Customer Reviews

Betrayed

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is my last Robert Tanenbaum book. If you are a reader of all previous books then you learned about them through three quarters of this book. The author dragged on and on the past story lines leaving a rushed through lack of depth to a new story line. To new readers of this series, I hope you enjoyed Betrayed. But to old timers like myself, it was a drudgery

I have read all of this series of books and the usual action was missing.

As an attorney, I have enjoyed Tanenbaum's books in the past even with the creative engineering of courtroom scenes and the law but even I can place my enjoyment above reality for only so much and, unfortunately, he's reached my limit in "Betrayed".

Yep, like everyone else who doesn't like this book, I've noticed a decline in quality of the recent Butch books but this book goes way beyond anything I could have imagined as bad.

The plotting, as such, is juvenile. As an example, the "big clue" (as opposed to the "big lie" that Butch beats to death in the book) is incredibly easy but supposedly hard enough to stump two major old movie geeks (Butch & Dirty Warren) and that's just one small example. The over blown caricaturization of the radical activist, the slimy DA, the righteously indigent Butch and his wife have just become annoying. And, as an attorney, I'm telling you right now that most judges figure the defendant is guilty (and so do the juries) not "bleeding heart liberals" who believe that someone accused as an Islamic terrorist (in post-9/11 New York no less) is a victim of a great government conspiracy and rule accordingly.

In short, there is nothing redeeming about this book. The 2 separate plots are totally separate, the showdown with the woman terrorist a joke, the mystery non-existent, and the book a total waste of paper.

So, after all these years, all I can say is "So long, Butch. Won't be seeing you again."

I used to like the (very) early Stuart Woods books. Then he started cranking them out about one a month and I quit reading. Tanenbaum may be going the same route.

The first third of the Betrayed is really a cut and paste job. In the first 125 pages, there was very little new content - much of it is a rehash of the previous books. It's one thing to transition from book to book in a series it's another to ask the reader to fork over a bunch of money for something he/she has already bought.

The other thing that drives me nuts is all of the explanation. I once read that what can ruin a science fiction book is an author who explains what every new, made-up gadget is/does rather than let the reader participate in figuring that out based on imagination, clues, dialog, etc. Betrayed is full of explanation that insults the readers intelligence. Much of it is really a reflection on Tanenbaum's own political leanings (hates the so-called liberal press, hates Bill Clinton, favors concealed carry, believes in American exceptionalism)

Betrayed is how I felt by an author who's books I really used to enjoy. As for me, I'm done.

Robert K. Tanenbaum's BETRAYED receives a fine reading by Mel Foster, an Audie award winner whose acting background lends high drama to the story of the founder of a Harlem mosque who faces new allegations of terrorism. Different investigators are turning up sinister facts in this gripping legal thriller. A fine pick for any lending library.

The book was in beautiful condition and my dad was tickled to receive a giftie in the mail. We share an affinity for Robt. K. Tannenbaum's work and has since sent me the book and it is indeed in very good condition and I'm looking forward to a good read. Thanks amazon and provider

See book summaries above.
Wow, I'm really surprised to see all the negative reviews for this one.
I for one really loved it. I have truly enjoyed all of Tanenbaum's Butch Karp series
and this was as good as any of them.
You get to learn a little more about 'Dirty' Warren, a cast member from way back, as
well as some other surprises.
This was a completely satisfying, and all around entertaining
thriller. Keep up the good work Mr. Tanenbaum.