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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite a bull's eye., May 13, 2006
In David Rosenfelt's "Dead Center," Andy Carpenter and his beloved dog, Tara, leave their comfort zone in Paterson, New Jersey to spend time in Findlay, Wisconsin. Andy has been licking his wounds after the love of his life, Laurie Collins, dumped him to return to her hometown of Findlay, where she has become Acting Chief of Police. For the last few months, Andy has been hanging out with Tara, appearing on cable television as a legal expert, and spending time at a dog rescue operation that he runs with his partner, Willie. He also loves to socialize with his immature friends at a sports bar, sit on his couch and watch any game that happens to be on, and place the occasional bet with his bookie. In short, he has a rather pathetic and predictable life.
Laurie changes all that when she asks Andy to come to Wisconsin to defend Jeremy Davidson, a young man accused of brutally slaying two coeds. Although Laurie is technically on the side of the prosecution, she is convinced that Jeremy is innocent. After much soul-searching, Andy agrees to take the case.
David Rosenfelt has a reputation for seamlessly combining hilarious and sarcastic humor with engrossing mysteries. Andy is an appealing protagonist and narrator, a self-deprecating nebbish, and a compassionate and quick-witted criminal defense attorney. He is New Jersey's answer to William Bernhardt's Tulsa-based Ben Kincaid. Since Andy and Laurie make such a perfect couple, the reader roots for them to rekindle their romance.
The plot revolves around a town that is inhabited by a religious cult whose leader discourages dissent. Is it possible that the members of this cult would resort to violence to protect their secrets? After Andy's arrival in Wisconsin, there are additional unexplained deaths and a suicide that may have been staged. Andy uses his considerable legal expertise to try to exonerate Jeremy, and he also plays amateur sleuth. Along with his inarticulate but effective bodyguard, the formidable Marcus Clark, our hero lays his life on the line to solve the puzzle before any more corpses pile up. "Dead Center" is a mildly entertaining book with the usual red herrings and surprises, but it has a forced, "been there, done that" feel; it lacks the flavor, bite, and originality that made Rosenfelt's earlier novels such a delight.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another good book in this series!, June 19, 2006
There are wonderful characters who get under your skin and you can't read too many books about them. Such are the charcters, Patrick Gennaro from the series written by Dennis Lehane, character Myron Bolitar from the Harlan Coben series and finally Nelson DeMille's character, John Corey. And I was delighted several years ago when I chanced upon a new book, Open and Shut, by the then new to me author, David Rosenfelt. From this book and author I was able to add a new and fun character, Andy Carpenter, whom I equally enjoy and love to read about. And after reading Rosenfelt's four earlier books which featured this character, I recently read Dead Center, another good addition to this series.
Andy, an irascible lawyer from NJ travels to Michigan to solve the murder of two young women. It doesn't hurt that Andy's old girlfriend is the acting chief of police and he is able to reestablish their former relationship which he so much wants and has missed. But while Andy is snoopping around, Andy finds himself hitting a brick wall asking questions among the members of a bizarre religious community and suddenly he is dead center for trouble.
While not my favorite book in the series, thsi one was still a good and worthwhile read. I continue to enjoy the main characters and supporting cast, many of whom appeared in earlier titles. As I look forward to new books by authors Lehane, Coben and DeMille, I eagerly await David Rosenfelt's next book to see what Andy and his friens are up to.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Someone's Got to Rain on This Parade, October 9, 2006
I have read all of Rosenfelt's books about Andy Carpenter. Don't ask me why. Just accept it. Perhaps it is the basic story that I like and some of the humor that is involved. However, this is not a "great courtroom" series. Not even close.
This is about a guy named Andy Carpenter who was a fairly new lawyer when his parents died and he inherited about 25 million dollars. He has had some success in the courtroom and his father was a prosecutor before him, but Perry Mason this guy isn't. However, his source of income is guaranteed for life, so he doesn't have to worry if people can pay or not for his services.
Then he has a love life problem. He is in love with Laurie. She used to be his private investigator and his main squeeze. Then she got a yen to return to her home town in Wisconsin. To be a cop. So she left Andy and his millions and went back to Cheese Country.
In this book she comes asking for his help. A young man has been charged with a double murder which she feels he didn't commit. He answers the siren call and leaves New Jersey for the wilds of Wisconsin and finds himself immersed in a situation where there is a community of people called "Centurions." They live in Center City. Kind of a cult. The murdered girls are from there. The accused lives in Findlay. So does Laurie. She is now the Acting Chief of Police.
It gets complicated and bodies keep piling up. It turns out that one of the centerpieces of the solution to the mystery of what is going on centers around a small airport in Center City. And this is where Rosenfelt gets it all wrong. He either knows nothing about how airports and airplanes work in the air space over the US or he doesn't care.
He states as a fact that all planes file flight plans with the FAA and when he discovers that no planes have ever filed such a plan out of this airport he feels he is onto something. In fact, no plane has to file a flight plan unless it is flying under IFR rules. The entire premise of solving the problem is based on a total fabrication and from there on the book lost a lot of interest for me.
I think I will be able to resist buying the next installment from this author. If not, my bad.
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