Betrayed [Hardcover]

Robert K. Tanenbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2010

From the dark fantasies of a sexual underworld to the darkest realities of a terrorist conspirator, New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum draws District Attorney Butch Karp deep into a combustible courtroom game of politics, power, lies, and murder.Awaiting trial in the Tombs, Manhattan’s infamous criminal detention complex, is Sharif Jabbar, the demagogic founder of a Harlem mosque. Charges against his terrorist attack on the city were dismissed once, and now that the Islam convert is being held on new allegations, New York District Attorney Roger “Butch” Karp is determined to bring him down. He faces formidable competition. Attorney Megan O’Dowd, a radical activist enthralled with revolutionary rhetoric, is going to the mat with the uncompromising conviction that Jabbar is being railroaded by the NYPD.Outside the criminal courts, Karp’s wife, Marlene Ciampi, is pursuing her own investigation. Allegations against indigent Manhattan street vendor Dirty Warren in the murder of society beauty Michelle Oakley don’t sit right with Marlene. Unfortunately her sole ally is religious vigilante David Grale, the charismatic but deranged leader of the Mole People. What Grale knows about city corruption snakes as far and wide as the dank honeycomb of the sewers and tunnels his destitute army calls home.Then Marlene discovers an unexpected— and ugly—parallel between the Oakley murder and the disappearance of another debutante: a treacherous underworld of upscale call girls and the price paid for indulging the wealthiest of men. As she explores these sordid truths, Butch Karp navigates his own tortured waters. What he soon discovers is that everyone, from the conspiratorial Jabbar and O’Dowd to the city’s most powerful, unimpeachable players—has a secret that could either set them free or cost them more than they ever feared.With more than twelve million copies of his books in print, Robert K. Tanenbaum continues to rivet readers to their seats with the kind of explosive thrillers that have made him “a writer worth knowing” (Washington Post ).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A massive backstory slows Tanenbaum's 22nd novel featuring New York City district attorney Roger "Butch" Karp and his crime-busting family (after Capture). The plot takes too long to build up a head of steam, and once on course simply waddles straight ahead with little in the way of twists and turns. Butch is prosecuting Sharif Jabbar, last seen in Escape, who's facing trial for his part in an attack on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, Butch's wife, Marlene Ciampi, steps in to defend Dirty Warren, a friend of Butch's who owns the newsstand in front of Manhattan's Criminal Courts Building. Dirty has been arrested for killing an escort service owner. A murderous judge and a retired CIA man known as the Fixer also figure in the action. Readers familiar with the ongoing characters will enjoy the book far more than those who are dipping their toes into the Karp pool for the first time.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The once-compelling Butch Karp series continues its downhill slide (though perhaps plummet is a better word). Karp, the New York City district attorney, is working diligently to put a terrorist behind bars. At the same time, his wife, Marlene Ciampi, is defending a man accused of murdering a socialite. As Marlene's investigation takes her deep into the world of high-class prostitution, Butch's own case reveals that powerful individuals in the government might be happier if the whole thing quietly went away. Like previous novels Escape (2008) and Capture (2009), this one is overlong, overly complicated, and, compared to the author's earlier, crisply written legal thrillers, downright stodgy. Tanenbaum seems to have lost all interest in Karp and Ciampi, and his determination to position Karp as an antiterrorist crusader is baffling, especially given his apparent inability to make the move feel natural or even plausible. Rarely has a successful series author switched gears in a way so likely to alienate the core audience; hard-core Karp/Ciampi fans haven't given up yet, but after this one, even they may want to jump ship. --David Pitt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; 1 edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439149232
• ISBN-13: 978-1439149232
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars nobody home, July 27, 2010

By 

Julia M. Walker (NY Finger Lakes) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

The Tanenbaums with the one-word titles are written by a ghost-writer other than Michael Gruber, he who wrote all of the two-word title Tanenbaums. Well, I've finally decided why there's only one word: because the writer wants the titles to be as mercifully forgettable as the books themselves.

As other reviewers observe, to read the first 50 pages is to read the last three novels over again. As a person who sometimes re-reads mysteries and thrillers, this isn't, in itself, the kiss of death for me. But those were three novels I'd never choose to visit again. Mr Steve Jackson (whom Tanenbaum semi-acknowledges in the fulsome credits) needs to study the work of Marsha Muller and Donna Leon to see how to convey the past events of a long-running series without boring faithful fans to tears.

But first Mr Jackson needs to re-read the early, Gruber-penned, Tanenbaums. These characters simply don't add up.

Sure, it's better than the first post-Gruber book, which radically misremembered the dramatic circumstances of Lucy Karp's birth, but it's still impossible to believe that the Lucy I watched grow up as an edgy, independent, urban demi-urchin, gifted with languages and spirituality and sheer nerve, could turn into this vanilla blob of a young woman. And it's beyond the remotest chance that either she or her mother could be pictured as follows:

"She [Marlene] and Lucy had spent many happy hours going over plans, invitations, and guest lists" for Lucy's wedding. (p 49)

No. No no no no. This isn't a 50's sitcom. Somewhere the real Marlene Ciampi is yelling obscenities, while the real Lucy has left the building entirely.

Similarly, the original Butch Karp -- painted here as a simple soul whose quest for justice is the product of a childhood spent watching John Wayne movies -- could never have uttered the banality of "Like I should care?" (p79) unless he was quoting someone else.

As for the plot. Well, if you've read any of the last 5 novels, you've seen it before (even if you don't remember it.)

In the abstract, I'd have thought that it would be relatively easy to sustain a wildly successful series. And I would have been wrong. If, like me, you miss the Karp/Ciampi clan, just reread the first 14 books.

In this book, nobody's home.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Seriously who wrote this, July 18, 2010

By 

Stephanie L Ebert (CLEAR LAKE, MN, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

I have read all the books in the Ciampi/Karp series and enjoyed most of them alot. I feel like whoever wrote this book , I don't think it is the same person who wrote the others should have spent a little more time reading the series from the beginning. Although this was an ok read it just wasn't even close to what I have come to expect from this author. I think that anyone who has read this series from the beginning would agree. I felt like I was reading about strangers not the characters I have followed and enjoyed for years. I to think this will be my last book in this series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best in the series, August 28, 2010

By 

F. Mindicino "pitt fan" (Trooper, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

I have read all 22 novels in the series, and felt that this one was the weakest. Most of the rest are very good and I haven't given up on the series because these are characters the reader cares about. This novel was really a continuation of the last one and more or less filled in the blanks in the previous plot and did not chart new ground. Also, a lot of characters, such as Lucy Karp, Tran, Guma, V. T., etc., had cameos or were absent. The case of framing Warren for murder was the only part that added to the storyline as it fleshed out this character and showed him to be much more than he appeared in past installments. I still look forward to the next one as this series for the most part has been like Law and Order in book form and most enjoyable.