Deck the Hounds, the eighteenth book in the Andy Carpenter series shines a light on the many aspects of human kindness that transpire daily to provide food and shelter to the homeless. Layered upon that foundation is a mystery that is a page-turner from start to finish.

With Mr Rosenfelt’s trademark humor and wickedly smart dialog, a troubling mystery finds Andy representing a homeless man where the troubling aspects of a murder are stacked against him.

This ARC book was complimentary…provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily proving my honest review.

This is the 18th book in the Andy Carpenter mystery series by David Rosenfelt. I have only read a few and although they can be read as standalones, I have missed a lot of character development along the way.

Andy is a semi-retired defense attorney who gives some money to a homeless man and his dog. Andy has a soft spot for dogs. Andy's wife Laurie and stepson Ricky love Christmas. in their minds the holidays begin at Thanksgiving and do not end until New Year's. Laurie also believes that it is important to help others, especially during this time, so when she finds out that Don and his dog are in need of a place to live, she moves them into the apartment above the garage. Andy then ends up defending Don in a murder case that is a couple of years old. Add to the difficulties the fact that he doesn't even know he is a suspect or wanted by the police. The foundation that Andy started, The Tara Foundation, takes in Don's dog while he is in jail.

Once Andy is on a case, he is like a dog with a bone. He does not give up and finds every bit of information he can. Often the seemingly smallest fact can be the one to break open the case. As he gathers facts and information, he puts the puzzle together and it is becoming more unsafe for everyone as this case goes forward. I enjoy Andy's team. They are a bit eccentric, but oh so smart. Don is a vet with PTSD, so being locked up is not helping him at all, especially not having his dog around. Can Andy solve this one and get Don off the hook?

I enjoy these dog centered mysteries. I love hearing about the Tara Foundation and how they take time and effort to make sure that each dog is matched well with their forever family. I also loved how Tara and Zoey got along so well. There is humour and serious sleuthing in these books. They are not truly cozy mysteries, but have a cozy feel about them. Overall, a nice addition to this series.

With a cute cover and Christmas theme, there's a lot to like. Things move quickly from Andy's point of view and the very current feel of the topic was well done. This is the first from a long running series that I have tried and will look for more.

This book will have you smiling from first word to the last. A canine loving , lawyer and sleuth. all wrapped up in a Christmas mystery. You will love this story.

This series has been on my to read list forever! So, when the opportunity to read and review it landed in my in box I was delighted! To top it off it follows my only read Christmas books at this time of year rule! This was so much fun! I'm positive that if I were an attorney it would have to be this way or no way. I'm in love!

This was the first Andy Carpenter mystery I have had the pleasure of reading and I am hooked! I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my thoughts.
It's Christmas time and Andy spreads good cheer by giving money and gift card to a homeless vet and his dog. Unfortunately, the man ends up getting assaulted and the dog attacks his assailant, but the cops take the dog away once they find out he bit the perp.
Andy and Laurie find the guy and offer him a place to stay off the streets in their apartment over the garage. They also get the dog back because they are part of the dog rescue world. Unfortunately, the police find out who he is and arrest him for a murder he may have or have not committed. Andy takes the case complete with twists and turns, as he and his team build a defense for his client.
This book is a great seasonal read, I even learned a few things about how court cases can work, and Andy was hysterical. His wife is amazing and they rescue dogs!
What's not to love??? I simply cannot wait to read the other books in this series. Add this to your TBR pile if you haven't done so already.

The last time I read an Andy Carpenter book I said it would be my last. I think it must have been a case of Andy overload - reading too many together. Well I’m happy to say that I’m appreciating Andy’s wisecracking ways and sense of humour once again. For those new to David Rosenfelt’s Andy, he’s a semi-retired super-rich (thanks to his father) dog loving lawyer. “Dog loving” is really an understatement - because he runs a shelter with a friend. Andy finds himself defending an innocent (the only kind of client he is willing to take) homeless man who has been arrested on murder charges. And, of course, rescuing his dog from the animal shelter. The case is more complicated than originally thought but Andy and his team - Marcus and Edna et al get through. It’s the usual fun ride from start to finish.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Ready for a feel-good holiday mystery with a canine flair? Look no further than David Rosenfelt's new Andy Carpenter cozy, Deck the Hounds. The fact that this is the eighteenth in this series testifies to its popularity!

As always, he's a soft touch when someone needs help and a dog is involved. Andy takes on the case of a homeless veteran accused of murder, and shelters his dog, who is pregnant with puppies.

As we expect, Andy's team solves the case, after the requisite courtroom drama. Rosenfelt's cozies are always a joy to read.

