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Butch Karp #3
Immoral Certainty
Assistant District Attorney Butch Karp and his colleague, Marlene Ciampi, investigate the suspect in three savage murders and follow a trail of death and insanity from a posh day-care center to the Mafia to a monstrous killer. Reissue.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
228 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
Robert K. Tanenbaum
76 books280 followersRobert K. Tanenbaum is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five legal thrillers and has an accomplished legal career of his own. Before his first book was published, Tanenbaum had already been the Bureau Chief of the Criminal Courts, had run the Homicide Bureau, and had been in charge of the training program for the legal staff for the New York County District Attorney’s Office. He also served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Congressional Committee investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. In his professional career, Tanenbaum has never lost a felony case. His courtroom experiences bring his books to life, especially in his bestselling series featuring prosecutor Roger “Butch” Karp and his wife, Marlene Ciampi.
Tanenbaum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended the University of California at Berkeley on a basketball scholarship, and remained at Cal, where he earned his law degree from the prestigious Boalt Hall School of Law. After graduating from Berkeley Law, Tanenbaum moved back to New York to work as an assistant district attorney under the legendary New York County DA Frank Hogan. Tanenbaum then served as Deputy Chief Counsel in charge of the Congressional investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The blockbuster novel Corruption of Blood (1994), is a fictionalized account of his experience in Washington, D.C.
Tanenbaum returned to the West Coast and began to serve in public office. He was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 1986 and twice served as the mayor of Beverly Hills. It was during this time that Tanenbaum began his career as a novelist, drawing from the many fascinating stories of his time as a New York ADA. His successful debut novel, No Lesser Plea (1987), introduces Butch Karp, an assistant district attorney who is battling for justice, and Marlene Ciampi, his associate and love interest. Tanenbaum’s subsequent twenty-two novels portrayed Karp and his crime fighting family and eclectic colleagues facing off against drug lords, corrupt politicians, international assassins, the mafia, and hard-core violent felons.
He has had published eight recent novels as part of the series, as well as two nonfiction titles: The Piano Teacher (1987), exploring his investigation and prosecution of a recidivist psychosexual killer, and Badge of the Assassin (1979), about his prosecution of cop killers, which was made into a movie starring James Woods as Tanenbaum.
Tanenbaum and his wife of forty-three years have three children. He currently resides in California where he has taught Advanced Criminal Procedure at the Boalt Hall School of Law and maintains a private law practice.
Tanenbaum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended the University of California at Berkeley on a basketball scholarship, and remained at Cal, where he earned his law degree from the prestigious Boalt Hall School of Law. After graduating from Berkeley Law, Tanenbaum moved back to New York to work as an assistant district attorney under the legendary New York County DA Frank Hogan. Tanenbaum then served as Deputy Chief Counsel in charge of the Congressional investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The blockbuster novel Corruption of Blood (1994), is a fictionalized account of his experience in Washington, D.C.
Tanenbaum returned to the West Coast and began to serve in public office. He was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 1986 and twice served as the mayor of Beverly Hills. It was during this time that Tanenbaum began his career as a novelist, drawing from the many fascinating stories of his time as a New York ADA. His successful debut novel, No Lesser Plea (1987), introduces Butch Karp, an assistant district attorney who is battling for justice, and Marlene Ciampi, his associate and love interest. Tanenbaum’s subsequent twenty-two novels portrayed Karp and his crime fighting family and eclectic colleagues facing off against drug lords, corrupt politicians, international assassins, the mafia, and hard-core violent felons.
He has had published eight recent novels as part of the series, as well as two nonfiction titles: The Piano Teacher (1987), exploring his investigation and prosecution of a recidivist psychosexual killer, and Badge of the Assassin (1979), about his prosecution of cop killers, which was made into a movie starring James Woods as Tanenbaum.
Tanenbaum and his wife of forty-three years have three children. He currently resides in California where he has taught Advanced Criminal Procedure at the Boalt Hall School of Law and maintains a private law practice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
October 13, 2020
The reason many of our “read” counts appear low on some books & authors is - the book was published & read before Goodreads started.... Tanenbaum is an example.
