Capitol Betrayal
William Bernhardt
Ballantine, Mar 16 2010, $26.00
ISBN 9780345503015

After filling the vacant US Senate seat from Oklahoma, Ben Kincaid fails to win the election. His wife attorney Christina McCall establishes a practice in DC while Ben works on complicated legal issues such as energy for the new Democratic President Roland Kyler at a time when Republicans control the House and the Supreme Court.

Ben is at a White House meeting that includes Kyler, Vice President Swiburne, military advisor Admiral Cartwright and much of the cabinet when the Secret Service informs them of a nuclear incident involving stolen material from a secret Arlington armory. They are directed to take shelter in an underground bunker "PEOC" when word reaches that missiles are in coming. Kyler acts odd so the VEEP and Cartwright declare he should be replaced as the President as stated in the Constitution. Inside the shelter, Ben defends the president against the charges of mental instability in front of the cabinet who must decide who is in charge; at the same CIA Agent Seamus McKay tries to thwart a Capitol Offense assault.

The latest Kincaid thriller is an entertaining tale that fans of the series will enjoy especially the inner workings of the White House during a crisis when agents and physicians take charge. Fast-paced from the onset, readers will enjoy Betrayal even if it miles over the top of the Washington Monument as the plot fun to read anyway.

Harriet Klausner