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Capture
When a rising starlet from Spanish Harlem dies from a gunshot wound in the fashionable downtown penthouse of an eccentric Broadway producer, New York District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp and his hard-charging, crime-fighting wife, Marlene Ciampi, smell drama. With the help of a fearful witness who Marlene convinces to speak out, Karp wages a relentless battle for justice against a notorious defendant, a legion of experts, and a barrage of hostile threats.
701 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2009
31 people are currently reading
319 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 60 reviews
June 5, 2019
So always a joy and mostly makes me sad to end! I can’t wait until I’ve read them all or maybe I can because I’ll be wanting more! Following my favorite of the series I was not disappointed! The carp family again is involved in too much torment and blood shed. The Islam faith and Muslim extreme is as in the last few books the driving factor. The dregs of the underground may be turning against our fav family!
April 30, 2019
I enjoy this series and find it highly entertaining. This is one of the better books, full of action, lots of villains, but especially interesting courtroom scenes where Butch is prosecuting a popular Broadway producer for the murder of a rising starlet. Meanwhile, he, his colleagues, and his family are once again busy saving the world.....or at least New York City. As I said, this is just pure enjoyment!
May 8, 2017
I always look forward to reading Tanenbaum because he incorporates current events in his stories and that gives his stories a feeling of realism. In Capture author Tanenbaum describes how easy it is to throw the World’s economy in chaos, the manipulators, and the reason the manipulators want to do it.
One of Butch Carp’s most promising assistant DA’s who was prosecuting a movie producer who murdered a young actress is murdered. Butch has his hands full with taking over the case, finding his daughter who was kidnapped, and trying to learn where in New York the terrorists were going to plant a bomb. In the meantime, Butch learns that his nemesis, Cane, the former mayor, is the criminal who has his daughter.The courtroom drama is a rollercoaster ride! As with all of Tanenbaum books, Capture is a great read. Charles Leggett does a good job in storytelling.
One of Butch Carp’s most promising assistant DA’s who was prosecuting a movie producer who murdered a young actress is murdered. Butch has his hands full with taking over the case, finding his daughter who was kidnapped, and trying to learn where in New York the terrorists were going to plant a bomb. In the meantime, Butch learns that his nemesis, Cane, the former mayor, is the criminal who has his daughter.The courtroom drama is a rollercoaster ride! As with all of Tanenbaum books, Capture is a great read. Charles Leggett does a good job in storytelling.
April 23, 2010
Usually I don't like to buy hardcover books at a sale, but when it is one of my favorite authors, that is different. It's always good to spend time with Buth Karp, now District Attorney of NYC, wife Marlene, daughter Lucy, now engaged to her cowboy, and the twins, Zak and Giancarlo. The usual other characters are here too, with several villains from previous books. Butch takes over a trial when one of his lawyeers supposedly hangs himself, and there is a gigantic threat.
September 28, 2009
I liked this one better than the last few. The last few have dealt too much with general terrorism. I prefer the terrorism of the Karp family. Hopefully, the whole Sons of Man plot to take over the world won't be a part of future books. I thought the Maplethorpe trial was the most interesting part of the book.
March 29, 2021
I picked this one up randomly off the library shelf and...woo...it's something.
Somehow, this book is about the murder trial of a Broadway producer AND a terrorist plot by what basically amounts to a Muslim Illuminati. Along the way, there's a newsie with Tourette's, a schizophrenia villain with a Phantom Of the Opera Mask, a former gangster turned rapper, and an multi-national super secret, off the books, black ops team. There's enough ideas here for at least five books.
That being said, it doesn't quite all hang together perfectly. The tonal shift from, say, an attempted assassination in the Middle East to pre-trial depositions can lead the reader with whiplash. And the story drags a bit in the third act before finally landing on the Big Finish.
A good little distraction from day to day life, on the hole. But hardly a classic.
Somehow, this book is about the murder trial of a Broadway producer AND a terrorist plot by what basically amounts to a Muslim Illuminati. Along the way, there's a newsie with Tourette's, a schizophrenia villain with a Phantom Of the Opera Mask, a former gangster turned rapper, and an multi-national super secret, off the books, black ops team. There's enough ideas here for at least five books.
That being said, it doesn't quite all hang together perfectly. The tonal shift from, say, an attempted assassination in the Middle East to pre-trial depositions can lead the reader with whiplash. And the story drags a bit in the third act before finally landing on the Big Finish.
A good little distraction from day to day life, on the hole. But hardly a classic.
August 22, 2022
I have returned to this series after an absence of a few years, and this is the best installment I’ve read since coming back. It’s the book equivalent of watching a Liam Neeson movie that has 2 plots running simultaneously.
November 17, 2017
another great one in the series onto the next.
