Wow. Andy Carpenter #21. That's pretty mind-boggling, I've got to say. The way that Andy's been ramping up the retirement talk over the last couple of books, I can't help but wonder how many more are in store—but I have to expect we'll get a few more. Rosenfelt's army of dogs takes a lot of food. The more the merrier, I say—especially if there are more like this one in the wings.

Andy's contacted by a friend also in the dog rescue biz—she's come into possession of a stray and has been contacted by the owner to retrieve the dog. Which sounds pretty straightforward and good up until the point where she tells Andy the owner's name. He's the victim of a triple murder a few weeks ago when his boat was destroyed by a bomb of some sort. Yeah, you read me right—the victim. Except he clearly escaped and after being on the run for his life a bit, has decided he can't run off without the dog. So he risks life and limb to be reunited with his pet. At this point, the reader (and everyone who knows Andy) realizes that if this man needs legal help, Andy will be his attorney. Andy needs some convincing, however.

And Alex Vogel is going to need Andy's help—if he wasn't one of those killed, the police would like to know, why wasn't he? The explanation that makes the most sense to them is that Alex Vogel made and detonated the bomb, killing his friends. The motive is a little shaky, but that's beside the point.

Alex gives Andy one possible reason that he'd be targeted, and while he doesn't buy it, he has nothing else to go on, so while Andy tries to come up with an idea of his own, he spends a lot of time exploring that. In a long-running series like this is, it's the little differences that really stick out and keep things fresh. It took Andy a <i>painfully</i> long time to come up with an alternative theory of the case. And while I found it frustrating that he was so slow, I appreciated that Rosenfelt let things go that way. I also admit that it's not fair for me to judge, as the reader has access to some third-person narration portions of the novel that Andy doesn't.

Whether looking for flaws in the Prosecution's case, running down Alex's theory, or trying to find an alternative, Andy and his regular band (which includes <a href="https://wp.me/p3z9AH-4Qu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The K Team</a> now) are as fun as always. The narration is clever, the humor is witty, the case complex, the herrings are red, the dogs are adorable—all the elements of a solid Andy Carpenter novel are there.

As I was mulling over this book this week, I'd mentally drafted a paragraph thinking about this one in the context of the series as a whole. At some point, it seemed pretty familiar, so I looked up what I said about <a href="https://wp.me/p3z9AH-4io" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>Dachshund Through the Snow</b></a>, the twentieth novel in the series. I'd said pretty much the same thing about that book as I wanted to say about this one. It doesn't say much for my originality, but it says something about Rosenfelt.

I've read them all—some twice—and while I've never read a bad Andy Carpenter book, there were a few that were simply "fine" (that's not a complaint, I'll take a fine book over a lot of others), but there's been a resurgence in the last five or so, particularly in the last two. In both of them Rosenfelt has done something I couldn't/didn't see coming, breaking his tried-and-true formula. Rosenfelt has no reason to do that at this point, he could keep churning out these books and his fans (including me), would keep gobbling them up. But he's taking risks, he's doing relatively daring things (while remaining true to the world he's created).

I really liked this book on its own merits, I loved it in the context of the rest. Does that mean a new reader has to read the other twenty before this one? No—any of these novels are a good jumping on point, you'll end up wanting to read some/all of the earlier ones though. A smart legal thriller—great stuff out of the courtroom, and amusing antics in it (I'll never tire of reading Andy cross-examining a witness). <b>Muzzled</b> is one of the best in this great series.

<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this. As always, my opinions remain my own.</i>
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<a href="https://746books.com/2020/05/14/20-books-of-summer-20-is-on-the-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.hcnewton.com/irrreader/20bkssummerSM.png" alt="20 Books of Summer" /></a>

A clever courtroom drama that pulses with a constant, often witty, self-deprecating humour.

In my head, 'Open And Shut' will always carry the subtitle 'The Case Of The Missing Golden Retriever'.

I bought the book thinking that it was the first in a series about Andy Carpenter, Defence Attorney and Tara, his Golden Retriever side-kick. for all I know, the rest of the series may live up to that description but the first book 'Open And Shut'gives a more prominent role to baseball than it does to Tara the Golden Retriever.

Nevertheless, I read 'Open And Shut' with sustained low-key pleasure in a single day. Although it is disappointingly low of canine contributions it's still a very entertaining book and I will be back for more in the series.

The main appeal of the book for me is the self-deprecating humour and witty one-liners that Andy Carpenter uses to tell the story of his life, his loves, his mistakes and his unconventional courtroom performances. The Andy Carpenter that we meet at the beginning of the story is going through some changes in his life: recently separated from his wife, recently orphaned by the death of his father and recently the recipient of substantial and unexpected inherited wealth. In the midst of all this, Andy is trying to win an unwinnable re-trial of a capital case that his father prosecuted successfully the first time around.

