Rating: 
Summary: Great New Author!
Review: A great mystery surrounded by characters that make you chuckle. This is a book that's hard to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful, Well-Paced Mystery
Review: America's love affair with the law is sweeping and pervasive. Next to war, the news talk shows find crime and the legal process to be their greatest source of material. Across America, daytime television features numerous judges conducting video trials on countless cable stations. Our fascination with the law extends to our reading behavior. A cursory look at any bestseller list will generally yield several courtroom-related efforts on both the fiction and nonfiction lists.FIRST DEGREE by David Rosenfelt marks the second appearance of Andy Carpenter, a New Jersey attorney whose personal history portends many future cases and clients. In order for a writer to have the luxury of a continuing character, there needs to be a hook upon which to hang succeeding novels. For Carpenter, Rosenfelt has chosen as his hook something easily understood by lawyers and non-lawyers alike: money. Andy Carpenter is wealthy, having inherited 22 million dollars from his father. This nest egg allows Carpenter the luxury of picking and choosing clients based upon a simple premise: whether the case and the client interest him. Before securing his eventual client in FIRST DEGREE, Carpenter must survive two false starts. Alex Dorsey, a local police officer of shady reputation, has been found murdered, his body decapitated and burned. Geoffrey Stynes appears at Carpenter's office seeking to hire him as his attorney. Stynes assures Andy that he will shortly be arrested for Dorsey's murder. That evening, a man named Oscar Garcia is arrested for the murder and Carpenter discovers to his amazement that Geoffrey Stynes does not really exist. An imaginary man has confessed to an actual killing for which another man is charged. By itself, this plot could be an outstanding mystery but Rosenfelt has a few more ingredients to add to the stew. As additional evidence is discovered, Garcia turns out to be the wrong man and charges against him are dropped. Suspicion now turns to private investigator Laurie Collins, a former colleague of Dorsey. Collins also happens to be Carpenter's love interest. Of course Andy will represent her, and the stage is now set for the trial that serves as the major portion of FIRST DEGREE. While David Rosenfelt has woven an intuitive and intricate plot, when his characters enter the courtroom to do battle in a criminal trial, they lose some of their appeal. Rosenfelt is not an attorney; he is a screenwriter and former president of a marketing company, which perhaps explains why his courtroom scenes sound more like talk show confrontations than legal encounters. Andy Carpenter as an advocate is just a touch too insulting to opposing counsel and acerbic in his demeanor to be believable as a trial lawyer. He is to the practice of law what Judge Judy is to actual judges. They just do not, and should not, behave as they do in their fictional world. This is however a minor criticism of a wonderful, well-paced mystery that keeps the reader guessing as to who actually killed Alex Dorsey. Andy Carpenter is an interesting character who will certainly have his share of intriguing cases in the future. A little humility in the courtroom, along with a touch more respect for the law, will make him a very readable character. --- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
Rating:
Summary: Great New Author!
Review: and couldn't believe I'd missed the sequel. I had to find out about it from another Amazon reviewer. David Rosenfeldt has hero Andy Carpenter involved in a whodunit within a whodunit. There's a personal stake when lawyer Carpenter's investigator and lover, Laurie Collins, is accused of the brutal slaying of a cop who crossed her when she was on the police force. Andy's dog Tara is back, and we learn how his life has changed since he inherited $22 million of "dirty money" from his father. Solicitations from charities like the "Committee to Save the Otters of Guatemala Bay" impinge on his time, sometimes even interrupting the non-stop flow of NBA and college basketball games on his new large-screen TV. Rosenfeldt's biggest talent is not necessarily mystery, it's comedy. He has an incredibly funny way with words, and each character that Carpenter surrounds himself with is someone who connects with Andy's humor. Andy drops non sequiturs frequently, and gently baits people to keep up a running line of humor that is cynical and funny. Andy has an ongoing "song-talk" contest with Sam, his accountant, where they use song lyrics in conversation. Put this together with characters like sexy Rita Golden, the court clerk, and cousin Fred, who is the investment genius for Andy's money, and....well, you just have to be there for the humor. The plot does go over the top, from time to time, another Rosenfeldt comedic device. While characters are real, situations, in retrospect, go above and beyond the norm.
