Review of "Who Let the Dog Out?: An Andy Carpenter Mystery" by David Rosenfelt

In this 13th book in the 'Andy Carpenter' series, the defense lawyer's client may have been framed by mobsters. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Ever since he inherited a large fortune, New Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter takes very few cases. Instead, Andy devotes a lot of time to 'The Tara Foundation', a dog rescue facility he opened with his friend Willie Miller. You'd think an animal rescue site would be immune from robbery, so it's a surprise when burglar Gerry Downey breaks in and kidnaps a shepherd mix called Cheyenne.



The theft bodes ill for Downey, however, because he's soon found murdered - with Cheyenne sitting beside him.

One of Downey's robber cohorts, Tommy Infante - who had a loud fight with the dead man in a bar - is arrested for the crime, and the cops call it case closed.



Since the crime involves a canine, Andy takes an interest. He learns that Gerry Downey had been paid to kidnap the hound by the dog's owner Eric Brantley. Brantley - a brilliant, groundbreaking chemist - is suspected of killing his research partner, who's missing. The scientist is on the run and wants his dog for company.



All this convinces Andy that Downey's murder is connected to SOMETHING BIG, and that Tommy Infante is innocent. So Andy takes Infante's case and - determined to prove his client innocent - sets out to investigate the dognaper's murder. As usual, Andy is assisted by his associates, including his private investigator Laurie (who's now his wife); his accountant Sam; his scary muscle Marcus; his secretary Edna; and his crew of Jewish senior citizen computer whizzes.



Things get very complicated after this, with Russian thugs; rival gangs; smuggled diamonds; arms dealers; would-be terrorists; and a lot of people trying to kill each other. There are additional murders, and Andy himself is a target.....so he's lucky that Marcus could single-handedly take out an army.

Andy does manage to get his client to trial, where the lawyer exhibits his usual flip attitude and a plethora of wisecracks and jokes....mostly at the expense of the smug prosecutor.



In his personal life Andy is now married to his long-time girlfriend Laurie, and their household includes their golden retriever Tara; their adopted nine-year-old son Ricky; and Ricky's basset hound Sebastian.



There's a running joke through the book about Andy trying to get Ricky to love baseball. Young Ricky plays on a Little League team but he's not very good (to put it mildly) and would rather play soccer.



Nevertheless, Andy has a pie in the sky idea about Ricky playing on a major league baseball team one day. Thus Andy is determined to keep Ricky in the Little League AND have him moved from right field to shortstop. There's a hilarious push and pull about all this throughout the story.

Other amusing scenes include Marcus eating seven quarter pounders so quickly that Andy speculated, 'if the car windows weren't closed, I'd have thought he just threw them out.' And of course everyone loves the rugelach baked by one of the Jewish ladies.

Andy Carpenter mysteries are always entertaining, but this book has too many characters and a confusing plot. Still, it's always fun to visit with Andy and his cohorts, and I'd recommend the book to fans of the series. 

Rating: 3 stars