No Lesser Plea

Butch Karp #1

by Robert K. Tanenbaum

When crafty Mandeville Lewis's method of robbing liquor stores finally fell apart, he hired the best defense lawyer in New York--and had a conveniently timed nervous breakdown. Coincides with Tanenbaum's new September release, Depraved Indifference from NAL.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Legal Thriller, Crime, Legal, Suspense

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1987

About the author

Robert 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.

Reviews

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series featuring Bruce Karp, NYC Assistant District Attorney, and his lover, Marlene Ciampi.

This series has run for 23 books; so naturally they all vary a bit in quality. This was a solid 3 star legal thriller. Adequate plot, interesting characters and good pacing. Not the best in the series--the later books were a bit better.

However, if at all possible, reading this series in order will enhance your reading experience. The growth and development in the characters is interesting; the growth of the characters makes some of the later books better stories.

However, if you can't read them in order, the stories DO stand alone--they don't end of cliffhangers. But they do refer back to earllier books and several characters make repeat appearances.

Regardless, don't miss this series. I've read eight of the 23 so far and they all get at least a three from me and some get a 4. It just a really good series---a blend of legal thriller and private eye; some humor; definitely some violence; and characters I really enjoyed---Marlene Ciampi is especially a favorite.

Highly recommened for all fans of mysteries and legal thrillers. Fans over 18 however; the violence imho is unsuitable for children--even 16 year old children who think they are adults.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my drive to read all the Tanenbaum books written before 2003 (when Michael Gruber stopped writing them), I decided to start at the beginning. These are books which might be best read in order, since the main characters age, get married, have kids, the kids get older, all in pretty close to real time. Watching the family dynamics change is part of the interest. This first one, though is not up to the standard of the later ones. The first third is a fairly routine thriller--with a psychopathic killer who is quickly caught and has a master plan of getting off by appearing insane. The usual (for this series) legal and moral complexities don't start until the second half, and even then they are interspersed with long scenes which I guess were supposed to be comic, but were actually kind of dreary. Overall, far from the best of the series, but I'm nevertheless on to number two soon, because I know how good they got.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had never heard of this series until a Goodreads friend suggested #4 in the series, so I figured I would start from the first and if I liked it, keep reading. Heck if I liked them that would give me 25 books to read in the series. While the main character Butch Karp is a very good character, this book is bogged down by too many characters that are all just slappies compared to Karp. They are all morons and he is the only good guy, two categories of characters is it and that will not keep me reading the series. Plus it did not end with some great showdown with the main villain, it just ended with the main villain whimpering out. I may read the 2nd one to see if it improves so I can get to the 4th one that was so highly recommended, but it won't bother me if I don't. Would love to hear from readers if the series is worth reading and when it picks up, if it does.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Glad that’s over. I’m not entirely sure it deserves the 1 star, but with how much I had to skim over the boring or seemingly pointless parts, & in combination with the fact that this was set in 1970😑, I just am not a fan. Also, they killed the character I wanted to live.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a long series (23 books?) & I almost abandoned it. It suffers from the ills of many first of series books such as far too many info dumps & back stories on the characters. The sex scenes were fairly ludicrous & one scene was completely out of place. A hooker finds the money bag minutes after the driver leaves the room & overdoses. As nice as it was to tie that particular thread up, putting it days later in the chronology of the story made no sense & was jarring. Worse, it dragged badly in the middle & I didn't care much for the narrator, Traber Burns. He's not awful, but I just didn't like his voice that much.

I'd read reviews of this book & series that seemed to agree it was a good series (at least until 2003 when the main author quit writing them) & that the first book wasn't up to par with the rest of the series. It was important to read the series in order though, so I wanted to get through it.

I found out I could get my Sansa Clip MP3 player to read audio books 'fast'. There isn't any tone control so the narrator's voice was a bit like Alvin the Chipmunk's, but not too bad. I guess we clipped along at 1.5 speed or so which made the story go much faster & actually engaged me more. I don't think I'll make a habit of this, but it was a great way to get through this book & I didn't miss anything. I'm looking forward to the next.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a legal thriller with the theme concentrating mostly with lawyers/courtroom. Butch Karp NYC Assistant District Attorney (“young” ADA) and Marlene Ciampi (ADA & his girlfriend) are key supporting each other as professionals & their emotions...

Beginning is slow but the flow gets much better, after getting thru the book’s beginning...