Getting Laurie's house arrest, so that she stays with him while he defends her is one of these devices, but it enhances both the feeling of misery during the trial, and the odd situation Andy's in when Laurie can't help him investigate. There are other quirky couplings in the book -- Andy's client Willie Miller, from the first novel, is now sueing his ex-wife's father and his partner for over $10 million; it makes for interesting dialogue between Andy and Nicole. There's also the serious, in the way that Andy regrets getting his friends involved in his cases, when Sam's assistant Barry, is harmed while conducting part of the investigation. All in all, "First Degree" is a fast and enjoyable sequel, proving that David Rosenfeldt is not a one shot wonder ("Open and Shut" was nominated for an Edgar Award), and I look forward to more from him before the bestseller world finds him and turns him into a book machine. 5 big stars!
Rating:
Summary: I thought "Open and Shut" was great.....
Review: and couldn't believe I'd missed the sequel. I had to find out about it from another Amazon reviewer. David Rosenfeldt has hero Andy Carpenter involved in a whodunit within a whodunit. There's a personal stake when lawyer Carpenter's investigator and lover, Laurie Collins, is accused of the brutal slaying of a cop who crossed her when she was on the police force. Andy's dog Tara is back, and we learn how his life has changed since he inherited $22 million of "dirty money" from his father. Solicitations from charities like the "Committee to Save the Otters of Guatemala Bay" impinge on his time, sometimes even interrupting the non-stop flow of NBA and college basketball games on his new large-screen TV. Rosenfeldt's biggest talent is not necessarily mystery, it's comedy. He has an incredibly funny way with words, and each character that Carpenter surrounds himself with is someone who connects with Andy's humor. Andy drops non sequiturs frequently, and gently baits people to keep up a running line of humor that is cynical and funny. Andy has an ongoing "song-talk" contest with Sam, his accountant, where they use song lyrics in conversation. Put this together with characters like sexy Rita Golden, the court clerk, and cousin Fred, who is the investment genius for Andy's money, and....well, you just have to be there for the humor. The plot does go over the top, from time to time, another Rosenfeldt comedic device. While characters are real, situations, in retrospect, go above and beyond the norm.
Getting Laurie's house arrest, so that she stays with him while he defends her is one of these devices, but it enhances both the feeling of misery during the trial, and the odd situation Andy's in when Laurie can't help him investigate. There are other quirky couplings in the book -- Andy's client Willie Miller, from the first novel, is now sueing his ex-wife's father and his partner for over $10 million; it makes for interesting dialogue between Andy and Nicole. There's also the serious, in the way that Andy regrets getting his friends involved in his cases, when Sam's assistant Barry, is harmed while conducting part of the investigation. All in all, "First Degree" is a fast and enjoyable sequel, proving that David Rosenfeldt is not a one shot wonder ("Open and Shut" was nominated for an Edgar Award), and I look forward to more from him before the bestseller world finds him and turns him into a book machine. 5 big stars!
Rating: 
Summary: First Rate Book!
Review: As soon as I finished reading David Rosenfelt's first book Open and Shut which I thoroughly enjoyed, I thought this book cried out for either a sequel or series. I guess Mr. Rosenfelt accommodated me even before I read his first book because as soon as I finished this book I realized there were two more which were already written featuring the main character and other characters found in the first book.
First Degree by David Rosenfelt is the second book in what I hope will be a long series which features Andy Carpenter, a rather unconventional and unique lawyer. But now Andy has inherited a large sum of money from his father and with little need to work for money, Andy hasn't worked in the legal profession in quite some time and has little interest in the cases which are offered to him by clients. As he puts if he's suffering from lawyers block.
