First Degree by David Rosenfelt

First Line: Opening day. Said separately, they're just two ordinary words.

You just don't expect a man to waltz into your office and confess to murder, but that's exactly what happens to lawyer Andy Carpenter shortly after a police officer's body is found burned and decapitated. What's even more shocking is the person who becomes the number one suspect: the love of Andy's life, P.I. Laurie Collins, ex-cop and well-known enemy of the dead man.

Things are looking bleak during Laurie's trial. Andy is definitely going to have to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat in order to keep the woman he loves out of prison, but if anyone can do it, Andy can.

I don't know what kept me from this series for so long; it pushes all the right buttons for me. Nice, convoluted mystery, humor, dogs, and a wonderful cast of slightly oddball characters. I may not know what kept me from this series, but I do know that I intend to savor every single one. Who knows? There may be an Andy Carpenter Week (or two) in my future.

In this second book of the series, Andy is gathering together a first-rate "family." We're introduced to the very scary Marcus, whom Rosenfelt admitted he modeled after Robert B. Parker's Hawk in his Spenser series. Willie Miller, whom Andy defended in an earlier trial, makes himself at home with Andy and Laurie, and then there's the brilliant lawyer Kevin Randall who quit practicing because he couldn't face the possibility of either sending an innocent man to prison or letting a guilty man go free. And then there's Tara, the golden retriever that only seems to leave Andy's side... for Laurie's. This is ensemble casting at its best, ready and willing to expand for characters like Barry Leiter, a young man with a short role who punches a hole straight through your gut.

I would imagine that all true dog lovers like me roll their eyes whenever a normally well-behaved dog starts barking up a storm and its human ignores all the fuss. Well, that happens in First Degree, too, and I'm hoping that Andy learns to pay attention.

First Degree has a marvelous cast, laugh-out-loud humor, and a fun mystery with plenty of twists. As I read, I knew the identity of "Mr. Big," but I certainly hadn't filled in all the particulars. Now that I've read the first two books in the series, all I can say is that I'm looking forward to book three with a definite twinkle in my eye. Haven't made Andy Carpenter's acquaintance? There's no time like the present!

First Degree by David Rosenfelt

eISBN: 9780446507516

Grand Central Publishing © 2004

eBook, 256 pages

Legal Thriller/Humorous Mystery, #2 Andy Carpenter mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt

First Line: The Lincoln Tunnel is a scary place.

After a long, hard day of being a defense attorney in Passaic, New Jersey, Andy Carpenter wants little more than the companionship of his best friend, Tara the golden retriever. The women in his life are just too complicated. At a time when he finally thinks that he knows the answers, his dad-- a legendary ex-D.A.-- drops dead right in front of Andy during a game in Yankee Stadium. 

In shock, Andy learns that the hits just keep on coming. His father has left him a $22 million fortune Andy never knew existed as well as a racially charged murder case that could burn down City Hall. Doing his best to serve justice and to honor his father, Andy finds himself digging up political skeletons and family secrets-- both of which people are more than willing to kill him to keep.

There is definitely something in the water of New Jersey because authors with an abundance of wit seem to spring from its soil in gratifying numbers. Brad Parks, Chris Grabenstein, Jeffrey Cohen, Janet Evanovich, and David Rosenfelt... to name a few. 

Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter is a first-rate smart mouth with quick wits and a soft heart (just like I like all my heroes). His ex-wife is a spoiled little rich girl who's never found a need to abandon Daddy, and the woman investigator in his law practice wants more commitment from him than Andy's ready to give. No wonder Tara represents his best relationship.

There are two main plot lines in Open and Shut: where Andy's father got that $22 million, and the retrial of Willie Miller, a man who was convicted of a murder he didn't commit. Both are interesting, and how Rosenfelt connects the two is very good. However, the pace is like a yo-yo. Fast. Slow. Fast. Slow. It needed some tightening to keep the book's momentum running smoothly. But this is the first of a long-running series, and since I have a penchant for canines and New Jersey writers, I know I'm going to be back for more.
    

Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt

ISBN: 9780446612531 

Grand Central Publishing © 2002

Mass Market Paperback, 305 pages

Legal Thriller, #1 Andy Carpenter mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.