Customer Reviews

Bury the Lead (Andy Carpenter)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David Rosenfelt is an easy author to like. His prose is light, casual, and witty, neither pretentious nor self-important. Kind of like Rosenfelt's defense lawyer-hero, Andy Carpenter, who stars again in "Bury the Lead". Andy is back with the usual cast of supporting characters: girlfriend/PI Laurie Collins, "Law-dromat" owner and hypochondriac Kevin Randall, and of course Tara, the golden retriever. "Bury" is again set in the northern New Jersey suburbs that Rosenfelt knows so well ("The Giants and the Jets play football in Jersey, yet they deny its existence, referring to themselves as `New York'"). Daniel Cummings, a high profile reporter with some baggage, is chosen by a fiendish serial killer as a conduit to the police, but soon finds himself as the number one suspect. Carpenter and team are initially reluctant, but eventually are convinced of his innocence and take on Cummings' defense. What follows is a relatively lightweight plot that, just when starting to stretch and fray around the edges, moves along quickly enough satisfy all but the most critical cases of A.D.D. There are a couple of twists to hold mild interest, but not so much as to make this a novel you'll remember three months from now. But Rosenfelt's likeable cast and breezy pace more than compensate any weaknesses in the action, and a surprisingly light tone, despite the rather gruesome subject matter, is a refreshing twist in itself.

I suspect that the first-time Rosenfeld reader may find "Bury the Lead" somewhat more enjoyable than will the Rosenfelt veteran, as the Andy-Laurie-Tara act begins to wear a bit thin on this the third installment. Nonetheless, "Bury the Lead" is a credible and entertaining effort, well worth the time. One word of caution: at 272 pages of large print, this is a short read - don't plan on using it for filler on too long a flight.

I was not disappointed with Rosenfelt's new book. Like the previous two, it was a fast and very interesting read with a good plot twist. This is not Robert Ludlum material- but if you're looking for a good weekend/beach type read, this is it. Love his writing style- reminds me of Nelson De Mille's style in "Gold Coast". I'm also a Golden Retriever Rescue volunteer, so I love the way the author gets the word out.

Bury the Lead is the third book in a series featuring lawyer Andy Carpenter. Andy is up to the same old things now that he's inherited 22 million dollars which was the basis for the plot of his first book Open and Shut. Andy walks his dog Tara, spends time with his girlfriend Laurie, helps out at the Tara Foundation, a placement center for stray dogs rescued from death and occassionally represents a clinet in court. He also spends a great deal of time with a circle of friends whose antics along with Andy kept me laughing till I was crying.

But times are tense in the area of New Jersey where Andy lives.

Recently there have been three women who have been brutally murdered and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the murders since the women are totally unrelated to one another in every way. Then a young reporter captures the attention of the killer and is being fed information as to what has happened and will happen next. As the police scramble to find the serial killer, a fourth woman is found brutally murdered in the same fashion and this time the killer has struck a prominent state official from New Jersey. Almost no time goes by before an arrest is made and the person charged is the least likely suspect readers can imagine. Andy is then asked to represent the alleged murderer and as usual there is bound to be some tense moments till the murders are solved and the real murderer is brought to justice.

I really enjoyed this book as I did the other two in this series.

I especially love Andy's sense of humor and wit. I highly recommend this series adn now look forward to the fourth title

which will be available this spring.

For those readers that have read Andy Carpenter novels, this one has all the same elements. Andy is faced with defending a seemingly "doomed" client charged with murder and with nothing to go on as far as a defense. All the usual characters are present; including Laurie his girlfriend (and his private investigator), Kevin who runs the laundromat, Marcus the unstoppable bodyguard and investigator and of course Tara the dog.

Like all other books in the series before and since what makes this book work is Andy's first person narration and usual side comments that usually mean the opposite of what he actually says out loud. In this one a reporter has been contact by a serial killer who tells him about murders he has committed and some he is committing. The reporter becomes a type of celebrity because everyone wants to read his column. Eventually, something happens to make the police believe that the reporter is in fact the serial killer. They do not believe him that the killer told him all the details he knows, but that he actually did the killings.

Enter Andy and his team to the rescue. As Andy gets more involved he finds that the case may lead to Dominic Petrone (the recurring Mafia Don in these books) and that Andy could put his own life in jeopardy if he says too much.

