This was a bit slow for the first half, and I almost wanted to quit reading, but it got better. It spent a lot of time establishing Scott Finney as an honest judge who needed to judge on the law, not what he thought was right or wrong. He was an advocate for the constitution, as a federal judge. There were many references to his past two books, where he went from a rich, Ferrari-driving defense lawyer to a middle-class judge.

His downfall was caused by defending a black drug addict in a highly political case, and later, after she died of an overdose, adopting her daughter who was the same age as his daughter. And speaking of his daughter, she was the product of his former gold-digging trophy wife who ran off with a golf pro after his downfall. He later defended his wife for murdering said golf pro, but she disappeared afterwards, so he's left with two teen daughters. There's a lot of good entertainment just in that situation, a black girl in a rich white school and a precocious daughter who asks questions no father wants to answer - like "What is oral sex?"

Anyway, there are a couple of hard issues in the story. The main case is a group of Muslims, including the imam of the Muslim church, who are accused of planning to bomb the super bowl. One guy was shot, and a group arrested, all on an anonymous tip to the FBI. Problem is, they can't find any evidence at all, but still want to hold them (at least until after the super bowl). The Muslims are outspoken in their hatred of America, Christians, and Jews, and feel beheading is a perfectly acceptable method of showing this. The imam says a lot about why he feels this way; he says the US drones kill innocent Muslims as collateral damage, and wonders why that is more acceptable than beheading. He thinks we are not innocent because we elect our leaders who do this to them. Many of his arguments are hard to argue with, except nobody ever points out that close to half the country did not vote for any of the leaders, but are still blown up or otherwise killed by Muslim retaliations.

The story does present both sides of the issues, but the overall takeaway for me is that the Muslim extremists are less than human, and were not considered when the constitution was written. However, in spite of some of the FBI and government officials, they really do deserve to have actual proof of their guilt before being imprisoned, and not be considered guilty simply because of their beliefs. At least, that was what I got from the story.

( )

This is a scary book.

The author takes time to patiently explain constitutional law and how its interpretations affect our everyday lives. And how the interpretations are directly connected to the people interpreting it.

But to make a story readable and get it to move forward, there has to be a certain amount of trigger incidents that the author creates. To use the analogy of "mind mapping", I see a "story mapping". Put imam Omar al Mustafa in the center and allow any number of lines to emanate from the circle. Keeping A. Scott Fenney as the protagonist in mind, here are possibilities to end all possibilities. Which, I think, the author uses admirably.

A. Scott's girls are a bit older and so allow a bit of raucous humor; he is now a Federal Judge; he's got the same gang for support, legal and otherwise; and he's still unmarried.

There's a second "story" swirling which resolves A. Scott's problem of "til death do us part", with reference to the previous books about A. Scott Fenney.

There's also a huge red herring which, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't catch until nearly the end. But the one item that was absolutely blatantly given to the reader is how the imam situation is dealt with. At least I caught that....

Page-turner. The blurb doesn't say it all. ( )

FROM AMAZON: An ISIS attack on America is narrowly averted when the FBI uncovers a plot to detonate a weapon of mass destruction in Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl. A federal grand jury indicts twenty-four co-conspirators, including the most dangerous man in Dallas, Omar al Mustafa. He is a notorious and charismatic Muslim cleric known for his incendiary anti-American diatribes on YouTube and Fox News. His mosque is a veritable breeding ground for Islamic jihadists. His arrest is greeted with cheers around the world and relief at home. The plot was thwarted, the terrorists are in jail, and the Super Bowl is safe. The president goes on national television and proclaims: "We won!"

There is only one problem: there is no evidence against Mustafa. That problem falls to the presiding judge, newly appointed U.S. District Judge A. Scott Fenney. If Mustafa is innocent, Scott must set the most dangerous man in Dallas free. But does the absence of guilt mean Mustafa is innocent? And if he is innocent, who is guilty?

The Super Bowl is just three weeks away. And the game clock is ticking. ( )