Part of Butch Karp, book 25
First published 2013
District Attorney Butch Karp faces one of his most challenging cases when a gunman opens fire during a Broadway performance, leaving multiple victims dead. The shooter claims temporary insanity, but Karp suspects the defense masks a calculated crime. As he builds his prosecution, Karp must navigate the complexities of mental health law while pressure mounts from the media and city officials demanding swift justice. His wife Marlene Ciampi conducts her own investigation into the shooter's background, uncovering troubling connections that complicate the case. The courtroom becomes a battleground where legal strategy collides with questions of responsibility and revenge. Karp fights to prove premeditation while defense attorneys paint their client as a victim of his own fractured mind. The case tests everything Karp believes about justice and forces him to confront whether the legal system can truly deliver closure to those shattered by senseless violence.
Genres: mystery, crime, psychological-thriller, legal-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Broadway
Period: 21st-century
400 pages · Gallery Books
Content warnings: graphic-violence, mental-illness