Rating: 
Summary: Butch Has Problems
Review: We once again check out an instalment in the lives of Butch Karp, Chief Assistant District Attorney and his wife, Marlene Ciampi, a director of an international security agency. Butch finds himself faced with challenge after challenge, both professional and personal. On the professional front, cases are being assigned priority in the DA's office based on their political appeal rather on their prosecutorial merits. A police cover-up is being rushed through the system, much to Butch's disgust. And a man faces the death penalty for a crime that he probably didn't commit. The problems on the personal side are just as worrying for Butch. Lucy, his 17 year-old daughter is ditching school and choosing to hang out at the local soup kitchen, helping the homeless. Marlene has just become independently wealthy and uses this newfound wealth to go on outlandish buying sprees by day and drinking binges by night. Quite a good deal of the book deals with the political aspects of Butch's position as Chief Assistant District Attorney. This doesn't exactly make for edge-of-the-seat thrill a minute drama. Between dwelling on the psychological problems faced by Butch, Marlene and Lucy, there is not a lot of time left to actually expand on the mystery side of the plot, that is, who is the bum-slasher. As a result, the bum-slasher was virtually revealed as an afterthought and just as quickly, dismissed. This really is an update of the story so far of a day in the lives of Butch Karp and family. Consequently, I would recommend this for people who have read previous books by Tanenbaum and are aware of what has happened in the past.
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