Holy Chow (Andy Carpenter #25), by David Rosenfelt, Grover Gardner (Narrator) AUDIO BOOK

 

Audio book, Macmillan Audio    6h, 2m, 15s

It's always a delight to spend time with Andy and the gang, especially the dogs. Never mind that people seem to always be trying to kill him. Thankfully Marcus and Laurie have his back because Andy's strength is walking the dogs and legal matters, not self-defense. I read the ebook earlier, that review will follow the audio review, and enjoyed the book, so wasn't surprised to equally enjoy this audio version. As always, Grover Gardner does an excellent job capturing the personality and humor of wannabe-retiree defense lawyer Andy Carpenter. 

 Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series tends to follow the same pattern. You begin the book with a crime, usually murder, being committed. At that point you have no clue how it will connect to the rest of the story but you know it will eventually make sense. You then move to meet Andy, often as he's walking his dogs or chatting with Laurie. In this case, we meet him at a ball game. Son Ricky is playing. Not long after, Andy gets the phone call that sets the plot into motion. A woman who adopted a dog through his Tara Foundation, Lion, the chow of the title, had called to make sure that should something happen to her that Andy will ensure that Lion is cared for properly. She mentions a visiting step-son, one she hopes might take to Lion, but after Andy assures her that Lion will be properly cared for in case she no longer can care for him, the matter is dropped and pretty much forgotten. Then, a few weeks later, another phone call, this one from another lawyer. Rachel Morehouse, Lion's human, has passed away and Andy is invited to the reading of the will. Surprised, since he neither knew of Rachel's death nor that he'd have any connection to her will, Andy agrees. There he meets the step-son prior to the will reading. Just as they begin, the police enter and everyone except the step-son, Tony, is asked to step out. When the attendees return to the room, the only one missing is Tony. Seems the police have arrested him for the murder of his step-mother. It also turns out that Rachel was worth billions, probably the inciting reason for the arrest of a potential heir. And, thus begins the winding trail of how Andy reluctantly becomes involved in the case which, of course, turns out to be far more complicated than a simple murder. Luckily, Marcus has his back.

Narrator Grover Gardner perfectly captures Andy's humor, snark, and complex personality. The pacing is steady, seemingly increasing in pace as Andy finds himself in tense situations. Gardner makes no real effort to impersonate the various characters, ie changing his male voice to a more female sounding one, but it somehow works. There is never any doubt who is speaking. Gardner does this simply through slight changes of tone and speed, for lack of a better description. Chapter changes are not announced. Instead, there is a subtle pause between both chapters and changing scenes. All in all, it works well, from the initial set-up to the usually cliff-hanging conclusion....with Marcus managing to save Andy's life repeatedly at times, not to mention increasingly showing more of his own personality and background. I find myself looking forward to the next revelation about Marcus almost as much as I do seeing how Andy manages to get himself into and out of what appears a legal quagmire. "Holy Chow" is a winner, especially with the assist of narrator Grover Gardner.

Thanks #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for the chance to hang out with Andy and the dogs. It's always an adventure, with lots of both laughs and tension. One of my favorite, not-to-miss series.

ORIGINAL REVIEW OF EBOOK VERSION:

As usual, once I started reading, I couldn't stop until I finished. This is the 25th book in the Andy Carpenter series and I'd say that has pretty much held true for all of them. Now, true, I had to delay starting because, well, I needed to take my own dog for a walk. Andy would understand. I was drawn to the series because of the dog connection but have stayed for the self-deprecating humor, witty dialogue, and well-defined characters. Hey, we even learn a bit more about Marcus who, to be honest, I'm about half convinced is Superman in disguise.

As usual, the plot initially sounds simple. Andy's Tara Foundation adopted out Lion, a senior Chow, to Rachel Morehouse. Rachel calls him out of the blue one day to ask him to be sure Lion is cared for if something happens to her and her stepson can't take Lion. Andy thinks nothing more about it until he's notified Rachel has died and he should show up at the reading of her will. He goes, mostly thinking he's there to pick up the dog. He finds out there that Rachel was extremely rich and left $2M to the Tara Foundation. Then, her stepson, Tony, who actually adores the dog, is arrested for her murder just as the reading of the will is about to start.

That's when it gets complicated. Andy has been trying for years to retire, winds up as Tony's lawyer. Who killed Rachel Morehouse? Why? That's the big question Andy must answer to successfully defend his client. Speaking of his client, why was Tony estranged from the family? How is the family business connected? What does Sam discover while hacking his way through records? Do we really need to know exactly how late a plane lands each flight? What could that have to do with Rachel's murder? Dirty money? Drugs? How many times has Marcus saved Andy's life over the lifespan of this series? I don't know. The question just struck me. How do all these things connect? And, oh, there's more but you're going to have to read the book to find the answers to these and other questions.

Thank you #NetGalley and #SMB, #StMartinsBooks, for inviting me to drop in on Andy, Laurie, and the dogs. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, well, aside from that really scary moment but, well, Marcus was there. He'd have saved me, too.