My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to review this delightful audio.

Andy Carpenter, a lawyer, and his wife Laurie, his investigator are out walking their dog. They witness a dog being abused across the street. Matthew Jantzen tries to intervene and help, but winds up being arrested for a double murder. Andy takes on the case and him and Laurie try to prove that how can a man trying to save a dog commit murder?

Enjoyable series! This is the second book I read from this author. Quick, easy, concise ,good narrator, and dogs!!!

I’m a bit of an impulse reader so when I was looking for a light mystery to listen to I was drawn to the cover of this book. Yes I know that it’s the 23rd book in a series but I was undaunted.

This is easily a standalone novel. The narration was witty, sharp and fun to listen to and the mystery was more complex than I at first thought.

Andy Carpenter is enjoying his retirement, although he keeps getting pulled back into cases for various reasons. Dogs seem always to somehow be involved!

On this occasion he and his wife are walking their two dogs in their New Jersey neighborhood, something they do every day. Their enjoyable walk is interrupted as they hear a dog yelping in distress. They turn to locate what is going on and see someone kicking a dog who is offering no defense. Andy runs to intervene but someone beats him to it. His name is Matt and he lands some good punches to the offending man. The police get involved and both men are arrested. Andy offers to help, because that’s what he does. After all Matt was trying to save the poor dog!!

Turns out that Matt is wanted in Maine for a double homicide which he claims he knows nothing about. He says that he is innocent, doesn’t know the people who were killed but can’t explain how his DNA is found at the scene.

Andy ends up in Maine looking for a local lawyer to represent Matt. Since Matt doesn’t really have money to pay for an attorney, Andy gets involved in his case. He also manages to eat a fair amount of lobster rolls while he is there and enjoys the local pub scene!!

What follows is a hunt for the real killer. Andy gets a little too close to finding out what is going on and is threatened by some big very scary guys, he uses his wit to make the guys back down but knows they will be back.

At this point Andy's wife Laurie, a former police officer, gets involved as does their bodyguard and muscle man, Marcus. There are some hilarious scenes as this group, including the 3 dogs, settle into a two room motel suite.

After pulling some strings and digging into the case Andy finds that the man who was killed has connections to drug dealers and a dangerous private militia group.

There is some great courtroom drama in this book and I enjoyed the bantering between the lawyers. Andy always has an answer for EVERYTHING!!!!!

This was such an enjoyable audiobook. The narrator, Grover Gardner seems a perfect fit for this character.

I will certainly be searching out the other books in the series as I’ve read many rave reviews for all of the books!

I received an early reviewer audiobook from the publisher and MacMillan audio through NetGalley.

This novel is set to publish on July 6, 2021

Will publish to Amazon upon publication

Another great Andy Carpenter book from David Rosenfelt! This time Andy heads to Maine to defend an innocent person and solve another murder. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

“We might be defending a double murderer.”
“He saved a dog”, she says. “Isn’t that the bottom line?”
“Apparently, it is.”

And isn’t that the reason Andy always accepts a client? This time, Andy, Laurie and Marcus end up in Maine, defending another dog lover. Someone whose DNA was found at the scene of a double murder.
This is such a fun series and this one is a worthy addition. I found myself chuckling on a regular basis (especially when Rosenfelt personally made an appearance). As always, Rosenfelt managed to take the ending in a way I never saw coming. He also managed to weave in some themes that made it feel very current in light of the ongoing political climate.
This can be read or listened to as a standalone, but why would you want to? It’s a great series and Rosenfelt manages to keep it fresh. The books make a welcome change from the darkness prevalent in so many mysteries. Yet, it never comes across as a “cozy” mystery.
Grover Gardner is Andy! This is one of the best pairings of a narrator embodying a character ever.
My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for advance copies of this book.