Robert K. Tanenbaum Counter Play

Counter Play

Robert K. Tanenbaum

Atria, August 2006, $26.00, 448 pp.

ISBN 0743271130

Andrew Kane was a shoe-in to become the next mayor of New York City but New York District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp exposed him for the master criminal he is. He has minions working for him within the police department, the Catholic Church, and the city government. Now he is on his way to be tested at a private psychiatric facility to see if he can get off on an insanity plea. The car stops by an overturned a school bus but it is a trap set by his allies to free Kane.

Kane is working with al Qaeda agents to hit a target that will cause the world as much pain as 9/11 did. He is needed for his connections to make the incident happen and in return he has been promised a fortune and a place to live. Kane also has another goal: to kill the people Karp loves, including his wife, children, and friends before killing the district attorney. Many people die including young children making Butch determined to figure out what Kane is planning and stop it before more innocents are killed; an unusual band are working to help him including a homeless man who lives in the subway tunnels.

Though a bit over the top, there is plenty of action in this exciting police procedural. The characters in COUNTER PLAY are well developed and readers will find it hard to figure out who are the villains masquerading as priests and law enforcement and who are the truly good men and women who will lay down their lives if necessary to stop Kane and the terrorists. Robert K. Tanenbaum keeps writing enthralling tales that are full of red herrings and unexpected curves.

Harriet Klausner