Deadly Pleasures is reporting an interesting rumor…
Michael Gruber was reportedly ineligible for an Edgar Award first novel consideration because he has ghost-written other novels previously. Someone told me that he had written some of the Robert Tanenbaum novels. Has anyone else heard that?
I’ve seen Robert Tannenbaum at signings. I wasn’t aware that he had such a large following that he needed a ghostwriter to churn out his books. I mean, is he really in the same league as Clive Cussler? Tom Clancy? James Patterson? At least those titans credit their co-authors.
Gruber’s official Bouchercon bio stunning said, “He ghostwrote the Butch Karp and Marlene courtroom thrillers for Robert K. Tannenbaum.”
I was very surprised by this, for a variety of reasons.
If it’s true, didn’t his contract prevent him from publicly acknowledging this? (I believe such contracts usually do.)
Perhaps even more importantly, if the guy’s good enough to write books for a fairly well-known author, why the hell isn’t he doing it under this own name?
Sounds like bullshit to me.
If it’s true that Michael Gruber wrote those books for Robert Tannenbaum, is it really fair to call Robert Tannenbaum a “fairly well known author” anymore since, apparently, he isn’t doing any actual authoring?
Speaking “fairly well known authors”…
I got a letter today, along with two self-published novels that the author would like me to review. In the letter, the writer introduces herself by starting off, “I am a well-known writer, who has had many books published.”
The funny thing is, ever time I talk to Mike Connelly, he introduces himself the exact same way.
I’ve met Mike, and he’s usually trying to be modest when he says that.
Yes, it’s true. In fact, the news broke way back in March 2003 when TROPIC OF NIGHT was released as that’s when Gruber could talk publicly about it, and that’s exactly what he did as reported here:
http://www.brianstorms.com/archives/000084.html
What isn’t included here, but is also a really interesting part of the story, is that Gruber & Tanenbaum are first cousins, and that when Gruber decided to go solo, they had a serious falling out. So no clue who replaced Gruber on the ghostwriting front, but if you check out the latest Tanenbaum Amazon reviews, they are pretty vocal about wanting Gruber to return….
Yep, I remember this being discussed in a number of online mystery groups last year, which was why I got such a chuckle out of his most recent book being called HOAX.
Okay, maybe it’s just my warped sense of humor.
So did this Gruber cat actually write all the books himself? If so, why is there a creature known as Robert Tanenbaum?
This is all very odd.
How can Robert Tannenbaum keep going to signings after this revelation? He’s signing books he didn’t write.
Granted, I know other “authors” who do the same thing… butmost of them are celebrities, and its an open secret they have ghostwriters writing their novels for them.
Granted, I know other “authors” who do the same thing… but most of them are celebrities….
I think he may be considered a bit of a celebrity in the world of law, if not the world of entertainment. If I’m remembering correctly, he never lost a felony case.
…. and it’s an open secret they have ghostwriters writing their novels for them.
Yet the celebs still sign the books even though they haven’t written them.
Note: I’m not trying to excuse what Tanenbaum has done, because I *do* think it’s wrong for him to have taken credit for writing the books all those years.
As an aside, I’ve never read anything of his myself, but a couple of years ago (before the story broke), I went to a talk/signing of his with a visiting friend from Maryland who collects his books. Tanenbaum was (that day, at least) a fascinating speaker, so I’m at a loss to understand why he’s not writing the books himself.
I think Lee had someone like Pam Anderson more in mind… Tannenbaum ain’t no celeb. 🙂
The part I find oddest, though, is that a writer would do several books as someone’s ghost.
If Celeb X contacted me and said, “Dave, write my book, here’s a check!” I’d probably do it. But I wouldn’t do the whole damn series.
I was thinking more of folks like Pamela Anderson and William Shatner, in particular…as well as “celebrities” like Margaret Truman, Bill Shoemaker and others who “write” detective novels which are widely known to have been written by others.
Lee & I apparently have Pam on the brain. Odd, too, as I don’t find her particuarly alluring.
I did, however, feel the need to make an entry on my own blog about this topic:
http://crimefiction.blogspot.com/2004/10/ignore-that-man-behind-curtain.html
I was thinking more of folks like Pamela Anderson and William Shatner, in particular…as well as “celebrities” like Margaret Truman, Bill Shoemaker and others who “write” detective novels which are widely known to have been written by others.
I have to disagree with you on this, Lee. Those of us who hang out on blogs like this and on crime fiction discussion lists on the internet are not your average reader. I’d wager that most people who read those books think the “celebrities” actually did write them.
At any rate, I don’t understand why it bothers you so much that Tanenbaum is signing books he didn’t write while it doesn’t seem to bother you that celebrities from the worlds of film/tv/sports/etc are signing books that they didn’t write. It all seems wrong to me.
