In this, the thirtieth entry in David Rosenfelt’s “Andy Carpenter Mystery” series, “The More the Terrier,” the dog, we are happy to report, actually plays an important role in the unfolding of the plot. Murphy, apparently a Yorkie mix, shows up out of nowhere at Andy’s house and is soon recognized as a little guy whom Andy and his family and friends had rescued sometime before his new appearance at their doorstep. They remember the family who had adopted him, and they return him to the Bremers’ home. Mrs. Bremer is thrilled to have him back, yet she is terribly sad. Her son, BJ, has been arrested for murder.

Back we go to the novel’s opening pages, whence the murder has taken place. On page one, we meet Professor Steven Rayburn, a troubled computer genius who is a guest research professor at Rutgers University. He has made a difficult decision which, he suspects, has placed him in danger. We readers know that he’ll be dead by page three because this is, after all, an Andy Carpenter Mystery, and the murder victim, often the first character introduced, never lasts for long. In this one, Rayburn is smashed in the head with a metal statuette and is gone in one-and-a-half pages.

It’s time for attorney Andy and his staff to take over BJ’s case, to find the real perpetrator, and to prove the boy’s innocence. As always, that end proves far more difficult to achieve than it is to simply talk about. BJ had been found in the professor’s home, standing over the body, holding the statuette, and covered in blood. Seems to be an open and shut case for the prosecution.

Andy’s team’s investigation involves other Rutgers personnel, at least one Mafia-type character, common hoodlums and scam artists, a very large and scary Russian hitman, and perhaps most importantly, an introduction to the metaverse and those who participate therein. That factor introduces us to the ins and outs, wonders and dangers, and brilliance of the metaverse world, a fascinating universe about which most of us, I’m sure, know absolutely nothing. Rosenfelt’s descriptions of the phenomenon offer us new and exciting information to explore while we enjoy the usual self-deprecating humor that characterizes Andy’s first person narration, the light but always plot-significant dialogue, and the mystery itself, which finds our unwilling hero in a life-threatening situation as the climax approaches and comes crashing to a thrilling conclusion. And we must not fail to mention the plot twists we experience as we join Andy’s team in the process of discovering and analyzing the clues, all the while determining who-really-dunit. As always, reading a new Andy Carpenter mystery is a joyful, bumpy, and suspenseful rollercoaster of a ride.

I’m often struck by one overriding question as I read, enjoy, and review Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter adventures. That is — why has the series never been picked up by producers of streaming TV series for about a five-year run of the thirty or so Andy Carpenter episodes? The fascinating cast of colorful characters, the uniquely humorous narratives, the creative plot twists and turns, and the suspense engendered by the investigations and trials would seem to offer a set of absolutely delicious ingredients for binge-watching appetites. And Andy Carpenter, I think, is the ideal fictional character to take up the classic mantle of Peter Falk’s dearly departed and beloved Lieutenant Columbo. Food for thought.

Review by Jack Kramer.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.