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Book Review of Hoax (Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi, Bk 16)

Hoax (Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi, Bk 16)
reviewed on + 107 more book reviews


When I find an author I like, I try to buy all his books and start reading forward from earliest published. In Tannenbaum's case, I was fortunate enough to get started reading him with his first novel "No Lesser Plea" and have enjoyed the saga through this book, his sixteenth, as he has traced the development of Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi from co-workers to lovers to husband and wife with three children and lots of other colorful charachters added. Like all his books, this one could be read stand-alone, but it's more fun if you can start at the beginning. That being said, I thought this was his weakest work (I usually give them four or five stars). I thought the plot was a little far-fetched with the villains being even more nefarious than usual and the heroes occasionally unbelievable, like the cowboy who performs an impossible roping feat to...oops, don't want to spoil it for you. The author seems to be stretching a little to shoehorn the Taos locale into what is usually a pretty good crime saga located in NYC. Maybe he spent some time in Taos and stuck it in the book so he could deduct his vacation expenses on his taxes...