Then word reaches him that a missing and possibly dirty cop has been found decapitated and burned beyond recognition. Suddenly Andy is ready to go back to work. Not quite sure why this case intrigues him, Andy also never expected his client to be released so quickly after he claimed be the murderer. The next person who is arrested turns out to be a former policewoman who not only worked with the murdered man but knew just how dirty and corrupt he was while for worked for the police department Hired by the former policewoman will test every skill Andy has as a lawyer and there is no option about to win since this woman who readers may remember from Open and Shut is Laurie, Andy's girlfriend.
As the author David Rosenfelt provided for us in his first book,
this is a roller coaster of a mystery which will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this series for those among you who enjoy procedural legal cases. I did rate this book with a B+.
Rating:
Summary: First Degree
Review: David Rosenfelt does it again. In his first book, "Open and Shut" he made me his own with his cocky main character, Andy Carpenter and his dog, Tara. David is a male Sara Paretsky only better. By page 23 I'd laughed out loud three times. What's not to like about that?
Rating:
Summary: No Sophomore Jinx Here!
Review: David Rosenfelt's second novel, "First Degree", pretty much picks up where his highly acclaimed and immensely enjoyable debut, "Open and Shut", left off. Back is wise-cracking defense attorney Andy Carpenter, "Law-dromat" lawyer Kevin Randall, investigator/girlfriend Laurie Collins, and of course Tara, Carpenter's golden retriever. Even Willie Miller, the death-row inmate Carpenter defends in his first book, is back starring in a mostly unnecessary sub-plot. But if you enjoyed "Open and Shut", you'll certainly find the pace, style, and settings of "First Degree" comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that reading "Open and Shut" is almost prerequisite, at least if you want to have any clue to the source Carpenter's mysterious inheritance and the imprisonment of his Senator ex-father-in-law which are frequently referenced in the new story. "First Degree" gets off to a fast start with the gruesome discovery of the headless and charred body of Alex Dorsey, a Patterson police lieutenant with a shady history. Shortly after the murder, a mysterious visitor shows up in Andy's office, confesses to being Dorsey's killer and, in the process, drops some clues regarding the murder that only those responsible for the crime would know. This leads to a series of events that ends in the arrest of Laurie Collins for the murder of Dorsey. Laurie indeed may have a motive: as a former Patterson cop, she blew the whistle on Dorsey's unsavory activities, but was unsuccessful in making the charges stick. With Laurie now in the hot seat, Andy and Kevin team up again, defending her against what appears to be a carefully concocted frame job. What follows is some compelling courtroom drama, spiced Andy's bizarre but now-legendary defense antics, paced with a satisfying blend of humor and cynicism. It is a well crafted who-dun-nit, with enough suspense and thrills to keep the pages turning. Like "Open and Shut", this is fast reading, and the sheer adrenalin will keep many reading cover-to-cover in a single setting. My only real criticism of "First Degree" is the ending. The book could have ended very successfully on page 224. Instead, Rosenfelt adds another seven pages - I guess he felt the need for one more twist - that falls flat in a wholly unbelievable "second" climax that was not only unnecessary, but casts a pall over an otherwise terrific story. Nonetheless, Rosenfelt has avoided the sophomore jinx, and turned out another first-rate crime novel. I'll look forward to his third, "Bury the Dead", to be released in June.
Rating:
Summary: No Sophomore Jinx Here!
Review: David Rosenfelt's second novel, "First Degree", pretty much picks up where his highly acclaimed and immensely enjoyable debut, "Open and Shut", left off. Back is wise-cracking defense attorney Andy Carpenter, "Law-dromat" lawyer Kevin Randall, investigator/girlfriend Laurie Collins, and of course Tara, Carpenter's golden retriever. Even Willie Miller, the death-row inmate Carpenter defends in his first book, is back starring in a mostly unnecessary sub-plot. But if you enjoyed "Open and Shut", you'll certainly find the pace, style, and settings of "First Degree" comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that reading "Open and Shut" is almost prerequisite, at least if you want to have any clue to the source Carpenter's mysterious inheritance and the imprisonment of his Senator ex-father-in-law which are frequently referenced in the new story. "First Degree" gets off to a fast start with the gruesome discovery of the headless and charred body of Alex Dorsey, a Patterson police lieutenant with a shady history. Shortly after the murder, a mysterious visitor shows up in Andy's office, confesses to being Dorsey's killer and, in the process, drops some clues regarding the murder that only those responsible for the crime would know. This leads to a series of events that ends in the arrest of Laurie Collins for the murder of Dorsey. Laurie indeed may have a motive: as a former Patterson cop, she blew the whistle on Dorsey's unsavory activities, but was unsuccessful in making the charges stick. With Laurie now in the hot seat, Andy and Kevin team up again, defending her against what appears to be a carefully concocted frame job. What follows is some compelling courtroom drama, spiced Andy's bizarre but now-legendary defense antics, paced with a satisfying blend of humor and cynicism. It is a well crafted who-dun-nit, with enough suspense and thrills to keep the pages turning. Like "Open and Shut", this is fast reading, and the sheer adrenalin will keep many reading cover-to-cover in a single setting. My only real criticism of "First Degree" is the ending. The book could have ended very successfully on page 224. Instead, Rosenfelt adds another seven pages - I guess he felt the need for one more twist - that falls flat in a wholly unbelievable "second" climax that was not only unnecessary, but casts a pall over an otherwise terrific story. Nonetheless, Rosenfelt has avoided the sophomore jinx, and turned out another first-rate crime novel. I'll look forward to his third, "Bury the Dead", to be released in June.
Rating:
Summary: Expect the Totally Unexpected
Review: Getting lost on the very first page of First Degree was easy. It started with talk of an opening day. You will be asking, Opening day of what? Rosenfelt will lead you to believe that it might be opening day of baseball season - but will then tell you that what he really meant was opening day of the dog park that he's now taking his dog, Tara, to visit. You'll hope this is not a sign of what is to come. And it won t be. You will learn, through that opening day fiasco, that Andy Carpenter loves animals and rescued Tara from death row of an animal shelter. He also has rescued a human from death row, Willie Miller. In fact, Mr. Miller's name comes up often enough that you will wonder if he's the murderer in this tale. You'll also be introduced to the love interest in Andy's life, Laurie Collins - an ex-cop turned P.I., and now works for Andy. Laurie comes into the story with a big bang, announcing that Alex Dorsey, a cop that Laurie had once provided evidence against, has been killed - decapitated and then set on fire. Not really sure in what order. Alex had been the reason Laurie quit the force and became a private investigator. Andy is then confronted with Geoffrey Stynes who comes to his office, confesses to killing Alex Dorsey and asks for representation. Andy declines. Shortly after, Oscar Garcia is arrested. Andy, believing that Geoffrey Stynes is the killer, takes Oscar's case. Just one more arrest in this case - Laurie. Oscar is freed and Laurie is brought up on murder charges. Andy ends up representing Laurie at her trial. His somewhat sarcastic sense of humor follows him right into the courtroom. From there on, expect the unexpected. There are more surprises to come. David Rosenfelt allowed us to know Andy on a very personal level as the book is written in first person. The good part of that was being able to eye every detail through Andy and thus have the same opportunity to figure out the case.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I generally rely on the customer reviews I read and make my selection based on them - boy was I thrown on this one. Andy is NOT funny, the plot does twist - in knots! All I can figure out about Laurie is she's a good cook and has no problems sleeping. In addition to the people being totally uninteresting - the dog is as dull as dish water - and I'm a sucker for dogs! I'm on page 224 and intend to skip to 273 (the end) rather than endure anymore of it.
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