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highly recommended |
Absolutely fascinating 
This is the first Tanenbaum book I have read, and halfway through found myself wishing that the author had written a series with the same main characters. To my delight, I discovered that there are 14 books in the Karp/Cianni series, and tonight I ordered the first 5 - I am looking forward to reading all of them! What fun to discover a "new" author!
Refreshing change in great series 
I have read most of Tannenbaum's series with Karp/Ciampi and this was a refreshing change of pace in that he gets them out of New York City. The book starts with the family at the farm Marlene bought at the shore where she is now raising and training dogs. Lucy is at Boston College and Karp is still prosecuting in the city. But events lead the entire family to West Virginia to help solve a crime involving persons Marlene had met at the beach. I really enjoyed the change of scenery and the action remained fast paced and interesting. I suggest to readers that you start with the earlier books first because you are going to miss alot if you pick this series up when Lucy is in college and the twins are ten years old. But they are all good and I highly recommend them.
A little crazy, but still good
I've been so disappointed in the latest Tanenbaum offerings that I've gone back and read the older books.
I was immediately struck by the fact that, despite its several flaws, "Absolute Rage" is light-years beyond "Hoax" and "Fury" in the quality of the writing. Yes, the plot is a bit over the top, particularly the denouement, but the the characters are so skillfully drawn, and their stories are so well developed that as it builds to the climactic battle, we can believe it, at least in the world of the novel.
"Absolute Rage" follows "Enemy Within" which seems to mark the beginning of the shift in this series; Marlene's surprising decent into drunkeness combined with the fantastical Mole People. But in "Absolute Rage" Marlene is in (for her) recovery, and I actually appreciate the added dimension this brings to the characters and situations - from the finely drawn minor characters like the recovering drug-addicts she hires at the dog farm, to the character of Ernie Poole, who rediscovers his humanity through his interaction with Marlene.
Although Lucy and Dan Heeney's budding romance is a little fatuous, and Lucy's piety is really annoying, it's written so that they come across as real people rather than cardboard characters. Lucy's combined spirituality and sexuality is complicated, and the author does a good job depicting it.
The villians are not cartoon evil characters; they are simply weak, greedy, venal, cruel, human beings that sometimes behave out of fear - kind of like real people. I particularly like the drawing of the character of Bo Cade, the bad guy who doesn't really want to be a bad guy.
The book is more contemplative and full of wonderful little scenes, such as Karp's observation of the dog trainers; the picture of family life chez Heeney; Dan Heeney's visual assessment of Lucy as they ride the train, and the depiction of Mose Welch and his family. There are great minor characters, like the offensive brain surgeon who nevertheless performs wonders, and Hendricks, the state trooper. This book doesn't move like a thriller until the violence starts to pick up at the end.
The plot, for a Tanenbaum, is really simple - there are no double lines that intersect with unlikely coincidence as in previous novels; just a simple case of murder and small town corruption. But it moves swiftly, and lets us see the Karp family stymied a little by a culture unlike their own, which is refreshing.
"Resolved" follows this book, and it is the last of the books where the characters are recognizable. After that, they morph into stereotypes.
A Mediocre Read 
The author is overdoing what was initially a good thing. The characters are poorly developed other than their now being older. There are quite a few chapters that appear to be merely fluff and to little to aid in the progression of the story. The plot line is all too familiar as Marlene gets into trouble, Lucy stays funky, Zak and Giancarlo get into their usual boyish
pranks and Fearless Butch, like Mighty Mouse, arrives to save the day. The story just plods along without the direction that is usually expected in a really good read. The proofreading is not well done and the story travels far from would pass for reality.
Helped to explain things...
This book, for me, being my 4th Tanenbaum (having read "Hoax" and "Fury" first even though they come later in the series) explained a few things and helped to fill out some of the gaps in the characters. I find the on-going "Do I want to be a mom or a killer" internal debate for Marlene a little annoying at times. She's one of those characters who almost never has a nice thing to say, and that bothers me...and she wonders why Zak is the way he is...
Anyway, Lucy was more than a little annoying in this book. She is so prim and proper, devout and, well, almost perfect, in settings involving Dan, and yet, she's helping Tran to get high...seems like a little bit of a mixed message to me. While the scene with Tran helped to reduce some of the alienation and piety that I've come to expect from Lucy, I just can't seem to wrap my head around why she, little miss perfect, would do something like that...and evidently sees no problem.
I have enjoyed Giancarlo and Zak since my first Tanenbaum...their dynamic with one another is always a joy to read because they are so completely different. All of the sets of twins I know are very different from one another, but Giancarlo and Zak have a very unique difference...Zak is more into whatever is "hot" while GC tends to do his own thing.
Butch and Marlene annoy me a little. Frankly, Butch is almost too perfect, almost too good at his job to be believable. Although he frequently says he does not condone Marlene's actions, it almost seems as if he must on some level. I realize he loves her, but does he honestly think that nobody knows what she's up to? If it were reality, he'd be in a whole world of hurt because of her...particularly once you get into "Hoax" and "Fury"...if you haven't read them, I won't give anything away. If you have, you know to what I am referring.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Being a Marylander, though, I had to wonder how many West Virginians read the book and cringed over the stereotyping. Sure, there are some serious hillbillies in WVA, as well as Arkansas and probably a plethora of other places, but I had to laugh while reading this book, because there was really nothing to indicate that Tanenbaum doesn't believe that the entire state behaves in such a way.
I did like the book, there were just a few things about it that make it impossible for me to give it a 5. Marlene's solution to her son's injuries bothered me to a point that I can't even begin to explain. I'd love to know the psychology behind such a decision. I still enjoyed the book, so here it is...4 stars.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4
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 "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 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.
absolute rage, absolute, rage
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