Corruption of Blood

Butch Karp #6

by Robert K. Tanenbaum

When Congress reopens the investigation into the JFK assassination, Manhattan Assistant D.A. Butch Karp is assigned to the case, but as Karp and his team uncover dramatic new evidence, they become enmeshed in a web of conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of government. Reprint.

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

407 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Tanenbaum - Many of his “read” counts appear low due to Goodreads creation 2006 but should be higher, this book published 1996.
I feel he is like Grisham & Baldacci.

Characters are Butch Karp NYC District Attorney (DA) & Marlene Ciampi, Assistant District Attorney (ADA & wife) - NY “lawyer” stories...

In this book, the JFK assassination investigation more complex than I realized.

Research - “High probability that 2 gunmen fired". Oswald confessed & killed in the basement of Dallas Police basement by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
Jack Ruby died in prison in 1967 while awaiting trial...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassi...
https://www.justsecurity.org/63826/jf...

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather a different kind of story for this series, where Butch Karp has had his fill of the Manhattan DA's office and accepts an offer to lead the Congressional re-investigation of the Kennedy assassination. He leaps from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak, as he encounters all manner of sordid activities by Congress, the CIA, and even elements of the mob involved in one of history's biggest cover-ups. Do they really want to know who killed Kennedy and why? Meanwhile, Butch's wife, Marlene Ciampi, has a confrontation with the DA back in NY, and she ends up quitting her job and heading to DC to be with Butch. She gets involved in researching the case of a now deceased accused spy, who just happened to be the father of the Congressman who is now Butch's boss. Quite a convoluted plot with multiple intrigues, all leading to danger for Butch and Marlene. Needless to say, Butch finds that Washington politics are even more of a snake pit than those of the Manhattan DA's office! A good story, even though I didn't really enjoy it as much as I have the others in the series so far.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next in the series I've been following for the last several months, this one involving a reopening of the investigation of the JFK assassination. I was a little wary that this couldn't possibly work, and despite Herculean efforts by the real writer Michael Gruber, it didn't. The characters were just as engaging as in the other books in the series, and the legal and political difficulties were just as complicated and, as far as I can tell, realistic. And there is an author's note that says the solution is consistent with all the facts uncovered by the congressional investigation for which Tanenbaum really was legal counsel. (Needless to say, Oswald didn't do it.) But overall it was a bit unsatisfying, since it didn't really involve a prosecution. As the main character says, there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute anybody in 1963, and there's even less fifteen years later. And while the bad guys got discovered and dealt with to some degree, there was a sense of futility about the whole enterprise that left me unsatisfied. I was amazed to learn that "corruption of blood" is a phrase found in the U.S. Constitution, that the only crime explicitly defined there is treason, and that assassinating the president doesn't fit the definition.

[Summer Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6

[Macjest · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word, blah. Poorly written, with too many references to unexplained people and scenes. Part of it, I think, is because this is 6th in the series and I haven't read the others. The two main characters are both lawyers in New York. Butch and Marlene, are characters I just couldn't care for, as they weren't very well fleshed out. One particularly horrific scene that happens to Marlene is dropped at the beginning of the next chapter with a mere mention of the fact that she has moved to D.C. It isn't until much later that you begin to find out what happened between. By the end I was just skimming. The ending had me rolling my eyes. Honestly, that's the best he could come up with, considering he worked on the investigation into JFKs assassination and this book was his take on that?

[Socal444 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is book No. 6 in the Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi series of 29 novels through Oct. 2018. I have read 25 of them, so you can see that I love this world that Tanenbaum has created. In this book, the Karp/Ciampi family get suckedinto attempting to solve JFK assassination. New characters, which were intermingles with the familiar, were very hard to follow, and it allowed Tanenbaum to place responsibility wherever he so chose; just invent another character! On top of that, the novel was just not compelling. A big swing and a miss on this attempt! If I told you who did it, it would not be a spoiler, believe me.

