I picked this title up at the library hoping it might be a good read. I had no idea that this was (1) Harry Truman's daughter or (2) a really, really great story! I'm a fan.

A wonderful book that has suspense at every turn. There is definitely twists to the book that catch you by surprise. Am anxious to see how it finishes.

One of the better story lines. I missed Mac and Annabel with, but this plot had me thinking and really intrigued.

7-13-2016 re-read but 6 years ago must have been forgettable - didn't remember it.
in reading my 6 year old comments, i must have gotten some of the verbiage from the book flap.

June 2010 book on tape
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.
good twists and turns. his brother is something else.
highly recommend, terrificv ending!!!

Nearing retirement, Joe Wilcox looks back at his 23 year career at the Washington Tribune with frustration and quiet desperation. He left a comfortable home in Detroit to join the prestigious paper hoping to launch a stellar career, but after more than 20 years he's still just a crime reporter. When two murders of young women in the media occur, he comes up with a theory about a serial killer but prints it as if it were fact. Meanwhile, his estranged brother Michael is back in town which bodes no good for anyone.

This book highlights some of the more unpleasant aspects of the world of print media, and shows how a life chasing stories and fame can damage a persons integrity.

Trite, unrealistic and no real resolution

This installment of the Capital Crimes Series poses serious questions about the integrity of media at this time when newspapers compete with television and the internet to hold the attention of consumers.

Joe Wilcox is an aging reporter approaching retirement at the Washington Tribune, wondering whether his long career in journalism has amounted to anything worthwhile. Under pressure from his editor Paul Morehouse to produce something to catch the attention of their readers, he sees an opportunity to do that and make one final scoop before he leaves. The body of Jean Kaporis a beautiful female reporter at the paper, was found dead and stuffed in a supply closet at the office, a discovery that has everyone in a panic. Anxious to get things under control, the paper appoints Joe to lead an in-house investigation and he hardly gets started before the body of TV producer Collen MacNamara is discovered in a nearby park. Joe notes the similarities between the crimes: both women were beautiful, both worked in the media and both had been strangled. He begins to speculate that a serial killer may be on the loose, targeting that profile. Soon the other media pick up and run with his theory and Joe is suddenly in the spotlight, requested for interviews. The media attention gets him exactly what he wants, a chance at some last bit of glory before he retires. This may be his big break, his chance to leave his career on a high note.

The Metropolitan Police Department are running their own investigation and insist there is no evidence to substantiate Joe’s claims. The two task forces set up by the newspaper and the police are soon competing with one another, clashing over evidence, approach and conclusions. But as Joe’s speculations lead to outright lies, he discovers he must do more to maintain the momentum he has created and keep the story going, so he decides to set a trap for the killer, wading into dangerous waters.

During this time Joe has other things on his mind, including the safety of his daughter Roberta who is a TV reporter, his connection to a police detective who is bending a few rules to help him, and his brother Michael who has suddenly reappeared in Joe’s life after being committed to a mental institution for killing a young girl.

This crime story does not include a complex mystery. Instead, Truman uses her narrative to explore the question of journalistic integrity, posing questions about what separates fact-based journalism from tabloid rags that offer sensational fodder for consumption. It calls into question the ethics and integrity of ambitious reporters, all competing for jobs and their careers in the cutthroat world of the media. It questions their commitment to maintain ethical standards in their work, use verifiable quotes and reliable contacts, and avoid speculation and sensationalism. It speaks to the need to report facts, not what they believe their readers want to hear.

An interesting read that poses important questions, even if the mystery is easy to solve, leaving one large loose thread hanging, as it closes.

I enjoy Margaret Truman's writing and this was no exception. I was kept guessing all the way through although I definitely had my suspicions - which were ultimately confirmed.

One criticism is that things wrapped up quickly and neatly at the end. It seemed like there was all this drama and drawing out to set the stage and then, boom! mystery solved and the book ended. Another criticism was the ease of the main character, Joe, of selling out his ethics. He suffered a few pangs of conscience but I would have enjoyed knowing what his thought process was for his rationalizations.

I still enjoyed the book.

Two stars sums it up. Writing is stilted. I like this series for its location and the insider knowledge of the city, but this one was a snoozer.

I have read a couple of Margaret Truman's Capital Crimes Novels and liked them. This one was hard to put down, but not my favorite of the ones I have read. That might have been because none of the characters were likable. Joe Wilcox was a star reporter for the Washington Tribune and now finds his career fading and younger journalists taking over. In a last stab for glory, he willfully fabricates a story that a serial killer is on the loose in Washington, DC, targeting young, beautiful women in the news business. Though the police are certain the 2 murders are unrelated Joe starts a panic with the articles he writes in the paper. His willingness to lie to create a front-page story is abominable. His daughter, Roberta, is a TV newswoman, and it was awful to me that they would keep secrets from each other so they could be the one to get the scoop out first and make names for themselves. Father and daughter profess to love each other, but deceit goes both ways. I will say a twist at the ending had me surprized.

This is a solid well written book that kept me guessing all the way to the last chapter where the perpetrator was revealed. Margaret Truman does an excellent job of creating characters that are both believable and likeable. They are well rounded and each person had their good and not so good qualities.

Of the eight books of the Truman Capital Crimes series, this is my least favorite. Very slow starting and boring for me. It seemed that the first half of the book could have been trimmed down by half again....lots of talking between newspaper people about the news business and lots of talking between cops about their connections with the newspaper people. There were two separate murders of young women in the media and the media's attempts to keep the story fresh and in the news. This quote from the book says it all: "We don't as much report the news any more as we turn it into a story that has marketability."
Way more about newsman, Joe Wilcox and his past, present, and depressing future than I cared to know. Joe's long lost brother, Michael, who has a significant part in the story, was especially irritating. It didn't become an interesting page-turner for me until the last 71 pages when most things were resolved, but not all.