9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A sassy, streetwise and suspenseful thriller., August 19, 2001
"Enemy Within" is Robert Tanenbaum's thirteenth novel in the Butch Carp-Marlene Ciampi series. Butch is now the Chief Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan. Marlene is working for a private security firm that is about to trade its stock publicly and she is happily contemplating the prospect of becoming enormously wealthy.
Butch, meanwhile, is knee-deep in an investigation of corruption in the police department that is also tainting the District Attorney's office. Butch's boss, Jack Keegan, is facing a tough election, and Keegan would prefer that Butch turn a blind eye to certain questionable cases that are passing through the system. However, being the white knight that he is, Butch feels compelled to investigate a police shooting that is not what it seems, as well as the murder of an unarmed homeless man by a woman who claims that she acted in self-defense.
Tanenbaum presents a large and colorful cast of characters, from a group of wretched and pathetic homeless men and women to Marlene Ciampi herself. Marlene goes beserk after she is involved in a shooting and, at the same time, she discovers that she has millions of dollars to spend. She becomes an alcoholic and a shopaholic and her behavior is both outrageous and terrifying. Butch and Marlene's daughter, Lucy, is now seventeen and she is as rebellious and unhappy as ever. She cuts school regularly to visit, feed and nurture the homeless and she is also suffering the pangs of her love for an "older man".
Tanenbaum wisely brings back characters from his previous novels for cameo appearances. Roland Hrcany, Guma, and V. T. Newbury (each a former or present colleague of Butch) add spice to the novel as they help to move the plot along. Tran, the former Vietcong who has helped the family in the past, coaxes Lucy out of her scholastic doldrums, and Father Dugan aids Butch in his investigation and participates in the final climactic chase scene.
The dialogue is witty, fast-paced and politically incorrect. "Enemy Within" is filled with insights about what really passes for justice in the political town known as New York City.
This novel does have several weaknesses. As usual, Tanenbaum likes coincidences and it just so happens that Lucy's homeless friends are involved in the very case that her father is investigating. In addition, Marlene's recovery from her addictions is abrupt and unrealistic. One does not "snap out" of alcoholism, which is a serious illness, not a phase. Finally, the ending is a little too pat, as Tanenbaum struggles to tie up the many loose ends which dangle at the end of the novel.
In spite of these quibbles, "Enemy Within" is an entertaining and engrossing legal thriller that will undoubtedly please the many fans of this long-running and successful series.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Always a good yarn..., October 29, 2001
is what you will get with a Tanenbaum novel. Enemy Within captured my imagination and attention a little less than earlier books in the series.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still quite taken with the Karp daughter, Lucy, although the freedom she is granted to move about any and all dank corner of NYC, making friends of the homeless, is a little bit of a stretch. Some old friends from the series return, although their bits are far too small -- Hrcany, Guma, Newberry and one of Tanenbaum's best, Tran. Butch himself is
worrying his way through middle age, and is believable in his motivation and his frustration at the lack of normalcy in either his work or family life. (Oh, if only he realized that this is true of everyone in their 40's!)
The sour note is the author's decision to drive Marlene to drink. And spend. And drink. And spend. And drink. And, having tried to fit this zany, opinionated Italian lady into that mold, Tanenbaum does not do the reader any favors by asking us to believe that she can then shake herself out of it without professional help, simply because she is motivated to take down some bad guys and stop ignoring her daughter and help resolve the murders she is involved in.
Marlene takes the book from 4 stars to 3. Is it time for a change in the series? Perhaps so, the DA's office has been thoroughly dismembered in the series, perhaps Butch needs a judgeship. Perhaps Marlene needs to have at least one child learning disabled, so she can devote her considerable skills to something that matters.
Still, the series that best showcases all the slices of life that are NYC, continues to appeal, even when exploring the wildly rumored underground terrors that haunt the city and maintain the myth.
Perhaps best purchased used or borrowed from the library!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than a lot of others, October 26, 2001
This may not be the Butch and Marlene story that Tanenbaum has written, but mediocre Tanenbaum is better than the best of John Grisham. Marlene goes on a tangent that is one of the best parts of this book when she gets filthy rich and cannot get enough shopping or enough vintage wine. Lucy is her mother's daughter all the way. Butch is really left more confused than usual, but manages to cope. If you are not yet a Butch and Marlene fan, start with the first and read them in order. Wouldn't you love to see Cher play Marlene in a movie!
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