Capital
Offense, by Kathleen Antrim, has just been re-launched
for this political season. The author used her vast experiences
of being a national correspondent to create a very intriguing
premise: how far will a political machine go to achieve ultimate
power? This book takes the reader behind the scenes of a political
race, touching on journalistic integrity and the power brokers.
The author noted in the beginning of the book that she was
inspired by the unregulated power of first ladies, with Hillary
Clinton the spark that ignited the story. It is more a story
of manipulative politicians as seem through the life of Warner
Lane, his wife, Carolyn, and his political pundits. In attempting
to grasp political power they will stop at nothing, even murder,
to achieve their goal. They are obsessed with the desire to
see him become president, even willing to frame Carolyn for
the killings they committed. The story exposes this and how
many journalists look the other way, while never questioning
relevant facts. That is, until one reporter, Jack Rudly, investigates
his dad's death wondering if it was murder instead of an accident.
Throughout the novel readers see the inner workings of getting
someone elected while avoiding the many barriers in their
path.
Although people think the main character draws a comparison
to Hillary Clinton, she is more like Jackie Kennedy and Laura
Bush combined. She is intelligent, sympathetic, and altruistic.
It is obvious that Carolyn's marriage to Warner is one of
convenience, a business and power agreement. This marriage
was not bound together by love but by ambitions. The author
skillfully contrasts her with Warner Lane, showing how she
is very successful professionally but has demons in her personal
life, including an abusive husband. As the story progresses
so does the reader's dislike for Warner, who never takes any
responsibility, degrades in personality, and erodes into the
world of moral bankruptcy. This can be seen in a quote from
the book when Warner blames Carolyn, who "caused him
to lose control, caused him to hit her..."
Antrim explained, "I thought about how certain First
Ladies want a voice in the administration. Carolyn had issues
dear to her heart and did what she felt was needed to stay
in power. She thought she had a good reason for what she was
doing. Compare her to Hillary Clinton, who has a forward aggressive
personality. Even though she was not elected or appointed
by the President she had enormous power. She demanded an office
in the West Wing, which is very valuable real estate. Every
other First Lady, past and present, has an office in the East
Wing. Think about it, even national security advisors have
some kind of oversight while the First Lady has none."
Readers might question if the plot sustains believability,
but they should think no further than some political pundits
who had controversial deaths. In December 1972, Dorothy Hunt,
the wife of convicted "plumber" E. Howard Hunt,
died in a suspicious plane crash. The Clinton White House
counsel, Vince Foster, supposedly committed suicide; yet there
is forensic evidence that his body was dumped in a park. Ron
Brown, the Secretary of Commerce in 1996 also died in a plane
crash, but Antrim noted, "The autopsy report shows a
cylindrical hole in Brown's head consistent with a bullet
wound." People might not believe the killings in this
story, but let's remember people have been killed for far
less than aspiring to achieve the most powerful position on
the planet, the President of the United States."
The story faults many journalists for not wanting to expose
the truth, as evidenced with this quote, "If the press
doesn't report the truth, the people don't get the truth."
Antrim wanted to hammer this point home, that objective journalism
is basically dead. She did a great job with it in this story
even if some events were a bit exaggerated. She is discouraged
with today's reporting, "When reading the front page
of a major newspaper you can see how biased the writer is
by the word choice and the angle chosen. Even bloggers need
to understand that there are rules unless someone is making
a commentary and then they need to find an angle and use reputable
sources to support it."
Capital Offense has a very believable plot considering
the deceit, revenge, power and murder in this novel, basically,
is politics as usual. Besides being suspenseful and riveting,
every concerned voter should read this book as an eye-opener
to what political campaigns are really like.
On a side note, Kathleen Antrim will be participating in the
Veteran's Benefit Book Fair on November 8th, because she thinks
those who serve are amazing and should be recognized for the
sacrifices made day in and day out. She is one of those that
does the walk along with the talk, considering she is currently
the USO Director for International Thriller Writers and has
done two tours entertaining the troops in the Middle East
since many are readers. |