Andy Carpenter is at it again.

This cozier (but not quite "cozy") mystery series is for anyone looking for lots of jokes. I loved that one of the running gags in Dog Eat Dog, #23 in the series, was people referring to Andy as a "hotshot New York lawyer," when he's actually from northern New Jersey. And that's right, there are 23 of these books. This was my fifth; I haven't found that my enjoyment's been diminished by not having read each and every one of them.

For a shorter, jokey book featuring a reluctant lawyer who only took the case because the defendant was nice to a dog, I thought the plot of this one was pretty well-constructed. Tara the golden retriever makes too few appearances in the second half, though.

It's fun to read these with my eyes -- they're quick reads -- but I also really like the audiobook narrator's voice. I think the casting was great, and also that his delivery is just as deadpan as it should be for Andy's wry little comments.

Ahh - another David Rosenfelt book to put a smile on my face. This, as usual, is another great mixture of mystery, courtroom drama, a bit of personal stuff, and dogs - - all told in the hilariously snarky style of Rosenfelt's writing. I cracked up at one part when Laurie was excited to meet a 'big time author named David Rosenfelt but Andy wasn't impressed'. Too funny!!

I always appreciate the humor in these books as well as the hard to figure out mysteries! If I had any complaint at all, it would be - not enough of the dogs.

Get busy, David Rosenfelt - I'm ready for the next in the series!

Dog Eat Dog is the 23rd book in the Andy Carpenter series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series from the get-go.

Like all of the previous books, it stars Andy Carpenter, a wise-guy lawyer, who, despite having enough money to live off of and a desire to work at the Tara Foundation (a dog rescue) or watch sports, rather than practice law, seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (again), and gets another case that he doesn’t have the motivation to take. As usual, because there’s a dog involved, he feels compelled to take it. The usual characters make an appearance throughout the book that we’ve all come to know and love, although some of them play more of a supporting role than a main one.

I really enjoyed this book for several reasons. One, there’s a change of scenery, this time it takes place in Maine, rather than New Jersey. Additionally, we have another lawyer who helps Andy while in Maine with his case and they work well together. And of course, you have the usual wit and sass that Andy provides, both in and out of the courtroom. For those that have enjoyed his series, this is another fun and enjoyable read with some good laughs. You won’t be disappointed. For those that haven’t read this book, grab the first one, read it and you’ll thank me 23 books later. I look forward to reading the next one in the series!

Title: Dog Eat Dog
Author: David Rosenfelt
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his wife, Laurie, enjoy walking their dogs, Tara and Sebastian. By this point in their marriage, it's routine. When out for one of their strolls, their simple ritual isn't so simple anymore. Across the street, a man is mistreating his dog. Three things happen at once: Andy yells, Laurie runs to stop the abuse, and so does a closer passerby, who so thoroughly beats the owner that both are arrested when the cops arrive.

Andy scoops up the dog and takes him to the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that's always been his true passion. Meanwhile, at the police station, the passerby is identified as Matthew Jantzen, and he's wanted for murder. Andy and Laurie are struck by the fact that Jantzen, a man on the run, would nevertheless intervene to help a dog, and decide to find out more.

This is book #23 in a series and…I won’t be reading any more. It wasn’t bad, but it felt like the entire book was populated with talking heads. I got no sense of what the characters or their actions looked like, no feel for the setting or anything. I enjoyed Andy’s self-deprecating humor, but his ego was too much for me, and this just wasn’t a good fit for me at all.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 7/16.)

Dog Eat Dog is the 23rd entry in the Andy Carpenter dog-oriented legal thriller series. And it’s a humdinger!

A man on the street is beating his pug. Andy, his wife Laurie and their son Ricky are across the street walking their two dogs, Tara and Sebastian. Laurie rushes across the street but gets to the scene after a stranger intervenes. The dog beater punches the stranger, who in turn, beats the man to the ground. Andy says it was self-defense to the police. But the rescuer, now introduced as Matt, is still taken into custody along with the dog beater. Andy volunteers to be Matt’s lawyer. However, Matt is now accused of a double murder in Maine. He was caught by police based on blood found on the murder scene two years ago when Matt sent his DNA to a family-locating DNA site. The website found his long-lost sister and a double homicide charge. For the ever-trying-to-retire Andy, it is a blow to his lack of career plans.

I come to this series for the mysteries and Andy’s courtroom antics. But I stay for the genuine characters, who I miss a bit between books. Dog Eat Dog is an excellent series entry. Don’t miss it. 5 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved every David Rosenfelt book I have read and this is no exception. “Retired” lawyer Andy Carpenter always find himself defending the under dog and getting himself in trouble, while seeking justice for his client. This fast paced book had me turning pages and laughing out loud, leaving me smiling and wanting more. I hope there is another Andy Carpenter book in the future!

I am torn. The title and the cover photo lead me to believe that this book would heavily include dogs. Think Chet and Bernie. Instead the characters all have dogs and their main contribution seems to be...being walked. I know this is the latest in a long line about this team. Maybe the dogs were more involved in other books. I was disappointed that they were tertiary characters, at best. The story itself was a fairly standard light mystery. A lot of procedure and an interesting conclusion. I liked the sarcasm of the MC. I'm not sure I would take the time to read any further initiative to read the other books based solely on this one.

Dog Eat Dog is another fast-paced Andy Carpenter mystery written by David Rosenfelt who never disappoints! Andy, a retired defense attorney, tries hard to stay retired, but cases seem to find him anyway. As Andy and his wife, Laurie, are out walking their two dogs, they notice a man abusing his dog. They run to the dog’s rescue but a third person, Matt Jantzen, gets there first and gets into a scuffle with the dog abuser. When the police arrive, they discover a warrant for Matt’s arrest. It would seem he killed someone up in Maine. He tells Andy he doesn’t know the victim and is innocent; Andy believes him and takes him on as a client. Rosenfelt’s sense of humor, the banter between the members of Andy’s team, and the complex mystery involved makes this another great read! The books can be read as a stand-alone, but they are so much fun to read, I recommend all of them!

David Rosenfelt delivers another fantastic case for Andy carpenter to hit out of the park. This case takes Andy and hist crackerjack team on a road trip up to Maine. Only Edna stays behind which suits her just fine. Everyone does include the dogs. How could it not? This case has a two year gap in it and that makes things complicated for the team. Plus the word has spread to Maine that Andy is, to be polite about it, a pain in the tush and a smart mouth. He's also the lawyer I would want defending me.
In a nutshell, Andy witnesses his future client defend a dog from his abusive owner. One thing leads to another and Andy agrees to make a quick trip to Maine to help find him a lawyer. Turns out that his client's DNA was found at a double homicide but tests have only recently put a name to the evidence. I will say no more because I'm not about to risk letting anything slip and spoil the story. If you are already a fan of Andy's (23 books with another coming out for our Christmas reading pleasure) this is going to make you a very happy reader. To those who are new to the series, it can work as a stand alone but reading them in order is always my advice.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Andy finds himself in the thick of a murder case after he sees a man defend a dog being abused by its owner. This latest in a long running series will be perfectly fine and satisfying as a standalone but regular readers will be pleased that Andy (and Laura, Marcus, Sam, and the rest) remain in fine form. Matt submitted his DNA to an ancestry firm in hopes of finding relatives, which he did, but it also lands him in hot water. Blood with his DNA has been found on a murder victim in Maine, where he used to live. He swears to Andy that he didn't do it and Andy of course, takes on the case. Maine is not New Jersey (there's lot of lobster rolls though) but Andy is still able to wield his considerable investigative and legal skills to help Matt. The dialogue is snappy, the mystery of who committed the double murder (and other bad things) complex, and all in all it's a fun fast read. I'm torn between finding it amusing or annoying that Andy notes that David Rosenfelt is Laurie's favorite author. Regardless, I look forward to each one of these books because they stretch the mind and they're really entertaining. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Fun.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S DOG EAT DOG ABOUT?
Coming home from a walk, Andy and Laurie see a man abusing his dog across the street. Before they can intervene someone else jumps in to defend the dog (and it's probably good for the abuser that it happens before Laurie can get her hands on him). Both the man who protected the dog and the man who attacked it are arrested—but the way the defender reacts, Andy's sure it's about more than just the assault.

It turns out that this man, Matthew Jantzen, had used one of those online genetic tracing sites to try to find out if his father had left other kids when he died (Jantzen is pretty sure he did). This allows him to track down a half-sister and to put his DNA in a place where law enforcement can see it and compare that DNA to what was found at the scene of a murder. Jantzen knew it was coming (the police had visited his sister about the time of the murder a few years ago), but had hoped to avoid having to deal with it.

Andy just can't figure out why someone who was wanted by the police would expose himself the way Jantzen did when he protected the pug. So he has to learn more about Jantzen. Then he finds himself going to the town in Maine where the killing took place to help secure legal counsel on Jantzen's behalf. One thing leads to another, and Andy ends up in court defending Jantzen.

Little by little, Andy's team comes to join him in Maine, investigating the things the police were supposed to take care of. They find themselves looking into a mess of drugs, racist militias, and hard-to-explain DNA evidence.

HOW DID ROSENFELT MAKE IT THIS LONG?
Given the number of Dog-themed and Dog-Pun-Filled titles in this series, how has he not used Dog Eat Dog until book 23? Even if you subtract the holiday-themed titles, it's still nineteen novels without using it. You have to admire the restraint he's shown up to now.

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
Unless I'm forgetting something, this is the second time that Andy's taken on an out-of-state client (the last time was in 2007's Dead Center, the fifth book in the series). When he arrives in Maine he learns three things quickly: the people are friends and welcoming, the lobster rolls in Maine are a wonderful thing; just about everyone is convinced Jantzen did it, no matter what the big-shot New York lawyer says (he seems incapable of convincing anyone he's from New Jersey).

Andy has to employ a local lawyer for the purposes of the trial and hires a criminal defense attorney Charlie Tilton. Tilton has no desire whatsoever to take on Jantzen's case himself—but is perfectly content to take Andy's money to help out. He ends up taking on the role of Eddie Dowd, Kevin Randall, or Hike Lynch—he does the paperwork, legal research, and so on while Andy investigates, annoys the judge, and needles the prosecution. Charlie's pretty normal compared to the rest, maybe a little more mercenary than the others, but that's about it. It was a refreshing change (but I'm ready to see Eddie Dowd again).

It's nice seeing Andy in a new setting, unable to rely on his media and police contacts, etc.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT DOG EAT DOG?
This is the second David Rosenfelt book I've read in 2021—there's one more to go (The holiday-themed novel). How he's able to write three solidly entertaining, frequently humourous, complex mystery novels in a year is mind-boggling. Once again, I thought I knew where Rosenfelt was going with the case and was ready for it—and then Rosenfelt pulled a rabbit out of his hat and I was caught unprepared a couple of times to see where he went.

I loved some of the recurring jokes in this-both those exclusive to this novel and some that are ongoing over the years.

There are series out there that ebb and flow in terms of quality—I don't think these books have done that—truly impressive at the 23rd book. You know what you're going to get when you crack open a David Rosenfelt book—and I'm so glad he continues to deliver.

Solid courtroom action, some good out-of-court detection, plenty of fun with characters old and new—particularly with Andy's narration. These can be read as stand-alones or as part of a series. Either way you go—you'll be happy you tried this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

Read my full review on <a href=https://rosepointpublishing.com/2021/06/22/dog-eat-dog-an-andy-carpenter-mystery-andy-carpenter-novel-book-23-by-david-carpenter-bookreview-tuesdaybookblog/<a> Rosepoint Publishing.</a>

For those of you who haven’t seen any of my previous reviews, Rosenfelt has created an attorney who, having the benefit of a substantial inheritance, has quit, or tried to several times. (He runs a dog rescue he and a partner call the Tara Foundation. He loves dogs.)

But these cases just keep popping up. This one is in defense of a man who came to the rescue of a man who was keeping a dog from being beaten. Having been arrested, it was discovered he was wanted in Maine for a double homicide. These are never simple, open and shut cases. And yet—in this case, his DNA was found on the victim. How do you fight that?

These books are just plain fun. Fast, witty, often sarcastic humor coupled with deeply layered well-plotted novels. Extradited to Maine, Andy will leave his safe haven in New Jersey where he is constantly mistaken as a New Yorker amid the happy discovery of lobster rolls.

Of course he is going his get his team involved and I always love it when they get to the courtroom—there are teachable moments, intelligent and full of fancy footwork, maneuvering, not to mention some memorable acting scenes.

I started reading (or listening to) this series back in 2016 and got thoroughly hooked. You can’t go wrong with either the print or audiobook. Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my ARC review copy. These are (always) my own opinions.

Another multi-layered (and at times for me laugh out loud) mystery by David Rosenfelt! Andy Carpenter may be a lawyer, but he doesn’t want to take any cases…ever. He is an excellent lawyer with a team who aide him when he is forced to accept a client. This time he is not forced, but his client rescued a dog that was being abused so Andy has no choice, he must defend a fellow dog lover. The man who saved the dog is wanted in another state for a double murder. He said he didn’t do it, so how did his DNA get on the hand of one of the victims? Andy enlists the aid of his team, including his wife, Laurie, a former Lieutenant with the Paterson P.D., and Marcus as the books would not be the same without Marcus. Will Andy uncover the twisted series of events that led to his client being unjustly accused of murder? When I read an Andy Carpenter mystery, I take the time to savor every word as Andy’s self-deprecating humor adds more than a bit of fun to the mystery. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

David Rosenfelt's protagonist, Andy Carpenter, reluctant lawyer extraordinaire, describes himself as obnoxious. I find him charming, which is also a good description of this latest addition to his long-running series. For those familiar with this series, the gang's all here; if this is your first time reading about Andy and friends, this book can easily be read as a standalone.

I don't like spoilers so I am not going to give any. As with all of Rosenfelt's books, the plot moves briskly along, accompanied by snappy banter and humorous asides, which make for a very pleasurable reading experience. There are no editing or grammar issues, nothing which pulls the reader out of the story.

