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Sunday, July 3, 2011

Bury The Lead

Defense attorney Andy Carpenter reluctantly takes on the defense of a journalist who has been arrested for a series of brutal murders of women in David Rosenfelt's Bury The Lead (#88).  Why do it then?  Andy's on retainer for his friend Vince Sanders and his newspaper.  Daniel Cummings, the journalist in question, claims that the serial killer has called him and wants him to be his messenger to the public.  Circumstances place Daniel at the scene of the latest murder where the victim is a whistle-blower and gubernatorial candidate with possible ties to the North Jersey mob.  There's no apparent connection between any of the victims.  Was Linda Padilla just a random victim?  If she was, the whole community is at risk and tempers flare during the trial.  The worst thing is that Andy isn't convinced of his own client's innocence when he takes on the case and it becomes clear Daniel's been keeping secrets from his attorney.

In typical David Rosenfelt fashion, the twists keep coming in this murder mystery.  It appears the case has been solved about two thirds of the way through the book, so you know there have to be some curves coming.  I really enjoyed being along for the ride on this one, when at several points I could honestly say "I did NOT see that coming!"  Tara the golden retriever plays a role in this book, and another series regular is added to the cast of characters for this series.

I especially loved the scene during Cummings' arraingment when Andy comes back with a beauty of a rebuttal to the flag-waving prosecutor's speech.  It would be right up there with Fred Gwynne's classic "What is a "ute"?" routine in My Cousin Vinny. (If you click on this link, you'll find a couple of ways to view this scene:   YouTube Ute scene ).  Gotta love Andy's quick mental reflexes!  Looking forward to the next installment.

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