Tragic

By: Robert K. Tanenbaum

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum takes legal suspense to dramatic new heights - when his hero, District Attorney Butch Karp, goes up against a ruthless union leader with too much power, too many secrets, and too many enemies to silence... or kill.

Prizefighter tough. Street-hustler smart. Pit-bull vicious. Longshoremen’s union leader Charlie Vitteli is like a cold-blooded villain straight out of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Busting heads on the docks of New York as a brash union organizer, taking no prisoners as the newest president of the North Ameri­can Brotherhood of Stevedores, Vitteli clawed his way to the top of the heap - and no one’s going to take him down now. Not if they value their lives.

Like Vince Carlotta. The union boss’s fiercest rival has accused Vitteli of embezzlement, election rigging, and other abuses - and even called him a crook at a union meeting. Now Carlotta is just another corpse on the waterfront - allegedly gunned down by an armed robber. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Vitteli is somehow involved. But proving it is a whole other story.

Enter District Attorney Butch Karp and his wife, Marlene Ciampi. Drawn into the case by a friend who manages the East Village Women’s Shelter, Marlene speaks to the abused girlfriend of a man who may or may not have been hired to kill Carlotta. Marlene follows her lead to three different assassins contracted for the hit. But connecting them to Vitteli - and proving it in court - could be the death of anyone who tries... unless Karp can uncover the one tragic flaw that could bring down the curtain on this Shakespearean villain once and for all.

Packed with ingenious twists, diabolical turns, and shocking revelations, Tragic is Robert K. Tanenbaum at his best.

©2013 Robert K. Tanenbaum (P)2013 Simon and Schuster Audio

Don't buy this audiobook.

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

Honestly, I don't really know if the story was good or bad because I couldn't get past the first chapter. The narrator is one of those readers who has a distinct rhythm that has nothing to do with the sentence being read. It was repetitive...like a Chinese water torture. I made it a few minutes into the first chapter and decided to keep my molars instead of continuing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Robert K. Tanenbaum again?

I have listened to most of these novels. I have found the narrators to be a mixed bag. This was the worst. I might listen to another simply because I've invested so much time in this series, but not if it's narrated by Bob Walter.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bob Walter’s performances?

I will never get another audiobook narrated by Bob Walter.

Any additional comments?

I will probably get the Kindle version, or perhaps check the book out from the library, or maybe wait and pick a copy up from a used book store. I would like to give the book another chance, but I simply could not tolerate the torturous eccentricities of the narrator.

Switch in reader

Would you try another book from Robert K. Tanenbaum and/or Bob Walter?

I've listened to Tanenbaum for a long while, usually enjoy his books.. but the new reader in this series is not for me.. I realize there hasn't been a consistent reader for this series, but with this reader there is barely a pause between characters, paragraphs... and no life in most of the characters. A disapointment

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

different reader.. tanenbaum was fine.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bob Walter’s performances?

Not really..

Not enough from originAl series characters.

As with the past two books there is too much courtroom drama and not enough interrelated story with his wife Marlene, and his children. One of my favorite series until they displayed nearly nothing of the crime fighting family.

a waste of time

very little about Marlene, nothing about the kids or dogs, boring
no more Robert Tannenbaum

A good Butch Karp read, not my favorite, but good!

What did you love best about Tragic?

This book did not have all the regular characters that are in most of the other books. At first that bothered me a little bit, but it is a very engaging and interesting book.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Because I enjoy courtroom drama, it was even more engaging!

What does Bob Walter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The only review I saw when I purchased the book was someone going on and on about how much she hated the change in readers. She didn't even listen to much of it because she couldn't adjust. This reader was different from the one that normally does the Butch Karp series, but it didn't take long to adapt and appreciate his rhythm, tone, and emphasis.

Any additional comments?

Always enjoy this series and this book did not disappoint!

Well below expectations

The last half of the novel was spent on courtroom testimony. The overall storyline was considerably short from what I have come to expect from Tanenbaum. The narrator couldn't keep the voices straight, and a good portion of the men's voices were done in falsetto. What's up with that?

Just So-So

Have read Tanenbaum in the past and remembered why I wasn't impressed. Fairly interesting courtroom drama but drags out and is so predictable. Law & Order reruns are more interesting.