Audiobook Review: Executive Order by Max Allan Collins

Executive Order
Author: Max Allan Collins & Matthew V. Clemens
Narrator: Dan John Miller
Series: Reeder and Rogers Thriller (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (April 11, 2017)
Length: 8 hours and 21 minutes

Description: A riveting novel by MWA Grand Master Award winner Max Allan Collins.

In Eastern Europe four CIA agents are dead - geopolitical pawns caught in border dispute cross fire. Why were they there? Who sent them? Not even the President knows.

Back in Washington, the Secretary of the Interior dies from an apparent allergic shock. As details emerge, so do suspicions that she was murdered.

Investigating their respective cases, ex - Secret Service agent Joe Reeder and FBI Special Situations Task Force leader Patti Rogers recognize a dangerous conspiracy is in play. When suspects and government contacts are killed off with expert precision, their worst fears are confirmed. As the country edges closer and closer to war, Reeder and Rogers must protect the President - and each other - from an unseen enemy who's somehow always one step ahead.

The stakes have never been higher, against killers who might be anywhere, and Reeder and Rogers have no one to trust but each other.

My Thoughts: The third thriller starring Joe Reeder and Patti Rogers begins with four CIA operatives dying in Azbekistan as the Russians invade. The President calls upon Joe to find out who gave the orders sending the agents into Azbekistan since he had ordered that no agents be in that country. The deaths have brought the US and Russia almost to the brink of war with hawks in the Administration agitating for a declaration of war. 

Meanwhile, Joe is concerned about the death of the head of the Department of the Interior due to an allergic reaction. He had dated her and finds the death suspicious. He calls on his friend Patti to have her and her FBI team look into the death which quickly becomes a murder investigation. 

At first, the two cases don't look to be related but it doesn't take long for Reeder and Rogers to discovers ties to a huge conspiracy to take over the government. The conspiracy has reached deep into all branches of the government leaving them no knowing who to trust.

This was an intense, engaging thriller set in a near future USA. The characters are intriguing and the plot twisty. As narrator, Dan John Miller did an excellent job both illuminating the characters and ramping up the tension of the story. 

I bought this one June 28, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Legacy of Lies by Robert Bailey

Legacy of Lies
Author: Robert Bailey
Narrator: Eric G. Dove
Series: Bocephus Haines (Book 1)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 1, 2020)
Length: 8 hours and 23 minutes

Description: A small-town attorney takes on prejudice and corruption in this powerful legal thriller.

Small-town lawyer Bocephus Haynes comes home late one night to find District Attorney General Helen Lewis waiting for him. Her ex-husband has just been killed. She’s about to be arrested for his murder. And she wants Bo to represent her.

There’s a lot working against them. Just before his death, Helen’s ex-husband threatened to reveal a dark secret from her past. Bo has been in a tailspin since his wife’s death. What’s more, his whole life has been defined by a crime committed against his family, and he continues to face prejudice as the only African American litigator in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Bo’s back is against the wall, and Helen resigns herself to a dismal fate - but a stunning discovery throws everything into chaos. There’s a chance for justice, but to achieve it, the cost might be too much for Bo to bear.

My Thoughts: The first Bocephus Haines mystery stars a lawyer who has gone through a difficult time including the shooting death of his wife and the loss of custody of his two teenage children, He also has the hanging death of the man he knew as his father by the Ku Klux Klan when he was five which led to his pursuit of the law and of those who were involved. Along the way he learned that one of the men who was involved in the hanging was a white man and his biological father. This cascade of things caused him to go into a state of depression.

When District Attorney General Helen Lewis comes to him one evening and wants to hire him because she believes that she is soon to be arrested for the murder of her ex-husband, Bo turns down the case at first. He comes around to accepting the case despite the overwhelming evidence that Helen did murder her ex. 

As the investigation goes on in preparation for the trial, all sorts of secrets are exposed both in Helen's life and in the movers and shakers of Pulaski, Tennessee. Among the villains is a man who has come to town after inheriting a bunch of money from his deceased parents and who plans to bring in a Japanese automaker who promises 1000 jobs. However, his accusation of the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl stands in the way of the business deal and Helen Lewis is the one who wants to bring him to trial. 

This story was filled with twists and turns and suspense. 

