Executive Privilege

By: Phillip Margolin

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Includes a teaser excerpt from Capitol Murder, the third book in the Washington Trilogy!

The first book in Phillip Margolin’s New York Times best-selling Washington Trilogy, a powerful tale of murder that snakes its way through Washington, D.C.'s halls of power, leading straight to the White House and the most powerful office on earth.

When private detective Dana Cutler is hired by an attorney with powerful political connections, the assignment seems simple enough: follow a pretty college student named Charlotte Walsh and report on where she goes and whom she sees. But then the unexpected happens. One night, Cutler follows Walsh to a secret meeting with Christopher Farrington, the president of the United States. The following morning, Walsh's dead body shows up and Cutler has to run for her life.

In Oregon, Brad Miller, a junior associate in a huge law firm is working on the appeal of a convicted serial killer. Clarence Little, now on death row, claims he was framed for the murder of a teenager who, at the time of her death, worked for the then governor, Christopher Farrington. Suddenly, a small-time private eye and a fledgling lawyer find themselves in possession of evidence that suggests that someone in the White House is a murderer. Their only problem? Staying alive long enough to prove it.

Executive Privilege, with its nonstop action, unforgettable characters, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, proves once again that Phillip Margolin—whose work has been hailed as "frighteningly plausible" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) and "twisted and brilliant" (Chicago Tribune)—belongs in the top echelon of thriller writers.

©2008 Phillip Margolin (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Engaging

I made the mistake of not reading reviews carefully. If I had realized there was a serial killer in the story, I would have skipped the book. The protagonists of the story are Dana Cutler, a P. I., who had been a police officer. She lives in Washington, D. C. The other one is a young lawyer, Brad Miller, who is defending a serial killer.

The book is well written and is fast moving. I think there are too many characters in the story. I listened to this on an audiobook and found it got confusing a few times keeping all the characters straight. The plot was interesting up to a point. The story was interrupted too many times for a backstory. It isn’t a bad book, but it is not a great book either. Okay for a summer read.

The book is twelve hours long. Jonathan Davis does an excellent job narrating the book. He makes the book more enjoyable. Davis is a ten- time nominee and three- time winner of the coveted Audie Award. Davis is a voice-over artist and audiobook narrator. He is known for his voice-over work for National Geographic Television.

"The Strong Survive"

What did you love best about Executive Privilege?
I purchased due to J.D. reading this book. I listened to #3 first as it was a later recording than book1. Both are good books and they do overlap so buy this one first. I had no idea who the main focus hero and heroine were going to be and this book was a delight, as it cleverly wove several pairs together to bring the story to light. I have to say #1 is a bit better than #3 so if you like this book, #3 will not disappoint.

If you’ve listened to books by Phillip Margolin before, how does this one compare?
I have purchased 4 of his books and After Dark is still my fave, but you will need a tissue if you like mystery romances. It is not a romance by far but a tale of deep obsession that goes too far. Both #1 & #3 are more of a saga mystery with lots of twists and turns. I love Angela Dawe male reading voice, hence After Dark.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis – was your favorite?
Mr Davis is so great at breathing life into each character from our heroes down to each villain.
This story had lots of characters and Davis makes each character very distinct so you could listen and enjoy. I loved J.D. reading Sandra Browns Mean Streak and I have been downloading any good synopsis/listen that closely duplicates his pace and voice patterns from that book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
when our F.BI. agent reads Dana's file.
I do use the 1.25x speed for the re listen as it matches the action just a bit better.
Were my comments of help?

Fast read!

Lots of characters, good plots, surprise ending. Can't wait to read the second book in this Dana Cutler trilogy!

Only one part is fiction..

Normally I stay away from legal thrillers, and those that involve politics? Never. But I saw this book listed, and remembered that many years ago, I'd gone to a book signing by Phillip Margolin in Palo Alto. Funny things is, I still remember many of the things Margolin said that night -- it was one of the best author signings I've ever been to.

Unlike many authors who seem to have their main objective as getting done with this event and getting out of there, Margolin seemed to enjoy chatting with readers. Much more than most authors, he talked about himself, offering personal details, how several of his books came to be, how he worked, and more. Then someone asked him what his favorite book was, and noting that he -- like most of us -- had many favorites, he named "Stone City" by Mitchell Smith. I walked out of that bookstore that night not only with several of Margolin's books, but also 'Stone City', which is indeed a very good book.

I'm not sure why, but at some point I didn't keep up with Margolin's books, but now, seeing the Audible edition of 'Executive Privilege'. it was time to jump back in. Glad I did. I listened to this book in just two days -- I should have quit on that second day, done something else, but decided to keep doing household tasks so I could keep listening. There was never a good time to quit.

Anybody who reads these kinds of thrillers knows how it's going to end -- the bad guys (or girls) are caught, the little-guy (or girl) lawyer comes out on top, the perpetrators of evil get their just deserts, and the world is a better place. The interesting factor in this book is that you really don't know who the bad guy is -- or at least, I didn't see it coming until it was right in front of me. Today, with an abundance of sleazy politicians, ruthless aides, big money law firms and other corrupt denizens of the DC ruling class, sexual shenanigans abound -- together with the need to cover it all up. The story rings true on many counts.

The only fiction is that the bad guys got caught. In today's world, I think we're seeing that they almost always get away with it.

Anyway, great book. Thoroughly enjoyable, flawless narrator, just great entertainment.

Very exciting

I enjoyed the entire listen. Very realistic!

Decent read but detracting narrator

I've been a Margolin fan for quite awhile and thought this as good as any other I've read. The plot was interesting (if not predictable) and the characters were reasonably well developed but the ending lacked punch and credibility.

I was also disappointed by the quality and/or style of the narrator. His imitation of women's voices was off the mark and his habit of drawing out consonents (especially 's') on the ends of words was annoying. His use of silence (to presumably heighten suspense/command interest) was also irritating. My recommendation is to "read" this book, not listen to it.

Good read....bad listen

This book held my interest especially with the variety of characters introduced along the way. It wasn't his best, but I would recommend you flip the pages on this one rather than listen to it. This was absolutely one of the worst narrators I have ever listened to. I couldn't wait to finish the book just so I didn't have to hear him anymore.

Good Story with a not very plausable ending

Had a good murder story going, not a lot of suspense in who did it, but in how they were going to pin it on him. Then at the last minute tried for a didn't see that coming ending but it didn't really work. Kept me interested the whole way though didn't get bored. A nice weekender book.

A good listen

Okay, the dialogue is not great, but the book is a pretty good read. If you have listened to as many suspense / thrillers as I have, you appreciate a slightly different angle that this book provides with the political involvement. The narration is solid.

Politics trumped

This book has a lot of characters. None are fully developed but they are introduced at just the right time to keep you interested and thinking about the twists and turns of the book. I would not rate this a great book but is entertaining to listen to on a drive to work. Worth a listen.