Andy plays the charming raconteur, casting the reader in the role of trusted confidante, and delivers a narrative that kept me smiling and occasionally made me laugh. Andy is not the kind of driven or angst-ridden lawyer that you find in John Grisham's novels. He has a pragmatic understanding of the law and his role in it and rejects sentimental or sanctimonious views of his work. He is a man who uses humour to distance himself from his emotions and from the stresses of a criminal trial but who never lies to himself about what is really going on.

I was also impressed by the plot of the book, which manages to entwine a my-client-didn't-do-it-so who-did? mystery, with uncovering secrets in his recently-deceased father's past. The courtroom ploys are clever and entertaining and the plot twists are well-managed and kept me guessing.

My enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by Grover Gardner's wonderful narration.ner

I don’t know about you but lately I find myself using slightly different criteria to select my next book. I don’t want to read about politics or viruses. I want something that will make me smile, maybe even laugh out loud. So when the latest Andy Carpenter came along, it was perfect timing.

By now fans are familiar with Andy’s doomed attempts to retire. Luckily for us, he fails once again. It all begins with a call from his friend Beth. She puts a lot of time & effort into reuniting stray dogs with their rightful owners & is currently looking after a gorgeous lab she calls Lucy. The good news is she got a call from the owner who is desperate to get Lucy back. Which would be great….except the owner’s face has been all over the news after being killed with 2 others in a suspicious boat explosion. Understandably, Beth is a tad nervous about meeting this guy. Andy has the perfect solution. Have the owner come pick up Lucy at his dog shelter where he & Willie can keep an eye on things.

Ah, the best laid plans. Before the meet is over, police have shown up & Andy has somehow gained a new client. The only silver lining is he managed to piss off cop/buddy Pete Stanton in the process. So not a total loss then.

Pharmaceutical secrets, a mystery girlfriend, mistaken identity, dodgy characters & possible mob involvement…these are some of the stumbling blocks just waiting for Andy. Good thing he not only has Laurie at his side but her colleagues from the K Team as well. He’ll need them. Most of the story takes place outside the courtroom & includes short chapters that introduce odd characters. The trick is to figure out if & where they fit in. And as always, a herd of great dogs are along for the ride.

As much as I enjoyed this, overall I found it missing a tiny somethin’-somethin’ . There was just a little less spark to the dialogue & I wondered if it had to do with the cast. Unlike other instalments, the only member of Andy’s legal crew we hear from regularly is Sam. Instead there is more focus on the K Team as they assist with the case. I guess I just missed all that inspirational positivity we usually get from Edna & Hike.

However….and this is big, people….one scene alone is worth the price of admission. Are you sitting down? Ok. Marcus says a word. And I understood it. That’s right, an actual intelligible word from the English language in his outside voice. Not going to tell you what it was, just that it was used correctly & spoke volumes. If you need to take a moment here, I understand.

Whether you pick up this or one of the others in the series, you know you’ll get a story full of humour, dogs & good guys that is the perfect antidote to the isolation blues. And hopefully by the time book #22 arrives, the world will be a happier place. Now go wash your hands.

After 20+ books (and counting!) in a series, what's an author to do? Well, if you have the dog food bills that David Rosenfelt must have (seriously, check out the photos on his website or Facebook page of the dogs he and his wife shelter), you create a spin-off. I found myself comparing the books a lot in the paragraphs that follow—I won't make a habit out of it as the series progresses, but I kept comparing them as I read, so that's how I think of the book. I hope it doesn't get too tiring.

In 2019's Dachshund Through the Snow, we met Former Paterson NJ police officer Corey Douglas and his German Shepherd partner, Simon Garfunkel. At the end of that novel, Corey had decided to join forces with Laurie and Marcus to form a detective agency. This is their first case—and what a way to start!

Longtime Andy Carpenter antagonist, the harsh, yet fair, Judge Henry Henderson (aka Hatchet) hires the team to look into a blackmailer trying to pressure the judge into something. He doesn't know what the blackmailer wants yet, but he knows there's enough to damage (probably fatally!) his career. The arrangement they enter into means that Andy won't be able to try a case before Hatchet again—which bummed me out, he wasn't a constant presence in those novels, but a frequent one—probably the only judge's name I recognized. I enjoyed watching Andy squirm around the judge.

But now, it's Hatchet's turn to squirm. The blackmailers (well, potential blackmailers—he's quick to note they haven't actually broken the law yet), have some manufactured evidence to make it look like he's crooked. He's not, and has enough of a reputation and goodwill to weather the storm. Probably. But the hint of scandal would taint his record and probably force him off the bench.

