Dog Day Afternoon - Andy Carpenter #29

 

Dog Day Afternoon is the 29th (!!!) Andy Carpenter legal procedural mystery by David Rosenfelt. Released 2nd July 2024 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

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 (even the ever-work-avoidant Edna is back on scene, taking a break (permanently?) from planning her wedding). 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 29th book in the series, 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 especially strong. 

This is pure comfort reading. It's got a likable protagonist, an engaging mystery, humorous dialogue, and a solid climax, denouement, and resolution. (This one is *particularly* exciting and I was honestly a bit afraid of how it would play out - I sometimes think that the Mr. Rosenfelt puts the characters in impossible situations and then tries to figure out how they'll manage to get out of them). I adore Andy's supporting team, especially Marcus in this installment, and he's getting more speaking parts and active roles instead of just being the muscle; and it's a good change to see his character development.

The audiobook has a run time of 7 hours and 13 minutes and is expertly narrated by 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.

Five 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.