Capitol Murder

Ben Kincaid #14

by William Bernhardt

William Bernhardt’s bestselling novels featuring Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid capture the bare-knuckles reality of high-stakes criminal defense, as lofty ideals of justice clash with power, corruption, and wealth. In Capitol Murder, Bernhardt’s hard-charging hero takes on his most shocking, headline-making case yet.

Kincaid’s legal success has earned him a dubious reward: a journey through the looking glass into the Beltway. Here, in the heart of the nation’s capital, a powerful U.S. senator has been caught first in a sordid sex scandal, then in a case of murder.

Senate aide Veronica Cooper was found in a secret Senate office beneath the Capitol building, on Senator Todd Glancy’s favorite couch, blood pouring from the knife wound in her throat. The young woman’s death comes on the heels of the release of a sordid videotape depicting her and Senator Glancy in compromising positions.

With the senator’s reputation in tatters, the evidence against him–as a sexual predator and possibly a killer–mounts. By the time a nationally televised murder trial begins, Kincaid and his team know they’re facing the challenge of a lifetime. According to public opinion, and even in Kincaid’s most private thoughts, Glancy is one more politician who cannot admit his own culpability.

But while a dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom–loaded with pitfalls, traps, and an astounding betrayal–another trial is taking place on the mean streets of D.C., as Kincaid’s investigator pursues a young woman who was a friend of Veronica Cooper’s, plunging Kincaid into a bizarre world of Goths, sadomasochists, and a community of self-proclaimed vampires. Somewhere in this violent underworld lies the secret behind Veronica Cooper’s demise . . . and the crux of Senator Glancy’s innocence or guilt.

In a case that pits Kincaid and his freewheeling partner Christina McCall against the brutal machinery of Washington politics, the answers they seek are hidden in a murderous maze of lies and hidden motives. And in William Bernhardt’s best novel yet, getting to the truth is an unparalleled experience in pure, satisfying suspense.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Legal Thriller, Crime, Legal, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

William Bernhardt is the author of over sixty books, including the bestselling Daniel Pike and Ben Kincaid legal thrillers, the historical novels Challengers of the Dust and Nemesis, three books of poetry, and the ten Red Sneaker books on fiction writing.

In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writers Center to mentor aspiring writers. The Center hosts an annual writers conference (WriterCon), small-group seminars, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-weekly podcast. More than three dozen of Bernhardt’s students have subsequently published with major houses. He is also the owner of Balkan Press, which publishes poetry and fiction as well as the literary journal Conclave.

Bernhardt has received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award eighteen times in three different categories, and has won the award twice. Library Journal called him “the master of the courtroom drama.” The Vancouver Sun called him “the American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse and John Mortimer.”

In addition to his novels and poetry, he has written plays, a musical (book and score), humor, children stories, biography, and puzzles. He has edited two anthologies (Legal Briefs and Natural Suspect) as fundraisers for The Nature Conservancy and the Children’s Legal Defense Fund. OSU named him “Oklahoma’s Renaissance Man.”

In his spare time, he has enjoyed surfing, digging for dinosaurs, trekking through the Himalayas, paragliding, scuba diving, caving, zip-lining over the canopy of the Costa Rican rain forest, and jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet. In 2013, he became a Jeopardy! champion winning over $20,000.

When Bernhardt delivered the keynote address at the San Francisco Writers Conference, chairman Michael Larsen noted that in addition to penning novels, Bernhardt can “write a sonnet, play a sonata, plant a garden, try a lawsuit, teach a class, cook a gourmet meal, beat you at Scrabble, and work the New York Times crossword in under five minutes.”

Reviews

[Markel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found it rather dry in the middle but loved the start and the twist at the end.

