Rating: 
Summary: Smart, Intelligent..but kinda boring.
Review: Smart, intelligent, and well written, but wasn't a page turner. It bogged down many times, and the ending just wrapped itself up way to neatly and quickly. I'd actually give it 21/2 stars, but it had it's shining moments.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of this year!
Review: Thank goodness for Robert Tannenbaum. A great twisting of 3 complex plots, wonderful character growth, smart dialog.... not a thing missing! These plots are not as far fetched as a few of those in the past (Act of Revenge comes to mind) and with some new locations, perhaps not as much of the "old" names we've come to love thru the dozen books of this series. The religious implications add depth without "preaching" at us; this book does a wonderful job of reflecting many of the contrasting viewpoints about our society, abortion, and the abuse of women and children in out time. Just BUY it!
Rating:
Summary: Rising above the genre, like its predecessors
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Better than ever
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book is written well, has intriguing characters and an unpredictable plot, taught me a bit about legal procedures, and made me think a bit about difficult issues. What more could one want from a legal thriller?
Rating:
Summary: In My Opinion, the Finest Butch Karp Novel So Far
Review: This book was terrific. If you're a fan of the legal thriller, you will love this story. If you've followed Butch and Marlene through their other books, this one will present less of a challenge in believability; you will accept easily daughter Lucy's savant qualities -- as well as the family's casual attitude toward and involvement in violence and mayhem -- but this novel can and would stand alone. It does what no other Butch Karp novel has before done, as I see it. It cohesively and fluently investigates all separate facets of a meaningful universal theme. This book defines true justice. In other words, this book is an increasingly rare find in modern fiction. It is LITERATURE. In the milieu of the modern crime drama, this story explores the nature of ultimate justice in a flawed world. Human beings have always attempted and are always attempting to level the criminal playing field by meting out consequences for crimes so heinous that no equitable punishment can possibly exist. This book puts those attempts in an understandable and profound context. I loved this book. I have read the other Butch Karp novels, and this one is in a class by itself. Even if you don't like "serial mystery stories," you will like this one if you like to read real books. Be patient with its extremes (the author has earned the privilege, as he HAS raised some of these characters from babies!), back up for a running start, and prepare for a thought-provoking experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Better Than Your Typical Grisham
Review: This is the first Tanenbaum novel I've read, and except for the blurb on the back I would not have realised it was one of a series. That I never had the sense I was getting 12 volumes of backstory nor did I need it speaks highly for Tanenbaum's writing skills; whether his long time followers are as blissfully unaware I'm not at all sure. As to the story itself, Tanenbaum has taken a somewhat unconventional approach. Rather than lots of gunplay, powerful courtroom drama, or devious legal manueverings, we are given decent people struggling with what the role of the law is, and what it should be. The story is largely dialogue and character driven, with little action and only a minor mystery that appears quite late in the book. Mostly Tanenbaum waxes philosophical--an approach that will drive some readers mad, but I thought it was quite fresh and more like real life than any Grisham potboiler. I'm not sure I'd like an entire series with this approach--nor do I know that the author takes it in the other books of the series--but on its own merits, True Justice is definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Your Typical Grisham
Review: This is the first Tanenbaum novel I've read, and except for the blurb on the back I would not have realised it was one of a series. That I never had the sense I was getting 12 volumes of backstory nor did I need it speaks highly for Tanenbaum's writing skills; whether his long time followers are as blissfully unaware I'm not at all sure. As to the story itself, Tanenbaum has taken a somewhat unconventional approach. Rather than lots of gunplay, powerful courtroom drama, or devious legal manueverings, we are given decent people struggling with what the role of the law is, and what it should be. The story is largely dialogue and character driven, with little action and only a minor mystery that appears quite late in the book. Mostly Tanenbaum waxes philosophical--an approach that will drive some readers mad, but I thought it was quite fresh and more like real life than any Grisham potboiler. I'm not sure I'd like an entire series with this approach--nor do I know that the author takes it in the other books of the series--but on its own merits, True Justice is definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Slow first half
Review: This story is good -- once it gets going. It plodded on through half the book before there was even a glimmer of suspense. Also, the courtroom confrontation was much too short. The characters are interesting, but their predictability becomes tiresome. This is an okay read, but I was hoping for more.
Rating:
Summary: Latest in a Sensational Series
Review: This twelfth in a series of legal thrillers by Robert K. Tanenbaum is a tour de force, the finest blending of spellbinding action and fully fleshed characterizations to date. These books are as addictive as chocolate, and twice as difficult to put down. The only disappointment is having to wait a year for the next adventure of the Karp family.
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