Part of Butch Karp, book 20
First published 2008
District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp faces his most challenging case when a political science professor claims divine command drove her to murder her three young children. The woman's insanity plea puts Karp in the impossible position of proving a killer sane while public opinion turns against him. Her husband's political prominence makes every move scrutinized. Meanwhile, an American jihadist bombs a Manhattan synagogue, raising the same disturbing question that haunts Karp's case: can religious conviction justify murder? As Karp investigates alongside his wife Marlene and daughter Lucy, they discover the bombing connects to a larger terrorist conspiracy. A shadowy figure called "The Sheik" plans to cripple New York's emergency systems and destroy the economy through coordinated attacks. The family races to stop him before he executes a massacre that could shatter the nation. Karp must navigate the courtroom battle over divine madness while hunting terrorists who believe God sanctions their violence.
Genres: suspense, crime, action, mystery-thriller, political-thriller, legal-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, family-secrets, race-against-time
Setting: Manhattan, New York
Period: Contemporary
552 pages · Hardcover · Vanguard Press
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, murder