I bought this one November 7, 2020. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Hounded by David Rosenfelt

Hounded
Author: David Rosenfelt

Narrator: Grover Gardner
Series: Andy Carpenter (Book 12)
Publication: Minotaur Books; First edition (July 22, 2014); Listen & Live Audio (July 30, 2014)

Length: 6 hours and 52 minutes

Description: Andy Carpenter isn't sure what to think when he gets a mysterious phone call from a good friend, policeman Pete Stanton, asking him to drop everything, drive to an unfamiliar address, and bring his girlfriend, Laurie Collins. He certainly isn't expecting to show up at a crime scene. But that's exactly where he arrives—at the house where Pete has just discovered the body of ex-convict Danny Diza. Upstairs are Danny's now orphaned eight-year-old son and basset hound. And that, Andy discovers, is why he and Laurie were called to the scene—Pete wants them to take care of the boy and the dog so they won't get thrown into the "system." This is already asking a lot, but soon Pete needs another big favor from Andy. Pete himself has come under suspicion for Danny's murder, and he needs defense attorney Andy to represent him…and to find out what really happened in Danny's house that day.

David Rosenfelt has done it again. Told with his characteristic humor and wit, Hounded is at once a heartfelt story about family and a page-turning legal thriller.

My Thoughts: Andy Carpenter isn't looking for more work. He's enjoying his retirement and spending time with his dog Tara and at the dog rescue he founded with his friend Willie. But when Pete Stanton calls, Andy and Laurie are right there to help him.

One of Pete's former informants has been murdered leaving an eight-year-old son named Ricky and a basset hound named Sebastian in need of care. Andy's fine with the dog but has major reservations about the boy. However, Laurie is all in and what Laurie wants is what Andy wants too.

Things get more complicated when Pete is arrested for the murder. He finds himself in the middle of a well-planned and executed frame job. Andy knows that but unraveling the conspiracy and uncovering the criminals is going to be hard. 

It all starts when a researcher at a veterinary medicine company discovers a formula which in pill form provides a painless euthanasia for gravely ill pets. This leads to a murder for hire conspiracy and a string of deaths. When Pete gets too close, he has to be eliminated.

I have been reading this series out of order. I'm glad to finally come to the story that tells about Ricky joining the family. I like Andy's hesitation to take on the responsibility for a child and the way the relationship gradually developed. 

I bought the Kindle copy December 5, 2022, and the audiobook October 29. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Vampire of Kings Street by Asha Greyling

The Vampire of Kings Street
Author: Asha Greyling
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 17, 2024)

Description: In this gothic debut novel, perfect for fans of Tread of Angels and Gail Carriger’s Soulless, Miss Radhika Dhingra, a newly minted lawyer in 19th century New York, never expected that her first client would be a vampire accused of murder.

Having a resident vampire is just the thing for upper-class New Yorkers–besides being a status symbol, they make excellent butlers or housekeepers. The only thing they require in return is a drop or two of blood and a casket to shut out the dawn’s early light.

Tolerated by society only if they follow a strict set of rules, vampires are seen as “less than”–and as the daughter of immigrants, Radhika knows firsthand how this feels. Accused of murder, her undead client Mr. Evelyn More, knows that the cards are stacked against him.

With the help of a journalist friend and a diminutive detective inspector, Miss Dhingra sets out to prove her client’s innocence and win his freedom. Failure will mean Mr. More’s death, the end of her dreams of becoming a successful attorney, and the loss of the vampire Miss Dhingra has begun to call her friend.

Offering an alternative paranormal history, delightful characters, and insightful social commentary, The Vampire of Kings Street will thrill readers of Deanna Rayburn and Rebecca Roanhorse.

My Thoughts: Miss Radhika Dhingra is a newly minted lawyer in New York City in this story. She hasn't been hired by any of the local firms and is eking out a living in a lower-class part of town and living in her office. 

When a vampire comes to her door looking for legal advice, she is interested and afraid and conflicted. Mr. Evelyn More fears that he will be accused of the murder of a young woman who was once his ward. Vampires aren't often given the benefit of a doubt when it comes to murder. 

Agnes Tomson had been killed in a particularly brutal way in her dressing room at the opera and a bloody glove belonging to More was discovered on site. Things aren't looking good for More. But Radhika is determined to find out the truth even though she's fired by the Frost family who have sheltered More for hundreds of years. 

This alternate paranormal history mystery was an interesting look both at vampires and at life in Nineteenth Century New York. I enjoyed it and especially enjoyed Radhika's mixed feeling about defending a vampire. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Tell No Lies by Allison Brennan

Tell No Lies
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: Quinn & Costa Thrillers (Book 2)
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (March 30, 2021)

Description: The unsolved murder of a young activist leads to the discovery of much darker crimes in New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan’s latest compelling thriller to feature the young, edgy detective Kara Quinn and the loner FBI agent Matt Costa. This time they work to uncover possible ties to a high-stakes cartel in the Southwest desert.

