Publication Oct. 13, 2026
As always, a fun adventure with always reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter and his crack team of investigators. What can I say? Andy would rather be lounging around with his family and friends watching football than taking another case. He's lucky enough to have inherited money and doesn't need the job, so how does he wind up defending a suspected murderer this time? Well, he's a sucker for all things dog. Reporter Sharon Lowery tricks him into a supposed interview on local celebrities and their dogs. Only there's no interview. She is there because he isn't answering the phone and she wants to talk him into taking her brother Jon's case. A former military sniper, he's accused of killing an up and coming politician and his associate. And, oh, he has a dog. Even more to the point, one adopted from Andy's Tara Foundation. Needless to say, Andy soon finds himself calling together his team once again.
That, of course, is where the story really begins. Over the life of the series, regular readers have gotten to know the team members well and it's rather like gathering in Andy's home to enjoy their company when they meet. Which is, also of course, infrequently given Andy's lack of a work ethic. Marcus, strong and usually silent, remains a bit of a mystery but that's probably intentional. While Andy appreciates that Marcus has his back and has saved his life an uncountable number of times, he still has the ability to intimidate Andy who mostly communicates with him through Laurie, Andy's ex-cop wife and team leader. I've grown to like the team members and respect what each brings to the table. Laurie deals with Andy's avowed laziness and snark, lots of snark. Honestly, while each story features a case that seems to become more complicated as the book goes along, often managing to includes underworld figures, Federal authorities, near death for Andy, not to mention a group of 90-something year old hackers that computer hacker, er, wiz, Sam, calls on for help when in a time crunch, it's the characters and snarky humor that keeps pulling me back. I mean, guess what author Andy manages to criticize at one point. Nope, not telling.
Bottom line, although I won't delve into the plot, far too many twists and turns, other than the murder that sets everything into motion, I will say that if you like courtroom drama with a touch (okay, a big touch) of humor, that shows us the behind the scenes action that we can only imagine, not to mention the stress lawyers are under, this may be the book for you. I often joke that I've learned much of the legal terms I'm familiar with from this series, not to mention general courtroom procedure and etiquette, albeit Andy is usually short on the latter. Humor, warmth of family and friends, Andy's realization that son Ricky is growing up, interesting characters, even the bad guys, and the sense of familiarity are what make this series work. We even get to take a few dog walks with Andy and Tara, the beloved Golden that gave Rosenfelt the name for his own real rescue, the Tara Foundation. Thanks #StMartin'sPress - #Minotaur for the early read of Andy's latest reluctantly taken case. What a twist at the end!
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