Murder at The Washington Tribune: A Capital Crimes Mystery

Mediocre Mystery:
Murder at the Washington Tribune by Margaret Truman is not the worst book I've read this year (I'll reserve that dubious honor for Patricia Cornwell's Predator). And it's not even really that bad. It's just not that good either. I have to applaud Ms. Truman for venturing away from her usual Washington series starring attorney Mac Smith and coming up with an entirely new set of characters for this novel. I generally enjoy her mysteries, with the combination of Washington insider intrigue, solid mystery writing, and good characters. This book, however is not so much a mystery as a journey into the temptation of and subsequent fall from grace of a good man. As such, the mystery, the murder of a young journalist takes second place to the relationship between veteran news reporter Joe Wilcox, his daughter, hotshot television reporter Roberta Wilcox and MPD detective Edith Vargas-Swayze. Also entering the mix is Joe's brother Michael, newly arrived in Washington after years spent in a mental institution after his killing of a teen-age girl. Truman mixes all these characters together, and tosses in a few other mysteries as well-- the murder of another reporter and the killing of an elderly veteran. Sometimes she loses some of the threads-- I don't believe the murder of the second reporter is ever solved, and the resolution of the murder of the first reporter is no big surprise-- the surprise is that no one tumbled to it sooner. Ultimately the murders in this book are merely window dressing for the true story, which is the downfall of Joe Wilcox. There's nothing terribly wrong with that, however Ms. Truman could have given her story more oomf if she had devoted as much time and energy toward the mysteries as she did to Joe's story. As it is, the reader is left at the end feeling dissatisfied-- not only are all the questions not answered, but there just doesn't seem to have been any purpose to the whole book.

A Departure from Traditional Truman:
I found this book to be a bit of a departure from Truman's other novels and I have to say I really enjoyed it and found it to be a breath of fresh air. Not that Truman's other novels aren't spectacular, they really are! This book however is quite special in that the main character turns takes a path that strays away from the straight and narrow. With books where Mac Smith is the main character, we are used to him taking the high road, so this is definitely a departure from that way of thinking! Joe Wilcox, a respected, but aging reporter finds himself in a moral dilemma when he has the opportunity to gain some fame in the autumn of his career. One thing leads to another and soon he finds himself losing is journalistic integrity in order to show up a young, hot shot reporter. To add further intrigue, someone from his past shows up on the scene that has a lot more to hide than the reader first realizes. This complicated tale of deception and murder in the Nation's capitol should not be missed!

what snot to like?:
Margaret Truman is one of my favorite writers. I learn about DC politics and the city while getting a good yarn, and usually can't put them down. Unlike other mystery writers, I do not skip her words -- I do nto "speed read" but savor the whole book!

The Good, Bad & The Ugly:
Margaret Truman knows how to craft a novel and although the story of Joe Wilcox and his journalistic integry is put to question and makes for an interesting read, the book is absolutely riddled with cliche. Murder At The Washington Tribune is not an entirely bad read, albeit a bit slow and clunky at times. It has just enough to keep you interested and wondering. However ... ahhh ... as a reporter Joe Wilcox is virtually handed the name of the person who may have killed a young female reporter at the paper about 120 pages in, courtesy of the young women's parents. Wilcox never considers looking into this angle. Flew past him like a Roger Clemens fast ball. Twenty five years of crime reporting and what becomes a major clue goes unreported. Wilcox, the newspaper reporter has, of course, a beautiful daughter in television. Chalk another cliche up. Anyway, the dialog between the two is often pedestrian and dumb. They're constantly sharing sources for stories and get irritated with each other when one of two holds back information for their own employer. As I think about it, there's another cliche at every page. Wilcox' boss is a "tough" Metro News Editor in constant need of the latest scoop. Cliche. Wilcox' wife is a stay-at-homer, all too eager to please and have dinner cooked when he arrives home. Cliche. The main female police officer investigating the murders has a life so cliche -- failed marriage, amazing good looks, high morality -- that she could be a piece of swiss cheese. Cliche. Then, there's the long lost brother whose past creates the books sense of mystery, but he turns out to be medium spicy. You see everything he does or is going to do coming a mile away. The last chapter of the book? CLICHE. Just read for yourself. The one redeeming part of this book is the issues facing newspapers across the country: Integrity. Revenue. The conflict between tabloid journalism and real news journalism. For exploring this angle, I give Ms. Truman thumbs up. For the rest of the book, cut the cliches.

A Great Mystery that keeps you guessing to the very end:
I found myself pulled into this mystery. I've read a number of the Capital Crimes Series and feel this is one of the best ones that the author's written. I was guessing all the way until the end to figure out who the murderer was. I highly recommend this book. It is well written and the attention to detail was good without being overwhelming. Susan K. Behm, author of The Journey, Secrets in Paradise, and Civilized Savages.