Hey, Lee, don’t know what time you’re planning to get to Shelly’s today, but Tanenbaum will be there at 1 pm.
The whole time Gruber was writing the Tannenbaum books – and he wrote all of them except for Hoax – he was writing about being a ghost writer on an internet forum, Contractually he never said what books he was writing but Tannenbaum credits Guber in the acks of each book. As Gruber explained Tannenbaum was a big lawyer with great stories but wasn’t a writer and Guber, his first cousin was and so it happened. On the internet forum you could follow Guber’s grief as he found his work becoming more and more successful without his name on it. He did get paid incredibly well, this was posted took, basically sharing the advance 50/50.
Then Gruber wrote his own novel and wrote one more Tannenbaum to fulfill his contract and then he split from Tannenbaum, who had to find another ghostwriter – though I don’t know it is – becuase as Guber said – if this is true, Tannenbaum was never writing the books in the first place.
Oy.
I was at the Mystery Book Store’s anniversary party today, and a bunch of us author-types were talking about Gruber. Apparently, he had a nasty split from Tanenbaum and then started going around signing the books under his own name! ‘
My feeling is, if you’re a ghostwriter, you keep your mouth shut about it.That’s part of the deal. Gruber isn’t helping himself by trashing Tanenbaum, in my opinion.
Jeez, not only do I live in the geographical boonies… Reading a review of Michael Gruber’s new book I find he did the Butch and Marlene books. I always pictured Butch as looking like a svelte Schwarzennegger without the facelifts. Marlene is my own private dream. I’m shattered. Have to pick up the pieces anc click on. Finley
A correction to a previous post: Gruber didn’t write “all” the Tanenbaum books. Piano Teacher (a true crime) and Badge of the Assassin, which was made into a rather mediocre film in the mid-80’s starring James Woods, were written by somebody else. The Karp & Ciampi books are Gruber’s creations.
As with all these kinds of dramas, there is a lot that goes unheard and unseen by the general literary populace. It’s just all too juicy for any reviewer to resist. In the first NY Times book review of any Gruber novel (ghosted or otherwise) the critic Janet Maslin chose to bring up the cousin thing, as well as the dramatic termination of their partnership (you could almost see here salivating at her laptop). Does this have anything to do with Gruber’s boundless genious? 🙂
Know that all these things happened for the best and the betterment of humanity in general.
I was so appalled by the book fittingly called “Hoax” that I couldn’t believe it had been written by the Robert Tanenbaum who had provided me with so many hours of pleasure in the Marlene and Butch series. Imagine my delight in finding that I was not the only one who felt this way, and after reading some reviews of the awful “Hoax”, that my opinion was shared by others. Now I can’t decide whether to by “Fury”, the latest in the series, or just check it out in a bookstore. Can’t find a reliable review of it. Any help out there? Dorothy
Dorothy. I share your disappointment about the Tanenbaum Butch/Marlene series. I just finished “Fury,” and it was awful! The writing was so flat and juvenile. In fact, it was like a cheesy romance novel, but without the hot stuff. Gruber made those characters come alive, and his phrasing and witty dialogue made those books sing for me. The only reason to read Fury is to laugh at how bad it is.
Dorothy. I share your disappointment about the Tanenbaum Butch/Marlene series. I just finished “Fury,” and it was awful! The writing was so flat and juvenile. In fact, it was like a cheesy romance novel, but without the hot stuff. Gruber made those characters come alive, and his phrasing and witty dialogue made those books sing for me. The only reason to read Fury is to laugh at how bad it is.
Granted, I know other “authors” who do the same thing… butmost of them are celebrities, and its an open secret they have ghostwriters writing their novels for them.
You mean William Shatner didn’t really write those Tek and Star Trek books? I’m devestated.
Here is a review done for Book Loons that doesn’t have all this whiney stuff about ghost writers and who does what for whom. There has been a concerted effort by Gruber and his friends to trash subsequent Karp series books that has more to do with his bitterness (when he happily accepted large paychecks) than whether the newest in the series stand alone. You might also check out Library Journal’s review–an objective review from someone without an axe to grind one way or the other (I don’t think the reviewer even knows there is a ghost writer). I do think Mr. Tanenbaum should reveal the new writer and describe the relationship. Is it Rogers and Hammerstein or like Gruber used to say, Karp has the ideas, the ghost writer makes them a story.
I think we might all be surprised at the number of books written by ghosts for supposedly accepted authors … or do we really think some of these guys are writing a book a year at the same time they’re traveling around doing all these signings and such. As for Gruber, I was tired of his take … and was really convinced that he’s burned out when I read (with hope) his solo try.