The early '70s, Karp prosecutes Mandeville Louis (killer). A lot of the book is lawyers/courtroom. Mandeville’s “friends” are determined to stop Karp, he is threatened with a letter bomb sent to him but it’s opened by Marlene (Girlfriend) the explosion putting her in the hospital. The attacker is determined to complete his job, but he is injured/caught by Karp in a violent defense.

The end has Karp/Marlene “safe” in his apartment together....

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jumped right into this series. I have read the last several books in this series. I enjoy Karp. He is a good attorney. This might have to do with the fact that Karp is not afraid to get his hands dirty. Yet, don't let this confuse you into thinking that Karp is a sleazy attorney type. No, he is one of the good guys. Someone that you want fighting for you if you find yourself in trouble.

However, you might not really experience all of what Karp has to offer in this book. It was nice to go back to the beginning. Yet, I felt that this story was not one of the strongest showings. It seemed like half of the story had nothing to do with the main story. In addition, I was not really that interested in the characters. The court scenes are realistic. If, I was a new reader I might consider checking out the next book in this series. Luckily, I have seen the progression in this series and it does get better.

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Karp, the DA with a sense of justice that just won't quit, prosecutes Mandeville Louis for cold-bloodedly killing two people while committing the robbery of a liquor store. Mandeville throws a fit in court and manages to cop an insanity plea instead of a murder conviction. Karp cannot let it lie. When the transcript is filed, Karp writes on it - No Lesser Plea.

4 STARS - Would Highly Recommend To Others

Love the cover and the premise of the book. I figured this was pretty predictable, but Robert Tanenbaum always has plenty of twists and turns to keep your mind busy. He builds suspense, as I wait, knowing something is going to happen, just not sure what.

Roger Karp - a demand for justice that won't quit

Mandeville - an evil killer that won't quit

Marlene Ciampi - the woman caught between them

I loved and hated the characters as Mandeville took me on a journey to try and beat the system. BUT - He continues to kill, even from the hospital. He tries to slip through the cracks, as he seeks freedom from the mental hospital. The lawyer, who is assigned his case, struggles to find a way to keep him from walking. He eyes the file again and sees written - No Lesser Plea. Because of his due diligence, another criminal will pay for his crimes.

While we may not have the perfect "justice" system, would you rather have another?



Robert K. Tanenbaum

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always exciting to discover a wonderful author and series! My husband has read several and told me I'd love them, and he was right. It's 1970 in New York City, the perfect setting, and Butch Karp is one of the assistant DA's. Based on the author's extensive experience, he gives us a fascinating look at the politics and personalities in this setting. The characters are fantastic, the "good" ones human and easy to love and laugh with, the "bad" ones thoroughly despicable, but they are all fleshed out into believable people. His writing is exceptional, with humor to break up the intensity of the serious scenes. He covers everything: the power of good and evil, love and friendship, loyalty and self-serving tunnel vision. The action begins with page one and doesn't stop until the end.....and even then you want to keep reading right on to the next book. Does anyone else ever say to themselves where have I been all this time while this author has been writing these amazing books??!!!

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

That’s it . . . I quit. I’m so disappointed because this looked to be another good legal thriller series. It began with an interesting premise for the crime case; so I overlooked the gross language. It was true to the characters, after all. But I just couldn’t stay with a book that uses such crude sexual language and immature actions by officers of the court. I had hoped this would be a good series, but I won’t waste my time on it.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A legal thriller that gets lost in its own antics

Robert K. Tanenbaum has created a well-regarded series of legal thrillers set in New York City and featuring D.A. Roger 'Butch' Karp. I have read others in this series. No Lesser Plea is the first and is set from 1970-1973.

The main legal focus of the book and the source of the title is the case of Mandeville Louis, a user of men and women who masterminds a murderous liquor store heist and causes his get away driver to die from an overdose. Louis has a plan to avoid punishment by faking to be mentally ill and eventually plea bargain his way to freedom based on time served in a mental institution rather than a harsher penal institution (shades of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ).

Butch Karp sniffs out the true legal motives of Louis and writes in magic marker on the case file 'No Lesser Plea' just in case it comes up for review again and he is not informed.

The legal story is quite good but Tannenbaum's story bogs down in the antics of the District Attorney's office...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Tgordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved this book as with all others I have read. I like how you always get a view point from the accused and the lawyer trying to put them behind bars. This one was a quick easy read and I finished it in one day. I know I speed read but these books are fun, entertaining and just down right scary at times! When something crazy happens there is little build up which makes the jaw drop when it does! Great series!

