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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

First Degree

In David Rosenfelt's First Degree (#73) defense lawyer Andy Carpenter's investigator and love interest is arrested for the first degree murder of a Paterson, New Jersey police detective.  While Laurie Collins was still with the police, she turned over information on Alex Dorsey that should have had him removed from the force.  Instead, all he got was a reprimand and Laurie was forced to quit the department.  Now someone with pull is setting her up to take the fall for his gruesome beheading.  Andy and his team, of course, defends her in what seems to be another open and shut case for the prosecution.

In Open and Shut, the first book in this series, Andy saves a golden retriever from certain death at the pound, exonerates an inmate on death row shortly before Willie Miller is due to be executed, and unexpectedly acquires a hefty fortune from his father from untouched guilt money.  In First Degree, we learn how Andy gains a business partner, finds a meaningful charity to support and cements together a tightly knit defense team.

Mr. Rosenfelt poses an intriguing problem and manages to solve it with deft touches of humor, my favorite brain mix!  His description of the prosecutor's manueverings in some of his initial meetings with Andy comparing them to Olympic events is priceless.  I highly recommend this series, but do yourself a favor and begin with his first book so you can understand and appreciate the character and plot development.

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