dogs – Carol's Notebook

‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas by David Rosenfelt

September 29, 2023September 29, 2023 by Carol2 Comments

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I could listen to Grover Gardner read the phone book. And even then he'd still sound sarcastic and self-deprecating, just like he does as Andy Carpenter. As always, Andy reluctantly takes on a case, this time around he's defending Derek, who has adopted two dogs from the Tara Foundation. Derek's been arrested for murder, and although the evidence is stacking up against him, Andy believes he's innocent. There are a lot of characters in this story. Much of the plot revolves around gangs and gang activity, so we've got bot bosses and former associates, both dead and alive. We've also got Andy, of course, his family and the investigative team. That being said, if you've read any of the series before, you know all the regulars and their dogs. The mystery portion is put together well. There's a lot going on and the murder Derek is accused of is just the tip of the iceberg. The story...

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah

August 8, 2023August 9, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

First of all, Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant has me craving fall baked goods - pumpkin donuts, pumpkin spice cheesecake, pumpkin scones. And apple dumplings, but those weren't in the book. Lindsey runs her bakery out of a remodeled lighthouse and lives in the keeper's section. It's Halloween and in addition to the town festivities, Lindsey's best friend, Kennedy, has invited the Ghost Guys to come to the lighthouse to film an episode for their show. Lindsey knows the lighthouse is haunted, which makes her even more nervous about the Guys showing up with all their equipment and tech gadgets. The whole things goes horribly awry when a local teacher is found dead, hanging from a tree just outside of the lighthouse. This is the third in the series I've read. I like Lindsey and her family and friends a lot. They're caring, loyal, and the appropriate amount of quirky. The mystery is well done with plenty of clues, suspects, and red...

Flop Dead Gorgeous by David Rosenfelt

July 11, 2023July 17, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

I have to admit that the reason I listen to the Andy Carpenter series is that Grover Gardner narrates them. He has such a distinctive voice and it works so well with Andy's sarcasm and humor. I've never read on of the series in print, and I have no desire to stray from the audio versions. This time around Andy is defending hometown girl turned Hollywood star, Jenny Nichols. And of course, Jenny has a dog, Mamie, who she adopted through Andy's rescue program. She is accused of killing her former boyfriend, current co-star, Ryan Griffin. Andy, of course, wants to get a "not guilty" verdict but the evidence is not in their favor. So he and his team get to work on trying to figure out who really killed Ryan and why. They uncover a lot in their digging including money laundering, organized crime, Interpol's most wanted, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and murders. Even with all the complications, I did manage to...

Santa’s Little Yelpers by David Rosenfelt

October 4, 2022October 4, 2022 by Carol6 Comments

Andy Carpenter is a reluctant lawyer who keeps getting drawn back into the courtroom. Andy and his wife also run the Tara Foundation, an organization dedicated to rescuing dogs, so dogs are always at least tangential to the story (and the covers are adorable). The Tara Foundation has just received a mother Golden Retriever, and her eight puppies. Chris Myers, their newest worker, offers to foster them. Chris is a former lawyer who lost his practice when he was jailed for manslaughter. He claims to be innocent, but a witness lied. Now the witness wants to recant his false testimony, and Andy volunteers to help clear Chris's name. Of course, nothing is ever that easy and when the witness ends up dead, Chris is once again on trial. Grover Gardner is the narrator of this audiobook and he is perfect. Andy has a dry sense of humor, is self-deprecating and sarcastic, and Gardner captures his personality perfectly. The characters surrounding Andy...