Capitol Murder
by Phillip Margolin (Goodreads Author)
3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 562 ratings · 116 reviews
Private investigator Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller have overcome more than a few daunting challenges and powerful enemies to see justice done. Against tremendous odds, they successfully unmasked an American president's involvement in a chain of murders. They also saved the life of a Supreme Court justice while foiling a conspiracy by rogue members of the CIA to fix a case h More...

Full review originally at Fantasy Book Critic

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Phillip Margolin is a favorite of mine, I started reading his books nearly a decade ago and since then I have enjoyed his Amanda Jaffe books as well as his standalone titles. He began a trilogy with a set of characters in 2008 with Executive Privilege; he followed it up two years later with Supreme Justice and last year he capped off the trilogy with Capitol Murder.

Like all of his books, Capitol Murder has quite a few plot threads More...

A New York Times bestseller

“A killer follow-up...Phillip Margolin’s Capitol Murder is like a cold shower—it grabs our attention and gets our adrenaline running.” --New York Journal of Books

“With politics on everybody’s mind, best-selling author Phillip Margolin zeroes in on politicians behaving badly in Capitol Murder. In this riveting page-turner, a serial killer has escaped Death Row to wreak havoc while terrorists plot to blow up an NFL stadium.” --National Examiner Magazine

“Another one of M More...

The fact that the author long served as a defense attorney in 30 murder trials permeates this tale of terrorism, murder and treason. It is the third novel featuring Brad Miller, an attorney, his wife, Ginny, also an attorney, and Dana Cutler, a dogged private investigator and sometime reporter for a sleazy Washington supermarket scandal sheet. In previous books their investigation revealed the role of a President in a series of murders and saved the life of a Supreme Court justice while preventi More...

Lots of plot threads eventually tie together

Published by HarperAudio in 2012.
Performed by Jonathan Davis.
Duration: 9 hours, 38 minutes.

I have been a Phillip Margolin fan since I read his book The Burning Man nearly 15 years ago. I worked at a used book store at the time and I remember turning a couple of people on to Margolin's stuff. I must admit that I have not read some of his more recent books, not out of lack of interest, but mostly due to the pressure of a massive To-Be-Read pile (do you More...

I sometimes read this sort of genre stuff; it has many readers, and I often find myself wondering what I’ve missed. Once again - and at the risk of seeming a snob - I find I haven’t missed all that much. In such books, the characters are an inch deep, the prose is often more than clunky, and the stories are filled with gratuitous sex and violence. Capitol Murder is no exception. Here, there’s a terroristic plot to kill lots of U.S. citizens, with more-than-mild corruption and intrigue within Fed More...

Capitol Murder (Harper Collins 2012) is another winner for Phillip Margolin, a self-described self-taught writer and author of fifteen New York Times best selling novels and 4 books of short stories. This book reprises the appearance of terrorist Clarence Little, the violent serial murderer attorney Brad Miller successfully defended against one murder charge, thus earning the long-term affection of this nefarious character. When Little escapes from prison, he is linked to a streak of murders, th More...

Capitol Murder is the third book in the trilogy that began with Executive Privilege and Supreme Justice. Private investigator Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller are once again involved in a high intrigue thriller that traverses the hallowed corridors of our nation's capital. This time, the pair becomes involved in a mystery featuring Senator John Carson from Oregon and a group of terrorists that want to blow up the stadium of a Washington Redskins game. Once again, Margolin introduces a slew o More...

Phillip Margolin has completed his Washington trilogy – “Executive Privilege,” “Supreme Justice” and, now, “Capitol Murder” – without lead characters. Brad, Ginny and Dana are rather plot pivots; their insertion in this story is to connect and bridge one incoherence to a coincidence to the next non-sequitor.

Despite this, Margolin is an interesting storyteller with enough forward propulsion to keep us engaged. The trouble begins when we ask: “engaged in what?”

Over the arc of this trilogy we hav More...

In "Capitol Murder," Phillip Margolin uses a three pronged approach to his story.

