David Rosenfelt’s 31st (!) entry in the Andy Carpenter Mystery series is “Dogged Pursuit.” But this one is significantly different from the earlier entries in one important way: it’s a prequel featuring Andy as a rookie in the defense attorney business. He’s approaching thirty years of age and has decided that it’s time to help those who are essentially victims of the system. He wants to give the wrongly accused a real chance in court. And though he’s relatively young, and all his previous work has been on the prosecution side, he has an inner confidence that whispers, “Help people. You can do it.”
His first client in this new role is a young man named Ryan Tierney, who has been accused of a triple murder, and the evidence is stacked against him. A necessary bit of background: Ryan had been an employee of Pearson Trucking, and he was also a personal friend of the owner, Stephen Pearson, who inherited the business from his father, the founder of the company. Pearson Trucking had gone through some very tough financial times until it was revived by a mysterious series of loans totaling two million dollars. It’s doing just fine now. As a matter of fact, it’s expanding into some brand new business areas. Then one day, Stephen breaks the news to Ryan that he’s firing him. Ryan, of course, is nonplussed and plenty angry. Never before have the two men disagreed so violently, but now, they are loudly screaming at each other, and Ryan throws out some threats. The whole office can hear what’s going on.
Shortly thereafter, Stephen throws a party for his employees. Ryan, obviously, is absent from the event. Upon leaving the party, Stephen decides to drive two of the employees home because they have had too many drinks to drive safely. He turns on the ignition, and the car explodes, instantly killing all three riders. All of the evidence points to Ryan Tierney as the perpetrator, and there’s plenty of evidence besides the huge office fight at which Ryan had threatened Stephen. More evidence follows. Ryan’s car was discovered half of a block away from the location of the party. The car, it appears, is definitely Ryan’s: same model, same exact color, same license plate number.
Almost everybody in Ryan’s and Stephen’s world assumes that Ryan is guilty. But Andy’s research indicates that the young man has never been in an ounce of trouble, and he was liked and admired by his fellow employees before the murders. And besides that, Ryan loves his dog Sonny more than just about anything or anybody in the universe, and if Ryan goes to jail, Sonny will likely spend the rest of his sad life in a cage and probably will not live very long.
But Andy says he will take Sonny to his own home, and the pooch gets along famously with Tara, Andy’s beloved dog whom Andy reveres as the smartest and best dog anywhere in the universe. Now despite taking Sonny home, Andy is not yet sure of Ryan’s innocence, though veteran Andy Carpenter readers know that anyone who loves his dog as much as Ryan does certainly could not be a murderer. But Andy takes the case, his first as a defense attorney for an accused murderer.
From that point on, the novel is perfectly typical of Rosenfelt’s (and Andy’s) style: terrifically witty dialogue and exceedingly clever and funny first person narration. As usual, Rosenfelt pulls off the very impressive trick of creating an Andy Carpenter who is always self-deprecating and an expert at insult humor at the same time. And he’s charming, too, but not so charming to his legal adversaries. And if any reader can absorb Andy’s adventures without a good laugh or at least a bunch of smiles, that reader, I’m afraid, probably has no sense of humor.
But Andy’s path to legal success is dangerous — and filled with suspense. First, the dangers Andy faces appear to force his wife, Nicole, to say she can’t take it anymore. He’s probably going to lose her. And her fears are justified. Once he takes the case, he is the target of thugs and murderers. Somebody with plenty of power does not like Andy’s direction, and that powerful person lets Andy know that he’s unhappy with the situation. So Andy is almost murdered several times, but each time, he’s saved by his investigative team, whom he meets and then hires: Laurie Collins, whom he will eventually marry; Marcus Clark, the nearly invincible fighter, who will save Andy’s life repeatedly as the series progresses; Sam Willis, computer genius/accountant, who has no qualms about hacking into anything if he must get information that Andy needs; Edna, the secretary who loves her salary but hates having work to do. The investigative team is fearless and brilliant. Andy could not succeed without them.
Andy is now convinced that Ryan is innocent, but if he doesn’t find the real murderer, he’ll have a very difficult time convincing a jury of Ryan’s innocence. No spoilers here about the trial, but post-trial, Andy pulls off a couple of maneuvers that are fascinating, brilliant, and unique. Those maneuvers are morally justified but legally questionable, and once again, they put Andy in grave danger, and once again, he is heroically saved by his investigators/bodyguards. And those masterful moves also provide plot twists that are brilliantly presented. They’re shocking and shockingly clever.
The novel concludes with classic Rosenfelt combinations of suspense, humor, and clever plot devices. For Rosenfelt/Carpenter veterans, “Dogged Pursuit” provides the usual pleasures. For anyone who has yet to read an Andy Carpenter Mystery, the novel is a perfect introduction to this delightful series — a fascinating look at how it all started. And it offers still another look at Rosenfelt’s unique talents. It’s a highly recommended intro to the world of Andy Carpenter, attorney for the defense and dog lover extraordinaire.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.