Review by Booklist Review
Lawyer-to-dogs Andy Carpenter only works when he feels like it, preferring to devote time to his dog charity. But he can't turn down the opportunity to represent a Bernese mountain dog in a pro-bono custody case. But this one involves much more than custody of an excitable puppy: Waggy's previous owner was murdered, and one of the current owners is killed in an explosion moments after Andy takes the dog from the house. Determined to figure out how one dog could be the catalyst behind two murders, Andy utilizes all his legal skills and retains the help of a hacker, a bodyguard, and his law partner to track down the killers in this funny blend of cozy and legal thriller. Fans of the series will be pleased to reconnect with familiar characters, and new readers will be happy to discover something genuinely different in the world of pet mysteries. There is just enough about dogs here to make dog lovers happy but not so much as to drive away others.--Moyer, Jessica Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Rosenfelt's excellent seventh legal thriller to feature Paterson, N.J., defense attorney Andy Carpenter (after Play Dead), Andy takes on another canine client-Waggy, a Bernese mountain puppy, who's somehow connected to the murder of Walter Timmerman, "a semi-titan in the pharmaceutical industry." Andy represents the dog in a custody battle between Diana, Walter's widow, and her stepson, Steven, who's a suspect in his father's shooting. Shortly after Andy picks up Waggy from Diana, she dies in a bomb explosion at her house. When Steven's arrested for Diana's murder, Andy agrees to represent him. After Andy's police chief girlfriend, Laurie Collins, who's visiting from Wisconsin, is shot and wounded while playing with Waggy and Tara, Andy's golden retriever, Andy realizes Waggy was the real target. Rosenfelt injects this clever installment with courtroom twists, a peek into some scary DNA research and a romantic surprise. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Cohabitating with his golden retriever, Tara, and yearning for his love, Laurie, a Wisconsin sheriff, Patterson, NJ, lawyer Andy Carpenter gets mixed up in a seventh canine crime (after Play Dead). And what a case it turns out to be. Ordered by a judge to represent Waggy, a Bernese Mountain dog, in a custody battle, Andy becomes entangled in murder, DNA, adultery, spies, explosions, and much more. Andy must figure out who is behind the killings, who is innocent, and why everyone wants Waggy. VERDICT Rosenfelt's newest entry in his Andy Carpenter series is a winner. In the same vein as Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar or Robert Crais's Elvis Cole, Rosenfelt's Andy has some great one-liners that complete his rich-lawyer, dog-loving persona. This hard-to-put-down read will please not just mystery fans (especially those who enjoy canine mysteries like Spencer Quinn's Dog On It) but others seeking the perfect summer escape. Put on the list of good reads.--Marianne Fitzgerald, Annapolis, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Paterson attorney Andy Carpenter's well-attested love for dogs (Play Dead, 2007, etc.) moves him to the edge of a weird case of murder, then to its center. The shooting of pharmaceutical semi-titan Walter Timmerman in a seedy New Jersey neighborhood way outside his orbit has landed the Passaic County justice system with two problems: identifying and convicting his killer, and resolving a custody battle between his wife Diana and his son Steven over Waggy, his Bernese mountain dog. Shortly after Andy's nemesis, Judge Henry "Hatchet" Henderson, appoints him Waggy's custodian and legal representative, the case takes an even more unexpected turn when an explosion kills Diana. The police arrest her stepson, apparently ending the custody battle without removing Waggy from Andy's household or Andy, who volunteers to represent Steven, from the case. As the evidence against Steven mountsan explosives expert for the Marines who'd been repeatedly disinherited by his father, he was in the neighborhood of both crime scenes minutes before both murdersAndy learns that the custody case won't die either. Walter's friend Charles Robinson, a fellow mogul who raises show dogs, files a suit claiming that Walter would've wanted him to have Waggy, who's the subject of both an ongoing lawsuit (albeit with a revolving cast of claimants) and repeated murder attempts. What's going on here? The motive depends on a great central concept, and Andy and his crew of regulars are as engaging as ever, but the case itself is an unholy mess of coincidences and multiple malefactors. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
