Andy Carpenter

Book Review: Bark of Night

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Bark of Night
Andy Carpenter #19
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a dog whose owner was recently murdered is brought to a vet by a man who pays to have it euthanized, Andy Carpenter is suspicious. Someone has been arrested for the murder, and it wasn’t the man who brought a perfectly healthy dog to the vet to be put down. So he once again dusts off his defense attorney skills and assembles the team for another case.

This was a great installment in the series, with a little bit of a different take on the formula I always enjoy. The story this time is more focused on the investigation than the trial, allowing the different facets of the crime more room to breathe. It was a little complex, but it didn’t feel as convoluted as others have, and I think that’s because Rosenfelt expanded on it enough to keep that from happening. I always enjoy the inclusion of Andy’s team, and this time, we get to see the softer side of Marcus, which is fun. Overall, I felt like it was one of the stronger books in an overall great series! I especially recommend the audiobook, as Grover Gardner was clearly made to voice Andy Carpenter and brings his wit and sarcasm to life as wonderfully as ever.

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Book Review: Deck the Hounds

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Deck the Hounds
Andy Carpenter #18
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a homeless man is attacked and his dog bites the attacker, the dog is quarantined and the man is heartbroken. Andy Carpenter’s family insist that he offer the man some help, since, after all, it’s Christmas! Things take a turn when the man is arrested for murder, putting reluctant defense attorney Andy in the position of having to decide whether to represent him or not.

This was a sort of middle-of-the-road read for me, in the context of the rest of the series. It didn’t stand out in any way as better or worse than average. Of course, since this series is a comfort read/listen for me, “average” is still plenty enjoyable. The ending seemed a little harder to follow than usual, and I kinda kept waiting for a little more to come out. There was one plot arc that seemed to be unrelated to the case, but I saw its connection coming pretty much the whole time, though not every detail. Of course, I have the benefit of knowing that this is a fictional story, so the author isn’t going to include something that won’t eventually factor into the main plot. Overall, though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting the series here, I do recommend this book for fans of mysteries and court dramas. And if you’re an audiobook listener, definitely consider going that route for this book/series, since Grover Gardner is always great at bringing Andy’s wit and sarcasm to life.

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Book Review: Rescued

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Rescued
Andy Carpenter #17
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a dead body is found inside a truck full of rescue dogs in a rest area parking lot, defense attorney Andy Carpenter gets a visit from the killer, except he says it was self-defense. But since the killer is the ex-fiancé of Andy’s wife Laurie, he’s not too keen to help him out…until Laurie asks nicely.

I always knew Andy was immature, but man does he hit a new low in this book. It’s totally in-character, but it’s my least favorite aspect of his character, so there’s that. On the other hand, the continuation of pod-Hike from the previous book is fun, as is the return of the Bubalah Brigade. The mystery surrounding the case sticks pretty closely to the formula Rosenfelt has used throughout the series, with enough deviations to keep it mostly fresh and as enjoyable as ever. Grover Gardner is always great at bringing Andy’s wit and sarcasm to life, and I recommend this book (especially the audiobook) for fans of mysteries and court dramas.

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Book Review: Collared

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Collared
Andy Carpenter #16
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a dog is brought to the Tara Foundation, it turns out to be a dog involved in a child abduction case, a dog presumed to be dead. The mother of the kidnapped child is a friend of defense attorney Andy Carpenter and his wife, and he reluctantly agrees to look into the situation, starting with the dog. But when he begins to believe that the man who has been convicted of killing the child may be innocent, Andy knows he may have grounds for appeal.

I’m definitely seeing a pattern, wherein the less section of 3rd-person narration showing us the more in-depth parts of the conspiracy involved in the plot there are, the more I enjoy the book. It’s not really surprising. I always prefer to stay with Andy and his crew anyway. I particularly enjoyed Hike in this book, surprisingly enough. I will say that I started to lose track of what was going on near the end, as the plot got a little too twisty for me to follow well while listening to the audiobook. I’m pretty sure I sussed it all out correctly by the end, but maybe it was a little more convoluted than it needed to be. Still, this book was a solid addition to the series. As always, Grover Gardner is the consummate Andy Carpenter, and I recommend this book for fans of mysteries and court dramas.

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Book Review: Dogged Pursuit

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Dogged Pursuit
Andy Carpenter #31
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery

In this prequel to the 30-book series, Andy Carpenter is a new defense attorney, making the change from prosecution, against the advice of so many. With his marriage a little uncertain and wanting to make further changes in his life, Andy goes to the shelter to adopt a dog and falls in love with a golden retriever named Tara. He doesn’t want to split her up from the dog she’s been sharing a space with, so he tries to adopt both Tara and Sunny. However, Sunny is mixed up in a criminal case with her owner, who is currently being charged with murder. Soon enough, Andy is mixed up in that criminal case too, as he ends up taking Sunny’s owner on as a client.

I’m never sure what to expect with a prequel, and I’ll admit that I was a little nervous going into this one. At the beginning of the book, there’s a note where Rosenfelt acknowledges that there is a continuity issue with Tara, mostly that he knows a golden retriever wouldn’t actually live as long as she does throughout this series. I wouldn’t have questioned that, but I did question the use of some side characters who, from what I can remember of when they were introduced in some of the earlier books in the main series, didn’t seem to have the history with Andy that this book showed.

Leaving aside continuity questions (which was not difficult for me to do, especially considering that I was sad about the potential loss of Andy’s team, yet several of them are still here), this book was a fun, new take on the series while still having the same cleverness and humor that I love about the series. The formula is mostly intact, even with this being a prequel. I could see this being a good place for someone new to the series to start reading, though it’s definitely more similar in style to the later books than the earlier ones. Either way, I recommend this book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas, whether you’ve read any of this series before  or not.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Outfoxed

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Outfoxed
Andy Carpenter #14
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a program to bring dogs into a prison for the prisoners to help train them results in convict Brian Atkins escaping, then Brian’s wife and former partner, whose testimony helped put Brian away, are found murdered, Andy Carpenter finds himself defending another fellow dog lover. But when the case inevitably turns out to be deeper than it looks on the surface, Andy may not be the only target this time.

