorth's mom]

as usual-suspense, then dull thud

[Loy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[Jasper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Put it down after a while, so many Navy abbreviations all the time.

[John Lison]

good story

[Tony Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, especially for anyone who is or has had Navy duty in or around the Pentagon

[Melodie · Rating 1 out of 5]

turgid, couldn't read it