Rating: 
Summary: Another Jewel in Stuart Woods's Crown
Review: The players who live hard and fast in today's vitriolic political environment are the driving force in Stuart Woods's newest thriller, CAPITAL CRIMES. He brings back Will Lee, the former senator from Georgia, who is now President of the United States. His wife, Katherine Rule Lee, wields power as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. She was "appointed to that post by her husband, after an act of Congress had allowed him to do so." Together, with the help of Robert Kinney, the FBI's deputy director for Criminal Investigations and a law enforcement crew from different agencies, they must stop a killer who is assassinating conservative politicians.The timely story reflects so much of what is happening in America --- the divided factions of ideologues whose issues arise from their personal philosophies; the narrow-minded politicos who believe their doctrines are the only ones that count; the power hungry officials who lose sight of their original commitment to their constituents; the anger among the disenfranchised electorate; and the compelling themes of good vs. bad, them against us, whose rights are primary, and ultimately, does fiction reflect the truth about the world as we think we know it and how it is run. The lines between "Liberals" and "Conservatives" merge because anyone with an agenda and gun just needs to point and shoot. CAPITAL CRIMES is a fast read, but that doesn't diminish its impact. When Senator Freddie Wallace is murdered at his weekend cabin, the possibility that secrets he had kept for years might be leaked sends a wave of fear to everyone from the Oval Office to almost all the corridors of power across the country: "What has a lot of people in Washington worried is that Senator Wallace was rumored to have kept extensive files on various people in government and that the information in those files might find its way into the media. According to rumor, only J. Edgar Hoover had more dirt on more important people." The first leak was about Elizabeth Johnson, who had been the Senator's lover for over twenty years. When she found him she knew what to do. She "had gone through the house carefully, packing anything that might be linked to her into two large suitcases. She and Freddie had talked about this more than once, and his instructions had been explicit." He told her to take everything that belonged to her, get out of the house and call the sheriff. And that is exactly what she did. When she got home she "opened a desk drawer in the den ... and took out a key. She went down the stairs to the basement and to a pile of boxes in a corner. She moved one, exposing a small filing cabinet, the kind that holds index cards ... she switched on a light, illuminating a row of precisely filed cards, all of them labeled with neatly printed names of some of the best-known, most powerful people in the country." At first she had wanted to look at them "but instead, she stared at the cards as if they were a poisonous reptile." She put the cards away and decided she "would wait awhile, until the furor over Freddie's death died down, then she would burn all those index cards in her fireplace." But when Kinney found her, he told her he knew about the senator's cache of files and said, "The senator had a lot of enemies ... if we interview every one of them, it will take months, maybe years to develop suspects. He took a deep breath and told the lie. 'Now, I think it's very possible that, somewhere in those files is the name and the motive of the man who murdered the senator.'" Elizabeth understood immediately how important it was for Bob Kinney to take possession of the mean-spirited legacy she had kept hidden for so long. Woods tells us a lot about Ted, the killer. We learn why he kills. We learn about his thought patterns. We get to know him through his heinous crimes. He was a master of disguises and great with his hands. He was able to make his own guns and rebuild his car so that the carapace hid the engine and other high-tech adjustments he made. We learn that he had been planning this killing spree for years and that he is a very patient man. But someone knows his identity, where he can be found and how to catch him. Not surprisingly, that someone wants to speak to CIA Director Katherine Rule Lee. He wants a dialogue with her but only on his terms. She is reluctant to tell anyone that he's been in touch with her. Why has she not told even the President about her contact with this mystery man? Is she hiding something behind her post as First Lady, or does her silence have something to do with her assignment with the CIA? Stuart Woods is an accomplished writer who has produced 29 books, all of them gems. He is known for his well-crafted plots and intriguing characters. He is an accessible writer with an exceptional ability to take a headline and reweave it into a suspenseful novel. That uncanny talent makes CAPITAL CRIMES another jewel in his crown. --- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning!
Review: This is the fifth book in a long series by Woods, and in my opinion, the best of the lot. He never seems to run out of steam and his characters are always believable and well thought out--as are his plots. Highly recommended. Also recommended: THE SECOND CHAIR and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating: 
Summary: Unbearable...
Review: This may very well be the worst novel I have ever read. It reminded me of the hokey mysteries I used to write in my free time when I was in elementary school. This author (Stuart Woods) has absolutely no knowledge of human relationships or how to accurately and believably portray them. He makes a dinner between a married couple sound like a Pentagon intelligence briefing. Not a single moment of the dialogue ever comes close to being believable.
It is clear that this novel was written in a weekend and that no research of any kind was done. It is beyond me where Mr. Woods got his information about the interworking of American government. The President of the United States essentially acts as a local police chief, being called everytime a piece of evidence is found and holding press conferences to announce arrests. Even more ridiculously, we are asked to believe that an expert CIA agent who never leaves a trace would be stupid enough to use his best friend's name as an alias. We are also supposed to believe that the investigators would look at a list of hundreds of names and randomly pick out the killer by chance on the first try. The most inane premise by far is that the killer runs a website in which he lists all his victims. When the FBI finally decides to trace the website, they can't do it because he changes the server every day. The author expects us to buy that the nation's top investigations unit can't track an amateur website because he changes it every DAY?
Now on to the plot. In addition to the worst written novel I have ever read, this is the worst developed novel I have ever come across. Instead of focusing on a few central characters, Woods decides to bring in about about 30 "main" characters. In addition, none of them are ever developed whatsoever and the reader begins to forget who any of them are and doesn't really care. A subplot will be developed for an entire 30 pages and then will never be mentioned again. It's almost like parts of the book were written when the author was using some kind of hallucinogen. A dialogue will ensue between 2 characters who were never introduced, the dialogue will make no sense and mean nothing to the reader, then the characters and their story will never be alluded to again. And, of course, the central plot is never even resolved or explained. Not a mention is ever made as to why the man is assassinating these people other than the fact that he is a liberal and they are conservatives.
It is mind-boggling that this man has made millions of dollars and owns 4 mansions. In closing, a truly wretched book that should only be read for the sheer (and frequent) laughter that will ensue from the juvenile plot and inept writing.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: Will Lee is back in this Stuart Woods Novel. This is not one of the best ones he has had in the series. Though, a lot of the old characters are back from this series. Will is president and one of his most notable opponents is found shot dead in his retreat cabin. Then another opponent of that Will Lee stand for is blown up. Before long (with the help of a kid) the FBI is able to find a web page that tracks the potential victims. But, who is doing the killing? I found this one to be a good thriller but not up to the standards of the normal Woods stories. Many of the characters we already know and they don't develop a whole lot. You do have a couple of tricks and turns in the story, especially near the end. I felt he spent a bit of this book setting up the next one, which means I am glad I listened to this one or I would be lost. Not a bad listen but not in my top 5 Stuart Woods books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Will Lee story - but no the best.
Review: Will Lee is back in this Stuart Woods Novel. This is not one of the best ones he has had in the series. Though, a lot of the old characters are back from this series. Will is president and one of his most notable opponents is found shot dead in his retreat cabin. Then another opponent of that Will Lee stand for is blown up. Before long (with the help of a kid) the FBI is able to find a web page that tracks the potential victims. But, who is doing the killing? I found this one to be a good thriller but not up to the standards of the normal Woods stories. Many of the characters we already know and they don't develop a whole lot. You do have a couple of tricks and turns in the story, especially near the end. I felt he spent a bit of this book setting up the next one, which means I am glad I listened to this one or I would be lost. Not a bad listen but not in my top 5 Stuart Woods books.
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