by Robert K. Tanenbaum
Beach book of the week
Meet the Karps. And then duck. They are, after all, not just the ordinary Manhattan loft dwellers next door. Husband Butch Karp is a relentless deputy D.A. who sometimes gets into fistfights at the office. Wife Marlene is a pistol packin' mama with one glass eye who trains abused women in self-defense, and daughter Lucy is a 10-year-old genius who is already proficient in several languages, including Cantonese. Guarding the Karps: Tran Vinh, an ex-Viet Cong guerrilla with deadly skills who is devoted to the family. In an exhilarating and tension-filled romp that involves a Mexican hit man with a terminal case of macho, bumbling Arab terrorists and a surfeit of law enforcement faux pas, Butch and Marlene find themselves on opposite sides of the law. If Reckless is your first dip into this richly plotted, tough and funny crime series, you're bound to want to read the previous nine Karp outings. They give "family values" a hair-raising new meaning. (Dutton, $23.95)
Bottom Line: Clever caper with all the trimmings
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