Counterplay [Paperback]

I have read and loved the Butch Karp series from the very beginning, and I was one of the many readers disappointed when Michael Gruber (the apparent ghostwriter of the books) ended his involvement. Without Mr. Gruber, the series has lost its voice. The last three books -- "Hoax", "Fury" and now "Counterplay" -- have been terrible. I can't really review this book because, for the first time in my life, I actually returned it to the store after reading only the first two chapters. I simply found it too painful to go on -- the plot was ridiculous and the writing about as colorful as an insurance brochure. Like some of the other reviewers, I was horrified by the incorrect references to previous books and extremely depressed by the dilution and distortion of the once rich and zany characters. I would rather "close the book" on the series and grieve the loss of some of my favorite characters than read another lame attempt to keep them alive by someone who apparently hasn't even read the previous books -- and who certainly doesn't have the talent to keep the series going. My advice to anyone else who feels this way is to go back to the beginning and read "No Lesser Plea" -- In other words, get the bad taste out of your mouth and enjoy what was great about this once-brilliant series.

I could not imagine that Counterplay would be worse than Fury but oh how wrong I was: a convulted, no, an idiotic plot; ridiculous characters (this book has appearances by almost every character appearing in earlier books;) a pathetic "relevance" by tying the bad guy in Fury to Al Qaeda; plot developments furthered by heretofore hidden Karp relatives who are Russian mobsters explained in tediously long, nonsensical narratives; the Karp/Ciampi duo foiling yet another terrorist attempt at mass murder in the Big Apple; etc.

The first books of the series were ghost written by Michael Gruber, a fact noted by Tanenbaum who dedicated most of these books to Gruber in acknowledgement of his contribution. The truly terrible quality of the last three books, culminating in Counterplay, makes it clear that Gruber is no longer assisting in the writing. I can't believe that these books have been professionally edited.

The plot is absolutely ridiculous (Tanenbaum asks us to believe that Al Qaeda would align itself in planning a terrorist attack with Kane, the imprisoned bad guy from Fury, because he also sells illegal arms. Kane is clearly insane and carries more baggage than any dozen other arms dealers together but we are asked to believe that al Qaeda links up with him, breaking him out of custody and thus arousing all of NY's police and of course the Catholic Church which Kane savaged.)

Almost every character from previous books has been brought back but in a context that makes it seem, as another reviewer has noted, that Tanenbaum didn't read the earlier books. For example one character, John Jojoba, a reformed alcoholic who committed to sobriety to properly raise his son and who spent Fury having a spiritual battle against his old Viet Cong nemesis (who just happens to be Marlene's old buddy Tran, what a coincidence!!)in Counterplay has Tran as a drinking buddy. Or Lucy, who in Absolute Rage tells her boyfriend that her amazing liguistic abilities are dependent on her remaining a virgin, is in Counterplay and Fury, without explanation, living and fornicating with Ned, a highschool drop out but a sharpshooter with a sixgun.

Worse than the bad writing, idiotic plot, ridiculous characters and ludicrous coincidences is that Tanenbaum can no longer write a good trial story, which was once his forte. In Counterplay, Karp takes second seat in a murder prosecution in support of his old buddy Guma (brought back in Fury)on a case that the Karp of the Michael Gruber books would have laughed out of the office. It is, in fact, the complete reverse of what Karp preached repeatedly in earlier books: DAs go to trial on what they can prove, not to achieve justice. Guma and Karp want "justice" for a murder victim and take a case to trial that is devoid of provable evidence (they don't even have a body.)

Save your money. Don't buy this book. Don't support this kind of rip off by an author/publisher. This is bad stuff. If we don't buy it, they won't publish it.

I hardly know where to start! Not a single character was consistent with who they were in the past. Lucy, the twins, Marlene, Butch, Guma, nobody. Tran used to be so formal and mysterious, and now he's a beer-drinkin' buddy of John Jojola??? Lucy was wonderfully introspective, and spiritual and now she's reduced to a sex fiend. The dogs that Marlene trains were always Neopolitan Mastiffs, for crying out loud! Why the heck didn't some editor notice all these inconsistencies? The villain, Andrew Kane, spends an awful lot of time giggling maniacally, and yet no one identifies him as the madman he is. This book goes beyond suspending disbelief, which I'm always willing to do for a good story, and into the realm of the absurd. And somebody PLEASE explain to me the use of all the italics. It was so hard to read -- did the word processor lose the ability to use simple punctuation like quotation marks? AARRGGHH! Please, do not waste your money on this book. If you feel that you cannot go without reading the entire series -- which I have LOVED for years, by the way -- then just get it from the library, but not as a rental!

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