The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

August 22, 2016
Martha “Pups” Boyer, who’s at the center of Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt’s entertaining 15th legal thriller featuring Patterson, N.J., attorney Andy Carpenter (after Outfoxed), earned her nickname for her efforts to take in stray puppies that the local animal shelter can’t handle and find them permanent homes. Near the holidays, Pups’s new neighbor, Randy Hennessey, reports her for keeping more than the legal limit of animals. Andy, a long-time friend of Pups, figures that puppies and Christmas are key words that will ensure that the case is dismissed. He’s right. But when Randy turns up dead, Pups is arrested for his murder. The evidence is stacked against her, but Andy refuses to believe Pups guilty. On the other hand, Andy and his team discover some alarming discrepancies when they dig through the assets of the wealthy Pups and her late husband. Rosenfelt integrates Andy’s vocation of finding rescued dogs permanent homes—which the author shares with his character—without overwhelming the story. Author tour. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

Rosenfelt, who continues to write some of the best hooks in the genre, saddles attorney Andy Carpenter (Outfoxed, 2015, etc.) with a client who's got only six months to brighten her Paterson neighborhood--if a guilty verdict doesn't remove her from her home first.Despite all Andy's coaching and beseeching, irrepressible Martha Boyer, universally known as Pups, is already on record as having threatened Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who filed a legal complaint against her houseful of two dozen rescue dogs, in open court. Andy gets the case dismissed, but before he can begin to gloat properly, Hennessey is dismissed, too--by a handgun that turns up in Pups' basement shortly after a neighbor sees her leaving his house. Her story that her former legal adversary had asked her to come over so he could apologize and give her a present sounds highly implausible even to Andy. What really complicates the case, though, are a pair of unwelcome developments that seem to come out of nowhere: the news that Pups' recurrent cough is actually a symptom of malignant mesothelioma, a surefire death sentence, and forensic evidence that identifies the murder weapon as the same gun that widowed Pups 18 months ago, when her husband, Jake, and local Bloodz member Raymond "Little Tiny" Parker fell victim to a drive-by shooting that suddenly looks a lot more premeditated to rookie prosecutor Dan Tressel. Even getting Pups acquitted won't end her troubles, for Jake's long-estranged son, Hank, is ready to launch a civil suit against her in order to claim his father's estate. Though the falling action never rises to the level of the setup, Rosenfelt's canine-loving hero is always good company--especially when he deals with someone who's gone to the dogs even more completely than him. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2016
As the title suggests, this new mystery features criminal defense lawyer Andy Carpenter and his glorious golden retriever, Tara. And as the title also suggests, it's set during the jolly, holly season of Christmas. More I cannot say, but then need I say more?

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2016
Attorney Andy Carpenter defends Martha Pups Boyer at a zoning-board meeting after Martha's new neighbor, Randy Hennessey, lodges a complaint about the number of dogs Martha has on her property26 more than the legal limit. It looks like the cantankerous Pups, who is well known for raising puppies until they are old enough to be adopted, will prevail until she finds Hennessey's body and is accused of his murder. Complicating matters for Andy, the gun that killed Hennessey also killed Pups' husband, Jake, who was murdered, along with a known gang member, in what was thought to be a drive-by shooting. Now Pups is charged with all three murders. Believing their client is being framed, Andy and his team delve into Pups' finances looking for a motive. Who profits if Pups is convicted of murder and can no longer claim her husband's large estate? This latest in Rosenfelt's long-running series constitutes a return to form for self-deprecating family-man Andy after a couple of somewhat lacklaster outings. Of course, dog lovers will continue to be enchanted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)