Andy Carpenter Series Series by David Rosenfelt
Andy Carpenter Series #5
Dead Center
David Rosenfelt
After Laurie Collins left him and headed west, New Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter didn't expect to ever see her again. So he's shocked when his ex-girlfriend appears on TV--and then calls him pleading for his help. Two coeds in Wisconsin have been found brutally stabbed to death. As the town's acting police chief, Laurie had to arrest a young college student with a carful of bloodstains who argued with one of the victims just before her death. Yet Laurie strongly believes that the suspect, Jeremy Davidson, is innocent.Trading the refineries and factories of Paterson for the frozen pastures of Findlay, Wisconsin, Andy soon finds himself in a small town handling a big-time double homicide case. He looks into Jeremy's romance with one of the victims--and the possible involvement of a bizarre religious cult--one that may sanction the most unholy, and vicious, of acts.While Andy tries to save Jeremy, make sense of his love life, and find a decent pizza for his beloved dog, Tara, the secrets of an ultra-religious community begin to rain down on him like bricks from a cracked fortress. But as Edgar®-nominated Rosenfelt proves to us once again, the path to the truth is littered with lies and misdirection. And before it's all over, the unexpected is the only thing Andy can count on.From Publishers WeeklyEven if Rosenfelt's novels about multimillionaire New Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter didn't hit all the right mystery novel notes, the intimacy of their hero's breezy, subjective, present-tense narration would make them ideal subjects for audio adaptation. Adding to the ear appeal of book five in the series is reader Gardner, an inspired match for the amusingly self-deprecating, sarcastic, animal-loving, freewheeling, wisecracking, wily lawyer. The inventive story finds Carpenter being lured by a recently lost love to the snow- and sausage-filled wilds of Wisconsin. There, accompanied by his faithful golden retriever, Tara, he reluctantly agrees to defend a 21-year-old local against overwhelming evidence that he savagely murdered two young women from a nearby hamlet inhabited exclusively by members of a religious cult. Using a voice and sensibility reminiscent of Nathan Lane (complete with verbal eye-rolls), Gardner smartly unfolds Rosenfelt's yarn, in which Carpenter is at his hilarious best—a Jersey boy out of his element in the frosty Midwest, motor-mouthing about having to put up with bone-chilling cold, unfamiliar food, a half-rekindled romance, an impossible defense and a possibly homicidal cult. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistNew Jersey defense lawyer Andy Carpenter returns for a fifth outing. When his former lover, Laurie, a police detective who has moved home to Wisconsin, calls to tell him she may have arrested an innocent man for murder, Andy packs his bags and sets off for the Midwest to lend a hand. He quickly finds himself going up against a very shady religious group, but it's his feelings for Laurie that cause him the most distress. As usual, Rosenfelt adroitly mixes drama with humor (the latter, mostly the product of Andy's outspoken, I-don't-give-a-damn personality). With this series, it's the storytelling, more than the stories, that keeps things moving. Andy, who became independently wealthy at the beginning of the series, takes only cases that have some emotional or intellectual appeal. Rosenfelt uses this premise to good advantage. Where most legal-thriller authors explore the crime, Rosenfelt spends more time on the context and on the man investigating the crime. Those who like the added complexity of character-driven mysteries will find much to enjoy in this award-winning series. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Andy Carpenter Series #11
Unleashed
David Rosenfelt
Andy Carpenter’s accountant, Sam Willis, is stunned to receive a phone call out of the blue from Barry Price, a high school friend he hasn’t spoken to in years, pleading for help with something too frightening to discuss on the phone. Barry needs Sam’s financial acumen and lawyer Andy Carpenter’s legal expertise—and he needs them immediately. But when Sam almost runs over an injured dog lying in the road on the way to Barry’s house, he can’t drive off without waiting for help to arrive. By the time Sam makes it, Barry’s already taken off on a private airplane headed who-knows-where.Assuming their help is no longer needed, Sam and Andy turn their full attention to helping the dog Sam found recover from his injuries. Then they learn that Barry’s plane has crashed, and they come to the terrifying realization that Sam was also supposed to have been killed on that plane. Barry was in far more serious trouble than either of them knew, and for Sam and Andy, the trouble is only beginning.Unleashed, David Rosenfelt’s next Andy Carpenter mystery, is a thrilling read, full of Rosenfelt’s trademark clever plotting, humor, and engaging prose.Review“Rosenfelt demonstrates again that he’s a master storyteller in this immensely enjoyable new Andy Carpenter novel. His writing is crisp, his plot unfolds at a rapid clip and his characters are people you’d like to hang out with. Surprises in the plot and gripping courtroom scenes make it difficult to put down.”—RT Book Reviews (4 stars) on Unleashed“Unlike Rosenfelt’s supercharged stand-alones, books in the Andy Carpenter series are more leisurely, character-driven pleasures…Rosenfelt has had plenty of time to hone his protagonist’s wiseass humor and refine his oddball cast, which, alongside millionaire defense attorney Carpenter, includes four octogenarian computer whizzes, a taciturn bodyguard, and a brainiac accountant. [An] entertaining caper.”—Booklist on *Unleashed“A fun mystery…surprising enough that I gasped in public.” —New Jersey Star Ledger on Leader of the Pack*“Andy is as effervescent as ever, and the courtroom byplay is consistently entertaining.” —Kirkus Reviews on* Leader of the Pack“Rosenfelt walks a line between pulse-pounding suspense and laugh-out-loud humor…One of the best in the business.” —Associated Press on One Dog Night“A blessed anomaly in crime fiction . . . Rosenfelt peels back the layers of puzzlement ever so skillfully, tantalizing us throughout until, finally, both Andy and the reader are enlightened…A gem.” —Booklist (starred) on One Dog Night*About the AuthorDAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar and Shamus Award-nominated author of five stand-alones, most recently Airtight, and ten previous Andy Carpenter novels, most recently Leader of the Pack. After years living in California, he and his wife moved to Maine with twenty-five dogs that they’ve rescued. Rosenfelt's hilarious account of this cross-country move, Dogtripping, is being published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2013.
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Andy Carpenter Series #13
Who Let the Dog Out?
David Rosenfelt
A lawyer by day-and then only when he's forced to take on new cases-Andy Carpenter's true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend Willie Miller. So it's frightening when Willie calls him to say the alarm has gone off at the foundation building, and there's clearly been a break-in. It turns out that a recently rescued dog, nicknamed Cheyenne since her arrival at the foundation, has been stolen. Andy and Willie track the missing dog to a house in downtown Paterson, New Jersey and sure enough, they find the dog...standing right next to a dead body. The man had been gruesomely murdered mere minutes before Andy and Willie arrived. Could it be a coincidence? Or could the dog theft somehow be connected to the killing?Andy takes Cheyenne safely back to the foundation building, and that should be the end of his involvement, but Andy's curiosity-and his desire to keep the dog from further harm-won't let him stop there. The cops have just arrested a man named Tommy Infante for the murder, but as Andy looks into the circumstances surrounding the break-in and the dog theft, he starts to wonder if Infante might actually be innocent. And when Andy takes Infante on as a client and starts searching in earnest for evidence that will exonerate him, what Andy starts to discover terrifies him. The murder might be just one small cog in a plot with far-reaching implications, and unless Andy can uncover the truth in time, thousands of lives could be in imminent danger.Once again David Rosenfelt has written a fast-paced and clever mystery with his characteristic blend of humor, larger-than-life characters, and propulsive plotting.**
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Andy Carpenter Series #18
Deck the Hounds: An Andy Carpenter Mystery
David Rosenfelt
This Christmas mystery, featuring criminal defense lawyer Andy Carpenter and his faithful golden retriever, Tara, showcases Rosenfelt’s trademark humor and larger-than-life characters.Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter doesn’t usually stop to help others, but seeing a dog next to a homeless man inspires him to give the pair some money to help. It’s just Andy’s luck that things don’t end there. Soon after Andy’s encounter with them, man and dog are attacked in the middle of the night on the street. The dog defends its new owner, and the erstwhile attacker is bitten but escapes. But the dog is quarantined and the man, Don Carrigan, is heartbroken.Andy’s wife Laurie can’t resist helping the duo after learning Andy has met them before… it’s the Christmas season after all. In a matter of days Don and his dog Zoey are living above Andy’s garage and become two new additions to the family. It’s not until Andy accidentally gives away his guest’s name during an interview that things go awry; turns out Don is wanted for a murder that happened two years ago. Don not only claims he’s innocent, but that he had no idea that he was wanted for a crime he has no knowledge of in the first place. It’s up to Andy to exonerate his new friend, if he doesn’t get pulled into the quagmire first.David Rosenfelt’s signature wit, charm, and cleverness are back again in this most exciting installment yet.**
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