So, Corey, Laurie, and Marcus get to work—looking into cases the judge presided over and could be alleged to have influenced. Before long, the threats get more real and bodies start appearing (or, disappearing, in some cases). And well, that's really all I can safely say. But fans of the Andy Carpenter books will be familiar with the way things play out—and new readers will be entertained by it, too.

Marcus doesn't do much more (especially on the dialogue front) in The K Team than he does in a typical Andy Carpenter book, he's basically an unintelligible superhuman (yeah, the jokes about the protagonist's inability to understand him are of the same genus as the ones in the Carpenter novels, but they're a different species coming from Corey—I was surprised at how refreshing that was). I think he probably gets a little more space devoted to him than he typically gets, but he does basically what we're used to seeing. There are a couple of exceptions, including what I believe is the longest hand-to-hand fight scene we've seen from him.

Even Laurie isn't featured as much as I expected. Actually, that's an understatement. I assumed that this would be Laurie's series with a couple of sidekicks—or maybe an equally Laurie and Corey series with Marcus showing up to do his thing every now and then. Maybe a third person kind of thing alternating between focusing on each character. But no, this is first person from Corey's POV—so we get a lot of Laurie, but most of what she did was off-screen, only teaming up with Corey for bigger moments or to discuss what they'd done together. It's not what I expected, but I can live with it (I just wish she'd get to shine a bit more).

So, Corey...we get to know him a bit better here than we did in his first appearance, obviously. He's single—deliberately—and very devoted to Simon (but not the same way that Andy is to Tara), they worked together and are now shifting to a new career together. Corey's a bit more willing to leave Simon out of some of the action than say, Bernie Little is (eager, occasionally, for Simon's safety). He's a movie buff—a little bit of a nerd about them, it seems—and I look forward to seeing this more. He's good at his job, still a straight arrow (the kind of cop he was), but is discovering that he's more willing to color outside the lines than he thought. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better.

The humor is a similar style to the one employed in the Andy Carpenter books, but it's not Andy's voice in a different body. Corey is distinctive, but fans of the one will tend to enjoy the other. That's half the point (maybe 70% of the point) of a spin-off, right? Similar, but not equal—that applies for the voice, the humor, and the story.

If you've never read an Andy Carpenter book, don't worry. Just think of this as the good idea it is—a team of PI's working together instead of a lone operator with an occasional side-kick. A trio is so rare in the PI fiction biz that I can't wait to see it at work more in future installments. I enjoyed this enough that I'm ready to read the next two at least. There was so much set-up to The K Team that Rosenfelt almost had to shoe-horn the plot around it. This was a good intro to the series, but I'm looking forward to seeing what Rosenfelt has in store for the team now that he's been able to establish things.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

The K Team is officially open for business. When I heard about this series, I thought the premise was a great idea. Laurie Carpenter, Marcus Clark, ex-cop Corey Douglas & his 4 legged partner Simon Garfunkel are Paterson, New Jersey’s newest private investigators. Now all they need is a client. Be careful what you wish for...

If you’re a fan of the Andy Carpenter series you’ll already be acquainted with his nemesis, Judge Henry “the Hatchet” Henderson. Seems the judge has a wee problem….someone is trying to blackmail him & he wants them to find those responsible. His instructions for their meeting are clear: it must be completely confidential & he’ll require the presence of Laurie’s annoying husband.

I won’t get into the main plot line. It’s ingenious & complex & has our rookie PI’s chasing their tails. The first half of the book deals with setting the stage & introducing all the players. At the 50% mark, the pace picks up considerably following 2 pivotal events….the introduction of one character & the loss of another. As the frustrated team begins to make connections, you’ll be kept guessing as to who is behind it all.

I’ve always enjoyed the Andy Carpenter books but was looking forward to Marcus & Laurie being in the driver’s seat. I assumed the 3 human MC’s would split story telling duties with Simon contributing the odd growl. (I know what you’re thinking…..Marcus? using words? Ok, so maybe not actually speaking but I was hoping for some internal dialogue to balance out his vocabulary of pithy grunts.) And seeing events through Laurie’s eyes would give us a fresh approach.

Alas, it was not to be. While Marcus & Laurie play their parts, the story is narrated by Corey. And while he’s a smart & earnest guy, I’m not sure his character is is dynamic enough to carry it off. I’m glad the author chose to make him completely different to avoid comparisons with Andy but the result is he’s like vanilla ice cream. Nothing wrong with it, just a little bland. Hopefully his character is fleshed out in the next book so more of his personality shines through.

There are some holdovers from the original series. Andy pops in & out of the story as do Pete Stanton & accountant/hacker Sam. And of course Tara is always there to provide quiet wisdom & support. But the big surprise is the loss of a well known character & it will be interesting to see how the author fills their shoes. It’s a solid start to the series & i’ll definitely pick up the next one to see where the team lands.