Synopses & Reviews
From the dark fantasies of a sexual underworld to the darkest realities of a terrorist conspirator,
New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum draws District Attorney Butch Karp deep into a combustible courtroom game of politics, power, lies, and murder.
Awaiting trial in the Tombs, Manhattan’s infamous criminal detention complex, is Sharif Jabbar, the demagogic founder of a Harlem mosque. Charges against his terrorist attack on the city were dismissed once, and now that the Islam convert is being held on new allegations, New York District Attorney Roger “Butch” Karp is determined to bring him down. He faces formidable competition. Attorney Megan O’Dowd, a radical activist enthralled with revolutionary rhetoric, is going to the mat with the uncompromising conviction that Jabbar is being railroaded by the NYPD.
Outside the criminal courts, Karp’s wife, Marlene Ciampi, is pursuing her own investigation. Allegations against indigent Manhattan street vendor Dirty Warren in the murder of society beauty Michelle Oakley don’t sit right with Marlene. Unfortunately her sole ally is religious vigilante David Grale, the charismatic but deranged leader of the Mole People. What Grale knows about city corruption snakes as far and wide as the dank honeycomb of the sewers and tunnels his destitute army calls home.
Then Marlene discovers an unexpected— and ugly—parallel between the Oakley murder and the disappearance of another debutante: a treacherous underworld of upscale call girls and the price paid for indulging the wealthiest of men. As she explores these sordid truths, Butch Karp navigates his own tortured waters. What he soon discovers is that everyone, from the conspiratorial Jabbar and O’Dowd to the city’s most powerful, unimpeachable players—has a secret that could either set them free or cost them more than they ever feared.
With more than twelve million copies of his books in print, Robert K. Tanenbaum continues to rivet readers to their seats with the kind of explosive thrillers that have made him “a writer worth knowing” (Washington Post ).
Review
"Tanenbaum is the master of the legal thriller, the best in America. And
Betrayed is the best of them all. His years as a top notch lawyer and the head of homicide prosecution in N.Y. under the legendary DA Frank Hogan, are apparent. He has learned all the right lessons about ethics, accuracy and drama. I have been a trial lawyer and the reader of the genre for sixty years. I have never come across any lawyer-author who got all of the concepts and the law and procedure right, until now. Read the book, but here is a warning -- you will not be able to think about anything else when you begin until you get to the last page. You will be entertained, excited, riveted and anxiously curious about what the next unsuspected revelation will bring and almost prepared to try your first case."
--Mark Lane, New York Times #1 bestselling author
About the Author
Robert K. Tanenbaum is the author of thirty books—twenty-seven novels and three nonfiction books: The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer; Badge of the Assassin, the true account of his investigation and trials of self-proclaimed members of the Black Liberation Army who assassinated two NYPD police officers; and Echoes of My Soul, the true story of one of the most intense manhunts in police history, incited by Chief Justice Earl Warren in the Miranda decision. He is one of the most successful prosecuting attorneys, having never lost a felony trial and convicting hundreds of violent criminals. He was a special prosecution consultant on the Hillside strangler case in Los Angeles and defended Amy Grossberg in her sensationalized baby death case. He was Assistant District Attorney in New York County in the office of legendary District Attorney Frank Hogan, where he ran the Homicide Bureau, served as Chief of the Criminal Courts, and was in charge of training the legal staff. He served as Deputy Chief counsel for the Congressional Committee investigation into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also served two terms as mayor of Beverly Hills and taught Advanced Criminal Procedure for four years at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, and has conducted continuing legal education (CLE) seminars for practicing lawyers in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Tanenbaum attended the University of California at Berkeley on a basketball scholarship, where he earned a B.A. He received his law degree (J.D.) from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Visit RobertKTanenbaumBooks.com.