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Title: First Degree by David Rosenfelt ISBN: 0-89296-754-4 Publisher: Mysterious Press Pub. Date: June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.62 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Clever, Thrilling, Entertaining
Comment: I was pleasantly surprised to realize that FIRST DEGREE contains most of the elements that I enjoy in a legal thriller. Protagonist Andrew Carpenter, a newly made millionaire, is an intelligent, self-deprecating, likeable attorney "with enough sarcasm to dream about(using)a sarcasm patch".
After months of refusing several potentially lucrative cases, Carpenter finds himself choosing to defend a small-time drug dealer accused of murdering a lieutenant on the Paterson New Jersey Police Force. Circumstances move rapidly as the charges against the defendant are dropped and re-filed against Carpenter's girlfriend, ex-cop Laurie Collins.
The first half of this fast-paced legal thriller is used to set up the case. Rosenfelt introduces the characters with clever dialogue and literary devices. Carpenter and one of his friends engage in song-talking, manipulating their conversations so they can use the lyrics of popular songs to express themselves.
Don't get the wrong impression though. FIRST DEGREE is much more than sarcasm and clever dialogue. Once the case is developed, Rosenfelt masterfully takes us to trial to watch and listen as Carpenter does his job to defend the falsely accused and embarrass the prosecution with a cleverly lain trap. There are thrilling moments with a theme of attorney privelege and Carpenter's responsibility toward the defendant and those he asks to help him. Rosenfelt has created a character that readers will want to follow and read more about. He has created a winner.
Rating: 4
Summary: Expect the Totally Unexpected
Comment: 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: 5
Summary: I thought "Open and Shut" was great.....
Comment: 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!
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Title: Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt ISBN: 0446612537 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Fatal Flaw by William Lashner ISBN: 0060508167 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: No 2nd Chance by Harlan Coben ISBN: 0525947299 Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: 28 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel ISBN: 0399150420 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 07 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Split Second by David Baldacci ISBN: 0446530891 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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