Sudden Death

Starred review from March 7, 2005
Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt scores another touchdown with his fourth Andy Carpenter novel (after 2004's Bury the Lead
) and proves he's in the game to stay. Andy's first-person wit seizes the reader's attention on the opening page: "I'm in Los Angeles. I'm not sure why I've never been here before. I certainly haven't had any preconceived notions about the place, other than the fact that the people here are insincere, draft-dodging, drug-taking, money-grubbing, breast-implanting, out-of-touch, pâté-eating, pompous, Lakers-loving, let's do-lunching, elitist scumbags." Rosenfelt then switches expectations for a Hollywood hoe-down by calling lawyer Andy back to his New Jersey stomping grounds, straight into a high-stakes crime scene. Troy Preston is one very dead Jets wide receiver, and Kenny Schilling, a gun-toting New York Giants running back, is holed up in his Upper Saddle River house with Preston's body. After Schilling is arrested for Preston's murder, Andy reluctantly agrees to defend the athlete as a favor to a friend, but soon his investigation turns up other suspects, putting his own life in jeopardy. Satirical in some places, oddly grim in others, this wise-cracking legal thriller with its angst-ridden everyman hero manages to be sweet and humane. Agent, Robin Rue. 4-city author tour.

January 1, 2005
Did football rivalry lead to murder? Big sports, big money, and a media trial spectacular awaits attorney Andy Carpenter in his latest. Edgar Award-winning Rosenfelt lives in Silverado Canyon, CA. 4-city author tour.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2005
Andy Carpenter, the Paterson, New Jersey, defense lawyer, returns for his fourth outing. His client: a football player accused of murdering a fellow player (the case being complicated by the fact that the accused killer was holed up in his own house, with a gun and the murdered man's body). But Andy soon discovers that this murder is similar to several earlier killings. Carpenter is a strong series lead, one of those wisecracking-but-don't-underestimate-him kinds of characters. He's also independently wealthy (his father left him $22 million), which means he can pick and choose his cases. The author handles the material deftly, mixing humor and whodunit but never letting the comedy overwhelm the mystery. The novels are written in the present tense, a much overused gimmick in the genre; but here it somehow works, helping to sustain tension by establishing that neither Andy nor the reader knows what's about to happen. A cracking good yarn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

October 3, 2005
Abridging a mystery is always a tricky task—cut too much and the reader is either in the dark or wondering about dangling plot threads. But this abridgement is superbly done, reducing the length while maintaining the novel's essence and without sacrificing clarity. Lawyer Andy Carpenter finds himself roped into defending a New York Giants star running back who police find holed up in his house with a gun, and the dead body of a New York Jets receiver. Getting his unwanted client off won't be easy, especially when drug lords become involved, putting Andy's life—and the lives of those he cares about—on the line. Gardner's voice isn't what one would call resonant or even particularly pleasant, but he's undeniably compelling, and here he portrays the wisecracking and insecure Carpenter exactly right—a mix of neo-noirish gumshoe and hot-shot city lawyer. Gardner is one of the stars of audiobook narration—he's recorded more than 450 audiobooks and AudioFile
magazine named him one of the "best voices of the century"—and he reinforces that reputation here. Gardner takes this otherwise mildly entertaining potboiler and turns it into a must-hear murder mystery. Simultaneous release with the Mysterious Press hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 7).

Starred review from May 1, 2005
If you like witty mysteries, e.g., Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, then you should become acquainted with Andy Carpenter, a Patterson, NJ, millionaire lawyer ("Open and Shut", "First Degree") who keeps getting saddled with strange cases. In his latest adventure, the action starts immediately, when a famous Giants football player barricades himself in a Saddle River mansion, holding off the police because the body of a rival Jets player has been found in his closet. Did Kenny actually murder the player, or is it a set-up? How innocent is he? Moving from the Giants locker room to a Mafioso's office, Rosenfelt takes us on a great ride, throwing us red herrings, a hilarious subplot about Hollywood, and witty repartee between his colorful characters. This is a great beach read. Let's hope Andy gets more crazy cases! Recommended for all public libraries. The Edgar Award-winning Rosenfelt lives in Silverado, CA. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ "1/05.] -Marianne Fitzgerald, Annapolis, MD

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.