No Lesser Plea

I usually don't like court room stories. I'm more a private eye or police procedural typr. But I really liked this one. It gave what appeared to be a believable look at the workings of a big city DA's office (I know real big city assistant DA's are rolling their eyes at this but take a deep breath and relax). I was fully engaged by the story and liked how the author carried the story over time without losing steam. The office politics subplot was interesting and more than padding. I give 5 stars sparingly so don't take the four stars as faint praise. Find it and read it, the book is worth your while.

This is a good read, even though it ended a bit abrubtly. It's intelligently written, and the characters are well developed. I would put it in the 3 1/2 to 4 star range.

I read this book when it first came out and was immensely impressed. I re-read this book six years ago when I belatedly realized that RKT had concocted a series instead of a stand-alone book. I was as impressed with the book the second (and even the third) time around as I was the first. I have since rushed to the store each year for the latest installment of the Karp-Ciampi chronicles and have not been disappointed.No Lesser Plea is a well-plotted legal thriller with interesting bad guys, witty dialogue, believable legal antics, and fascinating main characters. If you a reader of this genre and you have no discovered RKT give this book a try. There are several things I greatly admire in this series of books that does not come across by reading the first one. The most important thing is the development of the relationship between Butch & Marlene (and their family and hangers-on) over the course of the series. These characters become real people (rather more witty and articulate than the ordinary person) who have problems, disagreements, and day-to-day lives outside the pivotal legal issue being presented in the book. A second thing I like about the series is the development of current legal issues through the narrative format. By having Butch and Marlene on different sides of a question, the reader is exposed to moral and legal complexities of today's society. The last thing that I love about these books is their humor. There is at least one point in every book that sends me into gales of laughter. This is usually a bit of witty dialogue between Butch/Marlene and/or their children, but it also can be an exceptionally apt, pithy description of a situation or person. Anyway, this is one of the most alive series of books I have read and I would love to meet these characters (but not live near them since there does seem to be an inordinate amount of gunplay involved in their neighborhood).

This is the first book by Tanenbaum which features "Butch" Karp. This book was really well plotted. The characters are somewhat real. I simply could not put this book down! What a great story it holds.

Butch and Marlene are the best thing to happen since girls got to be tough! REAL tough. This book falls headlong, at breakneck speed, right into your sub-concious parts. Hang around for all of the lovingly decadent cast of personalities foisted upon us from RKT's very fertile mind.It's one to be enjoyed in one big gulp. Say Friday night 'till Sunday, just befor church.