Oklahoma may seem like an unlikely setting for the beginning of a political thriller, but it's here that a tragedy occurs in the form of an attempted assassination on the President of the United States. While President Blake addresses a crowd on the 10-year anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, shots ring out. Secret Service agents and the FBI scramble to protect the President and dignitaries and contain the chaos.

When the smoke clears, many are dead and wounded. Junior Oklahoma Senator Ben Kincaid is among the slightly injured, but he finds that his best friend, who took a huge risk to save others, is in critical condition. Stunningly, the First Lady is dead. In the emotional aftermath that ensues, the President emerges, grief-stricken yet composed, with a piece of legislation set to target the very civil liberties that Americans enjoy as part of being an American. It's a step above and beyond the Patriot Act, and while many support this bill against terrorism, there are others who realize it's akin to thinly disguised martial law.

Kincaid finds himself an unlikely candidate to lead a charge of this kind in the Senate, being singled out by the President to publicly endorse this new Constitutional amendment. Kincaid struggles with balancing his emotions and making rational decisions. He wrestles with his conscience and with his Chief of Staff, his own wife Christina, who does not support the bill. Christina is actually suspicious of those who are pushing so hard to get it through the Senate. With the force of the President's strong emotional play on the people -- do it for the First Lady and stop the terrorism -- Christina launches her own investigation when she begins to suspect this may have been a plot initiated on American soil, solely to drive the legislation. What she uncovers is astonishing.

This is a fast-paced, well-written, intelligent, witty thriller. It moves quickly and steadily and brings together numerous colorful characters and subplots quite well. Bernhardt, a former trial attorney himself, pens some impressive dialogue from the senators as they take the floor to debate the controversial amendment and posture for the press. If you liked the harried political pace and intellectual dialogue of the television drama West Wing, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. And if you love a good mystery and a well-constructed, intriguing, conspiracy theory, then this one is for you. I found CAPITOL CONSPIRACY to be a thrilling, thought-provoking read with the bonus of interesting insight into the workings of the American political process.