Murder Inside the Beltway: A Capitol Crimes Novel

by: Margaret Truman

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann

In this police procedural, classy call girl Rosalie Curzon is found dead in her trashed apartment–apparently she died after a prolonged struggle. On a top book shelf, rookie Detective Matt Jackson discovers a series of videotapes and a video camera, focused on the bed. His boss, 23-year curmudgeonly veteran Detective Walt Hatcher has him take the tapes back to the station where Hatcher, Jackson and Detective Mary Hall watch in disgust as they see Curzon entertaining a congressman, a cop from the Police Academy, a lobbyist, and more….

Was she blackmailing her customers? Some tapes are missing. Who was on the missing tapes?

Their investigation uncovers an estranged father; an ex-boyfriend; a girl friend Micki, also a prostitute; and an angry ex-boss from her first job with an escort service, before she went out on her own.

Suddenly Samantha, the 8-year-old daughter of the best friend and aide to presidential candidate Robert Colgate, is kidnapped. Everyone is pulled off the Curzon case to work on the kidnapping. Hatcher is disgusted as Hall and Jackson are given key roles near the distressed parents. Colgate is running a campaign against the crooked, nasty and sneaky incumbent, Burton Pyle. Unfortunately Colgate has a reputation as a womanizer, and his conflicted wife can barely tolerate her hypocritical role in his campaign.

Micki and a local restaurant owner tell Jackson of kickbacks to cops. Who are the dirty cops? Where are the missing tapes? And why is the father of kidnapped Samantha Rollins meeting in secret with Pyle’s main advisor? Will little Samantha be all right?

This may be the last in the excellent series of 24 Capitol Crimes novels as author Margaret Truman died in January 2008.

Armchair Interviews says: Politics, police, prostitutes and truth seldom mix, but they do so in this good read.