Andy Carpenter Series

Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys’ network, irreverent defense attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But the fun stops the day Andy’s dad, Paterson, New Jersey’s legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed… and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons--and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good. Open and Shut heralds--no contest--the year’s most sensational new voice in mystery fiction: David Rosenfelt.

His streak of murder case acquittals made him a regular on cable talk shows. His recent $22 million inheritance bought him a dog rescue operation named the Tara Foundation after his own beloved golden retriever. Yet after turning down cases left and right, Andy Carpenter thinks he's facing a midlife crisis. He knows he needs to get back to some real work as fast as a felonious world will allow. When a friend, a newspaper owner, calls in a favor and asks him to protect his star reporter, Andy is less than thrilled. His new client is Daniel Cummings, a journalist who is being used as a mouthpiece by a brutal serial killer. Things only get worse when Daniel is discovered near the body of the murderer's latest victim. And after Andy himself starts collecting anonymous death threats, he hears the news every defense lawyer dreads...and moves to within a dangerous keystroke of becoming tomorrow's obituary.

In Dead Center, we find our beloved Andy carpenter reentering the dating scene – God Bless him. Surprisingly he’s a hot commodity, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. His friends are offering up their two cents on his dating life, but of course they know as little about the dating world as Andy. One thing that rings true, whether the ladies he meets are terrific or not, is that the spectra of his longtime love Laurie hangs over his head. Bitter over her departure, he’s finding it hard to forgive and forget. She’s still the love of his life. Andy’s had no contact with her at all, and he can only assume she is back in Findlay, Wisconsin serving in the number two job on the local police force. Then one day he returns to the office to find Laurie waiting for him. She’s arrested a young man for murder and though the evidence clearly called for his arrest, she believes he’s innocent. He’s the son of her oldest friend and she’s come to Andy to find him representation. Andy follows Laurie back to Wisconsin where he must explore a secretive religious community that seems to hold the truth about what really happened to the deceased.

Edgar-nominated author David Rosenfelt returns with his hero, Andy Carpenter, who must defend a football player accused of murder. The Giants' running back Kenny Schilling stands accused of killing Troy Preston, a wide receiver for the Jets. As Andy investigates, he finds that Troy is not the only football player who was killed after contact with Kenny--and his snooping starts to set off alarms with a drug king.

Nominated for the Edgar and Shamus Awards, David Rosenfelt’s debut novel, Open and Shut, was widely praised by readers and critics. Now Rosenfelt returns with a riveting new mystery, First Degree, featuring irreverent and dynamic lawyer Andy Carpenter… When a cop’s body is found burned and decapitated, the last thing Andy Carpenter expected is for a stranger to waltz into his office and admit to the crime. For the wise-cracking millionaire defense attorney suffering from “ lawyer’s block,” the case looks like a no-brainer…until the cops pick up another suspect: Andy’s lead P.I. Laurie Collins, who happens to be the love of his life. Soon Laurie’s facing conviction for the grisly murder and Andy must desperately try to save her. All he had wanted was a case to sink his teeth into. Now he gets one that’s a kick in the head…and the heart.

Andy Carpenter gains possession of an adorable Bernese puppy whose owner was brutally murdered. Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs, and he will do whatever it takes to insure that this little pup doesn't fall into the wrong hands. However, his playful new friend 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.

Edgar-finalist Rosenfelt's riveting sixth legal thriller (after 2006's Dead Center) brings independently wealthy Paterson, N.J., lawyer Andy Carpenter to the defense of a very special domestic violence victim, Yogi, a golden retriever alleged to have bitten its owner. Andy uses the court system to spring Yogi from an animal shelter's death row and adopt him, adding the dog to a small family that includes longtime pet golden Tara. But when the gang goes for a walk that leads to a joyful reunion between Yogi and a woman named Karen Evans, Andy learns Yogi is actually Reggie, presumed dead five years earlier after the conviction of Karen's brother, U.S. Customs Inspector Richard Evans, for the murder of his fiancée, Stacy Harriman. Suspecting Richard's innocence, Andy tackles the case like a dog on a chew toy, undeterred by an intricate web of deception involving a possible government coverup. No shaggy dog story, this puppy's alive with reliable Rosenfelt wit and heart.

A German Shepherd police dog witnesses a murder and if his owner--an Iraq war vet and former cop-turned-thief--is convicted of the crime, the dog could be put down. Few rival Andy Carpenter's affection for dogs, and he decides to represent the poor canine. As Andy struggles to convince a judge that this dog should be set free, he discovers that the dog and his owner have become involved unwittingly in a case of much greater proportions than the one they've been charged with. Andy will have to call upon the unique abilities of this ex-police dog to help solve the crime and prevent a catastrophic event from taking place.

For six years Noah Galloway has lived with a horrible secret and the fear that his rebuilt life could be shattered at any moment. Now his dread has become a certainty, and he has been arrested for the arson murder of twenty-six people. What he needs now is defense lawyer Andy Carpenter, who most definitely is not in the market for a new client. So Noah plays his hole card: a shared love for Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, and the knowledge of what her life was like before Andy rescued her. Because Andy wasn’t her first owner—Noah rescued Tara first, and when he wasn’t able to care for her any longer, he did everything in his power to make sure that she was placed in the right home: Andy’s. With that knowledge, Andy has little choice but to take Noah on, and he soon learns that the long-ago event that may destroy Noah’s life is only the beginning of an ongoing conspiracy that grows more deadly by the day. Andy will have to pull out all of his tricks to get to the bottom of this cold case turned white hot in the latest in David Rosenfelt’s popular mystery series.

Andy Carpenter’s accountant, Sam Willis, is stunned to receive a phone call out of the blue from Barry Price, a high school friend he hasn’t spoken to in years, pleading for help with something too frightening to discuss on the phone. Barry needs Sam’s financial acumen and lawyer Andy Carpenter’s legal expertise—and he needs them immediately. But when Sam almost runs over an injured dog lying in the road on the way to Barry’s house, he can’t drive off without waiting for help to arrive. By the time Sam makes it, Barry’s already taken off on a private airplane headed who-knows-where. Assuming their help is no longer needed, Sam and Andy turn their full attention to helping the dog Sam found recover from his injuries. Then they learn that Barry’s plane has crashed, and they come to the terrifying realization that Sam was also supposed to have been killed on that plane. Barry was in far more serious trouble than either of them knew, and for Sam and Andy, the trouble is only beginning.

Over the course of his legal career, Andy Carpenter has lost a few cases. But that doesn’t mean he forgets his clients. Andy has always been convinced that Joey Desimone, a man convicted of murder nine years ago, was innocent and believes that Joey’s family’s connections to organized crime played a pivotal role in his conviction. While there isn’t much Andy can do for him while he serves out his prison sentence, Joey suggests that he check up on Joey’s elderly uncle. He’d rather not, but as a favor to Joey, Andy agrees to take his dog, Tara, on a few visits. The old man’s memory is going, but when Andy tries to explain why he’s there, it jogs something in the man’s mind, and his comments leave Andy wondering if Uncle Nick is confused, or if he just might hold the key to Joey’s freedom after all this time. Andy grabs on to this thread of possibility and follows it into a world where the oath of silence is stronger than blood ties, and where people will do anything to make sure their secrets are kept.

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 Balfour. Upstairs are Danny’s now orphaned four-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.