[Tulay · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was waste of time.

Never finish reading a book to the end, but I was tempted with this book. New York city in 1970's, crime and politics. With out chapter headings, in the middle of the page from one incident it goes to something else. Old enough to remember those days well.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book because I love court room drama. It seemed as though it was written by a 14-year-old boy. Lots of disparaging attitudes towards women.

[Fred Carrico · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initially I thought the book had potential. But it was too crude and juvenile in a lot of it's attempts at humor in my opinion. I tried to slog though it, but finally gave up.

[Adrienne Kelliher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th or 5th Robert Tannenbaum books I’ve read and have loved the substance of each. This is the first in his series and I found the language much more offensive here than in his later books. Perhaps his readers complained and told him to “cool it”. I’m glad they did.

[Jennifer (BTH Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Courtesy of: Books That Hook

4.5 stars

Robert K. Tanenbaum was on my list of authors I wanted to read. I decided to start with the first Butch Karp book, written back in 1987, since I have heard that this series is best read from start to finish. Considering there are twenty-six books already, I may never get around to reading all of them, but I wanted to at least try.

I am glad I put this series on my to-read list. No Lesser Plea is a solid legal mystery. The book follows several characters, starting in 1970 with a violent armed robbery. Butch Karp is the attorney who sees through the defendant’s ruse of insanity and refuses to accept anything but a murder one charge, hence the title No Lesser Plea.

If you are going to read this book, you need to put it in historical and cultural context. You can’t become offended by the blatant racism and sexism; it’s merely a reflection of the time. However, I felt this author was kind of on an anti-liberal campaign throughout the novel. So, if you are a liberal, prepare to have liberals spoke of in a less-than-friendly manner.

The tone of the novel is also rather cynical. The voice is stiff for the most part, except when in dialogue. If those things don’t bother you, and you haven’t read any of the Butch Karp books, I recommend starting with No Lesser Plea.

I thought the characters were all well-developed. I especially enjoyed the book when other lawyers got involved and helped Karp prove his case. The ending was a little unsatisfying because I wanted to see the actual sentencing, but I was okay about it overall.

I particularly enjoyed how Tanenbaum created a commentary on the medicalization of deviance. This is a concept we discuss often in my Social Deviance class. He also points out how the concept of evil shifted from the realm of religion to the realm of psychiatric medicine. A person was no longer inherently evil; he/she was given a sick label instead.

For you non-sociologists out there, I still think this is a great book to read if you like to watch a bad guy try to get away with a crime while a tenacious attorney does everything in his power to prove him guilty.

My rating is 4.5 stars, merely because I found the beginning a little boring and I skimmed a few times.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to love this book. I had bought the 19th book in the series unknowingly years ago, and struggled to find the start of the series proper. Unfortunately, while I was entertained to some degree, I couldn't help feeling mostly underwhelmed.

My main qualm is the set up itself. I understand having to build your world in the first novel, but there was enough plot points unrelated to the main case at hand to fill an entire authors repertoire for their life and then some. Several facets of the book I thought could have been spaced out into subsequent stories and worked even better. Give these characters a chance to grow, a chance for us to care about them. Instead 4 years passes in one novel, and I found it hard to keep track of who's who, or for that fact really care.

It was also baffilling how shoddy the DA's Office worked in this universe. Granted, it's set in the early 70's, a time I have no real knowledge of, so maybe it's sadly more accurate than I'd like to know. But attorneys having sex with witnesses, getting drunk and mishandling evidence, and outright manipulating their findings screams of falsehoods.

I will continue with the series (provided finding book #2 doesn't take me another 5 years) in the hopes of the storytelling being a little more focused, and me caring about the characters a bit more. But it's thin ice as of right now.

[Chris Hart · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book written in the 1980s that takes place in the early 1970s...could be interesting. Could be, but unfortunately, it really isn't. The author, an attorney, should have stuck to litigating cases, because this is pretty lousy as a mystery (the first chapters detail the crime and who did it), a courtroom drama (quite short in the "drama" department), and a character-driven narrative. I'm pretty lenient when it comes to judging the past by the standards of the present, but I was really put off by the misogyny in the book. The characters over all are cardboard stereotypes, but the one female attorney seems to function as just a target for the male characters' lust. Yuck.

