This was a fun book to read and it kept me turning the pages wondering how it was all going to play out. You won’t have needed to read the previous books to follow along, but I do believe I’ll go back and read them because I enjoyed reading this one.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, St.Martins Press, and Minotaur Books for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

This book was amazing! I loved the mystery and the characters were well done! This book kept me guessing the whole time! I found this book to be entertaining! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

A fun, not-quite-cozy, mystery…

David Rosenfelt’s Good Dog, Bad Cop is the fourth in his K-9 mystery series, which is itself a spin-off from his Andy Carpenter series, And somehow I’ve never read any of them. But I was recently offered an advance review copy of Good Dog, and, even without having any background from the earlier books, I liked it a lot.

One of the things I enjoy the most in a contemporary mystery is solid investigative work, and Good Dog has plenty of that. In one of those quirks of government budgeting, it seems the Paterson Police Department doesn’t have money for more officers, but does have funding for consultants. And Pete Stanton, the head of the Homicide Division, is no fool – he’s going to spend his consulting budget before he loses it. So Pete hires the “K-team”, which consists of retired cop, Corey Douglas; his human team-mates, Laurie Collins (wife of Andy), and Marcus Clark; and, of course, Corey’s also retired K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel; to take another look at some of the Division’s cold cases.

The only problem is that the K-team decide to start with a couple of cases that aren’t very old: the year-and-a-half old death of Corey’s former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, found shot in a boat with Susan Avery; and the earlier, execution-style assassination of Susan’s husband, Danny Avery – who was, it turns out, also a Paterson cop. In spite of all the effort that goes into investigating the killing of a police officer, Danny Avery’s death has remained unsolved, and the Paterson police department also hasn’t been able to figure out whether the Jimmy Dietrich-Susan Avery case was a double-murder or a murder-suicide.

Corey wants to clear his mentor’s name, so the K-team, together with their white-hat computer hacker, Sam, revisit the case files, re-interview folks involved at the time, come up with a couple of possible new takes on what might have happened, and start chasing down clues. But as new deaths start to add up in the wake of their investigation, it quickly becomes obvious that these cases are far from cold. Eventually, though, the good guys figure out what happened, catch a couple of big-time crooks, rescue an innocent man, and clear Jimmy’s name in the process.

Another thing I like in any mystery, contemporary or historical, is a nice dose of snark, and Corey and crew dish out enough humor to keep me chuckling, even while I was puzzled by the case itself.

I do have two small issues with Good Dog, Bad Cop, though. The first is simply that we don’t see enough of the titular “good dog”. There are times that Corey brings Simon along, and times he doesn’t – even while musing that Simon will be upset to have missed the action. And although Corey sometimes offers explanations for leaving Simon at home, it would sure would be nice to see more of the K-9 who has lent his name to the team.

And the second is that a lot of the investigative chops in Good Dog actually belong to the K-team’s computer geek, Sam, And sometimes it felt a bit like cheating – that everyone relied on Sam’s skills way too much. I don’t really doubt that the feats of electronic derring-do that Sam pulls off are possible (even if truly scary), but at times it felt as if the K-team just got handed a few too many clues for “free”.

Still, neither of those was that big of a deal and Good Dog, Bad Cop was a lot of fun. I’m now happily going to go look for other books by Rosenfelt. And my thanks to St Martins/Minotaur and to NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Interesting take on the cold cases. David Rosenfelt always has amazing characters and stories that keep you interested and guessing as to the end result. This is his usual great book!

Still keeping my resolution to review as soon a I finish a book!
Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt was another great book about the K Team. I loved the twists and turns and startling evidential discoveries by the team. Each of the K9 series gets better and better. The characters are settling into their roles…even Marcus is filling out a little more open. All in all a most satisfying read.

Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt was another book about the K Team which consists of three humans and one dog. This story, told from the viewpoint of Corey was again a fun read and a good addition to the Andy Carpenter offshoot series.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S GOOD DOG, BAD COP ABOUT?
Pete Stanton, when he's not building up a tab for Andy Carpenter at their favorite sports bar, is in charge of the Homicide Division of the Paterson PD. He doesn't have the budget for more police detectives, but he had a healthy budget for consultants (figure that one out if you can). So he's hired the K-Team to look into some cold cases for him.

The first one they pick is a doozy. A few years ago, a retired detective and mentor to Corey Douglas was found shot on his boat, a woman's body was also found there. Some suspicions about a murder-suicide were floated, but nothing stuck. Corey wants to look into it, and Pete approves it with one caveat—they have to investigate the murder of that woman's husband. He, too, was a Paterson police officer who was murdered. Other than his wife, there's no obvious connection between the cases, and they weren't investigated that way.

Corey and Laurie knew going in that Pete would assign them both if they requested one—and honestly, they wanted it that way. All three were aware of the game they were playing, and they all did their part. Now, hopefully, the K-Team and help the PPD close these cases and get some justice for the victims.

SIMON
This is really Corey's book—Laurie's in it a decent amount, but she doesn't seem to play as vital a role as usual. Marcus isn't around much—but is when it counts. Where it comes up short is, as is often the case, Simon's involvement.

We need to see more of him—Corey even jokes about it at one point, saying Simon's going to be jealous about something he's up to without him. That's all well and good--but it's not enough.

This is a series about detectives who name their team after a dog. Corey's a former dog handler. The dog needs to be around more. Do we get some good Simon action? Yes. Are the lines about him and the action involving him good? Absolutely (equating him to Marcus is a great idea). But c'mon, Rosenfelt—give us more Simon.

POOR SAM
Okay, it's been evident for quite some time in the Andy Carpenter books that while Sam is a good accountant, he enjoys his side gig as a computer researcher for Andy (who isn't impeded by things like ethics or laws), and he's more than happy to help out with the K-Team.

But these guys are starting to rely on him too much—sure, they do the legwork. They put a lot of the clues together—but Sam got most of those clues for them. And the number of times that Corey called with new tasks for him was borderline outrageous. They're working this guy to the bone.

It occurs to me that I said something very similar about the computer tech in the DC Maggie Jamieson series. Is there maybe a union for overworked tech geniuses in Mysteries/Procedurals? Maybe Tilly Bradshaw can organize something.

COREY AS A PI
Corey is really coming into his own as a PI (at least as far as fictional PIs go). In the first book or two, he tried to do things the right way—he was very aware that he was no longer a cop and had to act in a certain manner because of it. But he still acted like a police officer, with those kinds of instincts.

Laurie had spent enough time as a PI, was more comfortable in the role, and accepted a greater degree of looseness when it came to protocols. I doubt Marcus ever cared about them in the first place. But Corey was pretty uptight and had to be cajoled into doing certain things.

He seems over that now—he's willing to color outside the lines, ignore certain rules/laws, and so on. It's about getting the results and taking care of details and technicalities later.*

* I want to stress that I'm okay with this because we're talking fictional detectives. The casual attitude toward privacy, phone records, financial transactions, and breaking and entering in a real person would be intolerable—I don't care what their profession is.

It's great to see him grow and develop. He's not the same character that he was when we met him in the Andy Carpenter books—or when this series started. I'm sure that growth with slow and/or stop soon—but for now, I'm liking the journey.

THE M WORD
As much as he's growing in his new profession, Corey's got a long way to go on the personal front. Sure, he's made great strides since meeting and starting to date Dani. He's in a long-term committed relationship and isn't thinking of running for the hills or making some lame excuse to break up.

But he can't even bring himself to say—or think (including in his narration)—the word "marriage." He will call it "M" throughout the book—and he's thinking about it pretty frequently in this book. Sure, it's immature—he realizes it. But that's not enough. This is also one of those things that the reader has to suspend disbelief and just roll with. If you do, it's a fun running joke (it's easy to do, because if anyone can make a somewhat emotionally stunted man entertaining, it's the creator of Andy Carpenter).

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT GOOD DOG, BAD COP?
I know this series (like the Carpenter books) aren't technically cozies—Marcus by himself keeps them from being considered that way. But I don't know if there is a pair of series (or one) that I feel so comfortable in. Within a paragraph or two of the protagonist showing up, I'm enjoying the book and feel at home.

Sure, there are better entries and lesser entries—characters moves I like more than others, and so on. But I know as soon as I start one of these books that I'm going to have a good time. That's what happened here.

I'm enjoying Corey's transformation into a more typical PI—there are a couple of moments where he felt like the 1990s-era Spenser (just with a dog that wouldn't run from gunfire). I'm not going to complain about that—ever. I enjoy the dynamics between the team, between the team and the police/other law enforcement entities, between the team and Andy, and so on. I simply enjoyed myself here.

The mysteries on top of that were good, too. I admit that I got suckered into a red herring or two, and things that I was sure of along the way were wrong (I was on the right path, and was only one connection away from being in step with Corey).*

* I'm sure I probably sound defensive there, but that's only because I am.

I don't know what else to say—this is a good installment in a reliable series. Fans of Carpenter, the K-Team, or lighter mysteries will gobble this one up. Satisfaction assured.

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

Reading this book was like playing the game known as Clue. Was it Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick? It was a very intricate puzzle of a mystery with all of the puzzle pieces seemingly not fitting together. However, as as the book builds, you can see a picture forming where the puzzle pieces fall neatly into place and suddenly everything makes sense.

The K-Team is made up of Corey Douglas, his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, Laurie Collins and Marcus Clark. This is an elite team of individuals who have specific skills when put together which make them an expert team. You want these guys and gals on your team. They are private investigators who work cold cases of the local police department. Corey's mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, is found dead in a boat along with another cop's wife in what appears to be a pretty clear cut case of murder/suicide. Corey does not believe that Jimmy would have an affair, and he definitely does not believe he would die by his own hand nor kill anyone else. He chooses this cold case along with another one that he believes have connections.

Once the team starts investigating, the story gets more interesting with every turn of the page. David Rosenfelt really knows how to bring his characters to life from the page. They are very three dimensional and real to me. There is a little humor mixed in with the mystery as well. I loved it when Corey decides to charge the $600+ room knowing his partner will not be happy about the atrocious charge for an overnight stay. Simon Garfunkel will steal your heart immediately. This mystery flowed well and built up to an awesome conclusion that tied the mystery up with a neat little bow. There were a couple of missteps and twists that will lead you to believe that you have figured it out, only to realize you really do not know as much as you thought you knew.

This was an enjoyable mystery and allowed me to not just mindlessly read. I had to use my brain a little as I tried to solve the clues along the way as well.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoy how all the books in this series are written. It’s easy for me to follow along as they are working on their cases. The cases in this book are definitely interesting ones. The characters are great and go so well together. I love the spurts of humor that come out. I love Simon and how Corey lets us know what he is thinking. If I needed a private investigator, I would definitely call on the K Team. I can’t wait to see what they get into next! I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

The K Team- Corey, Laurie, Marcus and Simon- have been hired by the Paterson, NJ PD to work cold cases and their first one is a doozy. Corey's former mentor Jimmy was found dead along with Susan Avery, the widow of Danny, another detective who had been killed on a mysterious stakeout. Was it a murder suicide, as the investigators thought? Corey doesn't and he thinks there's a connection to the murder of Danny, who was surveilling a popular restaurant - but for who? Where this starts and where it ends up will surprise you as Corey and the others pull threads that take them in interesting and dangerous directions. Unlike some of Rosenfelt's novels, this is heavy on the mystery and light on the characters (although it was good to see more of Corey and his romantic interest)- Marcus, for example, makes an important contribution but isn't around much and Laurie is mostly making pancakes. That said, I'm a fan of these novels because they challenge you to figure out what's happening. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one!

This is another good book by David Rosenfelt! If you’ve read other books of his then you know he always has a strong male character who talks his way through each case in an engaging way with a lot of sarcasm and wit. The story unfolds and you can’t predict what’s going to happen next. Holds you right to the end and ties up all the loose ends nicely!

When I first started reading this series, which is a spin-off from David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter mysteries, I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course, I was hooked with book one.

Rosenfelt's well-drawn characters are far from cookie-cutter, and his humor carries over well from one series to the other, without the leads losing their distinctive characteristics.

With two ex-cops, Laurie and Corey, working together along with a tech savvy hacker, Sam, and a guy to help provide muscle, Marcus, you'd think the team would be complete. But dog lovers will be happy to hear that Simon Garfunkel, a German Shepherd retired from the police force, rounds out the K-Team.

As the team begins their investigation, a substantial list of suspects keeps the reader on his/her toes trying to solve the crime along with this talented group. Bodies pile up, changing the direction the team takes, until the true perpetrator is revealed and apprehended.

Rosenfelt's humor lightens up the mood of serious police work. Especially enjoyable to those living in New Jersey or anyone who loves dogs. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Kensington for providing an ARC of this book.

Good Dog, Bad Cop is the 4th K-Team PI procedural by David Rosenfelt. Due out 14th March 2023 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

This is a spinoff series from the Andy Carpenter mysteries featuring Simon Garfunkel, the retired K-9 police dog and his handler companion Corey, and with content featuring Laurie, Marcus, Sam, and everyone's favorite "lazy" attorney, Andy Carpenter.

The characters are so well rendered now, and over such a long period of time, that they live and breathe. I love the lightly sarcastic humor and I can never get enough of them (including the canines, maybe *especially* the canines), so the fact that the books have gotten ever so slightly formulaic seems like a feature to me personally and not a bug. I love the books; I will keep buying and reviewing them as long as he keeps writing them. I found Corey's character/attitude and much of the formula of this novel very similar to the novels featuring Andy. For readers who are fans, that will be a big plus. The climax, denouement, and resolution are quite satisfying and self contained in this volume.

Corey and the K-Team are investigating a series of possibly related cold-case murders in New Jersey. It's not long before they're looking at organized crime, potentially dirty cops, corruption, and seriously bad guys in highest echelons of society. There are descriptions of domestic violence and a moderately graphic murder by firearm which could conceivably be upsetting to some readers. The language is fairly clean (PG-rated) and the writing is, as always, light, fun, and more than competent.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 6 hours 3 minutes and is capably narrated by series narrator Fred Berman. His voice has a gravelly quality and he does an extremely convincing New Jersey accent (no idea if it's authentic, it certainly *sounds* authentic). He does a very good job of delineating the individual characters' voices, both sexes and a range of ages. Sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Four stars for the print version; four and a half for the audiobook. With 4 books extant in the series, it would make a good choice for a series read or buddy binge read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt has a fair number of characters, both nefarious and otherwise, but the two that stand out and entertain and impress us are Corey Douglas and his dog, Simon Garfunkel, otherwise known as Simon. Corey and his partners Laurie and Marcus, along with Simon, are called the K Team. Corey (and Simon) have retired from the Paterson, New Jersey police force, and now he and the team are seconded as private investigators to the police department to look at cold cases. Douglas' girlfriend, Dani, who may someday be part of the "big M" with Douglas, fills out the characters. They work with the patient and ever understanding Pete, who is in charge of homicide at the department in order to investigate the death of a retired and much loved policeman and two other friends caught in the same web.

Rosenfelt's rather complicated plot has many twists and turns and plenty of quixotic characters. I especially like the humorous self-reflection and entertaining self-castigation of Corey Douglas. Rosenfelt gives Corey plenty of funny one-liners and sarcastic comments that are skillfully and richly woven into the plot. For mystery readers, Good Dog, Bad Cop is a great read.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Realistic characters and a lot of suspense makes this a good story. Although the A-Team series is a spin off of the Andy Carpenter series, I do enjoy that original series more. It is still worth the read as a part of the series or as a Stand alone.

Oh what a tangled web criminals weave. I was confused most of the time, but then so were the K Team or so it seemed. The dry humor of David Rosenfelt kept me amused throughout. I am eager to read about their next case. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Good Dog, Bad Cop is the fourth installment of the K Team series which is a spinoff of the Andy Carpenter series. However, it was my first time reading one of the books in the series and the first time I have read a book by David Rosenfelt even though I have been drawn in by the covers in the bookstore many times. This book can stand alone but I'm sure would be delightful to read as part of the series.

The case drew me in right from the beginning. The mystery was done so well and the sarcasm throughout made this story so much fun to read. The plot itself was well done, the writing was engaging and the dogs had such personalities that you almost forgot you were reading about a dog rather than a human detective team.

As a dog lover, this is a huge hit for me. The rest of the series is going on my wishlist! I'm hoping to see more of the shepherd in all of the others as I have a special place in my heart for them.

Good dog, Bad Cop is the 4th installment of the K Team series by David Rosenfelt. The K Team series is centered around Corey Douglas, his dog Simon and his investigative partners Laurie and Marcus. In this book, the K Team is hired as contractors to investigate cold cases for the police. Corey knows which case he wants to investigate - the death of a former mentor of his in the police force. They actually end up investigating two related cases - one is the death of a cop, the other is a suspected murder-suicide of the deceased cop’s wife along with another police officer.

Fans of David Rosenfelt’s works (both K Team and the Andy Carpenter books) will enjoy the sarcasm and humor of the characters. They all get along well and have a fun and entertaining dynamic with each other. Their personalities make it a fast read even dealing with multiple deaths, threats and action. I think a first time reader can still enjoy this book without reading the entire series. There are a few connections between people you might not fully understand but those details will not get in the way of enjoying the book.

Good Dog, Bad Cop takes fast twists and turns through Paterson, NJ, an upscale hotel in NYS and in Philadelphia. As many of Rosenfelt’s books do, the K Team has to investigate possible connections to the mafia and has to deal with possible help/interference from the feds!

I only wish there was more of Simon in the book. We do get to read about Simon in action but in my opinion, you can never have enough dogs in a book! The humor and sarcasm on the main characters a,ways keeps me coming back for more fun and mystery.

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a mystery with a complex plot and a bit of humor! The K team, led by Corey Douglas, starts on a cold case investigation into the deaths of three friends that has never been solved. What seems to be a simple case twists in ways that the Corey and his K team never anticipated, and they find themselves in grave danger. It is an interesting concept for a mystery as it delves into the thought process of Corey and the rest of the team during the investigation as they work to uncover the criminal elements and solve an extremely puzzling case. Corey marvels at the benefits of modern technology in crime investigations, while at the same time he admits that he has barely mastered email! The characters are very relatable, realistic and bring that bit of humor. I loved Corey's canine companion, former Police dog, Simon Garfunkel. This is part of a series but works well as a standalone. It is the first of the books that I have read and look forward to the others. I enjoyed the book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my complimentary copy. The opinions in the review are my own.

Good Dog, Bad Cop is the 4th in the K-Team series. David Rosenfelt is an auto buy author for me. Dogs and mysteries what's not to love? The K-Team solves cold cases for the police, two members are retired police and Simon is a retired police dog. This cold case the team chose is actually two connected cases, including the killing of a cop. It's a fast paced book with a few twists but with a satisfying conclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for my ARC of this book.