Serial killer, Clarence Little, kills and mutilates young women. One of the cases he was found guilty for, is overturned due to faulty evidence. The other cases will then be reviewed.

Brad Miller is an attorney who was active in overturning Little's conviction. He begins getting notes from Little and then learns that Little has escaped.

The next segment of the story has to do with a terrorist plot on a football stadiu More...

The book starts out well, and I enjoy the initial 1/3 of it. But then, instead of plots thickening, I fast realize that the plots are really so tenuously held together that it leaves a lot to be desired. *Spoiler alert* Once the serial killer escapes after killing off his defense attorney, among others, he suddenly drops from the book, only to resurface towards the end to becoming the "good guy" to save the day. And the befuddled plot to try to paint the AWOL Special Force guy as the is-he-or-is More...

Serial killer Clarence Little convinces his lawyer to help him escape when he is to appear in court. Attorney Brad Miller proved that Little did not commit one of the murders he was convicted of. His lawyer was able to get his other convictions set aside and new trials were ordered. Now Little is on the loose. Meanwhile, a group of terrorists are planning on destroying a packed football stadium. Brad Miller is now working as an aide in Senator Carson's office. A woman murdered according to Littl More...

I had not read a Margolin novel in some time and was quickly reminded of his typical formula.

Margolin has the right recipes for a great thriller mystery: realistic setting, aggressive characters, twisting plots, cliffhangers, apathetic villains...

However, in my opinion, it's how he stirs these ingredients that somewhat annoy me. These books, Capitol Murder no exception, are seemingly several short stories written separately but then weaved together in an attempt to tie a mutual conclusion.

Some More...

I just finished "Capital Murder" by Phillip Margolin and loved it! This is the first book of his I've read, but my roommate has read every book he's written, beginning with Heartstone." She told me not to start it unless I had nothing else to do and WOW, she was right. Thank you for allowing me to read your book; I'm putting you on my list of favorite authors.

Like his other novels, this one is pretty good. The plot involves a terrorist plot to blow up a stadium during a big game, thus killing and injuring thousands. How the plot plays out is quite interesting. There are four characters from previous novels, three of whom are involved. One works for a Congressman; one is a PI hired to work for the lawyer of one of the terrorists involved; the third works for DOJ and become involved with the plot. The plot was one that appears in many books today, but More...

Brad, Ginny, and Dana all hold various job positions in Washington D.C. Their stories are related and alternate back and forth. It was really well-written because even though the characters primarily had distinct parts, it was easy to follow along, and it created a lot of suspense. There was a mixture of government agencies, terrorism, and just plain old murder. Even if it seems like everything has been revealed, there is always something else to thicken the plot. I really liked that it fused se More...

Brad Miller and Dana Cutler are back in the newest thriller from Phillip Margolin and all they want is to relax after having to deal a corrupt President and a serial killer. The serial killer, Clarence Little from the previous book makes a visit in this one. This time the body of a murdered woman is found in Senator Jack Carson home, and a terrorist group is planning to attack on US soil. No relaxation for Brad, his wife Ginny or Dana.

With all three things intertwined into a story of murder, gre More...

NO SPOILERS: A pretty good read. I initially struggled with the large number of characters but Mr. Margolin weaved them together well. It would've been good to read the previous two books from Mr. Margolin that included most/all of the characters in Capitol Murder in a connected storyline - they're on my To-Read shelf (Executive Privilege and Supreme Justice). Overall, this was an easy story to read and it covered a lot of ground - Virginia, Maryland, Oregon and Washington DC - all local locales More...

This is the third in what the author dubs his "Washington Trilogy", set in the nation’s capitol – although the ending certainly would indicate that more in this series featuring investigative reporter Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller are forthcoming. Indeed, in this novel, even a villain from the earlier works is reprised, in the person of Clarence Little; and we sincerely suspect we’ve not seen the last of him. The plot was divided between a flawed terrorist attempt to blow up a football st More...

