His best yet! Only criticism is there was not much interaction between Marlene or the Boys, But, everyone else played a good part. Butch is involved in the trial of a woman who killed her 3 little children & says 'God' told her to do it to save their souls, but she planned the murders by purchasing a foot locker & hunting knife 3 days prior. Then, put their bodies in the locker after drowning them & put the locker in her car, drove 100 miles to Hudson River & submerged the car there. She was disguised for the return home trip by train. Her defense was post-partem depression/psychosis. Meanwhile, Lucy, Tran & Joe are involved in uncovering a terrorist (Islamic/Muslum) conspiracy to blow up a financial center in Brooklyn, the NYSE & to bring down the USA's economy through a hedgefund controlled by a Saudi Prince. David Gale, the paper boy with turretts syndrome and several other colorful characters from past novels make appearances to save that plot from happening. Fulton, Guma and V.T. are all involved, as well. Lucy infilitrates as a translator for the Saudi Prince & Tran & Joe go under as the bomb makers for the Islamic mosc involved. The book, as all Tanenbaum's, is rich with humor, but makes you dig deep into the recesses of your mind about moral issues current today, plus throws the fear of God into you by making you think about the possibilities of what can happen in our world with fundelmentist & terrorists. ( )

t’s been quite some time since I’ve read a courtroom drama/thriller. So, when I was offered the opportunity to read Escape, I eagerly agreed. There is something about procedurals, be they on TV (Law and Order) or on paper that are soothing to me. I know that this does not necessarily make logical sense because quite often those very same things include murder, rape, and other egregious behavior. I guess in the end it’s the way procedurals follow a set pattern that relaxes me the way it does. Escape did not disappoint. It is a well written and nicely paced edition to Tanenbaum’s Butch Karp series.

Escape follows two distinct yet loosely intertwined story lines: the usage of the insanity defense and the struggle from keeping evil forces from taking over the United States. Jessica Campbell, an extremely liberal college professor, suffered from post-partum depression that grew steadily more severe with the birth of each of her three children. After she kills all of her three young children, she finds herself in court facing prosecutor Butch Karp. All the while Karp is preparing to go up against Campbell’s insanity defense, his friends and family work with varying degrees of knowledge, intuition, and good luck to thwart a new attack on New York City that is being planned by Islamic fundamentalists and the Sons of Man, a covert and powerful group of wealthy anglo-saxons hoping to “clean” the American landscape and take over the government. Can a rag-tag group of homeless men, retirees, and various members of Karp’s associates and family prevent another well planned terrorist attack?

This is the 20th installment in Tanenbaum’s Butch Karp series, but I have never read any of his other novels. I didn’t find this an impediment to following the story, getting to know the characters, and enjoying the stories. As with other serials, there were flashbacks to what happened in previous novels to fill in any gaps. I appreciated this information and do not feel that it was excessive enough to bother those who have been following the Karp family and friends all along. Sometimes it’s nice to be given a reminder.

As someone who experienced post-partum depression, I appreciated the way that Jessica’s character was written. I found the descriptions of her emotional suffering realistic. The outcome of the trial, however, was no surprise to me at all. If I were to find fault with this novel, it would be that Jessica’s attorney came off ineffectual in the courtroom and defense witnesses were all very odd characters. To me, it wouldn’t have taken much of a DA at all to run circles around the defense.

I enjoyed reading Escape. In many ways, the book was just that for me - an escape. At just under 600 pages, it’s hefty enough to be the only book you’ll need to travel with on vacation. It would definitely make a great book to read lazily around the pool or while leisurely swinging on a hammock underneath your favorite shade tree.

http://literatehousewife.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/82-escape/ ( )