No Lesser Plea

Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi, Book 1

By: Robert K. Tanenbaum

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp has been around New York long enough to realize that the judicial system can be dirty and cynical. But he still believes in justice. So when a vicious sociopath tries to dodge a brutal murder charge by convincing the court he is incompetent to stand trial, Karp teams up with firecracker Assistant DA Marlene Ciampi to unleash the full force of their relentless energy, hardboiled wit, and passion for the truth to put the killer away for good. They will accept no lesser plea.

©1987 Robert K. Tanenbaum (P)2013 AudioGO

Predictable, dated, and teenage boy humor

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More emphasis on the case and less on the boringly concocted personal lives of the characters. Better character development would have made for a much more interesting story.

What was most disappointing about Robert K. Tanenbaum’s story?

It's dated with some offensive language, and I can't drum up any interest in any of the characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Overall did an OK job but with some mediocre character voices and accents.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from No Lesser Plea?

Any scene with Guma in it.

Any additional comments?

Not sure I'll be able to finish listening and won't continue on with this series.

Star and Stop Rollercoaster - mostly coasts

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Ugh.. There is way too much distractions with office relationships. When it appears that it is going to pick up steam it just dies and goes back to office chit-chat.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not this author unless his next books pull back on the sex and off-color stuff

Summary of book is misleading

I really struggled to get to the end of this book. The summary lead me to believe the two main characters would be involved in a case together investigating and plotting a prosecution. While there were quite a few humorous scenes in the book, I was very disappointed. This book is not a mystery/thriller. I can only assume from the author's forward that he planned to write a legal or mystery thriller after this book using the characters he outlined here. Unfortunately I was so bored by the mundane details that the characters didn't have much depth

Horrible story

Hated the book, storyline, language and won't be purchasing the series. Don not buy it

Dreadful after a Promising Start

The set-up was quite good, and I was looking forward to a tense courtroom drama or thriller, which is what the exposition clearly promises. Then it just descends to a more vulgar version of Animal House. Really not funny at all, nor do these scenes move the plot forward. The set-up really doesn't go anywhere, the climax of the story, if you want to dignify it a such, passed by without my even noticing it.

Fair

Did not like, Struggled to read. It wasn't for me I could not wait to finish.

1970s failure brought back

This would have been a waste of time to read back when. Now, it’s a pathetic waste.

Unnecessarily long!

Such potential. in the 11 hours of this book 2 actually contain actual relevant information to the main story. the rest is complete nonsense and pointless information and description. it was very painful to finish. this author most likely got "paid per word" because there is really no reason for this book to be this long.

Dated

Couldn’t finish it. Poor narration. Poor story. No longer relevant for today. Do not recommend this title.

Early Tanenbaum, not so good

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

It's not a good read. I'd advise everyone to stay away.

What could Robert K. Tanenbaum have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The language is stilted and the situations that he created do not reflect current professional or human relationships. It was written decades ago and it might have been entertaining then but it has lost its appeal.

How could the performance have been better?

Way to formal presentation. The voice does not match the content.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from No Lesser Plea?

The lengthy descriptions of the court process as well as the interplay between legal colleagues is way too extended.