Something mysterious is killing the wildlife in the mountains just south of Tucson. When a college intern turned activist sets out to collect her own evidence, she, too, ends up dead. Local law enforcement is slow to get involved. That’s when the mobile FBI unit goes undercover to infiltrate the town and its copper refinery in search of possible leads.

Quinn and Costa find themselves scouring the desolate landscape, which keeps revealing clues to something much darker—greed, child trafficking and more death. As the body count adds up, it’s clear they have stumbled onto much more than they bargained for. Now they must figure out who is at the heart of this mayhem and stop them before more innocent lives are lost.

My Thoughts: The second Quinn and Costa thriller starts out with the murder of a college student. She was concerned with bird deaths that she had noticed while hiking. She feared that there was some source of contamination killing birds.

The FBI Response Team is called in to investigate. They are concerned with a copper company that they think might be illegally dumping their waste products. Kara goes in undercover as a bartender tasked to making friends with the son of the company head who had alerted the FBI to some possible chicanery. 

Michael also goes undercover, his first undercover assignment, as a worker at the copper company. Other team members are in the area too. Though not undercover, they are trying to be discreet. Many other agencies are involved to including the sheriff and the local environmental agency. 

Just to add to the suspense, there are also traffickers and a couple of children who have escaped from them. 

This was an entertaining thriller. I liked the characters and found the plot interesting too. 

Favorite Quote:

She'd been a con artist before she was a cop, and being an undercover cop was, essentially, being a con artist, but with a badge.

I bought this one May 24. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

Her Deadly Game
Author: Robert Dugoni
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Series: Keera Duggan (Book 1)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (March 28, 2023)
Length: 11 hours

Description: A defense attorney is prepared to play. But is she a pawn in a master’s deadly match? A twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense.

As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future.

My Thoughts: Keera Duggan was building a reputation as a Seattle prosecutor until her relationship with her boss went sour. Now, she's working for Duggan and Associates, a firm founded by her father and also staffed with two of her sisters. Her father is a noted attorney in town and an alcoholic who has messed up all of his kids. 

When the firm gets a call from Vince LaRussa, who is accused of murdering his wheelchair-bound wife, her older sister encourages her to take the case to build up the firm's failing reputation. Keera's eager in part because she'll be facing her old lover in court, and she knows his strengths and his weaknesses.

As a former chess prodigy Keera is used to sizing up her opponents. It is her client who seems the most obscure to her. She's having trouble getting to know and understand him. And when she starts getting anonymous emails from someone calling themself Jack Worthing providing information about her client's past her doubts are raised about his innocence. 

As she's preparing for the trial, following her mysterious emailer's directions, trying to build a theory that incorporates all the on-scene evidence, and playing a chess match with a person who plays under Black Knight, Keera is also dealing with her own problems with alcohol. 

With twists and turns and courtroom hijinks, this was an excellent thriller filled with intriguing people. 

I bought this one along with the Kindle copy for $1.99. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

Seattle Violent Crimes Detective Frank Rossi drove over the street curb onto the Pioneer Square plaza pavers, the black Chevy's headlights reflecting the heavy rain, its windshield wipers slapping left and right in a futile effort to clear the glass. 

Friday 56:

Keera parked in her driveway adjacent to the elevated front walk leading to the nine-hundred-square-foot rambler she rented in the North Beacon Hill neighborhood once called Boeing Hill, because the homes were built in the 1950s and '60s for people going to work for the aerospace company.

This week I am spotlighting Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni. I recently got the Kindle and audiobook when they were on sale. This book begins a series. Here is the description from Amazon:

A defense attorney is prepared to play. But is she a pawn in a master’s deadly match? A twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense.

As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future.

Book Review: New Tricks by David Rosenfelt

New Tricks
Author: David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter (Book 7)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (July 18, 2009)

Description: In this "taut thriller full of whiplash plot twists and wisecracking dialogue," a lawyer will do whatever it takes to make sure an adorable Bernese puppy -- whose owner was brutally murdered -- doesn't fall into the wrong hands (Entertainment Weekly).

Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs. However, the playful new friend he just inherited is valued by several people, many of whom are willing to resort to violence to get what they want. It will take more than Andy's usual courtroom theatrics to save this dog, including a little help from his beloved golden retriever, Tara.

Andy soon discovers that anyone around him is in danger, including his long-time girlfriend Laurie, and he will have to muster all of his wits to save those he holds most dear.

