Flop Dead Gorgeous

 

Flop Dead Gorgeous is the 27th (!!!) Andy Carpenter legal procedural mystery by David Rosenfelt. Released 4th July 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in July 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

For current fans of the series, this is a good one. It's full of the same sarcastic, warm humor and the same ensemble cast as previous entries in the series (and it's nice to see Edna again, who's been mostly absent for a while, doing perpetual wedding planning). Andy Carpenter is, of course, central to the story and still trying to figure out how to stay retired and avoid working. This is such a long running and consistently well written series that saying it's "more of the same, worked around a different mystery" should be enough of a recommendation by itself. Although it's the 27th book in the series (hard to believe it's still so consistently good), the mystery is self contained and the necessary back-story is written in without major spoilers for previous books. I heartily recommend the whole series, but this particular entry is quite strong. 

This is pure comfort reading. It's got a likable protagonist, an engaging mystery, humorous dialogue, and a solid climax, denouement, and resolution.

The audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 43 minutes and is expertly read by series narrator Grover Gardner who manages to juggle the various accents and characters of all ages and both sexes without problems. I found myself grinning and laughing along several places with the wonderful narration. The read was definitely enhanced by the narrator. The sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Four and a half stars for both the text and audiobook versions. All around fun read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.