This book was tough in the beginning chapters, reason: the language & sex scenes. But the theme & flow gets great.
Butch Karp NYC Assistant District Attorney (“young” ADA) & Marlene Ciampi (his “colleague”, she becomes a ADA later in the series) have a case where a St. Micheals leader runs a “Kiddie” whorehouse for sadistic “Rich” people to act as “Devils” to children.
Get by the beginning then the mystery is off & OK!
The end is good, after Marlene Ciampi & Butch Karp lead to killing the St. Micheals leader. Then married & after fights, Ciampi is hospitalized. Wakes from a comma & finds she is pregnant. Ciampi says “I hope you’ll change the diapers” to Karp. Good ending.
How does a District Attorney (D.A.) and Prosecutor differ
This book was tough in the beginning chapters, reason: the language & sex scenes. But the theme & flow gets great.
Butch Karp NYC Assistant District Attorney (“young” ADA) & Marlene Ciampi (his “colleague”, she becomes a ADA later in the series) have a case where a St. Micheals leader runs a “Kiddie” whorehouse for sadistic “Rich” people to act as “Devils” to children.
Get by the beginning then the mystery is off & OK!
The end is good, after Marlene Ciampi & Butch Karp lead to killing the St. Micheals leader. Then married & after fights, Ciampi is hospitalized. Wakes from a comma & finds she is pregnant. Ciampi says “I hope you’ll change the diapers” to Karp. Good ending.
How does a District Attorney (D.A.) and Prosecutor differ
February 13, 2017
The Mr. Tanenbaum I have gotten to become familiar with is starting to emerge in this book. Butch and Marlene make both a great working couple as well as a couple. Marlene brings out the best in Butch. She also brings out the frisky side of him as well. Yet, when he is helping to investigate a case or in the courtroom, he is all business. That is what I did miss in this book is the big courtroom drama.
This time though, I got to see more of the human side of Marlene. It was refreshing. Yet, I did find Butch to be more on point this time with the investigation. Speaking of the murders. They were gruesome and there was one scene that was really kind of horrific in nature involving a child. So, if you can't handle gruesome than this book may not be for you. A good read none the less.
This time though, I got to see more of the human side of Marlene. It was refreshing. Yet, I did find Butch to be more on point this time with the investigation. Speaking of the murders. They were gruesome and there was one scene that was really kind of horrific in nature involving a child. So, if you can't handle gruesome than this book may not be for you. A good read none the less.
April 21, 2014
They're at it again! ADA Butch Karp and his beautiful colleague and love-interest, Marlene Campi, have each taken on separate cases that merge into one. Karp catches the case of a murdered mobster and Campi investigates the murder of a mutilated little girl who's body was found in a dumpster. As they each pursue their own case, they begin to uncover unspeakable horror and evil and a murky figure abused children call the "boogeyman."
They are still the outrageously quirky couple they were in previous novels. Loyal readers expect them to act a bit like raving lunatics on occasion. That's all part of the ride the author creates.
They are still the outrageously quirky couple they were in previous novels. Loyal readers expect them to act a bit like raving lunatics on occasion. That's all part of the ride the author creates.
February 18, 2012
Tanenbaum is always great. I have not read a failure yet. This one includes both a developed court room saga as well as the wild and weird characters. Not sure if the story is from the late seventies or the early eighties. Younger characters before Butch and Marlene get married. Accidently read this book twice (an increasing problem) but rather than putting it away and starting another book, I continued reading and still enjoyed the second pass.
March 30, 2019
I listened to this book and I’ll admit I liked this series much better when reading it in an actual book. The mystery as to who done it is pretty clear from the first. There was however two or three separate cases going on at once that come crashing together at the end and leave you thinking what???
November 30, 2014
on book jacket.
New York Times bestselling author and renowned prosecuting attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum provides the first insider's account of the historic Wylie-Hoffert case, from the shocking double-murder to the wrenching interrogation of an innocent young man, and the heroic Assistant District Attorney who risked everything to unravel a disgraceful injustice. Here is a gripping chronicle of the unnerving crime that led to the Miranda Rights, and of the courageous stand that forever reformed the American justice system.
