‘The Twelve Dogs of Christmas’ by David Rosenfelt

Published by Minotaur,
10 October 2017.
ISBN 978-1-2501-4561-1(PB)

Andy Carpenter is more interested in sports than the law, but that hardly stops him from winning murder cases.  This one starts when a zoning board cites a friend of his, Martha “Pups” Boyer, for having too many pets on her premises, the law permitting merely three.  The complainant is a neighbor who is subsequently murdered, and “Pups” is accused of shooting him.

It is up to Andy and his rag tag team to uncover what essentially is a plot against “Pups” to solve the case.  All the evidence seems to indicate her guilt: she was seen as she was leaving the scene of the murder; the murder weapon was found in her basement; and it was the same gun used to kill her husband and another a year or so earlier.  The trial against “Pups” includes a charge for the murder of her husband.

Each of the novels in the series combines mystery, courtroom drama and humor throughout, and Twelve Dogs repeats the formula.  The final twist in this novel, however, not only is the usually unexpected fillip, but is based on Andy’s passion for sports.   Recommended.

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Reviewer: Ted Feit

David Rosenfelt is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of several stand-alones and a dozen Andy Carpenter novels, including Who Let the Dog Out? After years living in California, he and his wife moved to Maine with twenty-five golden retrievers that they've rescued. Rosenfelt's hilarious account of this cross-country move, Dogtripping, is available from St. Martin's Press.

http://www.davidrosenfelt.com

Ted and Gloria Feit live in Long Beach, NY, a few miles outside New York City.  For 26 years, Gloria was the manager of a medium-sized litigation firm in lower Manhattan. Her husband, Ted, is an attorney and former stock analyst, publicist and writer/editor for, over the years, several daily, weekly and monthly publications.  Having always been avid mystery readers, and since they're now retired, they're able to indulge that passion.  Their reviews appear online as well as in three print publications in the UK and US.  On a more personal note: both having been widowed, Gloria and Ted have five children and nine grandchildren between them.