Like every book in the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt, Deck the Hounds brings a smile to my face. Deck the Hounds is clever, funny, and heart-warming. I recommend reading the entire Andy Carpenter series, but you can also pick up Deck the Hounds and read it alone. Grab a copy and get in the Christmas spirit.
Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the perfect feel good holiday read. You know how the story is going to end up, but enjoy the ride! I enjoy these heartfelt books during the holidays and this one was extremely well written.

3.5 stars

In this 18th book in the "Andy Carpenter" series, the defense attorney takes on the case of a homeless man accused of murder. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

On the day before Thanksgiving Andy Carpenter is feeling especially appreciative. He's a rich defense attorney with a great wife and son, and tomorrow he'll be "gorging on great food and football." So when Andy sees a homeless man bundled in blankets, with a cute golden retriever mix beside him, the lawyer gives the man twenty bucks and a PetSmart gift card. The man, who's very articulate, thanks Andy on behalf of himself and his dog Zooey.

The next day, after Andy's family finish their Thanksgiving feast - turkey, candied yams, mashed potatoes, veggies, a spectacular corn crème brûlée, and dessert - Andy sees a news report about the homeless man.

The unfortunate homeless man was attacked on the street the night before, but managed to fight off his assailant with the help of Zooey, who bit the offender. Now the intended victim is on television asking for his dog, who was taken to an animal shelter for ten days to check for rabies.

Encouraged by his wife Laurie and son Ricky, who are already celebrating Christmas - which lasts from Thanksgiving to February in Laurie's eyes - Andy decides to help the bereft man. Andy - who has connections -retrieves Zooey, collects her owner, and installs them both in a garage apartment at his New Jersey home. Zooey immediately makes friends with Andy's golden retriever Tara, and the new residents settle in.

The next day a newspaper publishes a human interest story about Andy's good deed and mentions the homeless man's name, Dan Carrigan. Almost immediately, the cops swarm Andy's house and arrest his guest. It seems Carrigan is wanted for the murder of wealthy businessman Steven McMaster, who was killed in his suburban home nine months ago, after which the house was ransacked. The cause of death was a broken neck, which points to a perpetrator trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Carrigan is suspected because he's a former Green Beret and Iraq war veteran; his DNA was found in an old hat at the crime scene; the victim's ring was found in his locker at a homeless shelter; and an informant claims he bragged about the crime.

Andy is prodded by his sympathetic wife Laurie - a former cop who's now a private investigator - and takes Carrigan's case.....along with temporary custody of the pooch Zooey, who's about to have puppies! 😃

Carrigan wants a very fast trial because he has PTSD and claustrophobia, and can't abide being locked up. So Andy quickly lines up his 'team', which consists of:

- Edna: Andy's self-appointed office manager who's allergic to work of any kind; when Andy asks her to xerox a stack of documents, he "hopes to get the copies before the judge sentences Carrigan."

- Sam: Andy's accountant, who's a computer genius that can hack into anything and everything. Almost before you finish asking for something, Sam replies,"I'm on it."

- Hike: Andy's gloomy law partner who "is not just glass half empty guy; he thinks the glass can never hope to be filled again."

- Marcus: a security expert who hardly speaks and is so big and tough even Andy is scared of him.

Meanwhile, other criminals are making waves in the region. A low-level mobster goes on the run after Carrigan is arrested, for reasons that aren't clear. And a skilled sniper is shooting people, one at a time. This makes residents in the area very nervous.

As Andy prepares for the Carrigan case, he does background investigations; obtains discovery; questions people; puts together theories of the crime (such as the wife did it); etc. When Andy finally goes to court to represent Carrigan, his questioning of witnesses - and witty repartee with the judge and prosecutor - lend a Perry Masonish vibe to the story (IF Mason was a stand-up comedian).

As the story races along, we learn more about the fleeing mobster, the relentless sniper, and McMaster's murder - and it becomes clear that a clever puppetmaster is pulling strings for nefarious purposes.

It's fun to see Andy schmooze with his wife; hang out with his son; walk Tara and Zooey; join his friends (a cop and a newspaperman) at a local pub; collaborate with his colleagues; get ready for Christmas; and so on. This is a fun and entertaining cozy mystery, perfect for the holiday season. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (David Rosenfelt), and the publisher (Minotaur Books) for a copy of the book.

This was my first time reading any of the Andy Carpenter series. - I was pleased that I could follow the story without having previously read any of the other books in the series. - I found the character of Andy to have a wonderful wit and sense of humor. I appreciated that the author added in members of Andy's family in the story plot.
I did not enjoy that the dog wasn't featured more prominently in the story. I also thought at times it was a bit hard to follow all the different plots being introduced in the story.
There was some minor foul language in the book which for me personally I don't care for.
So while I did finish the story and found it interesting enough to finish it wasn't one that I held my attention wanting to finish it to find out the what happened in the end.

Each new Andy Carpenter mystery is a delight and this was a great addition to this well loved series. This is a series that every animal lover will adore. I highly recommend this next in series. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC which does not influence my review.
In this next in series it is Christmas time and Andy has met a homeless vet and his dog on the street. He has helped the man with gift cards and gifts and found him to be very intelligent and loving to his companion when he spends time with him. He does not know what brought the man to the street but he has no judgement and is very kind to the man and his dog.
After discussing his situation with his wife ,, they decide to give him and his dog shelter with them through the holidays. Before that occurs the man is attacked and his dog defends him by biting the criminal. The dog is then taken to the shelter and scheduled for euthanasia. Andy steps in as the man's lawyer, gets the dog released and brings them home to live with his family. . Once they settle in the man is accused of murder and Andy must once again step in as a lawyer and save the man's life.
I love the smart legal focus in this series and the compassion Andy had for the homeless vet. It is refreshing in today's harsh world of hate, to read about a character with such integrity and fine morals. It is a cornerstone of this series that the author has written such a upstanding protagonist. The mystery was well crafted and kept me guessing with a fast pace to the writing.

Yule love this book!
When Andy Carpenter helps a homeless man and his dog by giving them twenty dollars and a Petsmart gift card, you KNOW this good deed will not go unpunished, and soon Andy finds himself defending the man, Don Carrigan, on a murder charge and rescuing the dog Zoey from the animal shelter so that she can comfortably give birth to six puppies. Andy is a reluctant lawyer, and he never seems to get easy cases, but convincing a jury to find his client innocent when there is a hat with the client’s DNA found at the scene of the crime and a ring belonging to the man found in the client’s locker at the homeless shelter may be even a little harder than usual.
David Rosenfelt's legal thrillers featuring wise-cracking New Jersey defense lawyer Andy Carpenter and an array of lovable canines and quirky humans are favorites of mine. They have interesting plots, likable characters, and a quiet but sassy humor that provokes more smiles than guffaws. Andy’s voice as narrator is wry and often self-deprecating, but never mean, as you can see in his descriptions of his legal team. His wife Laurie is a private investigator and former police detective. Andy adores her (and their son Ricky); he also depends on her. Even as he prepares to go into a meeting alone he says, “You can watch through the window and shoot him if things get rough”. The other lawyer on the team, Hike, “is not just a glass half empty guy; he thinks the glass can never hope to be filled again.” Marcus is the “muscle” on the team; ”Godzilla isn’t as intimidating as Marcus.” There is also Edna, Andy’s secretary, who is even more reluctant a secretary than Andy is a reluctant lawyer, and Sam, the essential IT guy a.k.a. hacker.
Andy’s courtroom antics make a real hit with the readers but do not make him very popular with the judge or the prosecutors. As Andy says, “Where judges are concerned, to know me is to dislike me.” This is not surprising, given Andy’s attitude towards rules: “There’s sort of an unwritten rule against recording witness interviews. I’m not even a big fan of written rules, so I pretty much ignore unwritten ones.”
If you like the glimpse of Andy described above, you are going to love this book. However, since this is the 18th book in the Andy Carpenter series, a new reader surely has the question: can I start with this one? If you are new to the series, you can enjoy this book without reading any of the others, but I would suggest you read the first book, Open and Shut, to get the background for Andy’s team and their circumstances, after which you can enjoy them in any order. There’s not a bad one in the bunch.
The denouement was a bit of a surprise to me but I didn’t feel cheated, because it stumped Andy for quite a while as well. The bad guys are definitely bad and pretty ruthless, but this is not an excessively graphic or nasty book. I don’t think it is too much of a spoiler to let you know that all ends well for Don Carrigan…and, of course, for dog mama Zoey.
My thanks to Netgalley for an Advance Reader Copy of this book for review purposes.

Christmas is not one day or even one week of the year. for Andy's wife, Laurie, "Christmas" starts as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is eaten and can last until Cupid sights in on his target.

I read this book as a stand alone, my introduction to the Andy Carpenter mystery series. It will not be my last book by author David Rosenfelt.

Told from protagonist Andy's view point, the verbiage is a bit dry, in a good way. The book has action, drama, humor, and a really excellent mystery to solve. From the beginning I felt that Carrigan, the homeless man, was not guilty of murder, but I was curious about the secrets he was keeping. EVERYONE in this book has secrets.

It was also refreshing to have someone who seemingly has endless funds available to him take notice and comment on high prices! The book also offers something here for dog lovers among us.

From the streets to the courtroom and into some other very shady places, this book will keep you guessing until the very end.