It was a muggy summer day in New York when Janice Wylie and Emily Hoffert were raped and murdered in their apartment on Manhattan's fashionable Upper East Side. Months passed as their families grieved the unthinkable and a shaken city awaited answers. Finally, Brooklyn police arrested George Whitmore, Jr., a nineteen-year-old with an I.Q. of less than 70. But his incarceration would ultimately entail a host of shocking law enforcement missteps and cover-ups.
Whitmore had confessed. Yet Mel Glass, a young Manhattan Assistant D.A. not even assigned to the Homicide Bureau, was troubled by the investigation. With the blessing of legendary D.A. Frank Hogan, Glass tirelessly immersed himself in the case. So began an epic quest for justice, culminating in a courtroom showdown in which the Brooklyn arresting cops refused to admit their flagrant errors, providing a complete defense to a vicious predator. The outcome would reach far beyond the individuals involved.
Including trial transcripts and never before published crime scene photos, here is a captivating depiction of one of the most intense manhunts of our time. Echoes of My Soul is also a testament to the power of individuals like Glass and Hogan, without whom the real killer would never have been convicted and an unjustly accused man would have been jailed for life. And we may never have gained the legal safeguards that protect us today.
******
Personal note: I listen to these and for some reason, it is hard for me to keep my attention. Not sure if I will try another one or not.. However, the lives of Karp and Champi is fun
New York Times bestselling author and renowned prosecuting attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum provides the first insider's account of the historic Wylie-Hoffert case, from the shocking double-murder to the wrenching interrogation of an innocent young man, and the heroic Assistant District Attorney who risked everything to unravel a disgraceful injustice. Here is a gripping chronicle of the unnerving crime that led to the Miranda Rights, and of the courageous stand that forever reformed the American justice system.
It was a muggy summer day in New York when Janice Wylie and Emily Hoffert were raped and murdered in their apartment on Manhattan's fashionable Upper East Side. Months passed as their families grieved the unthinkable and a shaken city awaited answers. Finally, Brooklyn police arrested George Whitmore, Jr., a nineteen-year-old with an I.Q. of less than 70. But his incarceration would ultimately entail a host of shocking law enforcement missteps and cover-ups.
Whitmore had confessed. Yet Mel Glass, a young Manhattan Assistant D.A. not even assigned to the Homicide Bureau, was troubled by the investigation. With the blessing of legendary D.A. Frank Hogan, Glass tirelessly immersed himself in the case. So began an epic quest for justice, culminating in a courtroom showdown in which the Brooklyn arresting cops refused to admit their flagrant errors, providing a complete defense to a vicious predator. The outcome would reach far beyond the individuals involved.
Including trial transcripts and never before published crime scene photos, here is a captivating depiction of one of the most intense manhunts of our time. Echoes of My Soul is also a testament to the power of individuals like Glass and Hogan, without whom the real killer would never have been convicted and an unjustly accused man would have been jailed for life. And we may never have gained the legal safeguards that protect us today.
******
Personal note: I listen to these and for some reason, it is hard for me to keep my attention. Not sure if I will try another one or not.. However, the lives of Karp and Champi is fun
July 21, 2016
library mp3. I was going along OK, lots of interesting observations about NYC DA and police, kind of an uneasy plot about a serial child killer along with a mafia subplot. Then, it started into a bizarre child abuse ring based in an upscale daycare center, evoking the McMartin witch hunt of years ago. The story ripped from the headlines never happened. I turned off the book and deleted, which normally would be a 1, but the other features got it up to a 2. I guess I would read another (free) Tanenbaum, but I'd be quick on the trigger finger. I'm wondering if this is one which Michael Gruber collaborated on?
September 3, 2016
It;s really more like a 3.5. It's hard to classify this series as legal (like courtroom stuff!) thrillers as Karp and Ciampi do a lot more thriller--ing than legal-ing in the three books I have read to date. But, they do grow on you and I will certainly continue with the series. One slight irritation is that the author does tend to throw in far too many subplots which are not necessary to the main story. In fact it sometimes takes more than half the book to settle down to what exactly IS the main plot.
