Book Review: Impaired Judgment

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Impaired Judgment     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
David Compton
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Political Intrigue   Thriller
Dutton, Aug 2000, $24.95, 322 pp.

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 characters. 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

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner