Review of "Twas the Bite Before Christmas: An Andy Carpenter Mystery" by David Rosenfelt

In this 28th book in the 'Andy Carpenter' series, the Paterson, New Jersey defense attorney represents a man in the state's witness protection program.

*****

Ever since he inherited a large fortune, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter takes very few cases.



Instead, Andy likes to hang out with his wife, son, and dogs; watch sports; schmooze with his friends; help run a canine rescue operation called 'The Tara Foundation'; and so on.

The story takes place during Christmas season, and The Tara Foundation is hosting a holiday party for dog adopters and their canine kids. Andy is there with his wife Laurie, their son Ricky, and their threes dogs: golden retriever Tara; basset hound Sebastian; and pug Hunter.





During the party, Andy gets a call from his friend, Homicide Captain Pete Stanton. To avoid disturbing the festivities, Pete asks Andy to bring out dog daddy Derek Moore, who's adopted golden retriever Jake and dalmatian Sasha. It seems Derek's real name is Robert Klaster, and he's being arrested for murder. Andy signs on to defend Klaster and to take in Klaster's dogs while the accused is in custody.



At the police precinct, Klaster - who wants to be called Bobby - tells Andy his story.



Bobby grew up in Camden, New Jersey and belonged to a gang called the Camden Cobras. The Cobras were involved in running numbers, prostitution, robbery, protection rackets, and other non-violent crimes.



Then Bobby saw two Cobra members, Johnny Luko and Donnie Briggs, shoot and kill a convenience store owner and one of the store's customers. This horrified Bobby, and he turned state's evidence against the killers.

To protect Bobby, New Jersey put him in the witness protection program and gave him the name Derek Moore. As Moore, Bobby started a business called 'Davis and Moore Flooring' with his partner Jalen Davis, and the enterprise has been very successful.



Now, a Camden Cobra member named Roland Banks has been murdered, and the police have evidence that points to Bobby as the perpetrator. Andy is convinced Bobby is being framed and sets out to prove it.

To do this, Andy employs a private detective agency called the K Team, whose investigators are Andy's wife Laurie - a former police officer;



Corey Douglas - a retired cop; Simon Garfunkel - a K-9 German shepherd who worked with Corey at the Paterson Police Department;



and Marcus Clark - the toughest, scariest guy on the planet.



Andy also calls in his law partner Eddie Dowd - a former football player who's especially good with paperwork;



and accountant Sam Willis, who can hack into any computer anywhere.



For Bobby's case, Sam collects phone records that are especially helpful in identifying alternate suspects. Sam usually likes to deliver his reports in person at Andy's house, where useful information earns him a big plate of Laurie's pancakes.



As Andy tries to clear Bobby of killing Roland Banks, he runs across a dangerous Cobra gang leader and his thugs; crime lords in Philadelphia and New Jersey; and a scheme involving shipping and explosives.

When confronting dangerous people, Andy - who admits he's not brave - is protected by Corey, Laurie, and ESPECIALLY Marcus. With Corey and Marcus as backup in a tricky situation, Andy observes, "I'm not scared anymore either...Marcus seems to have taken the lead in this; Corey stands a bit farther away. They've probably done it this way because Marcus is the scarier of the two. If Marcus and Godzilla were partners, Marcus would be the scarier of the two."



As always, Andy shines in the courtroom scenes, where he's up against prosecutor Stan Godfrey, "a talented attorney [whose] skills are only exceeded by his ambition;



and trying the case before Judge Gettner, "who's been in a bad mood for thirty years."



I always enjoy Andy's sarcastic quips and wisecracks, which add a touch of humor to the book. For instance, talking about not having to call his secretary/office manager Edna, Andy notes, "Edna got engaged two years ago to David Devine, a wealthy owner of fast food restaurants, and since then she has become a professional engag-ee. They are going to have a destination wedding, and to decide where it will be, they have apparently decided that they have to personally check out every place on earth. Right now they are in Slovakia, or maybe it's Slovenia....I always get the confused."

The plot gets a little over-convoluted, and Andy is a bit off his game in this book, because I figured out the bad guy long before Andy did. Still, it's all good fun.

There isn't a lot of Christmas vibe in the book, but Laurie does put up a huge Christmas tree, play Christmas music, and buy Christmas presents for the family - including one for herself from Andy.



This is an enjoyable cozy mystery, recommended to fans of the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, David Rosenfelt, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 3.5 stars