Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense (Ben Kincaid)

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.