My Thoughts: It all starts when Judge "Hatchett" Henderson assigns Andy a pro bono case: a Bernese Mountain dog puppy is in a custody battle after his owner was murdered. Andy is all for helping find the perfect home for Waggy, a very active puppy.

He happens to be at the home of the widow discussing the matter and meeting the estranged son who is there arguing with his stepmother when the house explodes killing the widow and narrowly missing Andy and Waggy. 

The custody case should be easy except a third party, the former dog show partner of the murdered man, files his own claim for custody of the puppy and the son is arrested for the murder of his father and stepfather. 

Andy takes on the case of the son and needs to prove that he didn't kill his father or stepmother despite all the evidence pointing toward him if he wants Waggy to have a happy home. And it seems that someone wants Waggy dead. An assassination attempt on the dog hits Andy's long-time girlfriend Laurie and almost kills her. 

This story was filled with twists and turns and is also filled with Andy's usual snark. I really enjoyed this story.

Favorite Quote:

"You don't really have to take it anywhere, you know. You won the case."

I think about that for a moment. The way I do my job, the way I've always done my job, is to think of it as a competition, a game. I won't feel like I've won the game unless I figure it out. Laurie already knows this about me, so I smile and say, "The game isn't over yet."

"And if you win the game it means a murderer gets caught," she says.

"That's what makes it a really great game."

I bought this one November 26, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein

Final Jeopardy
Author: Linda Fairstein
Series: Alex Cooper (Book 1)
Publication: Pocket Books (June 1, 1997)

Description: From the former chief of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office comes the bestselling thriller featuring a New York City prosecutor unraveling a terrifying and brutal murder mystery.

Alexandra Cooper, Manhattan’s top sex crimes prosecutor, awakens one morning to shocking news: a tabloid headline announcing her own violent murder. Confused and horrified, Alex discovers that the actual victim was Isabella Lascar, a Hollywood film actress who was staying at Alex’s Martha’s Vineyard retreat. This only raises more questions: was Isabella slain by a stalker or was Alex herself the intended target?

In an investigation that twists from the alleys of lower Manhattan to the chic boutiques of the Upper East Side, Alex has to get inside the killer’s head before the killer gets her. “With riveting authenticity” (Vanity Fair), Final Jeopardy is a fast-paced and explosive thriller that only Linda Fairstein could write.

My Thoughts: FINAL JEOPARDY was an entertaining thriller which introduces Alexandra Cooper who is a Assistant District Attorney in New York City. Her specialty is sex crimes. She spends a lot of her day dealing with women who have been raped. She has a fast-paced job. When she awakens one morning to news headings that announce that she'd been murdered at her summer home on Martha's Vineyard, things get even more chaotic.

Alex has leant the house to an acquaintance named Isabella Lascar. Isabella is a Hollywood star who had told Alex that she needed to get away from a stalker and wanted a quiet place to rest up and read scripts. However, investigation shows that she wasn't alone and sets the hunt for the mysterious lover. 

Meanwhile, Alex's own lover is proving a disappointment to her. He was away conducting business in France when the murder occurs and Alex really wishes that he would drop everything and come to offer her emotional support. 

Alex is being guarded by some of the cops who are her investigators because it isn't known at first if she or Isabella were the intended victim. I liked her friendship with her main guardian and liked that she wanted to take part in the investigation despite her boss's desires that she let cops investigate and she concentrate on her own work. 

This was an entertaining story. I liked her relationship with her police partner. I liked that she had a strong circle of friends. I liked her dedication to her job. I liked that she was a strong and competent woman.

Favorite Quote:

I was tired of being Scarlett O'Hara. In my next life I'm going to come back as Melanie Wilkes, fragile and helpless. 

I bought this one January 30, 2009. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Play Dead by David Rosenfelt

Play Dead
Author: David Rosefelt
Series: Andy Carpenter Mystery (Book 6)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (July 15, 2009)

Description: In this imaginative legal thriller for dog lovers, an attorney tries to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take the testimony a golden retriever seriously.

Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara.

After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another retriever's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years earlier.

It will take all the tricks Andy's fertile mind can conceive to get to the bottom of a remarkable chain of impersonations and murder -- and hopefully save not only a dog's life but also his own in the process.

My Thoughts: There are few things lawyer Andy Carpenter likes more than golden retrievers, so when he hears that one is in a kill shelter after biting his supposed owner, Andy is determined to save him. He doesn't expect to find out that the dog was once the beloved pet of a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend.

