Impaired Judgment [Hardcover]

David Compton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2000

David Compton captured the attention of reviewers and instantly established himself as a first-rate thriller writer with his first novel Executive Sanction. In Impaired Judgment, Compton delivers a complex and clever tale of judicial corruption, mob bosses, and political scandal that seizes the imagination and is sure to leave readers breathless.

Paula Candler, a Federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, has landed one of the most controversial cases of the year-the sensational trial of Tony Remalli, a reputed member of the mafia accused of murdering a judge. With critical evidence amassed by the FBI, the prosecution's case is solid. Enter the defense attorney, Don Russ, a ruthless, corrupt lawyer who will stop at nothing to get a not-guilty verdict-even if it means blackmailing the judge. But when the judge-Paula Candler-also happens to be the First Lady of the United States, there's more at stake than just a criminal's freedom. An entire administration is in jeopardy, due to an shocking secret in the First Lady's past, a secret that the defense attorney has just uncovered.

With Impaired Judgment, David Compton has written a thriller that crosses genres and more than lives up to the promise of his previous book.

"A scary and cautionary tale of conspiracy in very high places."-James Patterson on Executive Sanction

"A thriller with layers of suspense, unrestrained tension, and a wicked plot."-John Grisham on Executive Sanction

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"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.

From Booklist

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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1ST edition (August 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525944575
• ISBN-13: 978-0525944577
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,415,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars really good read, September 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Impaired Judgment (Hardcover)

I'm a federal prosecutor with some knowledge of the book's topic. Either Compton was a lawyer or knows a lot of people in law enforcement, although the dust jacket doesn't say. I read the book on a vacation to the Carribean and really enjoyed it. I hope he comes up with another one this good the next time. Great courtroom scenes. The characters are a lot of fun, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exiting political thriller-sometimes satirical, September 1, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Impaired Judgment (Hardcover)

The recently elected President of the United States Jim Candler knows he has big problems with the usual suspects, Congress, the Court, his party, and the media. However, all that is nothing compared to the problems caused by the First Lady in nearby Alexandria.

President Candler's wife Paula is a Federal Judge whose current case involves gangster Tony Remalli, bagged by the FBI in a sure shot win for the prosecution. Tony's defense team, led by attorney Don Russ and abetted by investigator Julia Menendez finds a skeleton in the judge's past that could easily topple the presidency. Paula was apparently once at fault in a vehicular homicide in which she allegedly left the scene of the crime. The president's chief of dirty tricks Del Owens covered up the incident. Unless Tony is acquitted, the Candlers will hang alongside the mobster.

IMPAIRED JUDGMENT is a fast-paced political thriller that at times seems more satirical than suspenseful due to the extreme behavior of the key charcaters. Jim is so politically naive one must wonder if he obtained the office through succession reaching a lower cabinet post. Del and Don are so sleazy that they turn into Claymation caricatures that leave the reader expecting their appearances on Deathmatch. Julia is so obsessed with finding dirt that readers will wonder if she was a gravedigger in a previous life. The First Lady is the most complete character due to her feistiness. However, her job leads to a constitutional question of whether her sitting on the bench violates the separation of powers. David Compton has written an exciting tale, but seems as if he could not decide between a thriller and a parody.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impaired Judgment, October 3, 2002

By 

Barbara J. Frayser (The Book Place, Inc. Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Impaired Judgement (Paperback)

Excellent faced paced mystery/thriller. State Supreme Court judge is married to the President of the US. She is blackmailed by the attorney for a mafia "businessman" on trial in her courtroom for murder of another judge. A real page turner! Highly recommend.