5-STAR REVIEW: MARGARET TRUMAN’S MURDER AT THE CDC by Jon Land

Capital Crimes
Publication Date: February 15, 2022

2017: A military transport on a secret run to dispose of its deadly contents vanishes without a trace.

The present: A mass shooting on the steps of the Capitol nearly claims the life of Robert Brixton’s grandson.

No stranger to high-stakes investigations, Brixton embarks on a trail to uncover the motive behind the shooting. On the way he finds himself probing the attempted murder of the daughter his best friend, who works at the Washington offices of the CDC. The connection between the mass shooting and Alexandra’s poisoning lies in that long-lost military transport that has been recovered by forces determined to change America forever. Those forces are led by radical separatist leader Deacon Frank Wilhyte, whose goal is nothing short of bringing on a second Civil War. Brixton joins forces with Kelly Lofton, a former Baltimore homicide detective. She has her own reasons for wanting to find the truth behind the shooting on the Capitol steps, and is the only person with the direct knowledge Brixton needs. But chasing the truth places them in the cross-hairs of both Wilhyte’s legions and his Washington enablers.

“A wonderful mystery novel, riveting until the last page.”
—Strand Magazine

“A terrific tale that never lets up.”
—Sandra Brown

When his grandson narrowly escapes a mass shooting on the steps of the Capitol, Robert Brixton is determined to find the culprit. Meanwhile, a side investigation into the attempted murder of a friend’s daughter shows signs of overlapping with the shooting. Author Jon Land delivers his second installment in Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes series with Murder at the CDC.

This spine-tingling thriller showcases political intrigue at its finest. A radical faction is determined to seize power within the United States and has no qualms about utilizing the deadly chemical cargo from a missing tanker to achieve its goal. Brixton teams up with Kelly Loftus of the Capitol Police to put the clues together, an investigation that leads to a top U.S. Senator.

While a work of fiction, the storyline is realistic enough to make me question our country’s vulnerability regarding an internal bio-chemical attack. There are enough news reports of homegrown militia units to make this story closer to fact than fiction. That accomplishment is courtesy of the author’s skills in breathing life into fantasy.

With a returning cast of characters including Brixton and his attorney pal Mac, the Professor, and Panama, the tension heats up as the group tracks down a unique murder weapon—coupon cards treated with transdermal poison. While it sounds like something fresh out of a futuristic sci-fi flick, the author makes it incredibly real.

There’s no lack of suspense in this installment; it’s packed full of action until the explosive ending. Murder at the CDC is another successful installment for author Jon Land.

JON LAND is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifty books, including eleven in the critically acclaimed Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong series, the most recent of which, Strong from the Heart, won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Best Thriller and the 2020 American Book Fest Award for Best Mystery/Suspense Novel. Additionally, he has teamed up with Heather Graham for a science fiction series that began with THE RISING (winner of the 2017 International Book Award for best Sci-fi Novel) and continues with BLOOD MOON. He has also written six books in the Murder, She Wrote series of mysteries and has more recently taken over Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes series, with his second effort, MURDER AT THE CDC, to be published in February of 2022. Jon is known as well for writing the film DIRTY DEEDS, a teen comedy starring Milo Ventimiglia and Zoe Saldana, which was released in 2005. A graduate of Brown University, he received the 2019 Rhode Island Authors Legacy Award for his lifetime of literary achievements.

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