When Richard Evans's sister sees the publicity about Andy saving the dog, she immediately comes to him because the dog was supposed to have been killed by Richard in the same incident when he killed his girlfriend. If the dog is still alive, what else about the night his girlfriend died and he tried to overdose isn't true? She's never believed that her brother could have killed anyone and asks Andy to look into the case again.

Andy agrees to meet Richard and form his own opinion though he already has positive feelings for the man because of his dog. But as Andy begins to look into the case and especially the character of the woman Richard was supposed to have murdered, he finds he is disturbing something that some very powerful people don't want uncovered. 

Andy's shot at, has his home bugged, and hits all sorts of roadblocks including not being allowed to indicate that the girlfriend was in the Witness Protection Program. And even after he finds out about the conspiracy, someone is murdering the participants.

This was another engaging entry into the Andy Carpenter mystery series. 

Favorite Quote:

Marcus Clark is a terrific investigator, but that is not what initially comes to mind when one thinks of him. Focusing on his investigative talents first would be like somebody asking for your view of Pamela Anderson, only to have you respond that you hear she's a pretty good bowler. It may or may not be true, but it's not "top of mind."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Dead Center by David Rosenfelt

Dead Center
Author: David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter Mysteries (Book 5)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (December 2, 2008)

Description: After Laurie Collins left him and headed west, New Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter didn't expect to ever see her again. So he's shocked when his ex-girlfriend appears on TV--and then calls him pleading for his help. Two coeds in Wisconsin have been found brutally stabbed to death. As the town's acting police chief, Laurie had to arrest a young college student with a carful of bloodstains who argued with one of the victims just before her death. Yet Laurie strongly believes that the suspect, Jeremy Davidson, is innocent.

Trading the refineries and factories of Paterson for the frozen pastures of Findlay, Wisconsin, Andy soon finds himself in a small town handling a big-time double homicide case. He looks into Jeremy's romance with one of the victims--and the possible involvement of a bizarre religious cult--one that may sanction the most unholy, and vicious, of acts.

While Andy tries to save Jeremy, make sense of his love life, and find a decent pizza for his beloved dog, Tara, the secrets of an ultra-religious community begin to rain down on him like bricks from a cracked fortress. But as Edgar®-nominated Rosenfelt proves to us once again, the path to the truth is littered with lies and misdirection. And before it's all over, the unexpected is the only thing Andy can count on.

My Thoughts: The last thing Andy Carpenter expects is for his former girlfriend Laurie Collins to call him and ask him to defend a young man she has arrested for murder. But Andy, and Tara, are off to the wilds of Wisconsin to look into the case. 

Jeremy Davidson is accused of murdering his girlfriend Elizabeth and her friend Sheryl and burying their bodies in his parents' yard within steps of his apartment in the family guesthouse. Laurie doesn't believe it and Andy has questions.

Teaming up with local attorney Calvin Marshall who is as snarky as Andy, the two try to find out about the two girls who were both residents of a very private and insular town near Findlay. No one in the town is willing to speak to either attorney. Even calling on the computer skills of Andy's friend Sam back home in New Jersey only gives them the barest hint of a way to proceed when he manages to give a possible name to Elizabeth's former boyfriend.

When Jeremy's home is firebombed, Laurie insists that Andy call in Marcus to provide protection for him. But the protection isn't expansive enough and Calvin winds up dead with a broken neck in a supposed car accident. Then, after agreeing to talk to Andy, the former boyfriend is found hanging in his motel room's bathroom after leaving a signed confession. 

The confession is enough to get Jeremy's trial cancelled and get Jeremy released from jail, but Andy isn't satisfied. He still wants to find out who actually murdered Elizabeth and Sheryl and the boyfriend. His continued investigations manage to put both him and Laurie in peril. 

I'm curious to see where this series goes next. Andy and Laurie have agreed to try a long-distance relationship since, while they love each other, their choices of places to live are incompatible.

Favorite Quote:

Bringing Marcus to Findley would be like bringing a bazooka to a Tupperware party.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Sudden Death by David Rosefelt

Sudden Death
Author: David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter Book 4
Publication: Grand Central Publishing (June 26, 2009)

Description: Following the success of Bury the Lead, David Rosenfelt delivers a "wise cracking legal thriller" featuring Defense Attorney Andy Carpenter (Publishers Weekly).

Kenny Schilling is the new star running back for the New York Giants. Troy Preston was a wide receiver for the Jets, until his recent murder. Could rivalry have turned Kenny Schilling into a cold-blooded killer? The police say yes. And now the football hero needs a good lawyer--quick. Still basking in the glow of his last successful case, Andy Carpenter is called to defend Kenny's innocence. Then it's revealed that Troy wasn't the only murdered player Kenny was in contact with. Now, amid a collapsing personal life and death threats from a drug king--who may or may not have a hand in things--Andy must keep his eye on the ball during what could become the media trial of the century.

