A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
David Rosenfelt returns with his favorite series,A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
David Rosenfelt returns with his favorite series, following (2016) Outfoxed (Andy Carpenter #14), with THE TWELVE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS (Andy Carpenter #15).
One heck of a legal thriller with plenty of mystery, suspense, wit, skill, detective work and a little Christmas cheer!
Andy Carpenter does not like to spend the pre-holiday period on a case- in fact, he tries to work as little as possible. He is rich and does not need to work.
But the world seems to be crying out for this fun-loving witty lawyer’s expertise, to provide legal genius to those targeted by the justice system. So he tries to do his part. However, this case is a bit different. This one, he is eager to take.
His client’s name is Martha Boyer, known as “Pups”, or the Puppy Lady. She is 68 years old, and a feisty thing. Her husband died in a drive-by shooting in Paterson a year and a half ago. He was leaving a restaurant with a friend and had the misfortune of being near a gang member when the shooting started.
The husband Jake Boyer and the gang member were killed, while Boyer’s friend, David Barnett, emerged unscathed. Pups continued to live in their house in New Jersey about ten blocks away from Andy. Some people do not like her but Andy does. What is not to love, she says what is on her mind, takes no bull, funny, and she is a dog lover.
She does not care for the social niceties. She also has a bad cough and is very sick. She never uses any income (which she has plenty), but you wouldn't know it. Her husband was quite a wealthy man with all the land and real estate he left for her.
The animal shelters in Passaic County leave quite a bit to be desired. They are overcrowded and animals that aren’t adopted can get put down. This is one reason Andy and Willie have their Tara Organization.
Puppies or newborns create a particular problem for shelters and take special care. They are prone to disease. This is where Pups steps in. People bring the puppies directly to her, even the shelter managers sends them to her. They have a better chance and she never turns them away.
She seldom has less than twenty-five pups at any given time. She does not care what anyone thinks and says what’s on her mind. However, now the problem is --someone had recently filed an anonymous complaint against Pups, claiming that the zoning law for the area in which she lives, specifically limits the number of pets per household to three. At the time it was filed, she had twenty-six, above the legal limit.
She has thirty days to make a choice and this is when Andy steps in to help her. Jail? Why would anyone in their right mind do this when none of the neighbors cared. Is it so close to Christmas? A setup? However, there is much more to this problem than what you see. It gets very complex. The person was Randy Hennessey. Now this person is dead. Pups is arrested for the murder.
None of this makes sense, and Andy suspects there is more than meets the eye. He is determined to get his entire team on board to go back to the gang shooting and re-visit Jake’s death.
Somehow this has got to be tied to the former crime. But why has someone waited this long to set up Pups, and what is their motive? Does it have anything to do with the land, or a hidden agenda to get Pups out of the way?
To further complicate matters, Pups is dying with only a few months to live. Cancer. He will not leave her sitting in jail sick and dying, with her love of dogs and all the good she does for others. An intense race against time.
With his investigation which turns dangerous, he finds a son which never came around, a broker, gang members, and a lawyer. How does this guy being murdered and placing the same gun used to kill Pup’s husband more than a year and a half ago- now in her basement?
In the meantime, there is also a Senator involved with a little blackmail and a sex tape. When opening the will, it is further proof, Martha has nothing to gain from murdering her husband, nor anyone else. Add in little sports, a left-handed baseball pitcher, hitmen, and a blackjack dealer to offer some clues to the mystery and conspiracy to commit murder.
Wow, this was one twisted and multi-layered interesting case, and Andy, as usual, offers the witty entertainment we all love, plus the skilled legal expertise and lots of courtroom drama. (Read in one sitting)
As always, a huge fan of golden retrievers, mysteries, and legal thrillers (a nice combo), readers get caught up with Tara the golden and Sebastian, the basset hound, with the nightly walks and talks. Also Laurie, his ex-cop wife, and Ricky his adopted son. Currently, their little family all have different last names, and Laurie wants to remedy this for Ricky’s sake.
For those of you who may think this is a cheesy Christmas silly story. It is nothing of the such. A fast action legal thriller with a lot of twists and turns. One of my favorites in the Andy Carpenter’s series! No cheese here. A perfect book for those who love legal thrillers, dogs, humor, and an engaging holiday Christmas tale.
If you are unaware of David’s story, read about his incredible Tara Foundation (as in the book). This one is for my Golden Retriever “Duke” I had the pleasure of knowing and loving for fourteen glorious years.
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press (Minotaur) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover.
Talented David Rosenfelt A special thank you to St. Martin's Press (Minotaur) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover.
Talented David Rosenfelt returns following Who Let the Dog Out (2015) with the fun-loving Andy Carpenter Series #14 OUTFOXED —an entertaining legal thriller whodunit, mixed with mystery, suspense, dogs, french fries, football, sports, organized crime, and lots of wit!
Andy Carpenter, is a defense attorney who has not been taking on any new clients, running the Tara Foundation, a dog rescue group in Haledon, New Jersey with his partner Willie. Andy is also the spreader of human and canine happiness everywhere, and loves his life (he does not miss the courtroom). However, little does he know, he will soon be returning.