[Judy Churchill · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was way too much ‘really creepy’ content —vampires for instance. The solving of the murder was excellent.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kincaid and the flamboyantly dressed Christina McCall are still an item as the book opens. He’s so awkward and backward he can’t tell her he loves her, and that’s what she’s waiting to hear. He’s oh so close one day when the phone rings. An old law-school buddy turned U.S. Senator from Oklahoma needs his help. It seems the Democrat senator has been sampling the feminine wiles of an intern, and a piece of video everyone can see proves that. But that’s not the worst of things. It isn’t long before the girl’s body turns up in a private room the senator uses frequently. She is most emphatically dead, and this is going to be a problem with the folks back home who fill out their ballots.

Kincaid brings his staff to Washington to help the senator. It promises to be the high-profile trial of Ben’s career. As they dig into the motivation of the intern to release the video, Ben’s investigator enters a world of goths and vampires that I preferred not to read.

This felt less-than believable to me. I’m no attorney, but some of the courtroom stuff seemed sensationalistic and hard to believe.

This wasn’t terrible, and I finished it in an evening reading session. But it felt like the author tried to titillate me with the bizarre stories of vampire clubs and similar things. I’m basically staying with this to see what happens in the relationship between Kincaid and his strawberry blond law partner. She seems the smarter of the two in many respects and worthy of her own series.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Senate aide Veronica Cooper was found in a secret Senate office beneath the Capitol building, on Senator Todd Glancy’s favorite couch, blood pouring from the knife wound in her throat. The young woman’s death comes on the heels of the release of a sordid videotape depicting her and Senator Glancy in compromising positions.

With the senator’s reputation in tatters, the evidence against him–as a sexual predator and possibly a killer–mounts. By the time a nationally televised murder trial begins, Kincaid and his team know they’re facing the challenge of a lifetime. According to public opinion, and even in Kincaid’s most private thoughts, Glancy is one more politician who cannot admit his own culpability.

But while a dramatic trial unfolds in the courtroom–loaded with pitfalls, traps, and an astounding betrayal–another trial is taking place on the mean streets of D.C., as Kincaid’s investigator pursues a young woman who was a friend of Veronica Cooper’s, plunging Kincaid into a bizarre world of Goths, sadomasochists, and a community of self-proclaimed vampires. Somewhere in this violent underworld lies the secret behind Veronica Cooper’s demise . . . and the crux of Senator Glancy’s innocence or guilt.

In a case that pits Kincaid and his freewheeling partner Christina McCall against the brutal machinery of Washington politics, the answers they seek are hidden in a murderous maze of lies and hidden motives.”

[Gary E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. My complaints are few. Like many books which take place in and around Washington DC which were written by folks who do not live in the D.C. area there were a few inaccuracies in this novel. For example Georgetown being a Jesuit school is not a Greek school (no official Frats or Sororities well there is one but it is a service type fraternity)). It is a minor point I will grant you but it is the kind of thing someone who has lived in the D.C. area for over 4 decades will notice.

Having said that it is a well crafted novel with characters regular readers have grown to love. I truly enjoy these books which I describe as a combination detective novel and courtroom drama/ legal thriller. This was a nice fast paced book with lots of great twists and turns in short it is everything I expect in a book from this accomplice listed author.

[Kathy kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all of this series up to this one. The trial was interesting and timely in view of the many sex discriminations and assaults in politics today. The subplot ( I guess) with the voodoo and goths was unnecessary and added nothing to the plot. The characters are all familiar. I had read the one after this to learn that Ben is now a Senator!! Was curious how that happened. If you canskip thru the voodoo stuff, it is a good read.

[Diane C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perseverance Pays Off

Ben Kincaid and Christina McCall have a capital murder trial in Wash. D.C. defending a senior U.S. senator from OK The circumstances surrounding the crime are tawdry and damaging. Loving, the investigator, has a prime role in ferreting out other possible suspects and encounters a dangerous vampire coven. SPOILER ALERT: Ben becomes a major hero in the state of OK and finally realizes what's most important to him. I loved the ending!

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quality book in the Ben Kincaid series. If you like courtroom dramas you will love these books. The trial is always going on while his investigator tries to find who really committed the crime that is being tried. The author bounces back and forth between court action and investigator action. And the core characters are outstanding.

[Johnny Melvin Meade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The vampire part made the book not worthy of a better rating. Probably won't read any more from this author.





