New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum delivers his grittiest, most ethically challenging thriller yet, as New York chief assistant district attorney Butch Karp fights for his family in the wilds of West Virginia's coal mining country. While New York City sizzles beneath a blanket of early summer humidity, the Karp family is happily taking refuge in their renovated farmhouse on Long Island's north shore. Karp's battles against the City's corrupt politicians are never-ending. His wife, Marlene, is training guard dogs on their picturesque acreage; Lucy is enjoying her summer break from Boston College and playing the part of the dutiful daughter, assisting with the running of the business and tending to her rambunctious twin brothers. The tide quickly changes, however, when Marlene befriends her beachside neighbor, Rose Wickham-Heeney, a northeastern aristocrat turned wife of West Virginia coal mine union leader Ralph ³Red² Heeney. Soon after the fun-filled weeks of family barbecues and lazy afternoons with the Heeneys, the Karps discover that Rose, Red, and their daughter, Lizzie, have been brutally murdered back home in McCullensburg. Irresistible force meets immovable object when the West Virginia governor appoints Karp as special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt town, its union chieftain, and his band of merry thugs. Marlene joins Karp as he searches for the killers and works to save his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines In the 14th book in Tanenbaum's wildly popular Karp/Ciampi series, New York County Chief Assistant District Attorney Karp is disgruntled with his job after he is thwarted in his efforts to bring a few corrupt politicians to justice. Wife Marlene Ciampi's guard dog business is thriving, and while spending the summer at the family's Long Island farmhouse, she strikes up a friendship with neighbor Rose Heeney, a former New Yorker married to a union organizer in West Virginia. The Karp and Heeney children hit it off as well, leading Marlene to offer a summer job to 19-year-old Daniel Heeney. When his parents and ten-year-old sister are later brutally murdered at their home in McCullensburg, WV, he asks Marlene for help. At the same time, state and federal forces, concerned with the unbridled violence in West Virginia, hire Karp as a special prosecutor to clean up the corruption. Thus, lawyer Tanenbaum sets the stage for a typical Karp crisis but this time with even more devastating results than the norm. Expertly combining his prodigious knowledge of the legal system with the usual social concerns, he draws a compelling portrait of the unique and complex relationships between the Karps and their closest friends. For all popular fiction collections. Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. The solid characters and taut plotting that have put previous Butch Karp-Marlene Ciampi books at the top of best-seller lists are evident again in Tanenbaum's latest legal thriller, though this time things start up a bit slower than usual. This time the action takes former security guard Marlene, now busy training mastiffs, and Karp, assistant district attorney of New York County, on the road. Marlene travels to rural West Virginia to help a man who has been railroaded for the murder of a coal mine union organizer, and Karp is tapped by the West Virginia governor to break the back of the corrupt company that's really responsible for the crime. The couple's children also appear, with college-age Lucy in a pivotal role that tests her Catholic faith. And before it's all over, Karp, whose faith in the legal system often puts him at odds with his beloved but cynical wife, is faced with a moral quandary that could tear the family apart. Fans won't be disappointed. Stephanie Zvirin Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Robert K. Tanenbaum is one of the country's most respected and successful trial lawyers and has never lost a felony case. He has held such prestigious positions as homicide bureau chief for the New York District Attorney's Office and deputy chief counsel to the congressional committee investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is teaching Advanced Criminal Procedure at his alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law and conducting continuing legal education (CLE) seminars for practicing lawyers in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. His previous works include Enemy Within, True Justice, and Act of Revenge. This is his fourteenth novel. Robert K. Tanenbaum teaches Advanced Criminal Procedure at the University of California at Berkeley. Absolute Rage By Robert K. Tanenbaum Atria Books Copyright ©2002 Robert K. Tanenbaum All right reserved. ISBN: 0743403444 Chapter One Killing people is so easy that the iron laws of supply and demand mak