by David Rosenfelt
Release Date: October 1st 2019
2019 Minotaur Books
Kindle Edition; 352 Pages
ISBN: 978-1250237682
ASIN: B07P9LQ99N
Genre: Fictiion / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his wife, Laurie, have started a new Christmas tradition. Their local pet store has a Christmas tree, where instead of ornaments there are wishes from those in need. One poignant wish leads Andy to a child named Danny, whose selfless plea strikes a chord. Danny asked Santa for a coat for his mother, a sweater for his dachshund, Murphy, and for the safe return of his missing father.
It turns out Danny’s father doesn't want to be found, he’s on the run after just being arrested for a murder that took place fourteen years ago – a murder that Danny’s mother swears he didn’t commit.
With his trademark humor and larger-than-life characters – including a police officer and his K-9 partner, Simon – Rosenfelt never fails to deliver as Andy and his eccentric crew dash to reunite a family in time for Christmas.
My Thoughts
Dachshund Through the Snow is the first Andy Carpenter book I have read and I enjoyed it quite a lot. What I really liked was Andy's witty, sarcastic, deprecating sense of humour often coming through his thoughts about other people and events and his observations of what was happening around him. There were a couple of times I actually laughed out loud at some of his irreverent thoughts which always makes my husband look at me oddly.
I really enjoyed Andy as a main character and I definitely think I was drawn to his sarcastic outlook on things the most. He has this way of looking at events and people around him that makes him suspect everyone that I think comes from his years as a defense criminal lawyer. I have not read the previous books in this series, but I get from this story that Andy is rather good at his job and has put a lot of people away so I get why he looks at the world this way. And the way the author writes his observations is rather humorous. You can't help but like the guy. His wife, Laurie, is a perfect complement to Andy as she is more serious being a police officer but I feel that Andy puts on this big act. You definitely can't be a successful criminal defense lawyer by being a complete wimp, that's for sure. The supporting characters were as much fun as Andy and company. I particularly enjoyed the little byplay with a police officer and his sidekick, Simon, and the court case to decide Simon's fate. Rather interesting! Species discrimination!
I was drawn to this book as I thought it was a Christmas story but that, I am afraid, it is not. That did not take away from the story however, and I thought the plot was well-written and enjoyable. There were plenty of twists and turns and I definitely was not expecting a court case so that was rather nice to see. This book is not a cozy mystery but it has the feel of one. However, I get the feeling, through comments and through people Andy meets and deals with, that many of the cases with which he dealt in the past were complicated, difficult, and dangerous so it has made me curious enough to go and pick up a couple of them and yes, they involve drug trafficking, gang-related stuff, tech thefts, and other such fun stuff. So, definitely not cozy. I did figure out who the murderer was, but the author was definitely tricky and it was fun to try and manoeuver the various twists and red herrings written into the book.
Verdict
Dachshund Through the Snow was a fun and delightful book to read and I am so glad I have discovered a new series in which to sink my teeth. Luckily, the author doesn't give away previous books in this one so I am already through the first book and can't wait to read the others. I really enjoyed Andy and the other characters and thought the plot twists and turns were fun and interesting. I am really looking forward to the next entry in this series and can't wait to read the other books in this series. Oh, and I am a great speller but I have since learned that I would fail a spelling bee if I had to spell 'dachshund' in it. That word is my Waterloo to spell, for whatever reason.
Excellent review.
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