Capitol Conspiracy

CAPITOL CONSPIRACY by William Bernhardt has two settings, Oklahoma and Washington D.C. Bernhardt's contemporary Oklahoma settings are so real it's like being set down in a particular neighborhood, being part of the action. What kept me turning the pages of CAPITOL CONSPIRACY was the depiction of Washington shenanigans out of sight of reporters and cameras. It's revolting, and ultimately discouraging. This book was published in 2008 but it might have been written this morning. The tenor of the times is the same. In Oklahoma City for an anniversary commemoration of the Murrah Building bombing, the President is caught squarely in the midst of an apparent terrorist attack, barely escaping with his life. Others are not so lucky, or well protected. The country is paralyzed by shock and fear. The President calls on Congress to amend the Constitution by suspending the Bill of Rights. At the center of the action is Ben Kincaid, a newly appointed senator filling an unexpired term. Kincaid is a low-profile Tulsa lawyer. He's married to his chief of staff who's a real firecracker. Together they negotiate the treacherous halls of Congress and the national uproar over constitutional rights. The surprise ending is a testament to greed and ambition at high levels. CAPITOL CONSPIRACY is 16th in Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid series. Number 17, CAPITOL OFFENSE, will be released Sept. 29, and 18 in the series, CAPITOL BETRAYAL, is due out from Ballantine in March 2010. I hope to go back through the list and read some of the earlier ones.

With all that is happening in the world around us, the plot of this book is not too far-fetched. It is easily believable that the President and others in political office could be attacked for the stances they have taken. Bernhardt invites the reader to ask themselves how far we should all go in order to protect our freedoms. Is it worth giving them up to speed the process of prosecution or should we never mess with the basic doctrine of the constitution? A political web is spun around this story as you follow Senator Kincaid. As usual he finds himself in the middle of the controversy. And once again Ben goes against the grain. But this time he goes against everyone dear to him. For those who love the storylines involving the other characters besides Kincaid, you may be disappointed. This book focuses mainly on the Senator as he attempts to forge the nation's ideals in a time of tragedy. Don't let that dissuade you; this is definitely worth the read. Bernhardt fills the story with his flair for twists. You'll enjoy the ending. Moreover you'll wonder how you would have voted on the proposed Constitutional Amendment. After all it may be closer to your future than you think. PATRICK RALEY is the author of the mystery, detective novel entitled "Precedent of Justice". Find out why Publisher's Weekly calls him "the next John Grisham."

The head of Homeland Security is missing and a Senator has been killed with ricin poisoning - and his last words were: "Oklahoma City." Meanwhile, on the anniversary of the bombing, tragedy has once again struck Oklahoma City. At a memorial service, shots are fired and the First Lady is killed along with several Senators and Secret Service men. Now, only four days after the shooting, the President is pressuring the remaining Senator from Oklahoma to support a bill that repeals the Bill of Rights in a time of national emergency. This amendment, if passed, would in effect put total control of civil rights into the hands of a Security Council headed by one person. Ben Kincaid, the junior Senator from Oklahoma, was at the scene during the attack and his best friend now lays in a coma after saving Ben's life and that of the President. With that as his driving force, Ben agrees to support the amendment, however, his chief of staff (who is also his wife) is dead set against this proposed bill. As opposing factors to the amendment line up for battle, not everyone is convinced the attack was by foreign terrorists working alone. There are too many things pointing to help from an inside source - someone inside the government. While Ben is making speeches and appearing before committees promoting the amendment, his wife Christine, begins her own investigation into this latest attack at Oklahoma City. Emotions and suspicious are tossed out like nets and every government agency has its own agenda in the investigations and in the outcome of the President's proposed amendment. The story takes you from the glitz and glitter of Washington elite to the darkest and dirtiest side of the nation's Capitol: blackmail, adultery, murder and children sold for sex. In this power-engorged city, the lust for more power knows no boundaries. This political thriller is fast-paced and intense with surprises blasting away at what you thought you had figured out. Armchair Interviews says: Bernhardt is a master of his craft and this most recent, Capitol Conspiracy may just be his best yet.

In William Bernhardt's CAPITOL CONSPIRACY, Ben Kincaid is still seated as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma, finishing out the previous Senator's term. He has married Christina, the love of his life, professional partner and alter ego. Jones, his computer-hacking office manager, is also on the scene. Loving, his intrepid investigator, is still rolling with the punches. And best friend Major Mike Morelli is now part of Washington's official security staff. The novel opens in Oklahoma on the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. "It was a magnificent memorial, the largest of its kind in the United States, designed to honor the fallen, the survivors, the rescuers, and everyone else whose life had been indelibly changed by the tragedy." The President, the First Lady, senators and other luminaries are on the stage taking their seats as they wait for the speeches to begin. The security is as tight as humanly possible until an agent breaks protocol in an almost unnoticeable way. But someone does see, and that person confronts the agent, who just ignores him. Before another word can be spoken, the President makes his way to the podium. A shot breaks the silence. In this post-9/11 world, people immediately think "terrorists." Pandemonium ensues. There's screaming, running, absolute confusion and disbelief as more shots explode, creating so much noise that the gunfire sounds like a fusillade coming down on the heads of the crowd. In a brave effort to keep the President safe, Mike Morelli is critically wounded. Ben's thoughts run from blaming himself for the current tragedy to "the attack [that] had been a nightmare. A national nightmare, true...but one he experienced first hand... his cheek still stung where the bullet had grazed him... [his most] haunting memory [was of] all those men --- dropping...before his eyes." How does one recover from witnessing and being part of such carnage? And where in the melee is the head of Homeland Security? Why isn't he at his assigned location? Nobody could guess that a madman who calls himself "General" has tortured him to death. With his last words he whispers what General wants to know. "The Patriot Act had granted the FBI...enhanced powers, [especially] the ability to wiretap with more leniency and to monitor private Internet activity... it was almost no time...before the FBI was using the `sneak and peek' provision...to search houses while residents were absent...or snooping into individuals' library records. Fabulous powers to have in a crisis...and dangerous powers in the wrong hands." Both the amount and sophistication of the gadgets and gizmos available to the government is awesome, and oversight depends upon who is in charge of the government and its individual parts. Now, in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City attack, a group of senators and their henchmen propose a new level of snooping that would make warrants unnecessary and put total control for such decisions into the hands of one person. Un

During a ten-year memorial for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, a bomb explodes and a sniper opens fire, killing the First Lady, prompting the president to call for sweeping contitutional reforms that will compromise civil liberties, and a suspicious Christina, wife of renegade senator Ben Kincaid, launches an investigation into the event. BT. From it's graphic beginning to it's surprising ending, Bernhardt has written a thrilling and exciting tale. At issue is America's civil rights. Along with the thrills, you'll get debates from the left and right. Bernhardts thrillers have become my favorites to read. Though the believability factor sometimes gets stretched, he provides one heck of ride. "...decisions made in haste, decisions made in the aftermath of tragedy, decisions based upon fear, are rarely sound ones. If we are to say farewell to fundamental American liberties this nation has enjoyed since its founding, perhaps that is a decision that should be made pursuant to cold, logical deliberation--based upon reason, not fear." Highly recommended.