Liked the characters but hatred the vampire parts. Anything gothic isn't worth reading or watching. I also don't like doing reviews.

[Sharon Brennan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re a Democrat you’ll probably like this book. I like a good mystery but when the main character and ancillary characters are slamming a political party or conservative views it is not something I want to continue to read. I read 13 of his books and they were getting too politically biased.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. I think I am giving up on novels about Politicians and lawyers!

[Jerry King · Rating 4 out of 5]

2006

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally...geez!

[Toni Garrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my favorite

This book has been my least favorite Ben Kincaid book. I like the story line about the murder but did not like the story line about the vampires.

[John Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm liking Berrnhardt more and more

I like the stories and the characters. Fast paced easy to read. Also a little gotcha at the end. Nice job

[Claudia Riege · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Thumbs Up

Another great mystery! I ca’t wait for the next Ben Kincaid book! William Bernhardt is a great writer! Thank You!

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can never get fully into these Ben Kincaid novels. In general, they’re entertaining and a fun read but they have a big obstacle to overcome—the main protagonist is a weak character who isn’t particularly credible. The author painstakingly goes out of his way to paint him as this naïve, self-effacing, aw shucks kind of character. But all of those things are incongruous with being a successful lawyer, and he simply doesn’t come off as a real character. The senator that he was defending, on the other hand, did come off as real. He was a manipulative, power hungry, ego maniacal politician—all very believable qualities when comparing him to actual senators and politicians.

Although this was an entertaining read, the whole vampire aspect was over the top. I had no problem believing that these types of cults exist. As a vampire author, my own research has shown this to be true. But the Sire comes off as this omnipotent force of evil, and it wasn’t believable. I also felt the novel should have ended with the end of the trial. The entire part at the end, although not unexpected since Barnhardt is apt to do this sort of thing, was overkill and anticlimactic. His editor should have convinced him to bring out the hatchet and chop the whole thing out. In summary, this was a readable novel but not a great one.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this critical link in William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid series. I had read the first ten in the series and the last three, but missed this one which explains why Ben evolves from an excellent if poorly compensated criminal defense attorney to a more political being. The pace of the story is pounding and unrelenting and takes the reader on two very different journeys that successfully merge at the end. There are a number of twists and turns for the reader to follow, but even the most attentive will likely find at least one turn more than they expected. The contrast between the intellectual contention in a federal courthouse and the violent, sexual world of a dark inner circle of not so mythical blood-letting is stark. But the balance keeps the reader from getting too bogged down in either world allowing respites at just the right moments. Bernhardt deftly walks the thin line between too much darkness and enough to jar the reader and succeeds, but it's close thing. Thank God for Christina to keep everything real and to keep the reader honestly concerned about the outcome. Ben Kincaid shows a great deal of courage in this one and allows himself a few expressions of true emotion. There is a bit of political theater, but this is certainly understandable and forgivable given the setting of the piece and the key players involved. This book opened a new stage for the Kincaid series which was effectively exploited in the final books in the series.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I DEC 2018. I like the protagonists but not the extensive trial period and some farfetched plot intrigue going on in the story. I'm also tired of being "beat up" with exposure to 2018 narcissistic politicians.
I ws going to drop my rating down to *** and then I remembered 2 key side bar notes, one concerning Henry Kissinger and the concept of charisma wins out over truth and the other over police sometimes taking the lazy way in investigating crime. With Kissinger, it was his poor judgement in various Southeast Asia geo-political problems but his charisma made his a folk hero.

