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Editorial Content for Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

Andy Carpenter doesn’t have a web page or any large-scale advertising, but if he did, his law firm’s motto would certainly be “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Andy is the fictional trial lawyer created by author David Rosenfelt, whose OUTFOXED is the 14th installment in his series. Each case follows a now fairly standard plot line with a full cast of familiar and recurring characters.

Andy is an independently wealthy attorney whose financial status offers him the ability to pick and choose the clients he will represent in court. He maintains an office staff that includes an expert in computer espionage and Marcus, a man of few words but extraordinary physical strength and bravery. In previous volumes, Andy also met and married his wife, Laurie, and the couple adopted Ricky, who is now a third-grade student. And, of course, there are the dogs. Every Andy Carpenter novel involves canines. Rosenfelt has rescued 25 golden retrievers over his lifetime, and his passion for dogs is often a cornerstone of the plots of these mysteries.

"Throughout the pages of OUTFOXED, David Rosenfelt maintains a light and humorous touch with fast-paced action and snappy repartee."

In OUTFOXED, Andy’s client is Brian Atkins, a computer executive who Andy has met through a program in which prison inmates help train rescue dogs. Brian is serving a prison sentence in a minimum security facility for computer fraud, but shockingly uses the dog he is training to escape from incarceration and is arrested the next day for the murder of his wife and the former associate whose testimony helped convict him of fraud. Having worked with him and observed his treatment of rescue dogs, Andy simply refuses to believe that Brian is capable of a brutal double homicide. Believing that a good person is innocent is the number one requirement for a client of Andy’s. Brian meets that test, and Andy’s legal team goes to work.

If you have read any previous novels in this series, you understand that Brian, in the tradition of Andy’s clients, will not be convicted of the charges he faces. Andy does more than obtain acquittals, though. In the spirit of Perry Mason, he finds the actual killer. Over the course of his career, he has become quite friendly with numerous law enforcement sources, some of which are local, others of which are with the FBI. Part of his ability in cultivating his sources comes from his wife’s previous law enforcement experience, as well as his willingness to provide and trade information. And the fact that he is always happy to pick up bar and restaurant tabs doesn’t hurt. His efforts to identify the true murderer in this case lead to the world of computer gambling and information gathering. It also brings Andy and his family dangerously close to underworld connections who want him off the case and do not care how that is accomplished.

Throughout the pages of OUTFOXED, David Rosenfelt maintains a light and humorous touch with fast-paced action and snappy repartee. While the author is not an attorney, his courtroom scenes are marked by appropriate procedures and dialogue. Andy knows just how far to go in a courtroom and often walks perilously close to the line of contempt, but he does it with style. This series continues to be entertaining, heartwarming and delightful to read.

Teaser

Lately, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter has been involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

Promo

Lately, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter has been involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

About the Book

Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter spends as much time as he can working on his true passion, the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs. Lately, Andy has been especially involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners.

One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. Brian and Boomer are clearly a terrific match. In fact, Andy hopes that Brian will adopt Boomer himself, once his sentence is up.

But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape, and man and dog are both in the wind. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

Suddenly, Andy finds himself with a new client in Brian and a new dog in Boomer. And as he starts to dig deeper into the murder and the events leading up to it, Andy realizes he might be putting them all in far more danger than anyone had realized.

Audiobook available, read by Grover Gardner