January 1, 2022
The Karp family does it again
Always action packed and well written. I like the new strategy of having riddles to figure out through the story.
Always action packed and well written. I like the new strategy of having riddles to figure out through the story.
May 4, 2024
Good bu I'm getting tired of the Arabs and the Russian mobster. Time to move o n.
June 14, 2021
Love love this series
May 23, 2016
Though not exactly an example of fine literature, I did enjoy Robert K. Tanenbaum's 21st entry in his Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi series. In a way, "Capture" is a much better read than it's predecessor: "Escape" which was bogged down with a slow pace, and a density that reduced its overall impact. However, like his other books, "Capture" spins its yarn with a lazy, lackluster prose which deflates the novel as a whole.
Tanenbaum's strength lies in his ability to set-up at least two different narratives that somehow work together at the same time. "Capture" tells the tale of NY District Attorney 2nd attempt at prosecuting a well-known Broadway producer who has been accused or murdering a young Broadway starlet. Ripped right out of the headlines involving the trial of record producer Phil Spector in the murder of Lana Clarkson in 2003, the author highlights the serious problem of murder trial defense attorney's going too far to besmirch the victim of a crime, and dilute the truth with one expert witness after the next.
The other narrative story involves the return of the psychotic Andrew Kane from the dead, the dangerous Russian terrorist Malovo, as well as the evil Dean Newbury and the Sons of Man. This time around, Malovo escapes an assassination attempt overseas by Jaxon, Lucy, her boyfriend Ned, and Butch Karp's cousin Ivan. Somewhere along the way, Lucy Karp gets kidnapped by Andrew Kane, and the team uncover a new Sons of Man plot to have a small boat armed with gigantic explosive liquid gas to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. So it's Tran, Jojola, Marlene, Ned, Lucy, Dirty Warren, David Grale, and the others to the rescue!
Now, at face value. The story elements are terrific. That is what Tanenbaum (and his rumored ghost writers) are good at. The Sons of Man part of the story is consistently a fun read, as is the exciting takedown of the bad guy terrorists in the finale. Also particularly good are the courtroom scenes, where the reader gets to experience (once again) the pleasure of Butch Karp effectively eviscerating a defense attorney's case down to the nub. So, what's the problem?
The problems are many, among them lies with the fact that Robert K. Tanenbaum offers up TOO many characters who have James Bond-ian survival skills. The James Bond novels and films work because it's really only ONE guy who never gets killed no matter which direction the story goes. This way, the suspension of disbelief is never stretched beyond the breaking point. Yet with "Capture," no less than NINE characters are given the unrealistic resilience of cartoon characters.
Butch Karp can never be killed, nor does he ever lose a case. In fact, he often stumbles upon evidence, or a corrupt defense attorney that makes his case a slam-dunk each and every time. Marlene Karp can be maimed, but can never be killed. Lucy Karp is rarely out of horrendous danger, and she too is un-killable. Jaxon, Tran, Jojola, Ned, Edward Treacher, reporter Ariadne Stupenagel are all placed in impossibly dangerous situations where the chances of survival are slim to none. Yet all of them survive the story with barely a scratch on them. Do you see the problem here? Suspension of disbelief stretched to oblivion...It's no wonder Lucy Karp always remains calm when she is in danger! She knows that she will survive no matter what happens.
The other problem is that the suspension of disbelief is stretched even further when the heroes always seem to get the right info, or make the right decision just in the nick of time. Ariadne Stupenagel somehow knows how to duck at just the right time. The murderous Molovo would always rather keep one of our heroes alive as he prisoner than actually kill them herself. The corrupt medical examiner immediately caves when confronted with his lies. The murderous producer Maplethorpe's henchman just happened to have a safe deposit box filled with blackmail tapes on Maplethorpe.
And how bout the iconic, unstoppable Dean Newbury? Tanenbaum set him up as a man of absolute power as the head of the Sons of Man. But when he's caught by his nephew V.T., and charged with a litany of crimes, Dean Newbury caves and becomes cooperative witness? Really? That doesn't sound like the man Tanenbaum wrote about for at least three novels. The only thing that would make sense is if Dean Newbury took his own life, or was killed trying to escape capture. Dean Newbury as a stool pigeon? No. That's just plain wrong.
So, as much as I did enjoy "Capture," I was let down by the promise Robert K. Tanenbaum offered up. A great premise deserves a great story, which in turns deserves great characters, great writing, and a great finale. "Capture" got one or two parts right, but stumbled with the rest.
Tanenbaum's strength lies in his ability to set-up at least two different narratives that somehow work together at the same time. "Capture" tells the tale of NY District Attorney 2nd attempt at prosecuting a well-known Broadway producer who has been accused or murdering a young Broadway starlet. Ripped right out of the headlines involving the trial of record producer Phil Spector in the murder of Lana Clarkson in 2003, the author highlights the serious problem of murder trial defense attorney's going too far to besmirch the victim of a crime, and dilute the truth with one expert witness after the next.
