Fury (Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi, Book 17) (A Butch Karp-Marlene Ciampi Thriller)

"LIAR!!!!". And then shots rang out in the courtroom. Tannenbaum's New York City legal thriller's plot somewhat resembles John Grisham's A Time to Kill except the victims' and the perpetrators' skin color has switched. Loved both books. The Coney Island five, not the Coney Island four that the press touts, had been in reality the Coney Island six when the brutal beating, near murder, and gang rape of the victim occured 12 years ago. That all changed when one of the accesories to the crime confessed and told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The six became 5 when this brave soul was shot dead in California, 3000 miles away in a "gang related incident" some years after, of course. The camera loving prosecutor Hugh Louis resurrects this case so that 4 of the "victimized" can walk free and urges everyone to love justice, and be color blind. Well, if one had all the facts, no one in their right mind, black, white, blue or green would want these thugs back in their neighborhoods. Enter Manhattan District Attorney "Butch" Karp to set the record straight. The plot in this is so thick, with plots and subplots and subsubplots. In the end you'll be furious, but you'll love the ending. Probably doesn't happen in reality, especially in New York City, that in all cases, right and truth win and liars, murderers, perverters of justice are had. I imagine that maybe Robert K. Tannenbaum is hoping that the power of suggestion put to good use will turn some tables in people's minds. I devoured this book and I haven't even mentioned half the people or cases that come Karp's way in the one month and a half, near 500 page book covers. At his twin sons' bar mitvah training, Karp thinks to himself: "but old Pontius Pilate was just the most famous judge who gave into popular sentiment rather than doing the right thing. There would be many others."

Excellent book, one of his best, didn't want to put it down,would recommend 100%

I disagree with all of the negative reviews. I've read all of the Butch and Marlene books and only hesitated with Fury because of the "terrorists blow up New York" plot. However, I just finished Fury and have to say it is by far my favorite of the series. The emotional angst of Marlene and Lucy is missing, finally. I lost track of how many characters (most of them known to readers of the series) and storylines involved in the book, but acknowledge the talent of RKT that not only could I follow the plot(s) but that they all meshed and were resolved at the end. Even the cliffhanger at the end, which I imagine will be the basis for the next book, does not detract. So if you're a fan of the series, Fury is a must.

I just finished reading Robert Tanenbaum's Fury, the latest in his Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi saga. All I can say is WOW! Having read every book in the series (and some, especially Corruption of Blood, more than once), I was not disappointed, except when the experience was over. Fury has everything: Cowboys and Indians, terrorists and totems, and the scathing, often hilarious dialogue that I have come to know and love from Mr. Tanenbaum. Marlene baiting the Rat Man and Zak mouthing off to Al-Sistani were two of my favorite scenes. I love the courtroom scenes, and the bar mitzvah classes. I read the speech where Karp explains why he is going to take the Coney Island case over and over again because it reminded me of how I felt when I started my freshman year in college; it also reminded me of why I chose to work in the legal profession. In addition, there are new aspects of the Karp/Ciampi relationship that have seldom been presented before, specifically, the family histories of the two main characters. We readers have had brief glimpses into the young lives of Butch and Marlene, but this time, Tanenbaum gives you more information than ever before into both Karp's and Ciampi's family histories and how Karp courted Marlene. The Concetta Ciampi story is heartbreaking, and captures what it must feel like to watch this (Alzheimer's Disease) happen to your parents, or your spouse. There was lots of background material about Karp. You get to see a touching, personal side of Karp in his acute discomfiture at Lucy's becoming a woman. The two boys are a fascinating study of the twin phenomena, and it has been satisfying (and oh so entertaining) to watch them grow up. I feel like I know them, as I do Butch and Marlene. Zak jumps off the pages at you, he is so real and full of life. Reading Fury was like visiting family, the Karp extended family, and I was very sad to finish it. The cliffhanger ending, also a new twist in this series, left me wanting more. I can't wait to read his new book, Counter Play, when it is published later this year. Many thanks to Robert Tanenbaum for the thrills, laughs and giving us the satisfaction of seeing justice prevail.

Acclaimed voice performer Lee Sellars gives a tense, don-t-want-to-miss-a-word-of-it reading of Robert Tanenbaum's 17th thriller featuring Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi. Tanenbaum is once again at the top of his game and on top of the news - he includes a subplot concerning the grabbing of a Karp family member by an Iraqi who plans to blow up Times Square on New Year's Eve. As if that weren't enough to worry about, Karp (now acting District Attorney) is looking at a million dollar suit filed by rapists who were originally convicted but later set free. Karp's sure corruption is rife within his own office as well as on the part of the lawyer who was instrumental in getting the rapists off. The media are on Karp's back, and terrorists trail him. Wife Marlene isn't at home eating bon-bons - she's working to exonerate a college prof accused of rape and she's also pitching in to help Karp who seems assaulted on every front. Tanenbaum has never set such a rapid paced scenario for this pair, and listeners will love it. - Gail Cooke