If you haven’t read the Andy Carpenter series, you have a lot of catching up to do. Rosenfelt began with his dog-loving attorney mysteries in 2002’s Open and Shut. The truth is I don’t really READ the Andy Carpenter mysteries — I enjoy them on audio, read by Grover Gardner who does an excellent job and his reading is the main reason I enjoy these books so much.
Normally, I don’t favor cute, dog-filled mysteries as they are too “cozy” for my tastes. But these mysteries are only somewhat cozy — there is no small group of suspects, the courtroom and investigation is mostly realistic, and the sleuths are professionals. But indeed there are dogs in every story line, no violence on the page and these are an “easy” read without gore but lots of laughs.
Flop Dead Gorgeous is as good as the twenty-six Andy Carpenter mysteries before it. In this outing, a famous actress who Andy once dated is accused of murdering her actor boyfriend in her kitchen. Andy has been trying to retire for about twelve books, but circumstances keep pulling him back in. All the familiar characters are there — Andy’s wife and son, big bruiser Marcus, the elderly computer nerds, and of course, all the dogs, though in Flop Dead they pay a smaller part then usual. Grover Gardner does a wonderful read of the novel per usual. Sometimes you just want a familiar cast playing out pretty much the same story.
Did I mention there are dogs?!
My score 4 of 5.
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. Flop Dead Gorgeous was published on July 4, 2023.
Pam Did It 