Capitol Conspiracy

October 29, 2007
In Bernhardt’s improbable 16th political thriller to feature Ben Kincaid (after 2007’s Capitol Threat
), President Franklin Blake survives an audacious terrorist attack at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City, but the first lady does not. Kincaid, the junior Democratic senator from Oklahoma, finds himself backing a proposed constitutional amendment that would place vast emergency powers in the hands of a few men and allow for the suspension of most civil liberties. Kincaid’s new wife and chief of staff, Christina, works to identify those behind the new Oklahoma City outrage, a group that may include that genre staple, the corrupt insider. Besides getting details wrong (the Department of Homeland Security is led by a secretary, not a director), the author fails to give the Kincaids worthy adversaries (two Secret Service agents posing as lobbyists try to intimidate Christina with compromising photos of her husband, but one of them forgets to remove his Secret Service lapel pin). Some readers may regard this effort as an unhappy melding of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and the Patriot Act.

January 1, 2008
Another solid entry in Bernhardts long-running series featuring lawyer-turned-senator Ben Kincaid. On the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, Kincaid and the president of the U.S. visit the site to commemorate the tragedy. During the ceremony, gunshots pierce the silence; the presidents wife dies, and Kincaids best friend is rendered comatose. As a result of the events, the president reveals legislation to repeal the Bill of Rights in a time of crisis. Kincaid reluctantly joins in the chorus of supporters who are promoting the passage of this bill, but as he looks closer into that horrific day, Kincaid realizes that terrorists might not have been responsiblethere is evidence pointing toward someone in the halls of the Senate. A few minor quibblesoverreliance on coincidence and a rushed endingare outweighed by the intense thrills. The discussion of our liberties is well integrated into the action and adds to the appeal of veteran Bernhardts latest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)