I would have rated this book higher but it had one of those endings where when everything is resolved it is just too far-fetched. Also, the book is very short (I read it in one sitting). A fun read nonetheless.

I'm not quite certain why, but I keep seeing shades of Robert Parker in Rosenfelt's books. Perhaps because Andy is quick with a quip and Rosenfelt writes very good dialogue. Perhaps because Andy loves his dog and thinks it's the most perfect dog in the universe, even though it's not quite as annoying as Spencer's Pearl the Wonder Dog. Perhaps because Andy has a serious love interest to whom he's not married, although, happily, Laura doesn't have any of Susan's annoying characteristics. But Rosenfelt is no imitation and definitely stands on his own. He has created some great characters and yet isn't afraid to kill off important characters. He knows how to balance humor and tension. The tone of the book is light, but it contains a whopping good, unpredictable mystery. I've really been enjoying this series and am really looking forward to continuing with the series.

I 'discovered' David Rosenfelt about 4 months ago and I have thoroughly enjoyed his books. His writing style is easy to read and often I have found myself laughing out loud.

'Bury the Lead' is not his best work, but it is enjoyable nonetheless. As others have noted, it centers around a journalist that has been receiving tips on murders. The killer (a brutal serial killer that kills his target and then removes the hands of the victim) calls the journalist and tells him about the murder and where the body is...

The Journalist is soon implicated as the actual murder. The police believe that the journalist, Daniel Cummings, faked the phone calls and has actually been behind the murders. Cummings boss, Vince, at the newspaper is a friend of our hero, Andy Carpenter. Carpenter is asked to defend Cummings.

The book had a predictable feel to it for the first half. Rosenfelt has a couple of staples to these three Andy Carpenter books--Andy likes football a lot, he loves his dog Tara, and he is in love with his girlfriend Laurie. Though some of it feels like you have already read it, Rosenfelt has a way to still make it feel enjoyable.

The second half of the book had some unexpected twists and turns. I actually found myself rather surprised at some of the twists and turns. I have been impressed also how Rosenfelt is willing to lose a character (thru death) or to put a character in a rough dangerous position as often as Rosenfelt does and I think that is a plus to his books. The changeup (a baseball metaphor to go with all of Carpenter's football metaphors) is welcomed in this book and it helps keep me the reader a little off balance.

The book is also rather short compared to a lot of other thrillers out there and can be read at a rather quick pace. I liked this latest book and like usual, I will be waiting for his next novel.

I have read all of Mr. Rosenfelt's books and I must say he has become one of my favorite authors. I was in the process of moving when this book came out, so I had to wait to read it, and it was well worth the wait. I thought I had the story figured out, a couple of times, but I was wrong both times. I also must say, I spend a lot of time laughing out loud when I read Mr. Rosenfelt's books. So pick this up, read and enjoy. I look forward to the next one.

I loved this book except that it was too short -- took only a few hours to read. Although the plot was good, with some surprises, adn the writing mostly very entertaining, as in the previous 2 books, I want more texture, more depth in the characters. Of course, I know that short books probably sell better, but zI hope rosenfelt gives us more next time.

Third in the Andy Carpenter, defense lawyer in New Jersey series. When a serial killer begins calling a local newspaper reporter with details of the killings, the city is in thrall watching the story unfold. When the reporter is found at the scene of the fourth victim with a head injury, the apparent victim of the killer, things get tense. When it's learned that the murdered woman is a high-powered political watchdog, and some of the reporter's statements don't ring true, he's suddenly arrested for her murder, and Andy's on board as his defense attorney.

Although I am not a fan of "lawyer books" or courtroom dramas in general, I really like this series! The book is well-plotted with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings, although I have to admit I had one of those "that's the bad guy!" moments when the person in question was introduced, I had no idea how or why the killings were done, and I doubted my gut feeling a few times along the way. You gotta read to the end of these books, that's for sure! Well done.

I really liked this one! This is just a fun series, no doubt about it! I really like the role of the mafia so far, too. The characters are all interesting and the dialogue is lively and funny. I must admit that the male characters are much more developed than the female characters, though. Still, it's a lot of fun and each of the plots are original - although how many frame-ups can one lawyer reveal? It will be interesting to see how this series develops.