Fatal Conceit

by Robert Tanenbaum

Part of Butch Karp, book 26

First published 2014

A CIA director lies dead just before his scheduled testimony about a terrorist attack cover-up in Chechnya. District Attorney Butch Karp takes the case and discovers the intelligence chief planned to contradict the administration's official story. The government's campaign message centers on defeated terrorism and Bin Laden's death, but rumors suggest officials orchestrated the director's killing to silence him. Karp hunts for Chechen separatists who helped Americans during the mission and witnessed the attack firsthand. His investigation becomes personal when terrorists kidnap his daughter. A New York grand jury indicts the presidential campaign chairman and NSA spymaster for murder. Karp faces them in court while the entire administration, a biased judge, and cooperative media work against him. These powerful enemies will kill again to bury the truth. Karp must expose the conspiracy and save his daughter while fighting the full weight of government corruption.

Genres: crime, action, mystery-thriller, political-thriller, legal-thriller

Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: conspiracy, enemies-to-lovers, personal-stakes

Setting: Chechnya, New York

Period: 21st-century

448 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books

Content warnings: violence

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