Rating: 
Summary: True Fun!
Review: "True Justice" by Robert Tanenbaum, is another fine entry in the fantasy lawyer series featuring the husband and wife team of Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi.Butch Karp, the Assistant District Attorney of New York City, is faced with an outbreak of infanticide. His job is to prosecute the wrong doers and bring evil people to justice. Marlene Ciampi his wife takes a case in Delaware, but conversely her job is to defend the mother of a dead baby that is being persecuted by the Wilmington District Attorney. Even their daughter Lucy gets into the act when her friend's family is assassinated by persons unknown. What makes these stories fun to read are Tanenbaum's characterizations. You know that these people cannot possible exist and as a matter of fact they are almost superhuman. Karp is everyone's ideal DA, tough, fair, and honest. Ciampi is almost superwoman she's smart, aggressive and sexy. Lucy their daughter is a child protegee with languages, street wise and practically a saint. Sometimes you get the feeling that the story is merely a way for Tanenbaum to present new problems for this gifted family to overcome. But who cares, half the fun is getting there anyway, so close your eyes, suspend reality, sit back and relax. Tanenbaum is a fine writer and his world of super lawyers, Karp and Ciampi will take care of everything...with panache. I recommend "True Justice", but don't take it too seriously.
Rating:
Summary: when does death begin?
Review: a conservative,straight-laced,jewish prosecutor and his zany,one-eyed,cattholic, vigilnate lawyer wife each purusue justice in their separate ways. this time they confront infanticide. insightful glimpse into the machinations of the justice system.overly long,convoluted sentence structure detracts from the pacing.
Rating: 
Summary: Publishers Weekly Offers *STARRED* Review 8/14/00
Review: A rash of baby killings positions a pair of married lawyers on opposite sides of the moral and legal fence in the latest multi-faceted installment of this legal-thriller series (after Act of Revenge)Tanenbaum brings back assistant district attorney Butch Karp and feisty spouse Marlene Ciampi when three infanticides involving young unwed mothers arc discovered in New York City. City politics and legal circumstances force Karp to prosecute a young Hispanic girl who appears to he the most culpable of the three While Karp is embroiled in his case, lawyer Ciampi is busy with her own chaIlenge - protecting battered women from violent ex-husbands. When she is forced to shoot a man after he guns down his wife and then aims the weapon at his own daughter, Ciampi realizes she has had enough and decides to retire. Shortly afterward, however, a lawyer friend convinces her to represent a young wornan in Delaware who is accused of killing her newborn baby. Contrived thought the plot may be it provides an apt vehicle for Tanenbaum to dissect the legal and moral mechanisms of the two cases, while exploring their effects on his protagonists' professional and personal lives. An intriguing subplot involves the couple's deeply religious daughter, Lucy, a linguistic prodigv. When the parents of her wealthy ~ friend Caitlin are killed in cold blood Lucy's instincts help identify the murderer. The resolution Ciampi's case seems a bit naive and optimistic, . but Tanenbaum rises above the inherent manipulation in the storv lines with his usual combination of intelligent dialogue, a well-designed maze of political and moral traps, and the charming and incendiary chemistry between Karp and Ciampi. For those who prefer their legal thrillers with plenty of spice and a high IQ, Tanenbaum remains an essential addiction. (Aug.)
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Summary: A delightfully insane book to read
Review: A totally disfunctional family, unbelieveable dialogue, nuts parents - what else can a gal ask for?! A definitely 'must read' book.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe 4 1/2?
Review: Another great book with the usual great characters, although I missed Guma. With Lucy and the twins starting to play a bigger role I relaize, though, that some characters get put to the side (unless I've just read too many books and have forgotten that Guma took a bullet for Marlene or something). Once again, Tanenbaum proves that he a master or character development and dry humor. Number 12 was as hard to put down as 1 through 11, but with little of the edge of your seat suspense that Marlene's antics have brought to past novels. Nonetheless, I couldn't lower it to a 4 by any means.
