Act of Revenge (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert K. Tanenbaum (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Veteran author Tanenbaum (Reckless Endangerment) pens a lethal family outing for series protagonist Butch Karp, his vigilante wife, Marlene Ciampi, and their linguistic prodigy daughter, Lucy, in this take-no-prisoners tale of mob violence, Asian incursion and political corruption that spans decades. All become embroiled in a labyrinth of interconnected plot lines and intersecting lives during an Asian gangsters plan to take over Italian mob turf in Little Italy next to Chinatown. Chief Assistant District Attorney Karps team is stumped when the usual mob suspects dont pan out in the killing of Eddie Catalano, a capo for Big Sally Bollano, don of the Mafia crime family, but he has bigger problems when two Hong Kong triad biggies are murdered in Chinatown. Karps daughter, Lucy, witnesses the killings, but refuses to talk because it would endanger the Chinese family she grew up with. Pressure mounts when Lucy is roughed up by Vietnamese goons before being saved by the mysterious Tran, Marlenes devoted Vietnamese muscle. Meanwhile, Marlene is hired by the wife of Little Sally Bollano, nutcase son of the mob boss, to prove that her fathers suicide when she was 16 was really murdera job that twists into the Chinatown killings, ignites the Bollano family, exposes a corrupt judge and almost costs Marlene her life. The closed society of Chinatown proves a formidable barrier to police probes and only Lucy and Tran can make headway and flush the killer when attacks on the Karp family get starkly personal. Former New York City homicide chief and trial attorney Tanenbaum has crafted a believably twisted gem of a gangster tale with visceral action and smooth comic relief in a technicolor, Big Apple setting that waxes nostalgic for the gentleman killers of yesteryear. Lucy is an engaging adolescent addition and Karps quirky extended family provides enough depth for years of sequels.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
As former chief of the Homicide Bureau in the New York district attorney's office and an enormously successful trial lawyer, Tanenbaum knows as much about mayhem and the people who commit it as anyone writing today. Butch Karp, chief assistant New York DA, and his cohorts are trying to figure out the who and why of an important mafioso's murder. Karp's wife, security consultant Marlene Ciampi, is puzzling over a case of her own involving a Mafia wife and is almost killed in the process. Karp's 12-year-old genius daughter, Lucy, a language whiz and as inscrutable as her Chinese friends, turns out to be important to both cases and at serious risk. Chinatown Tongs, Asian Triads, Vietnamese gangs, the ever-popular Mafia, and a handful of freebooters are all involved in the body count. This colorfully written and cleverly plotted novel will be another winner for Tanenbaum. Budd Arthur --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (May 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061097306
• ISBN-13: 978-0061097300
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #417,814 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 11 in The Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karps quirky extended family provides enough depth for years, July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Act of Revenge (Hardcover)

From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly: Veteran authorTanenbaum (Reckless Endangerment, Irresistible Impulse etc.) pens alethal family outing for series protagonist Butch Karp, his vigilante wife, Marlene Ciampi, and their linguistic prodigy daughter, Lucy, in this take-no-prisoners tale of mob violence, Asian incursion and political corruption that spans decades. All become embroiled in a labyrinth of interconnected plot lines and intersecting lives during an Asian gangsters plan to take over Italian mob turf in Little Italy next to Chinatown. Chief Assistant District Attorney Karps team is stumped when the usual mob suspects dont pan out in the killing of Eddie Catalano, a capo for Big Sally Bollano, don of the Mafia crime family, but he has bigger problems when two Hong Kong triad biggies are murdered in Chinatown. Karps daughter, Lucy, witnesses the killings, but refuses to talk because it would endanger the Chinese family she grew up with... The closed society of Chinatown proves a formidable barrier to police probes and only Lucy and Tran can make headway and flush the killer when attacks on the Karp family get starkly personal. Former New York City homicide chief and trial attorney Tanenbaum has crafted a believably twisted gem of a gangster tale with visceral action and smooth comic relief in a technicolor, Big Apple setting that waxes nostalgic for the gentleman killers of yesteryear. Lucy is an engaging adolescent addition and Karps quirky extended family provides enough depth for years of sequels. (May)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People Magazine loves Butch Karp & Marlene Ciampi ...., March 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Act of Revenge (Hardcover)

People Magazine selected Tanenbaum's last two books, RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT and IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE as "Page Turner of the Week" and "Beach Book of the Week." They're right. If you haven't yet tried Tanenbaum do it now with ACT OF REVENGE. You'll love it .... and then have his ten backlist Karp titles to truly indulge yourself.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Native New Yorker, October 31, 1999

By	Andrea Sonn "qaid3" (East Windsor, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Act of Revenge (Hardcover)

Tanenbaum really knows NYC. As a native New Yorker, one of the things I enjoy most about his books is his intimate and accurate descriptions of NY neighborhoods, travel, food, accents, and attitudes. He really nails it. Why does he live in California? He's obviously still in love with NYC. So am I, and so I enjoy his books' settings. I also enjoy the character of Butch and Lucy. Marlene, though, is becoming tiresome in a wonderwoman, action heroine way. Act of Revenge is an interesting phase in the chronicle of the Karp family, but next book around he should send Marlene on an overseas assignment and concentrate on Lucy and Butch.