Capital Crimes

Within the first few pages of Sanders's disappointing 20th novel, we are introduced to a latter-day Rasputin--a wild-eyed, lustful ``holy man'' who preaches out of a ramshackle barn in Virginia--and have had a glimpse of his kinky sexual practices. Then we are privy to a discussion among the U.S. president's key staff members, who deliberate whether the Chief Executive and the First Lady might be heading for mental breakdowns because of their concern for their only son, a hemophiliac. The pace of this derivative thriller slackens thereafter, as these two plot threads become entwined. Brother Kristos, as the mysterious faith healer has christened himself, soon has the First Couple--and a goodly segment of official Washington's womenfolk--under his considerable spell. John Tollinger, an ex ecutive assistant to the White House chief of staff, is assigned to expose Kristos as a charlatan--not an easy task, given the man's apparent ability to see both the hidden past and unknown future of many of those he meets. It is all most improbable, even in an era when presidents consult astrologers, and the ending rings false, rendering this one of Sanders's least effective efforts. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates. (June)