Silent Bite

I don't need Christmas as an excuse to read a new David Rosenfelt Andy Carpenter mystery.  That's just the icing on the cake for Silent Bite (#938).

Andy Carpenter is a semiretired lawyer, and he'd like to keep it that way.  But how can he refuse a request from his friend and co-partner in the Tara Foundation, Willie, to defend his old cellmate Tony Birch?  He's been arrested for a brutal murder and the murder weapon was found in Tony's yard.  It sure seems like a slam dunk to the police.  Tony had already been in prison for gang-related violence, and he doesn't quite come clean with Andy at their first interview.  Is Tony really as innocent as he claims?

When Andy finds out that he's going to need a new law partner for the case, he's really not sure he wants to continue, but there are two mitigating factors: he won't have to listen to Laurie playing non-stop Christmas music at home, and Tony is concerned about how well his dog Zoey is going to fare without him.  Bodies keep piling up, but Andy better find the connection he's convinced is there in time for his closing statement at Tony's trial.

With his trademark humor, Silent Bite is a welcome addition to the Andy Carpenter series with his snarky Christmas riffs.  It keeps you guessing right up until the end when it's touch and go that Andy might wind up being the final victim in the case.  Cleverly plotted and entertaining.