Andy Carpenter's good intentions lead him into murder and intrigue. When he stops to give a homeless man a $20 and a gift card from PetSmart, he assumes that is the end of his encounter with the man. When he turns on the news that night and learns the man was attacked and his dog bit the attacker, he decides to help get the dog back to the owner. This leads him to offer the homeless man and his dog the apartment above the garage. Don Carrigan and Zoey move into the garage but before long the police show up to arrest Don for murder. Andy and his investigator wife Laurie try to find the real killer.

These books are easy reading, in that they don't ask too much from you, nor do they put you through an emotional hardship. They're feel-good books, and get ready multiple times.

This is book number 18 in the Andy Carpenter Mystery series, but don’t let that scare you away. This book works well as a standalone, and you won’t feel as if you were left in the dark at any point.

I like how the author brings such an interesting mix of characters to this book. There are some bad guys, but we also have some that are relatively optimistic, and some that are a bit grumpy. The main character, Andy Carpenter is clever and hardworking. While he really doesn’t want his current case, since he doesn’t need the money and desires nothing more than the opportunity to retire, his wife gently pushed him into it, because it’s Christmas. (Although it really isn’t. Yet.) For her, Christmas starts on Thanksgiving day and continues through February.) It also certainly looks like the guy Andy’s defending is guilty, and he doesn’t like taking cases that he can’t win. So how will Andy get him off?

By the end of the book all the facts are neatly laid out, and I must admit, I never could have solved this mystery, but the author does neatly wrap everything up.

Told in a conversational style, the story has twists, turns and surprises throughout. This is definitely an enjoyable book to read for the Christmas season. Another definite plus is the fact that there aren’t any curse words or sex scenes.

On the way home from his office, Andy Carpenter, semi-retired lawyer and full-time dog lover, runs across a homeless vet and his dog, Zoey. He shares a few words with the man as he gives a donation and is impressed by him. A couple of days later, he reads that the homeless vet, Dan Carrigan, was attacked and, to protect him, Zoey bit the attacker. Now, she is in quarantine. Andy convinces the shelter to let him keep her during the quarantine period and invites Dan to move into his garage loft so that the pair can stay together. When the media gets hold of the story, they print it as a nice feel-good holiday tale and include Dan's name. But turns out the police have been looking for Dan as a prime suspect in a murder and he is arrested. Andy is convinced that he is innocent and, since those are the only kinds of clients he will take, he decides he will defend him. But it becomes clear pretty quickly that what had looked like an easy case was anything but and Andy may be in a whole lot more trouble than he could have ever anticipated.

Deck the Hounds by author David Rosenfelt is the latest installment in the Andy Carpenter Mystery series but it was the first I have read. I can say, though, it won't be the last. It is a fast fun read with an interesting plot and characters. Andy, especially is an extremely likeable protagonist with a wonderfully understated and self-deprecating sense of humour that I could fully appreciate. This is definitely my favourite of all the cosy mysteries I have read this year and recommend it highly to anyone who is a fan of cosies or is looking for a book to fill the Christmas stocking of their favourite cosy aficionado.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

It's a very good day when I can settle down and read the latest Andy Carpenter mystery from the very talented David Rosenfelt. This series is on my top ten list of books, the ones you will cut back on groceries to buy as soon as it comes out, not being able to wait to have it in your hands. This is book #18 (and #19 comes out next July, Bark of Night). Andy is, as he says, a dogooder. He gives money to the homeless he meets on the street and he loves and adores dogs. Put those together and Andy can't say no when a homeless man and his dog, Zoey, need his help. Andy helps Don and Zoey move into the space above the garage. Soon after, it turns out that Don Carrigan is wanted for a murder, two years ago. Now, the thing about Andy is, that even though he is a very, very talented lawyer, he doesn't want any clients. His is also very wealthy thanks to his father (read Open and Shut, the first in the series) Andy is happy with his life, married to Laurie (an ex-cop and his investigator on his cases) his adopted son, Ricky and his dogs Tara and Sebastian. Outside of that group is the rest of his extended family, a quirky, funny bunch of people who all form his legal team. They are quite a team. Andy is happy with his family and his work as co-founder of the Tara Foundation, named after his Golden, Tara, the best dog in the universe, ever, period. He is partners with Willie Miller, an ex-con Andy got out of prison by proving he was innocent. Andy helped him sue and won the case. Willie will do anything to help dogs.
This is a mystery that balances the plight of the homeless and the returning vets with PTSD. There is just the right amount of humor (Andy does, after all, earn his title of wise ass, almost daily). It is a great legal mystery, as are all of the Andy Carpenter books. The only down side to reading one? When I've finished reading it, I have to wait for the next one and I'm not into being very patient. So, if you have never met Andy, Laurie, Tara and the gang, jump right in, it's fine as a stand alone. But I have to warn you, if you find Andy as great as I do, you will want to line up every single one of the previous 17 books and settle down for a binge. Yep, this series is that good.