This book is definitely suspenseful as billed, but there are too many side plots to keep track of, and are they all necessary? It seemed to be more than one book fighting to get out. I enjoyed sections of the book, particularly those that dealt with the terrorist subplot, and the serial killer subplot. I could have done without the high priced companion subplot entirely, although I enjoyed the hypocrisy of the politician who got himself wrapped up in it all. A good book, but kind of "all over th More...

Wow! I must say that Mr. Margolin has it in for American Senators. This being the third novel in this series, we find that another Senator is in a wee bit of a conspiracy. I enjoy Mr. Margolins work. This work of fiction was a good quick read that had enough twists and suspense to keep the pages turning. This book, for me, is a wild tale set in the American Capital area with international foe's and allies trying to out do each other so must be taken as is, a book to be enjoyed and not taken to s More...

This third book in what I've come to think of as the "Brad and Dana" series by Phillip Margolin. It helps to have read the first two to understand the protagonists.

The book is a fast read. Clarance Little, the serial killer from "Executive Privilege" is back and escapes from prison. There is also a plot by Islamic terrorists to blow up a football stadium. These two diverse storylines do wind up coming together at some point, although the connection is rather tenuous at best.

If you're looking f More...

Phillip Margolin is an author of whom I have been aware, but never read before.

It was a pleasure getting this book as a GoodReads/FirstReads title, as it was definitely a good read. I will have to check out more Margolin stories.

The twists and turns during the story kept me trying to predict what would happen next. I succeeded only once, fairly early in the book when one of the characters died, and it was not unexpected.

The book had several inter-connected stories, all well done, and inter-con More...

I was extremely excited when I found out I won this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I am a fan of this author's work. I've had the privelege of reading the other two books that proceeded this book which really worked in my favor. If I had not read the other books in this series starring Dana Cutler and Brad Miller, I probably wouldn't have even bothered to go back and read them. This book gives away a lot of information in regards to the plots in the other books.

The story begins i More...

In Capitol Murder, the third book in his Washington Trilogy, Phillip Margolin's characters Dana Cutler and Brad Miller are once again involved in facing off against evil plots both within and outside of the United States government. While terrorists plan to blow up FedEx Field near Washington, D.C., Brad and Dana discover a money trail that finances the terrorists and may lead right back to the halls of Congress.
Margolin's characters leap off the page and pull you into the action. Besides Brad a More...

While it has been a while since I read the last book in the installment, I quite enjoyed the book and Margolin's split plot. it was quite easy to get ensconced and I found myself wanting to read 'just a little more', so much so that I sped through the book in a short time. Margolin is to be applauded not only for his description, but also the use of dialogue and accuracy that is lost in so many terrorist-centred books.

I found myself wanting to get to the root of how two seemingly independent sto More...

This book is part of an ongoing storyline which I had not read previously. It was a little difficult to get involved in the story with characters established in previous books and not being familiar with them. More so since there were multiple main characters, each with previously established backstories. While I enjoy books written in series, I prefer each of them to be a more complete story in itself. This felt more like a few chapters of a larger book.

That being said, I did enjoy the book ove More...

This advanced reader copy was the first book by Phillip Margolin I have read. The plot was very detailed and intertwined between the characters. The book was very intense at times to the point I had to put it down. In the book's defense, I had difficulty with the characters of terrorists even though I know that things happen every day.

The plot involved a longterm senator, the FBI, the CIA, and other agencies along with operatives engaged in terrorist attempts in the United States.

As the book opens, Brad is settling into life in Washington DC with his new bride Ginny. He works for charismatic Oregon Senator Jack Carson, a powerful member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. His boss has a weakness for the ladies, when he starts chatting up a woman with ties to unsavory characters Brad knows it spells trouble. Brad is uneasy about the notes he is receiving from a serial killer, but the man is locked up for life so he shouldn’t be too much of a threat. Or should More...

Luckily I borrowed this book from the library rather then buying it because if I did purchase it I would definitely be asking for a refund. I don't know what the author was thinking but some of the characters in this book act so stupidly it is beyond belief. I've read a few other books by this author and while they weren't masterpieces at least they had a believable plot and characters. I strongly, strongly suggest you take a pass on this book.