The other narrative story involves the return of the psychotic Andrew Kane from the dead, the dangerous Russian terrorist Malovo, as well as the evil Dean Newbury and the Sons of Man. This time around, Malovo escapes an assassination attempt overseas by Jaxon, Lucy, her boyfriend Ned, and Butch Karp's cousin Ivan. Somewhere along the way, Lucy Karp gets kidnapped by Andrew Kane, and the team uncover a new Sons of Man plot to have a small boat armed with gigantic explosive liquid gas to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. So it's Tran, Jojola, Marlene, Ned, Lucy, Dirty Warren, David Grale, and the others to the rescue!
Now, at face value. The story elements are terrific. That is what Tanenbaum (and his rumored ghost writers) are good at. The Sons of Man part of the story is consistently a fun read, as is the exciting takedown of the bad guy terrorists in the finale. Also particularly good are the courtroom scenes, where the reader gets to experience (once again) the pleasure of Butch Karp effectively eviscerating a defense attorney's case down to the nub. So, what's the problem?
The problems are many, among them lies with the fact that Robert K. Tanenbaum offers up TOO many characters who have James Bond-ian survival skills. The James Bond novels and films work because it's really only ONE guy who never gets killed no matter which direction the story goes. This way, the suspension of disbelief is never stretched beyond the breaking point. Yet with "Capture," no less than NINE characters are given the unrealistic resilience of cartoon characters.
Butch Karp can never be killed, nor does he ever lose a case. In fact, he often stumbles upon evidence, or a corrupt defense attorney that makes his case a slam-dunk each and every time. Marlene Karp can be maimed, but can never be killed. Lucy Karp is rarely out of horrendous danger, and she too is un-killable. Jaxon, Tran, Jojola, Ned, Edward Treacher, reporter Ariadne Stupenagel are all placed in impossibly dangerous situations where the chances of survival are slim to none. Yet all of them survive the story with barely a scratch on them. Do you see the problem here? Suspension of disbelief stretched to oblivion...It's no wonder Lucy Karp always remains calm when she is in danger! She knows that she will survive no matter what happens.
The other problem is that the suspension of disbelief is stretched even further when the heroes always seem to get the right info, or make the right decision just in the nick of time. Ariadne Stupenagel somehow knows how to duck at just the right time. The murderous Molovo would always rather keep one of our heroes alive as he prisoner than actually kill them herself. The corrupt medical examiner immediately caves when confronted with his lies. The murderous producer Maplethorpe's henchman just happened to have a safe deposit box filled with blackmail tapes on Maplethorpe.
And how bout the iconic, unstoppable Dean Newbury? Tanenbaum set him up as a man of absolute power as the head of the Sons of Man. But when he's caught by his nephew V.T., and charged with a litany of crimes, Dean Newbury caves and becomes cooperative witness? Really? That doesn't sound like the man Tanenbaum wrote about for at least three novels. The only thing that would make sense is if Dean Newbury took his own life, or was killed trying to escape capture. Dean Newbury as a stool pigeon? No. That's just plain wrong.
So, as much as I did enjoy "Capture," I was let down by the promise Robert K. Tanenbaum offered up. A great premise deserves a great story, which in turns deserves great characters, great writing, and a great finale. "Capture" got one or two parts right, but stumbled with the rest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2009
Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi save the world again. This is the 21st book in the long-running series, featuring the New York District Attorney, Butch Karp, and his beloved wife, gunslinger Marlene Ciampi. Also featured are their twins sons, Isaac and Giancarlo, as well as their indomitable daughter, Lucy, now engaged to Ned Blanchett; as well as Tran, their Vietnamese gangster friend and John Jojola, the former police chief of the Taos Pueblo. Butch and Marlene seem to find themselves in the worst predicaments in the known universe. They have now saved New York City and the world from terrorists four or five times (I have lost count); but I keep coming back for more because the books are incredibly entertaining. This time out of the chute, the New York D.A.’s office is facing a re-trial of a Broadway producer whose previous trial ended in a mistrial. Lucy is off in Dagestan, along with Ned, trying to assassinate a known international terrorist. The Arab terrorist from the previous book, Amir Al-Sistani, is being held underground by the madman, David Grale. All the plots weave together into a slam-bang explosion that may or may not take place at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York City Harbor. There has always been a serious time-line problem with these books, so do not read them for their accuracy; read them for the sheer entertainment value.
December 29, 2014
#21 in the NYC DA "Butch" Karp & Marlene Ciampi series. In this 2009 entry,Karp and his extended family continue to battle the forces of evil personified in Andrew Kane a battle which started 5 entries ago with Hoax (2004).