My Thoughts: In this fourth Andy Carpenter mystery, Andy is hired to defend Kenny Schilling who is the new star running back for the New York Giants. He is accused of murdering Troy Preston who is another player for the Giants. 

Things don't start off well for Andy or for Kenny. They meet when Kenny is holding off the police from entering his home where Preston's body is found stuffed in a closet. 

As Andy and his team investigate, they learn that Preston was not only using drugs but selling them. In order to prove reasonable doubt, Andy explores the possibility that Preston was killed by a local drug dealer which angers the dealer enough to put a hit out on Andy requiring him to seek protection from Marcus and his dog rescue partner Willie. 

But Preston's death is not the only one with a possible link to Kenny. He was in Wisconsin at a hunting party composed of fellow football players when one of the players died in an accidental shooting. As a young man named Adam who came to New Jersey to write a potential movie script about Andy's role in Willie Miller's successful trial begins helping Andy investigate this case, he soon learns that that wasn't the only death that happened near Kenny. And when Adam is murdered in Andy's office the first thought is that he was killed by the drug dealer in a case of mistaken identity. But the fact that his notes were stolen leads to a different conclusion.

Is Andy defending a possible serial killer?

And, while all of this is going on, Andy is dealing with personal life difficulties. His girlfriend Laurie has an opportunity to move back to her hometown in Wisconsin and get back into law enforcement. She spends the whole book making up her mind about what she wants for her future. 

This was another excellent episode in the Andy Carpenter series. 

Favorite Quote:

I go downstairs to pay Sofia Hernandez, the owner of the fruit stand, enough money to take care of the damage and aggravation. She's amazingly calm about it, as if thugs falling from the sky are an unfortunate but expected part of doing business.

I bought this one September 7, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt

Bury the Lead
Author: David Rosenfelt

Narrator: Grover Gardner
Series: Andy Carpenter (Book 3)
Publication: Grand Central Publishing; 1st edition (September 3, 2007); Listen & Live Audio, Inc. (August 12, 2004)

Length: 284 p.; 5 hours and 52 minutes

Description The hero of Rosenfelt's previous novels, Edgar-nominated Open and Shut, and First Degree, Andy Carpenter returns to prove the innocence of a reporter accused of being a serial killer.

Defense attorney Andy Carpenter has been successfully avoiding taking on new cases until his sometime friend and newspaper owner Vince Sanders, calls and asks him for a favor. Daniel Cumming, Vince's star reporter, is being used as the mouthpiece for a brutal serial killer. He has been cooperating with the police but Vince wants to make sure both the newspaper and Daniel are protected. Andy thinks the case will be a piece of cake...until Daniel is found unconscious in the park next to the killer's latest victim. Daniel claims he intended to stop the murder but the police arrest him. A reluctant Andy plunges himself into the case. And as he learns more about Daniel's shady background he begins to wonder how deadly the truth might be.

My Thoughts: When old friend and newspaper editor Vince Sanders calls Andy to help him protect one of his reporters who has been the only contact with a serial killer, Andy is reluctant but friendship wins out. 

Daniel Cumming is being used as a mouthpiece for a man who is killing random women and cutting off their hands. But when Daniel is found on the scene of the death of the latest victim who happens to be in the run for governor of New Jersey, he ends up arrested for the murders. 

Andy isn't necessarily convinced of his new client's innocence and his conviction is shaken even more when he learns that Daniel's wife was also murdered leaving him a very rich man. When he learns that Daniel is Vince's son - the result of a long-ago one-night stand, Andy feels that he has no choice but to help him even though the evidence against him seems overwhelming.

But as Andy, Laurie and Marcus look into the cases, they begin to believe that Daniel is the victim of a very nicely done frame. A former client of Andy's now in prison overhears something that sheds light on Andy's case but is killed before he can share what he knows. 

Marcus tracks down another former prisoner who points the finger at a serial killer who is known to frame someone innocent for crimes he commits. But proving anything isn't easy even when Andy calls on a local crime boss for help.

This was a twisty mystery filled with Andy's usual snark. It is the episode where Andy's partner is the dog rescue Willy meets and marries his love. And where Andy and Laurie are living together with Andy hoping for marriage and Laurie not seeming interested in it. I really enjoy Andy's interactions with his dog Tara. 

Favorite Quote:

"There are a number of leads that we're aggressively pursuing along with our colleagues in the state police," he says. "We're very confidant."

"So you've got nothing."

"Not a f**king thing."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Contempt by Michael Cordell

Contempt
Author: Michael Cordell
Series: Contempt (Book 1)
Publication: TCK Publishing (July 27, 2020)

Description: Playing by the rules landed him on death row. Now he’ll have to break all the rules to survive.

After spending five years in jail for a murder he didn't commit, lawyer Thane Banning agrees to take on a case defending a former inmate against the same DA who put Thane behind bars. Thane is besieged by death threats from the alleged victim’s father and a tidal wave of public outrage following his release, not to mention the corrupt DA who has a grudge to settle. But he doesn’t have much time to think about his personal problems because the case is turning into a nasty fight. Luckily, prison taught Thane a thing or two about survival in a world full of criminals. The last time he played by the rules in court, he landed on death row. This time he'll have to break more than a few rules to come out of this battle unscathed. With help from an ex-inmate and an ambitious law student, Thane will do everything in his power to make sure another innocent man isn’t locked up. But will they be able to uncover the truth in time and convince the jury before the gavel drops for the last time?

My Thoughts: CONTEMPT was an intriguing and engaging legal thriller with a surprising twist. Real Estate Lawyer Thane Banning was wrongly accused and convicted of murder. After five years in prison, he manages to get his conviction overturned on a procedural error.

Thane's out of prison but not with a cleared reputation. The court of public opinion and the victim's father are sure that he was guilty. The District Attorney Bradford Stone hates the idea that Thane got out. Stone has quite a reputation for being tough on crime and political ambitions too. Thane's release doesn't provide good optics.

The only ones who believe in Thane are his former boss Joseph Crowell who runs a boutique law firm specializing in real estate developers and their project, and Thane's wife Thane's wife Hannah who almost never lost faith in her husband's innocence but who doesn't really know the man who has come back to her. 

When a man he met in prison comes to him for help when he's accused of murder, Thane tries to discourage him. Thane's specialty is real estate law, after all, But the chance to finally take on the DA who has decided that Skunk Burns' case would give him needed publicity for his upcoming campaign, Thane can't pass up the opportunity. What also draws him in is the fact that the man Burns is accused of killing is the same police detective who arrested Thane.

Thane has help from a friend who helped him learn how to survive in prison, Gideon who is a career criminal now out on parole, and Kristin Peterson, a law student twelfth in her class and looking to give herself an edge in the job market when she graduates.

These three unlikely heroes are taking on the might of the LA District Attorney's office. But the underdogs aren't going to play by the rules if it means losing the case.

I really enjoyed this story and couldn't put it down. Thane is an intriguing character who doesn't realize how much prison and death row has changed him. I liked the fast-paced plot and all the twists and turns that it took.

Fans of legal thrillers will enjoy this one and hope for more about the characters. 

Favorite Quote:

"I was never what you'd call a good egg, if that's what you mean." Gideon smiled, but Thane didn't respond. "You think maybe you're different from when you went in?" Gideon continued. "You'd have to be. Everyone is."

Thane finally looked up at him. "I thought maybe I wouldn't have changed much because I was innocent."

"Hell, that'd be worse. Besides, nobody leaves Forsman innocent. I don't give a fuck who it is."

I received this one from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.

Publisher Link: https://www.tckpublishing.com/

Author Link: https://michaeljcordell.com/

Friday Memes: Contempt by Michael Cordell

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Five years had passed since the two lawyers last faced each other in a court of law. Five years -- or a lifetime, depending on which lawyer you asked.

Friday 56:

Though she never spoke of it, he assumed her business suffered with the press rehashing their story, especially after she took him back.

This week I am spotlighting Contempt: A Legal Thriller by Michael Cordell which I received recently from a publicist. Here is the description from Amazon:

Playing by the rules landed him on death row. Now he’ll have to break all the rules to survive.

After spending five years in jail for a murder he didn't commit, lawyer Thane Banning agrees to take on a case defending a former inmate against the same DA who put Thane behind bars. Thane is besieged by death threats from the alleged victim’s father and a tidal wave of public outrage following his release, not to mention the corrupt DA who has a grudge to settle. But he doesn’t have much time to think about his personal problems because the case is turning into a nasty fight. Luckily, prison taught Thane a thing or two about survival in a world full of criminals. The last time he played by the rules in court, he landed on death row. This time he'll have to break more than a few rules to come out of this battle unscathed. With help from an ex-inmate and an ambitious law student, Thane will do everything in his power to make sure another innocent man isn’t locked up. But will they be able to uncover the truth in time and convince the jury before the gavel drops for the last time?

Book Review: Deadly Justice by William Bernhardt

Deadly Justice
Author: William Bernhardt
Series: Ben Kincaid (Book 3)
Publication: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (May 29, 1993)

Description: Ben Kincaid is not a superstar attorney. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there are only a few lawyers who win headlines and big bucks. So when the notorious Apollo Consortium offers Ben a job as their in-house counsel, he takes it--for the money.

The violence in the streets outside the Apollo is nothing compared to the backstabbing politics of the firm. And when Ben wins his first case, he unwittingly sets up some bitter rivalry with his colleagues--rivalry that will culminate in a fellow lawyer's dead body and Ben charged with murder.

My Thoughts: This is the third book in the Ben Kincaid series. He's a lawyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has a single practice and is barely making ends meet when he is approached by the Apollo Corporation to be one of their in-house attorneys. Despite concerns from his paralegal Christina, he decides to take the job for the financial security.

Ben is greeted with open arms and effusive praise by the head of the legal department. Other lawyers aren't so excited to see him. The firm is filled with rivalries, back-stabbing, and sexism. And Ben's idealism doesn't look like it makes him a good fit for the company. His first job is a case where the company is being sued because a faulty design has caused the death of a young man. Luckily for Ben, the lawyers the victims hired is not at all competent and Ben quickly wins the case.

But then a fellow attorney is murdered, and his body is found in Ben's car outside his apartment. Ben is given a week by the Chief of Police to find the real murderer, or the Chief will have him arrested. Ben has to dig into relationships and rivalries to find out who murdered his fellow attorney.

Meanwhile, the Tulsa police are very busy trying to find a serial killer who is leaving headless and handless bodies of teenage girls around town. Ben's investigation and the police investigation do come together eventually.

I enjoyed this book and really liked Ben who was a hard-working, smart, and ethical attorney. The side cast were also well-developed characters. Even though this is the third in the series and only the first I have read, I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I am tempted to read earlier and later books in this series because I enjoyed the characters and the writing. 

Favorite Quote:

"That's great! Brilliant!" Crichton rose to his feet. "My God, you're winning cases for us already. I knew you were a champ."

Ben felt his face flushing bright red. He hadn't heard such effusive praise since he memorized "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in second grade. 

I received this one as a Christmas Gift. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag

Prior Bad Acts
Author: Tami Hoag
Series: Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska (Book 3)
Publication: Bantam (March 21, 2006)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with a thriller that begins with a shocking crime scene you’ll never forget and follows two relentless detectives on a manhunt that ends in a chilling confrontation with the essence of human evil.

It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry—and puts the judge in grave danger.

When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’s top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.

The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped—snatched out of her own bed even as the police sit outside, watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that includes the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed.

With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of Prior Bad Acts.

My Thoughts: The horrible, brutal murder of a mother and her two foster children is the centerpiece of this thriller. Drifter and petty criminal Karl Dahl is assumed to be the perpetrator. After all, he has a history of smaller sexual crimes from peeping to exposing himself in public. But Judge Cary Moore isn't going to let those past Prior Bad Acts be presented in the current case.

This decision infuriates Detective Stan Dempsey who found his life changed by the crime. He's a loner who lived for the job but his obsession with this case has him on desk duty and on his way out the door of the police force short of the time needed for his thirty year pension.

When Judge Moore is assaulted in the parking garage where she keeps her car outside the court building, Kovac and Liska get the case despite the fact that neither of them are fond of the judge's rulings which seem to bend too much to the criminal's side. As Kovac gets closer to the judge and her five-year-old daughter, Liska is looking into the family of the murdered woman and coming up with troubling things.

Kovac begins to suspect that the Judge's husband might have hired someone to attack his wife. Their marriage is hanging on by a thread and he has been supporting a girlfriend. His career as a film producer never took off and he feels overshadowed by his wife, the judge.

Then Karl Dahl escapes from prison and focuses on Judge Moore who he sees as an angel who is on his side.

This thriller had a wide assortment of probable villains and I was led astray by a number of red herrings before the case finally came to its thrilling conclusion. I liked the banter between Kovac and Liska and the other police detectives. I'm glad that there are five other thrillers starring Kovac and Liska.

Favorite Quote:

For the very first time in his career, Stan Dempsey had committed the cardinal sin of letting a case get under his skin. He had allowed himself to imagine the last terrifying hours of the victims' lives, to feel their fear, their helplessness.

I bought this one sometime before February 2008. You can buy your copy here.