Andy also heads up a program called Prison Pals, rescue dogs in need of training and socialization into prisons to be trained by inmates. A win-win; the dogs get needed training and loving care, and the prisoners get the chance to interact and bond with some really great dogs.
Brian Atkins, is currently one of the inmates working in the program, and also a client. His lawyer had been Nathan Cantwell, a legend in NJ legal circles for sixty years. He just died at the age of 87 and now Brian is Andy's client. He was only planning on helping him with his parole and release.
Brian has served three years of a five-year term after being convicted of embezzlement and fraud, the victim being the software company that he co-founded.
In a minimum security area of East Jersey state Prison, he would be up for parole in four months. He was working with an adorable fox terrier named Boomer. Brian loves Boomer, so much that Brian--Andy has learned, from Pete, captain of the police department---Brian has escaped prison with Boomer.
Why would Brian escape now, when he is so close to getting out of prison? To make matters worse, he is accused of murdering two people: his wife, Denise (soon to be ex) and ex-partner, (Gerry).
He was in jail originally for a white collar crime (his own company, Starlight Systems Technology Company) and Andy cannot even consider Brian as a murderer. Even after paying back the embezzled money and a fine, Brian is a wealthy man. A comfortable life awaited him on the outside. The idea he would escape made no sense.
Now, Andy will have to put his lawyer hat on, once again to help Brian. Brian says he did not kill the two. He still says he is innocent of the original charges. Is he being set up? If so, why and how?
In the meantime, on the home front, Andy is happily married to Laurie (former cop) and they have adopted Ricky, in the third grade. Ricky is caught discussing point spreads (sports betting), he has learned from his dad. Some fun stories here. Also we get to catch up with Tara (his best Golden Retriever and Sebastian.
With a GPS tracker in Boomer’s collar they were found; however, now Andy has to dig deep, putting he and his family in danger trying to track down the long list of criminals and thugs involved in this complex conspiracy.
When they find out an organized dangerous crime family and the mob are involved, things get complicated. From Wall Street, an affair, gangsters, blackmail, thugs, betting, technology to motivations for murder—was Brian being framed? As the bodies pile up, confronting dangerous killers is not something Andy had in mind for his bucket list
From Andy’s fun team, and cast of colorful characters: Marcus (PI-tank) Willie (marital arts expert), Sam (Hacker), Enda (secretary), Laurie (wife, ex-cop) and his tenacity--will they solve the whodunit to clear Brian and be reunited with his pal, Boomer?
As always, an entertaining tale! If you are looking for a twisty intense legal thriller, with suspense, mystery, with loads of personality and wit, an ideal series. This installment does not focus on the dog portion, as much as the whodunit crime mystery suspense; however, a well-developed absorbing suspense.
Love this series - Andy Carpenter fans will devour! Be sure to check out #15, coming Oct 18 The Twelve Dogs of Christmas 5 Stars!
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
WHO LET THE DOG OUT by David RoA special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
WHO LET THE DOG OUT by David Rosenfelt (Andy Carpenter #13), is a mix of legal thriller, murder mystery, a dog lovers world, humor, and baseball; for a fun-filled suspense engaging read.
Attorney Andy Carpenter is an unabashed animal lover, and he has a reputation for saving both dogs and humans from Death Row. With the help of his beloved golden retriever Tara, Andy solves cases and wins courtroom battles in this acclaimed series of legal thrillers.
The Tara Foundation, is a dog rescue organization, in New Jersey and attorney Andy Carpenter operates with his friend Willie (a former client). They are all about saving dogs, similar to Andy saving humans from death row in his legal practice.
As the book opens a break-in occurs at the Tara Foundation. A recue dog, Cheyenne, a German shepherd mix has been stolen. The dog fortunately has a GPS chip, leading them to take off and investigate the dog whereabouts. What they find is shocking….the dog is standing to a dead man—brutally murdered. What gives?
Andy, with his investigative attorney mind, seems to think there is more to the story, even though the cops arrested someone for the murder (Tommy Infante). However, have the cops arrested the correct man, or could he be innocent? Andy decides to take on Tommy as a client, and uncovers a bigger mystery which leads them to danger.
While they are trying to track down Cheyenne’s former owner—leading them to a fugitive suspected of murdering his business partner, an international diamond smuggling, and domestic terrorism, plus more. Who was the real owner of the dog and how is this connected to the murder?
With an array of suspects, Andy is full of wit and humor with wise cracks, lovable dogs, and some good crime thrilling suspense mystery. With some personal fun with Andy --his wife Laurie, baseball, and their adopted eight-year old son, Ricky.
This was my first book by Rosenfelt and was attracted to the series, as a lover of legal thrillers and golden retrievers (Wow, do I miss my special and unique golden –Golden Duke for fifteen wonderful years—great memories). This one is for you! Goldens are special dogs and lovers of Donna Ball’s Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries (Golden-Cisco) will find the series intriguing. Rosenfelt’s passion shines through each page. A strong delivery and some great legal and investigative work.
Check out Andy Carpenter #14 Outfoxed Coming July 19, 2016! An awesome legal thriller.
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