Capitol Conspiracy

By: William Bernhardt

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid has found himself smack in the middle of more than a few controversies and deadly predicaments–and the unexpected leap from his modest Tulsa law offices to Washington, D.C.’s Senate chamber hasn’t taken the edge off Ben’s knack for stepping into the line of fire. Now the idealistic junior senator is plunged into the thick of lethal intrigue when a shocking campaign of terror against key government officials rocks the nation’s capital.

The nightmare begins with the abduction and murder of the director of Homeland Security; escalates with the killing of the Senate minority leader; and comes to a shattering climax at the site of the Oklahoma City Memorial, where a fusillade of sniper fire meant for the president claims unintended victims. In all, twelve people perish in the melee. But the smoke has barely cleared when the stunned nation is sent reeling yet again by the president’s impassioned call to amend the U.S. Constitution with an antiterrorism law that would drastically curtail civil liberties.

It’s a hot-button issue, and the chief executive has handpicked Ben to help harvest the support that will make the amendment a reality. Shaken by the carnage, Ben embraces the president’s radical cause and takes the battle for the controversial bill to the Senate floor. But he can’t ignore his growing suspicion that what’s haunting Capitol Hill isn’t the specter of foreign terrorism but something much closer to home. Now, with his support team backing his play, Ben squares off against what could be the most dangerous Goliath he’s ever challenged.

Critic reviews

Praise for William Bernhardt

Capitol Threat

“Plot twists, sly wit and political intrigue make this book exciting reading.”
–Tucson Citizen

“The murderer turns out to be about the last person you’d suspect.”
–Wisconsin State Journal

Capitol Murder

“A white-knuckle page-turner . . . Don’t start this book when you have something important to do.”
–The Oklahoman

“Political infighting and backstabbing, Kincaid faces it all.”
–New York Daily News

A Timely Subject

Capital Conspiracy places a previously excellent cast of characters into a timely subject - what price should we, as US citizens, be willing to pay for protecting our way of life. The story Bernhardt spun around this issue was "4 star" in construction but the execution (the reading) was lacking.
In most cases, Stephen Hoye has proven to be a good reader with a wide range of character voices. For example, Hoye was excellent in The Color of Law. However, his portrayal of Ben Kincaid (and several other characters) was not his best work. Specifically, Kincaid, though young and dealing with the powerful, came off as a bumbling, na?ve kid. In past stories, Kincaid had progressed as a young man – as both a trial lawyer and then a determined (though inexperienced) US Senator. It seems reasonable to expect that he would grow a little stronger and more confident rather than regress. In short, this characterization of Ben Kincaid lacked credibility
On the positive side, Bernhardt created good villains and sub-heroes of various types. As mentioned before, the context of the story is relevant in today’s world.
If you follow Kincaid and friends as well as Bernhardt, Capital Conspiracy is worth the investment of time and money. However, I would rather have read it than listened to it. In that way, I could have better interpreted the key characters.

Good stopry line

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Kept my interest throughout.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Hoye???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not that I know of.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It would have been nice to do so, if the time was avaialble, which it wasn't.

Loved it!

I thought this was a great book - kept me interested throughout and had great plot twists...I cant wait for the next Ben Kincaid book!

Capitol Conspiracy

I enjoyed both Capitol Murder and Capital Threat, but this book was a huge disappointment. The plot is ridiculously unbelievable, and the book is laced with Democrat "talking points" and "big lies." The book revolves around a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would allow a committee to suspend the Bill of Rights if it (that same committee) declared a state of emergency. The arguments in the book about the amendment were shallow, to say the least.

Capitol Conspiracy

I was disappointed in this book. I felt that it did not flow smoothly through the many characters in the book and lost the story line/s. Further, on a person note, I was disappionted in Ben