Deck the Hounds

An Andy Carpenter Mystery, Book 18

By: David Rosenfelt

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

This Christmas mystery, featuring criminal defense lawyer Andy Carpenter and his faithful golden retriever, Tara, showcases Rosenfelt’s trademark humor and larger-than-life characters.   

Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter doesn’t usually stop to help others, but seeing a dog next to a homeless man inspires him to give the pair some money to help. It’s just Andy’s luck that things don’t end there. Soon after Andy’s encounter with them, man and dog are attacked in the middle of the night on the street. The dog defends its new owner, and the erstwhile attacker is bitten but escapes. But the dog is quarantined, and the man, Don Carrigan, is heartbroken.   

Andy’s wife, Laurie, can’t resist helping the duo after learning Andy has met them before...it’s the Christmas season, after all. In a matter of days, Don and his dog, Zoey, are living above Andy’s garage and become two new additions to the family. It’s not until Andy accidentally gives away his guest’s name during an interview that things go awry; turns out Don is wanted for a murder that happened two years ago. Don not only claims he’s innocent, but that he had no idea he was wanted for a crime he has no knowledge of in the first place. It’s up to Andy to exonerate his new friend, if he doesn’t get pulled into the quagmire first.   

David Rosenfelt’s signature wit, charm, and cleverness are back again in this most exciting installment yet. 

©2018 Tara Productions, Inc. (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

A terrific story with a logic problem

I thoroughly enjoy the Andy Carpenter novels, and this one was no exception. Grover Gardner's narration really makes the books come to life. However, Rosenfelt has boxed himself into a corner with the series, and has created a Perry Mason problem. Andy Carpenter is a rich criminal-defense lawyer, who can afford to take only cases where he believes the defendant is wrongly accused. (I think there has only been one book where he defended someone who turned out to be guilty—Perry Mason at least lost two cases.) Many of Carpenter's cases receive heavy press coverage. He has even thwarted terrorist attacks. In addition, the head police detective in his area is one of his best friends. So if he decides to represent someone, at this point, wouldn't the police and prosecutors be saying, "We need to investigate this more thoroughly. We probably have the wrong perp, and we'll lose our jobs if Carpenter keeps making us look incompetent." But that never happens. It defies logic, and it's giving the novels a deus ex machina feeling. I really enjoy these books, so I really want Rosenfeldt to shake up the formula.

resurrection?

Still enjoyed Mr. Carpenter, even though Joseph Russo made a spooky appearance. An explanation please.

Deck The Hounds

I love this book! It was really good. I had low expectations for this book. (I've never heard of the series or the author) I wanted to try it because I love mystery books and Christmas. So I thought I'd give this a try. I'm excited to try the rest of the book series. This book reminds me of the Guido Brunetti mystery series by Donna Leon. I feel like Deck The Hounds has similar writing. So if you liked the Guido Brunetti series and Christmas I think you'd like this book a lot.

Merry . . .

I like the Tara series. No not a dog person - Allergic. I am owned by a cat who sleeps on my head. The books are a bit "out there," but are easy to listen to. A bit unbelievable but enjoyable.

Most fun n entertaining

I don’t think David Rosenfelt can write fast enough. I absolutely love his books You get me thru any traffic n make me laugh Thank you.
Keep them coming

More of the same.... Thankfully!

Andy Carpenter never fails to entertain from start to finish. I look forward to hearing the next book!

Fun But predictable

Andy Carpenter...Rich, lazy and cowardly lawyer who dashes in to save the day. I like him a lot, but the books are very predictable... but the characters are great. I am a dog lover, but Rosenfelt goes too far with it. If you love dogs, Andy Carpenter is your friend. If you don't like them, then you're a bum. Ridiculous!

But, they are entertaining and light-hearted stories and I will continue to read them

Wise cracking Andy Carpenter

He’s at his best in this one. The wise cracks are top notch and his self deprecating humor is spot on. It makes you feel that you’re in Charlie’s with him and Pete and Vince.....or at least you want to be there.

Another hit for Dependable Andy, David, and Grover

Another “Christmas-like” theme story. A difficult one involving a homeless man, skilled in self-defense and his fearless dog, who bites an attacker. The mystery is why the homeless man is attacked and then later arrested for murder. His dog has to go to an animal shelter. Andy, Willie, Laurie and Ricky are truly Santa’s helpers. Their family helps both the man and his dog. Zoe is a nice addition to the friendship of Tara and Sebastian. The story plot was not realistic, but whatever Rosenfelt writes works for me as long as dogs are involved. I love the Paterson, NJ references. This is an easy listen that includes familiar information that faithful Andy Carpenter fans know. Never gets old but very enjoyable, like visiting old friends.

Holiday entertainment

This has been my favorite Andy Carpenter book so far. Interesting plot and characters that I cared about. Of course, Lori’s over the top Christmas spirit and a litter of puppies made it fun too.

Brilliant

Brilliant book funny and interesting I thoroughly recommend it I’m going to go back to the beginning and download the whole series