Book
Tragic / Robert K. Tanenbaum.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781410461599 (hc.) :
- ISBN: 1451635559 (hc.)
- ISBN: 9781451635560 (pbk.) :
- Physical Description: viii, 390 pages ; 24cm.
- Publisher: New York : Gallery Books ; 2013.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Karp, Butch (Fictitious character) > Fiction. Ciampi, Marlene (Fictitious character) > Fiction. Stevedores > Fiction. Labor unions > Corrupt practices > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Legal stories. Suspense fiction. |
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Available copies
- 16 of 16 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Elkford Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 16 total copies.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkford Public Library | FC TAN (Text) | 35170000356691 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2013 July #1
Simplify, simplify, simplify. After several books that came close to collapsing under their own unnecessary weight, Tanenbaum takes the Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi series back to basics, completely (finally!) ditching the distracting terrorism-themed story lines in favor of a meaty murder investigation and courtroom drama. A well-liked union organizer is dead, his murder arranged by a ruthless union boss (this isn't a spoiler: the author tells us whodunit right up front). District attorney Karp and his wife, Marlene, slowly build a case against the culprit, but does his corrupt reach extend into the halls of justice? Drawing inspiration from such diverse sources as the Elia Kazan film On the Waterfront and Macbeth (the killer as usurper of the throne; the three witches as a trio of homeless women), the novel is tightly plotted and, overall, feels very much like the early installments in the series, before the author started wandering off on thematic tangents. Series fans should be very happy. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2013 July #1
Tanenbaum (Bad Faith, 2012, etc.) goes on the waterfront in his latest in his crime series featuring Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi. Charlie Vitteli runs the New York Cityâbased North American Brotherhood of Stevedores. That's bad for its members. Vitelli wants to hold onto power and continue to take bribes for avoiding safety regulations while also dipping into embezzled pension fund money. Using Joey Barros, his razor-toting enforcer, as go-between, Vitteli contracts with a Russian mob wannabe for the assassination of a union reformer. The murder's done, but the ugly punk from St. Petersburg is soon caught, along with two local mopes. That's when Roger "Butch" Karp, district attorney for New York County, steps in. One of the trio turns state's witness. The three are convicted. The Russian wannabe is quickly eliminated in a prison murder engineered by the Brighton Beachâbased Malchek bratka. That convinces the other mope to turn state's witness, and Vitteli is indicted and convicted. With killers and motives laid out, this is no page-turning whodunit. Instead, Karp flexes his Jack McCoy muscles, giving courtroom-theater fans something to do when television is bereft of Law and Order re-runs. While Marlene Ciampi is a minor player, the narrative is bloated, with some contradictions and "that can't happen" moments. Most characters are clichés, but two or three break out: Jackie Corcione, weakling son of the union founder who is kept in line by the threat of outing his homosexuality; "Dirty Warren," Tourette's-afflicted, street-wise newsstand operator; and Ivgeny Karchovski, retired USSR colonel and boss of a not-so-bad Russian gang, thugs who are willing to deal in illegal immigration, false papers and black markets but draw the line at drugs, guns and prostitution. Conveniently, Ivgeny is Butch's cousin and part of an underworld pipeline. Tanenbaum tosses in quotes and references to Macbeth--"I have murdered sleep" being handy shorthand for a beleaguered conscience--but that's an elaborate blueprint for a small structure. No action thriller this--it's all courtroom drama. Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2013 July #1
The 25th volume (after Bad Faith) in Tanenbaum's series of legal thrillers chronicling the lives and careers of Butch Karp and his wife, Marlene Ciampi, opens at a performance of Macbeth in New York's Central Park, setting the stage for the crime drama that is about to unfold. A mob hit on labor union leader Vince Carlotta, though plotted by corrupt union members, is carried out by a gang of young thugs hired for the task, some of whom quickly find themselvesâlike Macbethâhaunted by guilt. It is the broad range of characters Tanenbaum presents to his readers that will draw them into the tale while Karp and Ciampi's tenacity in solving the case and bringing the true culprits to justice maintains its momentum. Many will also enjoy the various Shakespearean allusionsâincluding a modern-day trio of witchesâthat arise throughout. VERDICT Not to be missed by Tanenbaum fans; recommend to readers of true crime and crime fiction alike.âNancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT
[Page 75]. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2013 June #4
Roger "Butch" Karp takes on organized crime masquerading as union politics in bestseller Tanenbaum's overly ambitious 25th thriller featuring the New York County DA (after 2012's Bad Faith). Recently deceased union leader Leo Corcione left two prospective heirs: ruthless Charlie Vitteli and upstanding Vince Carlotta. Vitteli's thugs, led by brutal Joey Barros, set out to prove that the nice guy finishes lastâby putting a bullet through Carlotta's head. Karp works to pin Vitteli to the crime, but when Karp's wife, ADA Marlene Campi, provides crucial testimony, the personal connection threatens to discredit both them and the case. Tanenbaum, himself a criminal lawyer, supplies fluid, authentic dialogue, but overlong courtroom cross-examinations drag down narrative momentum. On the plus side, the expansive cast of characters includes intriguing portrayals of the petty lowlifes who are both agents and victims of Vitteli's machinations. Constant allusions to Macbeth freight the book with grandiose expectations that are never met. Agent: Mike Hamilburg, Mike Hamilburg Agency. (Aug.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC
