Play Dead (Andy Carpenter Series #6)
Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara. After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another golden's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years before. Andy pushes the boundaries of the law even further as he struggles to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take canine testimony seriously. It will take all the tricks...
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Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt's riveting sixth legal thriller (after 2006's Dead Center) brings independently wealthy Paterson, N.J., lawyer Andy Carpenter to the defense of a very special domestic violence victim, Yogi, a golden retriever alleged to have bitten its owner. Andy uses the court system to spring Yogi from an animal shelter's death row and adopt him, adding the dog to a small family that includes longtime pet golden Tara. But when the gang goes for a walk that leads to a joyful reunion between Yogi and a woman named Karen Evans, Andy learns Yogi is actually Reggie, presumed dead five years earlier after the conviction of Karen's brother, U.S. Customs Inspector Richard Evans, for the murder of his fiancée, Stacy Harriman. Suspecting Richard's innocence, Andy tackles the case like a dog on a chew toy, undeterred by an intricate web of deception involving a possible government coverup. No shaggy dog story, this puppy's alive with reliable Rosenfelt wit and heart.Publishers WeeklyGardner's breezy, slightly sarcastic delivery is just what's needed for Rosenfeld's breezy, slightly sarcastic mysteries featuring multimillionaire New Jersey lawyer Andy Carpenter. The yarns, told in first-person, present tense by the attorney, often have the feel of standup comedy routines, and this latest is no exception. ("She wanted to get me before I went to work," Carpenter says of an early wakeup call. "She must think I'm a dairy farmer.") Happily, Gardner possesses a comedian's timing and knows exactly where the laughs are. The plot centers on a golden retriever that was thought to have perished at sea five years ago along with its murdered mistress. Following the animal's lead, Carpenter winds up constructing a new defense for the man imprisoned for the murder. Gardner's vocal interpretations of the other characters all sound a little like him. This is appropriate, since, after all, Carpenter is supposed to be the one telling us this witty, well-plotted, highly entertaining shaggy dog story. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 26). (July)Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Play Dead\ \ By David Rosenfelt \ Grand Central Publishing\ Copyright © 2007 David Rosenfelt\ All right reserved.\ ISBN: 978-0-446-58241-4 \ \ \ Chapter One\ "ANDY, YOU'RE NOT GOING to believe this." \ This is the type of sentence that, when said in a vacuum, doesn't reveal much. Whatever it is that I am not going to believe might be very positive or very negative, and there would be no way to know until I see it.\ Unfortunately, this particular sentence is not said in a vacuum; it's said in the Passaic County Animal Shelter. Which means that "positive" is no longer one of the possibilities.\ The person speaking the words is Fred Brandenberger, whose job as shelter manager is an impossibly difficult one. There are far more dogs that come through his doors than potential adopters, and he therefore must helplessly supervise the euthanasia of those that are not taken. I know it drives Fred crazy; he's been in the job for two years, and my guess is he's not going to last much longer.\ It bothers me to come here, and I rarely do. I leave this job to my former legal client, Willie Miller, who is my partner in the Tara Foundation, a dog rescue operation. We rescue a lot of dogs, over a thousand a year, but there are many more worthy ones that we simply do not have room for. I hate making the life-or-death decisions on which ones we will take, and Willie has been shouldering that responsibility.\ Unfortunately, Willie and his wife, Sondra, are in Atlantic City for a few days, and we've gotsome openings for new dogs, so here I am. I've been dreading it, and based on what Fred has just said to me, I fear that dread has been warranted.\ Fred leads me back to the quarantine room, which houses dogs who are sick or are unavailable to be adopted for other reasons. The other reason is usually that the dog has bitten someone; in that case they are held for ten days to make sure they don't have rabies, and then put down. "Put down" is shelter talk for "killed."\ Fred points to a cage in the back of the quarantine room, and I walk toward it, cringing as I do. What is there turns out to be far worse than expected; it's one of the most beautiful golden retrievers I've ever seen.\ Golden retrievers do not belong in cages. Ever. No exceptions. The dog I'm looking at is maybe seven years old, with more dignity in his eyes than I could accumulate in seven hundred years. Those eyes are saying, "I don't belong in here," and truer eye words were never spoken.\ I can feel myself getting angry at this obvious injustice. "What the hell is this about?" I ask as Fred walks over.\ "He bit his owner. Eleven stitches," Fred says. "Not that I blame him."\ "What do you mean?"\ "Well, for one thing, the owner is an asshole. And for another, he might not even be the owner."\ "Tell me everything you know," I say.\ It turns out that Fred doesn't know that much. A man named Warren Shaheen, who had just come home from the hospital, called him to a house in Hawthorne. He said he had been bitten by his dog, Yogi, for no reason whatsoever. He wanted the dog taken to the shelter and put down.