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From senators to summer interns, from all the president's men to all-powerful women, Margaret Truman captures the fascinating, high-wire drama of Washington, D.C., like no other writer. Now this master of mystery fiction takes us into the capital's chaotic fourth estate. At the big, aggressive newspaper The Washington Tribune, a young woman has been murdered. And the hunt for her killer is making sensational and lethal headlines. The victim, fresh out of journalism school, hoped to make a show more splash at the Trib--and then a maintenance man found her in a supply closet, brutally strangled to death. The Trib's journalists are at once horrified and anxious to solve the crime before the cops do, and put this scandal to rest. But the Metropolitan Police Department isn't going to let byline-hungry reporters get in the way of its investigation, and soon enough the journalists and the cops have established warring task forces. Then a second woman is killed, in Franklin Square. Like the first, she was young, attractive, and worked in the media. For veteran Trib reporter Joe Wilcox, whose career is mired in frustration and disappointment, the case strikes close to home. His daughter is a beautiful rising TV news star. As his relationship with a female MPD detective grows more intimate, Joe sees a chance to renew himself as a reporter and as a man. Spearheading the Trib's investigation, he baits a trap for the killer with a secret from his own past. Suddenly Joe is risking his career, his marriage, and even his daughter's life by playing a dangerous game with a possible serial killer, while a police detective is bending rules for the reporter she likes and trusts but may not know as well as she thinks she does. As Joe's daughter finds herself trapped at the heart of a frantic manhunt, the walls come down between family, friendship, ethics, and ambition--and a killer hides in plain sight. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I liked the characters - Joe Wilcox, veteran reporter for the Washington Tribune, his wife and daughter, Roberta, who was a a television reporter. Add an attractive police detective who Joe had a one night stand with a long time ago and a brother who mysteriously calls him after not being in the picture for many years. Then add his boss and a few fellow co-workers. The plot started out well but then got kind of tangled. About two thirds of the way through, I just wanted it wrapped up. Not one of her better books but it was okay. I miss the Reeds...
At the big, aggressive Washington Tribune, a young woman, fresh out of journalism school, has been brutally strangled to death–and the hunt for her killer is making sensational headlines. Then a second woman is found dead. She, too, worked in the media. For veteran Trib reporter Joe Wilcox, the case strikes too close to home: His daughter is a beautiful rising TV news star. Seeing a chance to revive his free-falling career, Joe spearheads the Trib’s investigation and baits a trap for the murderer with a secret from his own past. Suddenly Joe is risking his career, his marriage, and even his daughter’s life by playing a dangerous game with a possible serial killer . . . one who hides in plain sight.
For some odd reason, I've been reading other books than a good old mystery. I really liked this book with the media stories, the variety of characters, good writing technique, etc. Makes me want to read a few more of Truman's lastest novels.
Falls in the category of run-of-the-mill mystery novel. Nothing really suspenseful or interesting about it.
Too many ruminations by characters about things the reader doesn't care about. Perhaps they were to give the characters some depth and personality, but the introspections were boring.
The wife is as flat and static a character as they come.
The cop's divorce storyline was completely irrelevant, as is the daughter's love life.
Too many ruminations by characters about things the reader doesn't care about. Perhaps they were to give the characters some depth and personality, but the introspections were boring.
The wife is as flat and static a character as they come.
The cop's divorce storyline was completely irrelevant, as is the daughter's love life.
Fast read but ending was kind of lame. The book seemed to lack the DC 'vibe' that other books in the Capital Crimes series have had.
Okay, I didn't finish this. In fact, I didn't finish listening to the first disc of the audio book. It just didn't grab me. It's the first Capital Crimes book I haven't enjoyed.
One of my favorite series.
Read these with my Dear Mother.
Read in 2008.
Read these with my Dear Mother.
Read in 2008.
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215 works; 10 members
Author Information
47+ Works 12,713 Members
Mary Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry S. Truman, was born on February 17, 1924 in Independence, Missouri. She graduated from George Washington University in 1946. She was also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel. She was an American singer who later became the successful author of a series of murder mysteries and a number of show more works on U.S. First Ladies and First Families, including a biography of her father, President Harry S. Truman. The only child of Harry Truman and First Lady Bess Truman; she was called "Margaret" for most of her life. Truman made her concert debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1947 and her first television appearance on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. She substituted for Edward R. Murrow on Person to Person, and later had her own radio shows (Weekday in the 1950s and Authors in the News in the 1960s). She was active with organizations such as the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation and the Truman Centennial Committee. She published her first book, Souvenir: Margaret Truman's Own Story in 1956. She also wrote a series of mysteries set at historic locations in Washington, D. C. She died on January 29, 2008 following a brief illness. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Murder at the Washington Tribune
- Original title
- Murder at the Washington Tribune
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Joe Wilcox; Georgia Wilcox; Roberta Wilcox; Edith Vargas; Paul Moorhouse; Michael Wilcox (show all 7); Gene Hawthorne
- Important places
- Washington, D.C., USA
- First words
- Another speaker came to the podium.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"That sounds nice," she said. "Yes, some ice cream sounds very good."
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 382
- Popularity
- 81,376
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.21)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 17
- ASINs
- 6