[Bill Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well actually 3-1/2 stars, but who's really counting. I enjoyed the characters and I know this is the setup. The first book in a series of many to follow, and I'm hooked!
This book is all about the introduction of the key characters in the District Attorney's office, and it does that job well. We're introduced to the politics of the DA's office; and how our characters survive the numbers game that law enforcement has become.
I found the key character endearing; so much so, that I'm already reading the second in the series.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot believe I had never read the first one in this series. I've enjoyed the story of Butch and Ciamp as well as their family and friends over the years. Decided to start from #1 and work my way up since they are available through my local library online. Beginning of the story was a little slow but it picks up when Butch and the gang enter the storyline. Look forward to #2, starting it tonight on my iPad.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Robert Tanenbaum's characters Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi in many books, in no particular order, to it is nice to go back to one of the first books in series and meet them at the beginning of their relationship. All of the usual suspects are there in full ridiculousness, and Butch fights for truth and justice despite having to slog through the sewer that is the New York City judicial system.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Butch Karp novel, from 1987, but new to me.I've read some of the later ones, but I decided to go back to the beginning. Good read. Now I'm off to read #2, Depraved Indifference. But first I think I'll lighten it up a bit and read "Takedown Twenty", the new Janet Evanovich book. Can't be serious all the time.

[Spencer Stith · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I’ve ever read. Don’t know even where to start. Can’t believe this writer was able to publish a whole series of these. I kept reading because I thought surely this has to get better. Nothing can stay this bad

[James Hein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a long series I started a long time ago and forgot about so I'll be reading the first couple to resync then go on to finish them all. The first one is a good intro to the characters but doesn;t quite grab you from the start. I remember the next couple being a lot better.

[Nancy Loy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is too short to read a bad book!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad police procedural, but the dialog and characters are somewhat dated. Parts of the book feel like a how-to book on sexual harassment.

[Bradley Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual potboiler from writer Michael Gruber, who I've grown a literary crush on over the last few months. Yes, Robert K. Tanenbaum is the name on the cover, but I'm not sure he really exists or not. Gruber started this series and I believe someone else ghostwrites it now.

Not much to say here other than it was an enjoyable, if particularly Boomerish legal thriller set in the early 1970s.

By "Boomerish," I mean to say the characters and story feel unmistakably of the Boomer generation my mother was from. I was a kid in the 80s, not the early 70s, but it was hard not to think of going with my mother to her work (a nurse) and seeing her friends and co-workers and that friendly, bawdy and knowing graveyard humor that so many of that generation glorified in Westlake books, TV shows like Hill Street Blues, etc. A brand of humor you'd just never get away with today.

It was a fun book, but the turns in mood might give some whiplash in how fast it turns sometimes. This Grisham like story often turns in a Bill Murry National Lampoons spoof with all of the rascally younger generation who all know better about the world and the frowning stiffs in charge. It's so classically Boomer.

NOTE: when I say "boomer," I don't mean that as an insult. Not in the meme fashion that is popular right now.

It's a solid potboiler beyond that, very well written, but probably familiar if you still remember shows like, as mentioned, Hill Street Blues or really any David Kelly and Steve Bochco series. Gruber keeps things a little weird, very convincing and detailed, and I appreciate that.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this story I hated, but I liked the second half. I was really close to putting it down. It doesn’t show those charged with a crime in a fair light (innocent until proven guilty) and makes the police/justice system out to be the victims. At one point one of Tanenbaum’s characters is described as thinking that because defendants are in the justice system they must be guilty. Also, that the prosecutors are the good guys because they put criminals away and the defense are bad because they get criminals off.
However, as the story goes on that message lightens up and it actually becomes crazy funny in many parts. I almost wonder if I was expected to view the first part of the story as tongue and cheek. If that is the case, it was actually pretty darn good. I liked the characters and the criminal justice spin. It also didn’t have a overly “macho” main character like a lot of these kinds of stories, which is a relief.

[Arwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of reviews suggest that the book contains too many info dumps, backstories and other information that isn’t needed. However, this is the first book in an over twenty book series, and therefore it is more than just building a story. A relationships is created between the reader and the characters the more they read. It creates an understanding and a complex history that other series don’t have. It fully submerges a reader and keeping a story like that interesting, detailed and continuous is hard. Overall, the book isn’t my favorite out of the series but it does a really good job at creating the world readers will discover more of if they choose to read more books. My one complaint of Tanenbaum and Gruber’s work is that over the course of the books there is minor information that changes, such as something about a characters appearance, or how old they are and what year it is doesn’t always add up either.