CAPITOL BETRAYAL

There's no help for narrator Stephen Hoye in this 20th Ben Kincaid thriller. He's stuck delivering a ludicrous plot. Kincaid, a former senator, is now a special advisor to the president. During a meeting with his chief, Washington comes under a missile attack, and Kincaid, the president, and some of his top aides are secluded in a bunker below ground. There the president begins to exhibit bizarre symptoms, and his vice president wants to replace him. There's a sort of trial below ground, with Kincaid acting as the president's defense counsel. Meanwhile, super agent Seamus McKay is battling the evildoers above ground. Sound silly? There's even more nonsense. On the other hand, Hoye, to his credit, gives a fast-paced performance, which almost makes you forget all the absurdity. His female characters are wholly believable, and he's duly obnoxious as the gruff know-it-all admiral. If anyone was betrayed with this story—it was Hoye. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]