Every author is entitled to an ambitious failure, and this is Tansnbaum's. Having said that, in no way is my enthusiasm for his other books dimmed.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

finished this one today...says i read it before? if i did i don't remember it, maybe. rating is still the same 3 stars i liked it good read kindle library loaner.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many people in the U.S. who are still interested in the John Kennedy assassination on 11/22/1963. There were a lot of questions that were never answered . Primarily....did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone or were there more conspirators involved ?? Robert Tanenbaum, who was a chief investigator on the case , has written a fascinating novel on the assassination.
Tanenbaum has written a fast paced book about people who were interested enough to start up a new investigation. The problem lies in all the details necessary to weave his story. At times you will get frustrated in reading the scenario as all his players take the stage. However,once you get into the last 75 pages and the pieces fall in line, you will be fascinated in trying to ascertain that maybe his story has exposed the truth about the assassination ???

[Dorothy Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Tanenbaum and have read most of the Karp books, but this one just didn't make the grade somehow. Maybe I'm jut tired of all the constant rehash of the Kennedy assassination. Nobody believes the Warren report, but to quote Tanenbaum, "there are ten thousand facts, or quasi-facts, that have been dug up about this assassination. They've been arranged in about fur hundred books and God knows how many articles, of which every one contradicts every other one, because each one selects put a group of facts and ignores others that are inconvenient to its initial thesis....of which the Warren Report is the most famous example."

Marlene was definitely teetering on the edge in this one. As one character put it, "You scare me, and I've got a gun."

[Rick Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my 1st Tanenbaum book. There are a dizzying array of characters that almost require a spreadsheet to keep track of. That was my only drawback, however at the end I understood why there were so many. It is critical to the plot. For me the first three quarters of the book became a little tedious due to the number of different characters (which were not introduced) and the number of different paths that the story took. The last quarter of the book became quite entertaining and hard to put down pulling all of the characters and paths into one final summary. That made the book quite satisfying. On to the next Butch Karp book - Falsely Accused

[Greg Stroud · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was interesting and wove together the most plausible alternative history of the assassination of JFK. The ending was even crazy for a conspiracy buff in my opinion. If you enjoyed Oliver Stone’s movie, you will probably enjoy this book. It plays loose with the Warren Commission findings and just can’t accept in real like PXK (have to read book for meaning!) really happens. I do think the author captures the feeling that 23.Nov.63 started the downward trajectory of the government and the entrenchment of the military-industrial complex. So, good fiction yarn connected to a real event on time.

[Tgordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the last two that I’ve read of this series have given me issues. I love this series and as I’ve stated I’ve read them way out of order. I was excited about this one because it involved the JFK assignation. I’m old ha ha but young for that time but things have been burned into my brain! This fell flat for me on The Who done it because well we all know who did it. I was hoping for bigger better things from this fictional account.

[Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been much better. The author was the investigator of the JFK killing and he made this a novel. Which for lack of better words, sucked. Boring. Not accurate. There's so much material to work with and he really missed it. Instead it wasn't enlightening nor entertaining. Corruption of Blood.....two stars.

[Jorn Barger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started slow, low expectations of well-trodden subject, started looking good halfway, linking up loose threads into a plausible conspiracy, then sort of chickened out at the end. But the likeable characters keep me going.

[Doug King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plausible. But of course, there are 100 other's.

[Diane Waddington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it fast another one done this is one of my favorite series.

[Bernice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters; the jfk conspiracy was so-so, I'll try another in the series

[James Hein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting view on the Kennedy Assassination

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most enjoyable in the series. Tired of the Kenndy assassination. The way DC works, I believe that it was presented is true.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karp is now involved in the Kennedy assassination 13 years after the event. He took a job in DC to take another look.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A swing and a miss................. A real stinker.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty darn good

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure it really is a 4star, but made me want to finish to find out end quickly.

[Etta Kaufman]

Investigation into the assassination of John Kennedy. The story will make you wonder again about the truth.