\ As Fred and Yogi were leaving the house, a young boy who claimed to live next door approached. He said that Warren was always kicking the dog, and he was sure that the dog bit him in retaliation. Further, he claimed that Warren had found the dog wandering on the street less than three weeks ago and apparently made no effort to find the real owner.\ "What are you going to do?" I asked.\ Fred shrugged. "You know the drill. After ten days, we put him down. We're not allowed to adopt him out."\ I ask Fred if he'll open the cage and let me take the dog out. He knows he shouldn't, but does so anyway.\ I take Yogi into a small room where potential adopters go to get to know the dogs they might take. I sit in the chair, and Yogi comes over to me. He has cut marks on his face, clearly visible in this light. They look old, perhaps remnants from some long-ago abuse. It's likely that Yogi has not had the best life.\ He puts his paw up on my knee, a signal from goldens that they want their chest scratched. I do so, and then he rests his head on my thigh as I pet it.\ Fred comes over to the room, looks in and sees me petting Yogi in this position. "Pretty amazing, huh?"\ "Fred, I'm aware of the regulations, but there's something you should know."\ "What's that?"\ "Nothing bad is going to happen to this dog."\ (Continues...)\ \ \ \ \ Excerpted from Play Dead by David Rosenfelt Copyright © 2007 by David Rosenfelt. Excerpted by permission.\ All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.\ Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. \ \
\ BooklistA cracking good yarn...As always, Andy's offbeat, outspoken personality shines on every page, and the balance of humor and mystery is dead-on.\ \ \ \ \ Entertainment WeeklyA taut thriller full of whiplash plot twists and wisecracking dialogue.\ \ \ Publishers WeeklyGardner's breezy, slightly sarcastic delivery is just what's needed for Rosenfeld's breezy, slightly sarcastic mysteries featuring multimillionaire New Jersey lawyer Andy Carpenter. The yarns, told in first-person, present tense by the attorney, often have the feel of standup comedy routines, and this latest is no exception. ("She wanted to get me before I went to work," Carpenter says of an early wakeup call. "She must think I'm a dairy farmer.") Happily, Gardner possesses a comedian's timing and knows exactly where the laughs are. The plot centers on a golden retriever that was thought to have perished at sea five years ago along with its murdered mistress. Following the animal's lead, Carpenter winds up constructing a new defense for the man imprisoned for the murder. Gardner's vocal interpretations of the other characters all sound a little like him. This is appropriate, since, after all, Carpenter is supposed to be the one telling us this witty, well-plotted, highly entertaining shaggy dog story. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 26). (July)\ Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalThe latest mystery featuring Paterson, NJ, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter is a blast. After adopting a dog from an animal shelter, Andy learns the dog may be the clue to solving a five-year-old murder of a customs inspector's fiancée. Andy decides to conduct his own investigation, which leads to meetings with the mafia, multiple attempts on his life, and some explosive courtroom scenes. But the minimalist plot is secondary to the excellent protagonist; his relaxed perception of his job and life is amusing and appealing and will draw in even the most jaded mystery fan. Play Deadlisteners will garner plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well as trite one liner-induced groans. Reader Grover Gardner is worthy of the myriad awards he has won; his laid-back, humorous approach will win over new listeners and surely please old fans. Recommended.\ —Jesse Light\ \ \ \ \ \ Library JournalNew Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter reopens a five-year-old case when he discovers a witness-a golden retriever. The sixth in the series by Edgar Award finalist Rosenfelt. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsAndy Carpenter rescues one client from prison and another from Death Row in his most ambitious case yet. During a torrential rainstorm five years ago, Coast Guard officers boarded a boat four miles off the New Jersey Coast to find one occupant, U.S. Customs inspector Richard Evans, comatose from an overdose of sleeping pills and the other two, Richard's fiancee Stacy Harriman and his dog Reggie, missing. Long before they identified Stacy's body, washed ashore three weeks later, they'd already arrested Richard for murder, and he was tried and convicted. But a startling new piece of evidence emerges when Andy (Dead Center, 2006, etc.) tries to save Yogi, a golden retriever who bit his abusive owner, from being put down: Richard's sister Karen identifies Yogi as Reggie. She proves his identity to Andy, who in an amusing courtroom sequence proves it to a judge. Presumably Reggie got off the boat because somebody took him off. Who was that somebody, what was his or her role in Stacy's murder and Richard's near-death, why haven't the authorities found any trace of him or her, and how can Andy do better? The stakes are raised but the answers obscured by the news that both the FBI and the New Jersey mob are so interested in the case that one is bugging Andy's phone and the other shooting at him. A steadily absorbing journey through layers and layers of deception. Only the very last surprise fizzles.\ \