Fury by Robert Tanenbaum Amazon.com order for Fury by Robert Tanenbaum
Order: USA Can
Atria, 2005 (2005)
Hardcover, Audio, CD
* * * Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
The Coney Island Four were jailed for the brutal assault and rape of a young mother, who went for an early morning jog. Ten years later, a jailed killer, Enrique Villalobos, claims to have been the sole perpetrator. Sleazy lawyer Hugh Louis, who bribes a bent DA and a corrupt judge, initiates (for a percentage) a multimillion dollar lawsuit on behalf of the the freed rapists. Asked to take on the defense, Butch refuses until he sees how the effect this latest horror has had on the victim, whose life was already destroyed.
Young Igor Kaminsky, Villalobos’ cellmate, learned too much in jail. When his twin brother ends up dead instead of him, he wants revenge – and Igor has ties to the Russian Mafia in NY. Marlene Ciampi, who is finally coming to terms with conflicted reactions to her own violence, is asked to take on a rape case, that of a Russian poet/professor – strong evidence implicates him in the rape of a student. College basketball players, Rashad and Khalif, admired by Karp twins Giancarlo and Zak, have appealed their conviction for rape. Both cases are being pursued over-zealously by Rachel Rachman, who works for Butch. And Rashad is falling fast for the honeyed rhetoric of a Mr. Mustafa at a NY mosque. He’s busy recruiting for a big operation, but who is stalking and beheading his bodyguards?
In New Mexico, Lucy Karp has fallen for Ned, the cowpoke who saved her life. Both she and Taos Indian John Jojola have similar dreams – of tunnels and of Lucy’s friend David Grale, the mad mystic they saw die in Hoax. John’s dream tells him that if he doesn’t find Grale, all of his new friends will die. So Lucy, Ned and John head to the Big Apple. Karp is up for election and the NYPD are circling the wagons against him. Besides having a red hot affair (a most unusual coupling of opposites), Karp’s assistant Murrow and Marlene’s reporter friend Ariadne Stupenagel partner in investigation of a conspiracy between Louis and various members of law enforcement. And Marlene’s beloved mother is losing her memories to Alzheimer’s, while her father is both lost and angry about it.
As always, Tanenbaum masterfully pieces together his scattered plot shards into a dazzling whole. The story takes place over the holidays, leading to a New Year’s crescendo of action. Lawyers who sup with the devil suffer the consequences, while Butch Karp gets close to his beloved wife again, and discovers his totem – as Jojola tells him, ‘if someone is stupid enough to tangle with an angry bear, the bear usually wins.’ Series fans will devour Fury in one sitting – and if you’re not a fan yet, start reading this series of brilliant, mystical, legal thrillers.
I am disapointed.
I’m puzzled by the number of fans on this page who can’t spell Tanenbaum’s surname correctly and at least one who can’t spell Gruber’s. It’s quite clear that Tanenbaum never wrote a word of the Butch and Marlene thrillers when they were really, really good. Gruber is incredibly brilliant but I liked his Butch and Marlene stories better than I like the three novels he has recently published under his own name.
I’m further puzzled by those who seem to find Gruber at fault here. A lot of people in the publishing industry make decisions without consulting the right people (my current book “Chopper” has a dust jacket designed with zero input from author, agent, or editor) and Gruber cannot be blamed for this fraud. Tanenbaum is not solely responsible for it, either, but he does owe some explaining.
Bob Dorr
Oakton, Virginia
As a faithful reader of Tanenbaum’s books, I was surprised to find the last two I read (I won’t buy the last one) were curiously devoid of what I had come to expect of Tanenbaum books: wit, humor, delicious turns of phrase, and coherent plotting, not to mention consistency of character.
In short – they sucked. Hard.
In the course of investigating why, I discovered that he’s apparently parted company with his co- or ghost-writer. Ah! The light bulb goes on.
I am BITTERLY disappointed and disillusioned. If the most recent oevre had been the first of his I’d bought, I’d never pick up another.
No doubt he used variations on his own professional and personal experiences to people his pages, but without (apparently) the writing skills of his ghost, the books fall flat.
Perhaps he’s hired a different ghost. If so, that one should be fired. Sucky, sucky, sucky.
This is such a huge letdown. I feel as if there have been multiple deaths in the family.
So bummed.
I am reading as any of the Butch-Marlene books as I can find at libraries and from used book stores. I’ve read with interest the comments on this site and frankly, I don’t care if Gruber or Tannenbaum collaborated to produce these books. It sounds logical to me that Tannenbaum has evidently had much expeience in the legal world and Gruber, who is evidently his cousin, has the better feel and expertise for writing — why not combine the talents and produce good novels? They are entertaining books and I’ve enjoyed all of the ones I’ve been able to find so far. Just having found this series recently, I don’t know if they are still being produced or not – but I hope they are – no matter who writes them.
I haven’t read any of the Tannenbaum novels. I have read all three written under Michael Gruber’s own name, and he’s bloody brilliant.
Peter S. Beagle