BETRAYED by Robert K Tanenbaum
Robert K. Tanenbaum is one of those lawyers turned authors who has carved out a brand new career. His books are immensely popular and when the setting is a courtroom drama he excels. In his latest novel BETRAYED his alter ego Butch Karp, who is the District Attorney of New York City, goes head to head with activist attorney Megan O’Dowd in a trial that has been brewing since his last book. BETRAYED is Tanenbaum at his best.
The trial in which Karp is involved is a prosecution against Sharif Jabbar. He is the convert to Islam who is a radical in the worst sense of the word. He was involved in the murder of Miriam Khalifa, a young woman working undercover for the government, and Karp is determined to see that he pays for it. O’Dowd is representing Jabbar and she plans to use every trick up her sleeve to get him set free. This means she will charge the government with being racist and allege they are prosecuting the case because Jabbar is a black man.
Meanwhile Karp’s wife Marlene has decided to take on Dirty Warren as a client. Warren is a character who has been featured in other Tanenbaum books. He has Tourette’s Syndrome and this has caused a rift between him and his wealthy parents. He left their home and is now living in a rented room and working at a newspaper stand. He loves old movies and he and Butch have a running contest on them.
Through a twist of events Warren has also been charged with murder. His demeanor as well as his profanity laced style of speaking makes him an easy target for the police and for a politically motivated attorney. So while Butch is prosecuting one man for murder his wife Marlene is defending another.
Tanenbaum is very familiar with the language of the courts and his expertise makes his books that much more believable. Plus Butch and Marlene are two fascinating characters that he has developed over a long series of books about them and their children. You don’t have to have read all the “Butch Karp Books” to enjoy this one but if you have, it makes it even better.
BETRAYED is a complex novel that will draw you in and keep you involved. It is timely and rings true in every sense of the word. We can only hope that there are good people in real life like Butch and Marlene who will fight to keep us safe.
If you like legal thrillers you can’t do much better than a Tanenbaum book. Pick this one up before you head to the beach or to the lake house. It will enhance your vacation with hours of reading pleasure.
BETRAYED is published by Simon and Schuster. It contains 359 pages and sells for $26.00.