December 26, 2023
Marlene Ciampi, Assistant D.A. for New York City, gets involved through a friend's daughter in a child sexual assault case involving a prestigious child care center. Politics play heavy in the D.A.'s office in protecting the evil people responsible for the child abuse and murders but Ciampi and Butch Karp, another assistant D.A. (and Ciampi's lover) bring it home. Wonderful characters (especially the Mafia and the Italian ADA and the police officers). Highly recommended.
May 20, 2024
I read this book three years ago, and it has stuck with me. I’ve grown to own almost all of the books in the Karp&Ciampi series and while I have enjoyed all of them, this is still my favorite. It is unrealistic, sure, but it exposes you to characters that can be seen in real people. The book is exciting, twisting, dark, and of course it has its splash of humor. I might not be able to say what exactly makes the book so great, but if it lead me to owning 15 books in the series, you can gather that it was pretty great.
August 18, 2019
Read this years ago - back in the 1990's. Such a tragedy. This story reminds me of Jeffrey Epstein...and his reign of terror on children by sex trafficking. Too bad we'll never know who all was involved, since "he committed suicide." From news: Unsealed Records Implicate More Famous Men In the Jeffrey Epstein Case
Unsealed court documents contain explosive allegations against a former governor, a former senator, a prince, and a powerful modeling agent.
Unsealed court documents contain explosive allegations against a former governor, a former senator, a prince, and a powerful modeling agent.
September 2, 2023
I like these series of books with Butch Karp and Marlene Champi but some of the language could be lessened. I really hope people who are in love with each other don't talk like this but my husband and I had apparently a different relationship where this kind of language wasn't necessary.
The book was awesome and having two story lines going at the same time made it and interesting read. The ending was perfect.
The book was awesome and having two story lines going at the same time made it and interesting read. The ending was perfect.
December 21, 2021
I'm not quite sure why I've never read any of Tannenbaum before, but this was an excellent book for discovering a new (to me) author. New York's assistant DA, Butch Karp and his colleague, Marlene Ciampi and a delicious sociopath combine to make this plot a thrill. If you love serial killers, this is a good one for you. Plus Ciampi is a delight. I would really like to have lunch with her.
January 6, 2022
The life of a District Attorney, both work and home. Enjoyed it. It gave a peek into New York and a taste of what the work load of District Attorney faces. How easy it is to engage yourself into the minds of victims and how hard it is to stay both impartial and not exactly aloof but less emotional.
June 7, 2019
Once again, the ending is a giant mess, poorly paced, with my least favorite denouement-- a chapter of people explaining what happened. Satanism is also a special drag. And the multiple intersecting plots were ridiculously forced.
July 6, 2020
This is a very dark novel, dealing with child abuse, pedophilia, murder, satan worship, and ritual child sacrifice. Butch and Marlene, along with NYPD and DA coworkers, battle it all and coming out on top in the end.
May 27, 2017
Meh. It would be nice if they allowed half stars for the rating. Lots of new characters and an overly confusing plot
November 1, 2017
One of my favorite of the series.
September 12, 2018
Liking this series a lot, has good multiple storylines
November 14, 2019
The story line took me in. With the Epstein case current, this story rang true.
February 2, 2020
Think I’m done with this series.
August 12, 2020
These are strange books for me.
While I really like the stories, I have an equal dislike for both the main characters.
As long as the stories stay great, maybe the characters will grow on me.
While I really like the stories, I have an equal dislike for both the main characters.
As long as the stories stay great, maybe the characters will grow on me.
November 19, 2020
Good fast read. A few too many characters, but the ending moves quickly and keeps you guessing.
January 23, 2021
Starts at slow but don't give up.
January 26, 2021
A lot of different twist
May 5, 2021
I love this series
June 21, 2021
Obviously written by an experienced prosecutor, but the bad guys are so bad and the good guys are so good that it strains credulity.
October 1, 2021
too dated.
October 8, 2021
The books are getting a bit too violent and sexual for my taste. I'm going to try one more, but I think I'm going to quit this series.
May 11, 2022
Another entertaining mystery!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews