Dead Center

By: David Rosenfelt

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

If there aren't any real-life lawyers as entertaining, as witty, and as willing to tilt at windmills as Andy Carpenter, Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt's engaging series hero, then there should be.

Carpenter, the Paterson, N.J., lawyer whose wealth allows him to work as seldom as he chooses, is recovering from the loss of the love of his life, Laurie Collins, who has moved home to Findlay, Wis., to become the acting chief of police. When Laurie calls Andy for help after arresting 21-year-old Jeremy Davidson for murders that she thinks he didn't commit, Andy can't resist heading off to Findlay with his faithful dog, Tara.

There's damning evidence against Jeremy, accused of killing two young women, one of whom he was romantically involved with. Andy is forced to pry into the closed society of Center City, home of the victims and a peculiar religious sect called the Centurions.

Dead Center is our Editors' Pick for Mysteries and Thrillers. Find out what else made Audible's Best of 2006 list.

©2006 David Rosenfelt (P)2006 Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Mystery, 2007

"Written with flair and humor, this is perfect light reading." (Publishers Weekly)
"Those who like the added complexity of character-driven mysteries will find much to enjoy in this award-winning series." (Booklist)
"Grover Gardner's narrative style is clear but low-key, a style that fits Andy Carpenter, Rosenfelt's series hero....His reading perfectly evokes the suspense and drama of a criminal investigation." (AudioFile)

About what we expected

What did you like best about Dead Center? What did you like least?

We enjoyed the humor - it takes talent to write with such deprecating humor. We needed to listen to something lighter and it was a good match!

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The story line went on too long and the appearance of his body guard "just in time" each time seemed a little too far fetched

What aspect of Grover Gardner’s performance would you have changed?

I actually find his voice a little irritating - but he does the Andy Carpenter character well.

Was Dead Center worth the listening time?

Yes, if you need to occupy some time while traveling and not get into something so tense you can't listen any longer, this will fill the bill.

Slow start but a Good Read

Narrator was monatone and boreing at first but as the story line picked up his voice fit the character.

Fun series

What made the experience of listening to Dead Center the most enjoyable?

This series of books are what I consider beach reads, I really enjoy this series. The humor is great and the plots are interesting.

Fun story

I enjoy all the stories about Tara.... oh yeah, and that lawyer guy. Entertaining reading.

Love the author and the reader!!

Very enjoyable! I love their character and the story line. The author makes me laugh in every one of his books!

Really good

I really like the main charactor. So many American whodunnits are self important. This guy is funny and seems real.

Andy rules

Great character. Narration is really good. Throughly entertaining.

Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner was made for Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter series. His voice is an exact match for the personality!

Great Fun!

I loved this book. My husband and I both laughed out loud at the main character's thoughts and humorous comments. It was also a good story and keeps your attention throughout.

Interesting story but....

I've you don't mind the Jersey/New York style humor, this book is pretty good. The problem I had is that the main character has a smart remark for everything he says and it gets annoying in a hurry. Sometimes I wish he'd shut up and tell the story. It reminded me of Billy Crystal when he can't seem to turn off his act. He has to make a stupid remark every time he speaks. Same goes in this book. Beware.

The other thing I didn't like is the way the lead character, Andy, seemed stupid about his investigation work. Twice, he had people on the phone with key information and he says I'll call you back or see you in a few hours. He makes no effort to get the details right away which seems like the obvious thing to do.

The story line was pretty good and I thought the best part of the book was the last few chapters.

If you don't mind the main character making wise cracks every time he opens his mouth, you might like this book. Otherwise, leave it for the folks in Jersey.