[Areex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually like Tanenbaum's books but the first 100+ pages was so boring I had to stop reading.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY

Personal note, finished it by barely. Finished but can't even remember how it ended now. I finished it, so a '2'

**************
Could have been so good but no. I couldn't even get through the first 20 pages without being annoyed!!

****************

This novel really didn't do much for me, the cover claims "his most enthralling legal thriller to date" and I have to say after reading this I dare not read the early ones if this is the peak of excitement offered by the author.

The story is implausible at best - Butch Karp, a New York Assistant DA, is hired by a newly formed Congressional Committee to find out who assassinated John F Kennedy; from here the story goes down hill, slowly and methodically for 300 pages becoming more and more implausible with secret assassins, ongoing conspiracies and Congressional backstabbing. The last 100 pages is moderately more interesting but I wouldn't go so far as to say 'enthralling'.

Not helping the experience was the book itself, Signet in all their cost saving wisdom made this mass market paperback edition more narrow and compressed the text blocks more than normal to save paper. The result is a book that is slightly awkward to hold and requires more force than usual to hold open due to the lack of leverage on the narrower expanse. If you are determined to read this novel, I would highly recommend steering clear of the Signet mass market paperback edition. (

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel really didn't do much for me, the cover claims "his most enthralling legal thriller to date" and I have to say after reading this I dare not read the early ones if this is the peak of excitement offered by the author.

The story is implausible at best - Butch Karp, a New York Assistant DA, is hired by a newly formed Congressional Committee to find out who assassinated John F Kennedy; from here the story goes down hill, slowly and methodically for 300 pages becoming more and more implausible with secret assassins, ongoing conspiracies and Congressional backstabbing. The last 100 pages is moderately more interesting but I wouldn't go so far as to say 'enthralling'.

Not helping the experience was the book itself, Signet in all their cost saving wisdom made this mass market paperback edition more narrow and compressed the text blocks more than normal to save paper. The result is a book that is slightly awkward to hold and requires more force than usual to hold open due to the lack of leverage on the narrower expanse. If you are determined to read this novel, I would highly recommend steering clear of the Signet mass market paperback edition.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the first two (2) paragraphs under the entry of "Warren Commission" @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_C..., you'll discover one of the chief concerns about the creation of the investigation into the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, was that "a commission would ultimately create more controversy than consensus, and those fears proved valid."
Corruption of Blood is a novel of a possible theory and it's even more breathtaking from page-to-page as the star is our dearly loved Karp and the loves of his life (wife & daughter). Then there's the incredible remembrance that the author, Robert K. Tanenbaum was Deputy Chief Counsel to the Congressional Committee Investigation into the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. AND then you just keep wondering...Is it really a novel?
Don't start this book before bedtime like I did and then expect to get sleep! You have to stay awake and keep reading!

[J.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention, fans of Kennedy conspiracy theories: Here's another gripping fictional narrative about who killed JFK and why. Tanenbaum's main character, Butch Karp, like the author himself, is invited to serve on the congressional committee doing yet another investigation into the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John Kennedy. Karp directs the JFK probe. The book contains a wealth of information and an interesting hypothesis. Characters with new information are repeatedly killed off, there is a shadowy figure skulking around the fringes and the probability of a cover-up all too real. Karp and his wife Marlene are quite charismatic and quirky, too. Of the three Tanenbaum books I've read, this is my favorite.

[Bill Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, sometimes it was a four, sometimes a two. Some parts seemed to drag on; and I didn't feel as connected to the characters as I've liked in the past.
Politics and science and law don't mix well, if at all. That's what this is all about: a follow-up investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy; conflict with the pro-Warren Commission politicos; and those with an agenda to cover up what could be the real truth.
Not much to be said here. I love the characters [most of the time]; but as I get older boredom sets in much sooner. On the upside, I'm hoping that the next book is headed towards a four star experience.