Overview
"New York District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp faces two seemingly different situations that will ultimately prove to be shockingly alike." "On the one hand, Karp struggles to make Jessica Campbell, a rabble-rousing political science professor, pay for the gruesome murder of her three children. Though Campbell claims God told her to "send her three children to Him," it is up to Karp to prove that she was fully aware of the nature and consequences of her actions." "Meanwhile, an Islamic terrorist who calls himself "The Sheik" and his suicidal "jihadi" followers devise a plan, an incendiary attack that will occur in Manhattan's heartland. If successful, it would have a devastating effect on the economy of the United States and the world. Before time runs out, it is up to Karp, his wife Marlene Ciampi, their daughter Lucy, and an eccentric yet effective group of accomplices to stop them." As these two fast-paced plots interweave with explosive twists and turns, Robert Tanenbaum dares to ask: Is it acceptable for a person to commit murder if the killer believes it is God's will? Does this motive provide the murderer with an easy out using the insanity defense? And perhaps, most provocatively, just how insane is the insanity defense itself?Synopsis
In this riveting new legal thriller, the twentieth in the bestselling series, Manhattan D. A. Roger “Butch” Karp and his crime-fighting crew must race against the clock to stop a malicious terrorist plot that could change the course of history
Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Tanenbaum's improbable 20th Butch Karp legal thriller (after Malice), Karp, the New York County District Attorney, is as usual juggling multiple challenges-including the prosecution of Jessica Campbell, a politician's wife who murdered their three children, allegedly in response to a divine command, and yet another Islamic terrorist plot aimed at the Big Apple. While the sheer horror of Campbell's crimes, along with a psychological defense based on post-partum depression, could have been the basis for a thoughtful legal debate, Tanenbaum stacks the deck by saddling the defense with hack expert witnesses and makes a heavy-handed effort to parallel the defense theory with the suicidal jihadists, who also claim to act in the name of their god. The ability of Karp's family members to wander into apocalyptic terror plots and emerge not only unscathed but with a quip on their lips will also be off-putting to many readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Tanenbaum's improbable 20th Butch Karp legal thriller (after Malice), Karp, the New York County District Attorney, is as usual juggling multiple challenges-including the prosecution of Jessica Campbell, a politician's wife who murdered their three children, allegedly in response to a divine command, and yet another Islamic terrorist plot aimed at the Big Apple. While the sheer horror of Campbell's crimes, along with a psychological defense based on post-partum depression, could have been the basis for a thoughtful legal debate, Tanenbaum stacks the deck by saddling the defense with hack expert witnesses and makes a heavy-handed effort to parallel the defense theory with the suicidal jihadists, who also claim to act in the name of their god. The ability of Karp's family members to wander into apocalyptic terror plots and emerge not only unscathed but with a quip on their lips will also be off-putting to many readers.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.