April 2014. made the mistake of reading more by Bernhardt before writing this review. Oooops.
once again, Loving seems to get beat up but comes out with the important informatio
Senate aide Veronica Cooper was found in a secret Senate office beneath the Capitol building, on Senator Todd Glancy’s favorite couch, blood pouring from the knife wound in her throat. The young woman’s death comes on the heels of the release of a sordid videotape depicting her and Senator Glancy in compromising positions. With the senator’s reputation in tatters, the evidence against him–as a sexual predator and possibly a killer–mounts.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid is hired by US Senator Todd Glancy, a former lawschool acquaintance, to try to get the senator out from underneath a messy sex scandal. Glancy readily admits that he had been engaged in an affair with one of his aides, Vernonica Cooper, and before Ben can get all of the facts straight Veronica's body is found in the senator's private offices in the Capitol building. Glancy is now charged with murder and Ben, along with his partner Christine, learn that the senator has been involved with several young women and that his sexual leaning is a bit out of the ordinary. As Ben's private investigators delve into the victim's background they learn of a secretive Washington DC underground cult of vampire wannabes. The leader of this group, "The Sire" has taken his cult to new levels with ritual sacrifices and murder. Veronica straddled both worlds, the cult and politics, but which group had the biggest reason to kill her?
I have enjoyed many of the Ben Kincaid series over the years and this one was good, if a bit strange. The mystery was well done and I didn't figure it out until just before the reveal but the whole vampire cult and sexual shenanigans were too much.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago I worked at a used book store and I was introduced to William Berhnardt's Ben Kincaid series by a co-worker. Pretty soon, all of us were reading the series and recommending it to others and they were moving off the shelf pretty briskly. Ben Kincaid does that to you - he is a likable guy with a rumpled suit and no ego that just wants to do what is best for his friends, family and, of course, his clients.


But, I haven't read a Ben Kincaid novel in a long time (8 years according to the other Ben Kincaid review on this blog: Murder One). The good and the bad thing is that William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid is a lot like Janet Evanovich' s Stephanie Plum. Despite all of the different adventures and experiences, the characters just do not change. Read book 5, book 10, book 14 - it does not matter. Just jump right in. Of course, this is a mixed blessing. It is an invitation to being stale, but also a recognition that people like comfortable characters...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book but the author went out of his to lean to the left politically through out the the book. Depending on the subject its necessary to bring politics into a fiction book but he seemed to throw it in my face, which I didn’t like. If you don’t follow politics, or you lean left politically, I think you’ll like this book. It is one book in a series of books with the same characters, I will not be reading his books again.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oklahoma lawyer Ben Kincaid is called to washingtton, DC, to defend Oklahoma's senior senator in a sexual harassment suit. It soon turns into a murder trial as the alleged victim is murdered and the senator is accused of the crime. Ben and his team run afoul of a group of vampires as they search for missing witnesses. Two plots are playing at the same time: the murder trial and the witness search.

[Mary Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben Kincaid finds himself in Washington D.C. defending the senior US senator from Oklahoma in a murder trial. The senator, while a schmuck, is not a murderer. As usual,, Bernhardt manages to troll the bottom of characters. These particular bottom feeders are a subculture of witches and vampires;. pretty dumb.

[Bernie Charbonneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3.5 stars. Not quite 4 in that I found some of the court room scenes a little boring. I always enjoy reading Bernhardt's books and I dont't know why it took me so long to catch up on his books but I already have the next one ready to read. The story was very good considering that you have a U.S. Senator tied in with vampires. You have to read the book!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Kincaid, the Oklahoma attorney, is back. His current case takes him to Washington DC and involves a Senator [Bill Clinton type personality] involved in a sex scandal & murder. Lots of action in this one.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad, but the solution to this mystery "magically" happens near the end of the book. It does tie up loose ends, but seemed to come from nowhere. Having said that, I just got more Bernhardt books to wander through.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of several books featuring Ben Kincaid and company in Washington, rather than Oklahoma. I wasn't sure I was going to like it much, seeing as I'm not really a heavy political person, but I enjoyed it fully. The same Bernhardt elements are there, just in a different setting.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, I give this murder mystery by William Bernhardt 3.5 stars. It was more interesting/less boring than Capitol Threat, by the same author. I did successfully guess 'who done it'. Now, that's quite enough of life in Washington, DC!

[Deby · Rating 2 out of 5]

One would think Investigator Loving has supernatural powers given the beatings, shootings and now raidoactive exposure he encounters at the hands of the bad guys. And he just doesn't seem that smart.