In this 30th book in the Andy Carpenter series, the Paterson, New Jersey attorney defends a college student accused of murdering his professor.
*****
Ever since he inherited a large fortune, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter takes very few cases.
Instead, Andy prefers to hang out with his wife Laurie, 15-year-old son Ricky, and dogs Tara (a golden retriever), Hunter (a pug), and Sebastian (a basset hound). Andy also likes to watch sports; help run a canine rescue operation called 'The Tara Foundation'; schmooze with his friends at Charlie's Sports Bar; and so on.
As the story opens, Andy, Laurie, and Ricky are enjoying a Christmas vacation in the Adirondacks. Andy is winter-averse, but he and the family have gone ice-skating, snowmobiling, and sledding.
Andy hasn't gone skiiing because, as he notes: "As best as I can tell, a good day on the slopes is not suffering broken bones, frostbite, or worse, which is why I have spent many good days in front of the television or reading a book. You never hear about a medevac helicopter picking someone up from their den and flying them to a trauma center."
On the way back from the Adirondocks, Andy is looking forward to seeing his three dogs, who've been in the care of dog-sitter Jenny Bedell.
However, when the Carpenters arrive home, there aren't three dogs....there are four! Jenny explains that the new pooch showed up on the front porch, and she hasn't been able to locate his owner. It turns out the visiting canine is a terrier-mix called Murphy, who was cared for by the Carpenters before being adopted by Doris Bremer and her son BJ.
Andy promptly returns Murphy to Doris Bremer, who's distraught because her son BJ has been arrested for killing his college teacher.
Andy offers to speak to BJ, and hears the following story: BJ argued with his computer science teacher, Professor Stephen Rayburn, about a grade.
Afterwards, BJ got a phone call telling him to go to Rayburn's house, to discuss the matter. When BJ arrived at the professor's home, Rayburn was dead, and BJ became an immediate suspect. Later, when the cops found Rayburn's $642 in cash and Rolex watch in BJ's dorm room, the young man was arrested for murder.
BJ goes on to explain that his lawyer, James Howarth - who showed up out of the blue - is pushing him to take a deal.
This whole business sounds VERY DICEY to Andy, who learns that attorney Howarth is being paid by two gang bosses, Gregori Borodin and Thomas Nucci, to 'defend' BJ.
It's clear that BJ is being framed, and Andy makes short shrift of Howarth and takes over BJ's defense himself. Andy assembles his usual team, which consists of lawyer Eddie Dowd - who's great with paperwork and filings;
accountant Sam Willis - a computer hacker extraordinaire;
office manager Edna - who goofs off more than she works;
and The K-Team, a private detective firm consisting of:
Andy's wife Laurie Collins - an ex-cop;
Corey Douglas, also an ex-cop, and Corey's police dog, Simon Garfunkel;
and Marcus Clark - the toughest man on the planet, whose job includes getting information out of suspects and protecting Andy.
Andy needs Marcus watching his back because the mobsters, Nucci and Borodin aren't about to sit back and do nothing. As Andy proceeds to unravel a complicated conspiracy, and prepare a SODDI (some other dude did it) defense, the thugs make witnesses disappear, and even contemplate killing Andy.
As always in this series, Andy does well at BJ's trial, making points when he cross-examines witnesses, and presenting a strong defense. This time, though, the prosecution case seems airtight.....so what's Andy to do?
The Andy Carpenter mysteries are formulaic, but entertaining, with Andy constantly making funny quips and sarcastic remarks. In that respect, this book was disappointing, because Andy wasn't as hilarious as usual.
I'll admit it was fun to read that Andy's wife Laurie likes the David Rosenfelt mysteries, while Andy himself isn't a fan. I also liked that the pooch Murphy, who must be a genius dog, showed up at Andy's house to get a good lawyer for BJ.
I hope author David Rosenfelt rejuvenates Andy's jokey character in the next book.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Grover Gardner, who does a great job.
Thanks to Netgalley, David Rosenfelt, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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