True Justice

No one can match Tannenbaum for his marvelous stories about the crime fighting family of Butch Karp and Marleen, to which you can now add daughter Lucy. The suspense in these stories consists of whether or not Marleen will have to take the bad guys in hand and dispose of them. She's shot a few and creamed a few others. Her thought processes are marvelous, as are Lucy's, her mother's daughter but with a different slant. Whether in the courtroom or out, Butch and Marleen will keep you thrilled with inside knowledge of how the justice system works. Tannenbaum is about the only writer that has been able to turn out 11 or 12 books without running out of steam. His latest is just as good as his first, and there aren't many you can say that about.

The latest installment of Tanenbaum's Karp-Ciampi series is up to the high standards set by its predecessors. Whatever you're seeking at the higher levels of escape fiction - legal thriller, police procedural, extended family saga, commentary on contemporary culture, manners, and morals - it's all to be found here. Tanenbaum is one of those happy few who rise above the ranks of genre writers by virtue of a keen sense of observation, a multidimensional worldview, and a fluid prose style - think of Patrick O'Brian or Ursula K. Le Guin. Read this, then go back and read them all.

I've always enjoyed Tanenbaum's series on the Karps, but this was possibly the best one yet. Lucy Karp is becoming more and more significant, and she's turning out to be a great character.

I haven't missed a Tanenbaum book yet and cannot wait for the next one. Marlene, Butch, Lucy, Zik and Zak, Harry-- all of em are my favorite characters. oops--missed Sweety and Tran.I've enjoyed following them from the beginning, and especially like the development of Lucy, as the adventures continue. Wonder when the twins will start solving crimes? It is after I finish a new book that I go back to previous Karp adventures and re-read. My husband thinks re-reading is silly , so please Mr. Tanenbaum, start on a new one soon! An insatiable reader in NWFla

The three infant deaths in Manhattan in a week all share in common that an outsider found the abandoned corpse of an unwed mother. By the third death, the media leads a public frenzy seeking to lynch someone for the rash of infanticides. The police catch all three "monster moms". They turn out to be a fourteen year old African-American who thought she had a stomach ache, a sixteen year old Puerto Rican who claimed the child was caused by rape, and a white adult who seemed retarded. The obvious target of the New York County DA is sixteen year old Lourdes Bustamente, who appears to be the only one with premeditated causes. The case is assigned to Butch Karp to prosecute. Meanwhile Butch's wife attorney Marlene Ciampi is thinking of retiring from her work of legally protecting battered women after a recent incident turned ugly. However, a case in Delaware to defend a woman accused of murdering her infant lures Marlene back into the courtroom. TRUE JUSTICE is an intriguing look at similar cases from the perspectives of the DA's office and the defense attorney. The plot also provides readers with an insightful look at how a tense case can impact the personal lives of the players. The story line at first appears to simply manipulate the tale to allow Ciampi's subplot to occur rather than flow from events. Still, Robert K. Tanenbaum makes it work through his intelligent gaze at the junction of the legal, moral, and political systems abetted by the strong relationship between the lead couple. Legal thriller fans will thrill to the latest Ciampi-Karp tale.Harriet Klausner