There were a few new things about this book, enough to keep it fresh and keep me engaged. The basic formula is still intact, though, and in fact, this one seemed to have less of the 3rd-person narration showing us the more in-depth parts of the conspiracy. That’s just fine with me. I always prefer to stay with Andy and his crew anyway. I got a kick out of this technology-heavy case, because Andy is so out of his element, it’s endearing. If I ever go back through this series from the beginning (which I expect to do when I reach the end or catch up with new additions, because it has become a wonderful comfort read/listen for me), I may start keeping a tally of pocket-Marcus plots and Pete distrusting Andy, despite Andy being proven right so many times. I don’t want to make these sound like tired elements, though, because they’re part of what I love about the series. As always, Grover Gardner is the consummate Andy Carpenter, and I recommend this book for fans of mysteries and court dramas.

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Book Review: Who Let the Dog Out?

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Who Let the Dog Out?
Andy Carpenter #13
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When a dog is stolen from Andy Carpenter’s dog rescue organization and the thief is found dead with the dog still in his possession, Andy surprises himself by taking an interest in the case of the man accused of the murder. The accused man knows nothing about the dog theft, so Andy knows there has to be something else going on, and who better than Andy’s team to track down a conspiracy?

This was not my favorite book in the series, but not my least favorite either. It was still a fun listen—Andy is as witty and sarcastic as ever, and I love it. but the grand conspiracy that is the most common formula for these books is a little too loose this time. There were a lot of people who were involved for weak reasons. What bothered me most in this story, though, is how Andy treats his son. He’s always been very immature in his relationship with his wife, Laurie, but she’s mature enough to ignore and actually see past his idiocy. But Andy full-on pushes his favorite sport on Ricky, who flat out tells his dad he doesn’t enjoy it. I get that Andy had a son kind of dropped on him, so maybe it makes sense that he wouldn’t be the best dad, but I expect better from this series than a cliché like this. Overall, I enjoyed my time listening to the book, and I recommend the book (especially Grover Gardner’s narration) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Hounded

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Hounded
Andy Carpenter #12
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When one of Andy Carpenter’s few actual friends, police lieutenant Pete Stanton, is charged with murder, it’s no question whether or not Andy will defend him. At the same time, Andy and his live-in girlfriend Laurie take in the 8-year-old son of the man Pete is accused of killing, so he doesn’t end up in the system. Murder suspects Andy can handle, but a child is a whole other story.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. I don’t know if it was just the mood I was in while listening this time, but I actually chuckled out loud while listening to it at least 3 times—I always find this series funny, but this book seemed even more so. I said in my review of the book literally before this one that I would be okay with smaller conspiracies in these books sometimes, since it seemed like they’d gotten pretty bloated in the last several installments I’d read. And then this book gave me just that. The addition of Ricky, the murdered man’s son, added a new dimension to the formula that I appreciated. Andy took some major steps in his life in this book, which I knew would happen, because I’ve read some of the later books in the series, and it was nice to see them finally happen. Overall, this was a solid addition to the series, and I recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Unleashed

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Unleashed
Andy Carpenter #11
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

When an old friend of Sam Willis dies in a plane crash—a plane Sam was meant to be on with him but missed—the man’s widow is charged with his murder. Sam asks his friend, reluctant defense attorney Andy Carpenter to defend her, certain that the woman he once had a fling with himself couldn’t have done it.

This is another good addition to the series, with some twists and turns and just enough changes to the formula I’ve come to enjoy to keep it fresh. I got a kick out of Sam’s team of elderly Jewish computer students, chuckled at Marcus’s stoicism and Hike’s expert knowledge of poison, and felt indignant for Andy when his character was besmirched (more indignant than even he seemed to be). Andy’s snarky and self-deprecating humor that first drew me to the series is just as strong as ever.

The standard-fare conspiracy in this book is thankfully simple enough that there didn’t seem to be as many away-from-Andy POV sections as some of the previous ones have had. I was glad for that, because it means more Andy, but to be honest, I’d be okay with Rosenfelt throwing in some simpler mysteries now and then too, or at least conspiracies on a smaller scale. They don’t all have to involve high-profile targets and be nationally (or internationally) reaching. I don’t want this to sound like a complaint, though, because I did still enjoy this book as much as any of the others (or more, in some cases). I love this series and recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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Book Review: Leader of the Pack

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Leader of the Pack
Andy Carpenter #10
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery

A visit to a client whose case Andy lost years in the past turns into Andy and wonder dog Tara visiting the client’s uncle, an elderly crime family member, for a dog therapy session. Andy is surprised when the old man makes comments about his nephew in jail that turn Andy onto a new track for his client’s defense case. When people related to this new line of investigation begin dying, Andy believes he just may be onto something.

This book follows a similar formula to the previous books in the series, with the exception of the way that Andy comes across his new case (which is one of the main things that varies most from book to book anyway). The case is as twisty as normal, though the stakes and destruction are considerably higher this time. I particularly enjoyed Sam in this book, and enigmatic Marcus is always nice to have around. Even Hike made me smile a time or two.

The ending, though…not only did it break the formula, I never saw it coming. Things like that keep a series fresh, and though I do find comfort in the formula, I also enjoy a good shaking up. Andy’s wit and snark bring me coming back to these books, and Grover Gardner’s narration brings it to life. I love this series and recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.

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