Impaired Judgement [Hardcover]

"Barely halfway through your first hundred days in office and I'm afraid the honeymoon with Congress is over," Paula Candler informs her husband, Jim, the newly elected president of the U.S. She's right; the White House couple has plenty of enemies, and within a few pages of Compton's second political thriller (after Executive Sanction), the Candlers are plunged into a tense plot whose twists and turns include corrupt courts, a mob ring, blackmail and a political scandal or two. The First Lady is also a federal court judge across the state border in Alexandria, Va., but whenever Del Owens, the president's chief political adviser, pressures her to quit her job on the bench, the feisty feminist refuses. Then an FBI sting operation snatches up mobster Tony Remalli, charged with killing another female judge, and deposits him in Paula's court. Remalli's slick, extremely nasty Chicago lawyer, Don Russ, is assisted by a sexy, amoral and very enterprising investigator, Julia Menendez. After Julia starts sleuthing around, she discovers Paula Candler was involved in the hit-and-run death of a Virginia teenager some years ago. Russ threatens to ruin Paula, her husband and the administrationAunless she finds Remalli not guilty. Complicating things even further, Del Owens arranged the coverup after the accident; now he's desperate enough to do anything to keep the entire event under wraps. Oddly enough, Paula and Julia, the women in this thriller, are drawn with more depth than the male characters. Del is so blatantly evil he's ludicrous, and Mr. President's lack of political savvy is as hard to swallow as his Mr. Clean persona. After the fast-paced suspense and political intrigue, all the pieces fall into place in a lackluster finale, with the First Couple nobly persevering for America, and the bad guys paying big time.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The new First Family plans to restore honor to the White House, and First Lady Paula Candler, to show she's just another working mom, decides to retain her position as a Virginia federal judge. The president, a devoted husband and father, supports his wife completely, and they share everything--at least until she is assigned to hear the case against reputed mobster Tony Remalli, who is accused of murdering another female judge. Representing Remalli is legendary Mob attorney Don Ross, whose law-skirting investigator hits pay dirt in his effort to dig up dirt on the supposedly pristine Paula Candler. When Ross uses the evidence to blackmail the judge, Candler is faced with the moral dilemma of letting bullies rule her courtroom or risking the safety of her family and the future of her husband's presidency. Compton fashions an exciting legal thriller that uses its high-concept premise to good advantage. Her characters drift toward stereotype, but the drama will keep most readers interested. Solid entertainment. Mary Frances Wilkens
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