If you are looking for a clever mystery, with a stellar and likable cast of characters, you cannot do better than David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series. I really enjoyed "Dog Eat Dog," and I am sure you will, too.

David Rosenfelt has done it again! I have loved every single book in the Andy Carpenter series and his upcoming release, Dog Eat Dog was no exception. When lawyer Andy witnesses a good samaritan being arrested after helping a dog, he can't help but get involved. However, he does not realize just how intricate a case he just signed up for. With his client's blood found at the scene of a double homicide, can he prove his innocence to a jury? I love that you don't have to read these books in order as I skip around with them. There are always twists at the end and the whole way through you are sitting at the edge of your seat! I would definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a great fast paced mystery! Dog Eat Dog comes out July 6th. Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy!

David Rosenfelt never fails to amaze me with his novels. Again, he hits the mark - Interesting legal whodonit, funny dialogue, great characters and a love of animals all wrapped up in one book. Love him!!!!

This series just gets better and better! I enjoyed the interesting mystery, the snarky humor, and the ongoing banter between all the characters. They feel like old friends. Just be prepared, after reading this book you will want a lobster roll! Three cute dogs, one great mystery, all the paws up!!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Andy is a criminal defense lawyer who doesn't want any clients. Because of the money his father left him and some lucrative cases, he is able to not work and spend his time with his friend, Willie, running the Tara Foundation, a dog rescue that he and Willie formed. He is married to Laurie, they have a young son, Ricky, and he is enjoying his life. He love love loves their dog, Tara, and thinks she's the best dog in the world. They also has another less lively dog named Sebastian, who he also loves.

Andy and Laurie were walking their dogs when they saw a man abusing a dog. As they rush over, another man, Matt, gets there first and beats up the man. Matt is arrested along with the other man and Andy gives Matt his business card in case he needs help. It turns out Matt is wanted for the murder of two people two years ago in his hometown in Maine and is hauled back there. Andy begrudgingly defends him. Despite Matt not knowing the victims, the prosecutor has what seems like an airtight case ... Matt's blood was found under the names of one the victims and DNA doesn't lie. One of the victims was possibly involved in dealing drugs and a radical militia group so he could have been a target for many.

This is the 23rd in the Andy Carpenter series (I've read them all) and I have been enjoying this series as the author is able to keep this series fresh and fun. Even though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the ones before it to know what is going on). I like the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing. It was written mostly in first person perspective in Andy's voice. It was interesting to see Andy away from home as this doesn't happen often. I liked the story for the most part but found the ending convoluted ... I had to read it a couple times to figure out what was going on.

I like Andy ... I think he would be a hoot to be around and he's quite generous with his time and money (he didn't charge Matt for his services or those he had provided). Part of Andy's team is the K-Team (Laurie, a former police officer and now an investigator; Marcus, an investigator with "persuasive" reasoning skills; Cody, a former police officer; and Simon Garfunkel, Cody's former canine partner). Sam is his accountant who is also a computer hack who wants to be part of the action.

First of all, how could you say no to such a cute cover? This is a great installment to the Andy Carpenter series. There’s a different setting which is a fun change, since Andy gets roped into defending a client in Maine. This particular client saved a dog from being abused by his owner, so of course it was hard for Andy to turn him down.

Our favorites are back, like Sam and Marcus, and I haven’t read The K Team yet but want to now since hearing about Simon the German Shepherd and Corey who investigate with Laurie.

It’s always high-stakes when trying to make sure an innocent person doesn’t go to jail for murder, and this case was no exception!

I am an Andy Carpenter fan.
This is #23 in the series and #17 for me.

Andy usually has me laughing out-loud. I do enjoy his ~as well as David Resenfelt’s wit.
This is my third Andy Kindle e-book. Typically I get the audio as narrator Grover Gardner 'IS' Andy Carpenter. In fact, as I am reading I can hear Mr. Gardner’s deadpan voice.

This story starts when Andy and Laurie are enjoying walking their two dogs ~ Sebastian and Tara~ Sebastian is a sweet basset hound and is rather new to the family.
Andy’s long time Tara, a golden retriever ~ according to Andy a golden retriever like no other! Andy also states Sabastian takes walks with the speed of you average refrigerator!

While they are casually walking they hear a dog in distress. As they hurry to the rescue the dog another person is racing and beats them to the rescue. Police are called and both men are arrested. It appears Matt the rescuer is wanted for murder in Maine. What? Yep now Andy to the rescue although a retired lawyer he never turns down a case involving either a dog or someone who helps dogs.

I enjoy courtroom drama ~ Andy always has a twist ~ just have to wait for it ~ as I know it is coming.
Yes this series follows a formula and only strays a little.
Will this story have a different ending?
Aww doesn’t matter always entertaining and guarantee to always make me laugh out loud! I will definitely read the next in this series!


Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for my honest professional opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 6, 2021