Rating:
Summary: The best Karp & Marlene yet!
Review: Based on the true story of the Amy Grossberg case (two teens in Delaware, baby in dumpster)which the author actually defended, this is a deeply felt and beautifully written story of how politics and the law conspire against 'true justice.' It's also a page-turner, with the snappy dialog and witty perceptions that have always made this guy a thrill to read.
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Summary: SLOW PACED, AND DRAWN OUT
Review: District attorney, Butch Karp, is faced with a nightmare of a case...3 seperate teenage girls, all of different ethnic backrounds, have killed their infants, and Karp's boss, Jack Keegan, has ordered Karp to set an example and prosecute one of the girls, the 15 year-old Hispanic who seemed to know what she was "doing", rather than the other 2 girls (one girl thought she was having a stomach ache, and the other girl is not "all there" mentally). Marlene Ciampi, Karp's wife, has decided to return to practicing law, and takes on a case in Delaware, a case that has a teenager being prosecuted for a capital crime. "True Justice" drags on far too long, with not enough action for a legal thriller. The story line of teenagers killing their infants is a timely subject and interesting enough, but things get out of hand with a sub-plot involving Karp's daughter Lucy, as well as the detailing of the Karp's family life being affected by the cases. The novel opens up as a good episode of "Law And Order", and then goes down hill, too much time is spent detailing the backround of prosecuting the cases, and it's affects on Butch and Marlene. Robert Tanenbaum is a good writer, but his novels are hit or miss. Readers of fiction involving lawyers will like his novels, but readers of legal thrillers will find his books too slowly paced. Nick Gonnella
Rating: 
Summary: A letdown
Review: Don't worry if, like me, you have not read any previous books in this series. The author catches you up on the characters' lives soap-opera-style and the principal players themselves cheerfully acknowledge the unlikelihood of their history. Once you suspend your disbelief, you are in for an entertaining time with some very appealing characters: Butch Karp, the tough, conscientious Chief Assistant District Attorney; wife Marlene Ciampri, an attorney struggling to extricate herself from her violent career as a bodyguard; and teenage daughter Lucy, a spiritually gifted language prodigy. The three become involved in an interlocking set of crimes - two infanticides and the murder of Lucy's friend's parents. The action moves along briskly but the heart of the novel is the characters' grappling with what would consitute "true" justice in each of these tragic cases - and how best to achieve it within an imperfect legal system. The philosophizing is leavened with an ample dose of humor. I'm looking forward to reading other books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced and thought-provoking entertainment
Review: Don't worry if, like me, you have not read any previous books in this series. The author catches you up on the characters' lives soap-opera-style and the principal players themselves cheerfully acknowledge the unlikelihood of their history. Once you suspend your disbelief, you are in for an entertaining time with some very appealing characters: Butch Karp, the tough, conscientious Chief Assistant District Attorney; wife Marlene Ciampri, an attorney struggling to extricate herself from her violent career as a bodyguard; and teenage daughter Lucy, a spiritually gifted language prodigy. The three become involved in an interlocking set of crimes - two infanticides and the murder of Lucy's friend's parents. The action moves along briskly but the heart of the novel is the characters' grappling with what would consitute "true" justice in each of these tragic cases - and how best to achieve it within an imperfect legal system. The philosophizing is leavened with an ample dose of humor. I'm looking forward to reading other books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GREAT READ
Review: HORRAY FOR TANNENBAUM. BUTCH AND MARLENE ARE AS GOOD AS PETER AND RINA. I LOVE THE COURTROOM DRAMA. KEEP GOING, I WILL NEVER TIRE OF BUTCH, MARLENE AND LUCY. THE ONE THING I DID MISS IN THIS BOOK IS THE REMOVAL OF HARRY BELLO AND TRAN. MARLENE CIAMPI IS A HERO TO ALL WOMEN. I JUST WISH ALL MEN WERE AS UNDERSTANDING AS BUTCH.
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