NYC DA "Butch" Karp & Marlene Ciampi and their extended "family" battle the forces of Andrew Kane and the Sons of Man as they use Islamic extremists to mount a holiday season terrorist attack on NYC. Butch handles the retrial of a Broadway producer accused of murdering an actress. The theme is simplicity to battle The Big Lie provided by the defense's expert witnesses.
NYC DA "Butch" Karp & Marlene Ciampi and their extended "family" battle the forces of Andrew Kane and the Sons of Man as they use Islamic extremists to mount a holiday season terrorist attack on NYC. Butch handles the retrial of a Broadway producer accused of murdering an actress. The theme is simplicity to battle The Big Lie provided by the defense's expert witnesses.
July 22, 2017
I stumbled upon this author many years ago and totally loved his writing. He created a family, giving each individual a name, personality and a suit of words to make them who they are. Then he allowed them to step into the messes of life and narrated their stories from their own point of view as well as the family. To me, this is writing at it's best.
This particular story drags Butch Karp and his band of misfits (Dirty Warren, David Grale, his Russian cousin, Jojola, Tran, etc) down the path of terroism.
This particular story drags Butch Karp and his band of misfits (Dirty Warren, David Grale, his Russian cousin, Jojola, Tran, etc) down the path of terroism.
November 1, 2009
I didn't realize when I got this out of the library that it was part of a series. Usually that's not a problem, but this book just never let me forget that there was a whole lot of backstory that I didn't know. Way too many characters and situations. I really liked the trial parts, but the rest of it was just not that interesting to me. And I'm not tempted to go back and start from the beginning, because all the cliffhangers have been revealed.
July 26, 2015
4* This audiobook is more difficult to review than many because in the writing and reading, there were some things I felt could be improved and, worse, some that irritated me. Generally even a good story would therefore only get 3*, an "I liked it." But this was such a darned good, complex story with so many interesting characters, so much action, and a sprinkling of humour that it kept me fully engaged. Good entertainment. I enjoyed it a lot. Hence the extra *.
July 21, 2009
I love this Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi series...great characters...great dialogue...great NYC locations this time its the Broadway version of the Phil Spector murder and the continuation of earlier "War on Terror" themes...great melodramatic villains, heroes and crises...a fun, fun read...his best since "Absolute Rage"!!!
July 22, 2009
I am getting tired of these books. Andrew has a face replacement? Please! And Booger and the rest of the mole people. Even David Grale. We barely saw Marlene. My favorite character was Stewe, the guy who (didn't) commit suicide. Please get on a new rant. We know there are terrorists out there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2010
The Karp family is dealing with a retrial after a hung jury for a celebrity accused of murder with a powerhouse team of defense attorneys, Middle Eastern terrorists, a former Russian KGB assasin who is now available for hire, the underground people and a multi-personalitied sociopath.... need I say more? It is complex, complicated and fascinating. Great weekend reading.
December 8, 2014
It was a good rad. Stayed interesting, a wide range of plots from kidnapping to terrorist , to murder trial. They were woven together pretty well. I've read others by RT but it looks like there are quite a few in this series.Some of the street people are a different bit of seasoning as well, adds to the mix.
January 8, 2010
Another in the Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi series who work to stop another mad genius from destroying New York City in a terrorist attack,. This Author keeps the story moving along with interesting characters most holdovers from previous books.
June 6, 2010
This is the first book, written by Mr. Tanenbaum, I've read. I enjoyed it very much. Didn't know it was part of a series. I think I'll go back and read some of his earlier works, as this was a book which was hard to put down.
August 24, 2010
I love the Butch and Marlene Karp characters. He's the NYC DA, she's a former ADA who sometimes works outside the legal system. If you haven't read any, go back and pick up some early books when they were just starting out.
November 14, 2010
Another look at the continuing saga of Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi. All of these books are the same story with a lot of backfilling, but I continue to read and enjoy them, so apparently there's something there.
February 5, 2013
Ridiculously and unnecessarily long past the point of irritation. Butch Karp and family are played out. Kidnapping, multiple personalities and terrorism threats can’t save this turkey. 1 of 10 stars of frustration!
August 19, 2014
Another action packed, thrilling adventure for the Carp-Ciampi clan. Intriguing and serious enough to leave you guessing and breathless to the conclusion while also including deep belly laughs as the interactions unfold among these wonderful characters.
July 14, 2016
I like Karp. And his wife. Tannenbaum is a skilled writer. Loved the baker at the meeting of the minds. One star? The but is that I found a murderous sexy villain leading Dagastani Muslim fighters absurd in the extreme- hence unable to finish. Made for Hollywood trash.
August 27, 2009
familiar characters, a few nice twists, a great story, wrapping up a bunch of loose ends - not literature, but good summer fluff.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews