From Publishers Weekly
The Karps kick the rubes, but don't emerge unscathed in the 14th installment of the successful Karp/Ciampi series. As in previous novels, the ball gets rolling with the meddling of the brainy and unstable Marlene Ciampi, who against her better judgment ("Don't get involved, tattoo it on your forehead, Ciampi!") falls for a New York neighbor's sob story about a long-simmering family feud in a West Virginia coal town. The sudden savage murders back in West Virginia of the neighbor and her daughter and her labor-agitator husband bring both Marlene and her husband, Butch Karp, down to the boonies in their legal capacity. Their teenage daughter, nun-in-training Lucy, falls hard for the neighbor's son, and the 10-year-old twins, Zik and Zak, now growing into distinct personalities, come along for the ride. As in other novels in the series, Marlene's antics bring danger to her family's doorstep and beyond this time resulting in a real Karp family tragedy. When disaster strikes, the ever volatile Marlene goes over the edge and calls in her trusty Vietnamese thug, Tran, and his gang of gold-hungry goons, with grisly results. While the novel displays Tanenbaum's trademark humor and adept plotting, the series has definitely taken an ominous twist with this book. Marlene (never a model of sanity) is, per usual, talking to her dogs, but now they're talking back to her. The author (who seems to greatly enjoy his book-length ruminations on the dynamics of long-lived marriage) has pulled off a coup: fans of the series will breathlessly await his next book, just to see if the Karp family can actually stand itself any more.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
After 14 outings, Chief Assistant DA Butch Karp has his toughest case yet: tracking down the murderer of a teamster who was gunning for union presidency. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In the latest installment of the successful Karp/Ciampi series, the pace is quick, the action unexpected, the outcome a surprise. Filled with shouts, coarse language, gunshots, and tearing flesh, the story grips the reader and doesn't let go. Marlene Ciampi, wife of Special Prosecutor Butch Karp, goes up against union thugs, murder, and corruption in a West Virginia mining community. Realistic sound effects are chilling. Narrator Lee Sellars engages listeners early with excellent characterization, especially in portraying the thugs. Though well done, this challenging thriller is not for those who are easily offended. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
The solid characters and taut plotting that have put previous Butch Karp-Marlene Ciampi books at the top of best-seller lists are evident again in Tanenbaum's latest legal thriller, though this time things start up a bit slower than usual. This time the action takes former security guard Marlene, now busy training mastiffs, and Karp, assistant district attorney of New York County, on the road. Marlene travels to rural West Virginia to help a man who has been railroaded for the murder of a coal mine union organizer, and Karp is tapped by the West Virginia governor to break the back of the corrupt company that's really responsible for the crime. The couple's children also appear, with college-age Lucy in a pivotal role that tests her Catholic faith. And before it's all over, Karp, whose faith in the legal system often puts him at odds with his beloved but cynical wife, is faced with a moral quandary that could tear the family apart. Fans won't be disappointed. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Los Angeles Times Absolute Rage [is] a champion.


Book Description
As the city sizzles under the early summer sun, New York chief assistant D.A. Butch Karp and his family are happily vacationing on Long Island's north shore. Their reverie changes to horror when they learn that their beachfront neighbors, Rose and Ralph "Red" Heeney -- a coal miners' union leader -- have been brutally murdered back home in tiny McCullensburg, West Virginia. Irresistible force meets immovable object when the governor appoints Karp special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt rural town, its ruthless union boss, and his band of violent henchmen. Now, Karp finds himself not only searching for the killers, but fighting to protect his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines that fuel it.


Download Description
New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum delivers his grittiest, most ethically challenging thriller yet, as New York chief assistant district attorney Butch Karp fights for his family in the wilds of West Virginia's coal mining country. While New York City sizzles beneath a blanket of early summer humidity, the Karp family is happily taking refuge in their renovated farmhouse on Long Island's north shore. Karp's battles against the City's corrupt politicians are never-ending. His wife, Marlene, is training guard dogs on their picturesque acreage; Lucy is enjoying her summer break from Boston College and playing the part of the dutiful daughter, assisting with the running of the business and tending to her rambunctious twin brothers. The tide quickly changes, however, when Marlene befriends her beachside neighbor, Rose Wickham-Heeney, a northeastern aristocrat turned wife of West Virginia coal mine union leader Ralph ³Red² Heeney. Soon after the fun-filled weeks of family barbecues and lazy afternoons with the Heeneys, the Karps discover that Rose, Red, and their daughter, Lizzie, have been brutally murdered back home in McCullensburg. Irresistible force meets immovable object when the West Virginia governor appoints Karp as special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt town, its union chieftain, and his band of merry thugs. Marlene joins Karp as he searches for the killers and works to save his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines that fuel it.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"While New York City sizzles beneath a blanket of early summer humidity, the Karp family is happily taking refuge in their renovated farmhouse on Long Island's north shore. Karp's battles against the City's corrupt politicans are never-ending. His wife, Marlene, is training guard dogs on their picturesque acreage; Lucy is enjoying her summer break from Boston College and playing the part of the dutiful daughter, assisting with the running of the business and tending to her rambunctious twin brothers." The tide quickly changes, however, when Marlene befriends her beachside neighbor, Rose Wickham-Heeney, a northeastern aristocrat turned wife of West Virginia coal mine union leader Ralph "Red" Heeney. Soon after the fun-filled weeks of family barbecues and lazy afternoons with the Heeneys, the Karps discover that Rose, Red, and their daughter Lizzie, have been brutally murdered back home in McCullensburg. Irresistible force meets immovable object when the West Virginia governor appoints Karp as special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt town, its union chieftan, and his band of merry thugs. Marlene joins Karp as he searches for the killers and works to save his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines that fuel it.

SYNOPSIS

In Absolute Rage, what's at stake for the incorruptible prosecutor Butch Karp is nothing less than his personal code of honor—the imperative that drives him to protect his family above all else. A fast-rising, blue-collar Teamster with designs in the union presidency has been murdered in the mountains of West Virginia, along with his wife and youngest child. Karp is wary from the start about wading into such a politically dicey situation—and his fears are chillingly justified when killers target his own beloved family. Left to negiotiate a path through the deadly maelstrom of big-city corruption, Karp alone must restore justice—and save his family.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The Karps kick the rubes, but don't emerge unscathed in the 14th installment of the successful Karp/Ciampi series. As in previous novels, the ball gets rolling with the meddling of the brainy and unstable Marlene Ciampi, who against her better judgment ("Don't get involved, tattoo it on your forehead, Ciampi!") falls for a New York neighbor's sob story about a long-simmering family feud in a West Virginia coal town. The sudden savage murders back in West Virginia of the neighbor and her daughter and her labor-agitator husband bring both Marlene and her husband, Butch Karp, down to the boonies in their legal capacity. Their teenage daughter, nun-in-training Lucy, falls hard for the neighbor's son, and the 10-year-old twins, Zik and Zak, now growing into distinct personalities, come along for the ride. As in other novels in the series, Marlene's antics bring danger to her family's doorstep and beyond this time resulting in a real Karp family tragedy. When disaster strikes, the ever volatile Marlene goes over the edge and calls in her trusty Vietnamese thug, Tran, and his gang of gold-hungry goons, with grisly results. While the novel displays Tanenbaum's trademark humor and adept plotting, the series has definitely taken an ominous twist with this book. Marlene (never a model of sanity) is, per usual, talking to her dogs, but now they're talking back to her. The author (who seems to greatly enjoy his book-length ruminations on the dynamics of long-lived marriage) has pulled off a coup: fans of the series will breathlessly await his next book, just to see if the Karp family can actually stand itself any more. (Aug. 13) Forecast: Talk about irresistible no fan worth his or her salt will miss this earthquake of a thriller. Massive advertising (including in Times Square) and a 10-city author tour should help Tanenbaum break previous sales records. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In the 14th book in Tanenbaum's wildly popular Karp/Ciampi series, New York County Chief Assistant District Attorney Karp is disgruntled with his job after he is thwarted in his efforts to bring a few corrupt politicians to justice. Wife Marlene Ciampi's guard dog business is thriving, and while spending the summer at the family's Long Island farmhouse, she strikes up a friendship with neighbor Rose Heeney, a former New Yorker married to a union organizer in West Virginia. The Karp and Heeney children hit it off as well, leading Marlene to offer a summer job to 19-year-old Daniel Heeney. When his parents and ten-year-old sister are later brutally murdered at their home in McCullensburg, WV, he asks Marlene for help. At the same time, state and federal forces, concerned with the unbridled violence in West Virginia, hire Karp as a special prosecutor to clean up the corruption. Thus, lawyer Tanenbaum sets the stage for a typical Karp crisis but this time with even more devastating results than the norm. Expertly combining his prodigious knowledge of the legal system with the usual social concerns, he draws a compelling portrait of the unique and complex relationships between the Karps and their closest friends. For all popular fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/02.] Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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