Hoax: A Novel by Robert K. Tanenbaum

Scandal and murder/church and police conspiracy, October 27, 2004****


I enjoyed this novel but found it a long read. It has a good plot involving corruption in the NYPD and the Catholic church, good villains in Kane, the aspiring Mayor of New York, and corrupt cops and priests who are beholden to him. New York District Attorney Butch Karp and his wife Marlene have a complicated relationship. For much of the novel Marlene and their daughter are off at a retreat in New Mexico attempting to chase away the "demons" that haunt them. There they become embroiled in the search for missing Navaho kids who turn up murdered. This subplot is linked back to murdered children in New York, some found with rosaries tossed on their bodies before they were buried. The novel starts with the murder of a LA rapper in a New York club which is initially attributed to another young rapper who had done prison time previously. As the plot unfolds, Butch Karp comes to realize that things are not what they seem. The accused young rapper possesses secret files on police and priest crimes and coverups which threaten the church hierarchy and the campaign of mayoralty candidate Kane.

This novel could have been tightened up with fewer flashbacks and less introspection.