New Tricks by David Rosenfelt, Review + Contest!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!

Today we delve into a book light on the uber-hard-to-figure-out plot lines but heavy on the overall enjoyment...and look!  It's part of a series!  *YAY!*  Combining the best of the mystery genre with a story heavily infused with doggy goodness....is it any wonder why this one caught my eye?  The book of choice for today is....

New Tricks

by

David Rosenfelt

Andy Carpenter, attorney at law....for dogs!  Well, okay, so he doesn't just cater to canine clientele, but he has earned a reputation for successfully defending our furry friends in several recent cases so he might as well add that to his list of case types accepted.  One bright and sunny morning, Andy is called in to the Judge Hatchet's office to discuss a new case.  Thinking the worst, I mean best....he figures it's a pro bono case since his recent quota in this category is zilch, nada, niente, goose egg...well, you get the picture.  In this case, it's more of a pro "bone" case....

The case he is assigned is a custody battle over one son of a champion show "man"....Waggy.  Odd name for a son, no?  Oh, wait....did I fail to mention that he's a Bernese mountain dog puppy?  My bad...  Waggy is being claimed by two parties, after his owner, Mr. Timmerman, is murdered for reasons still under investigation...his son Steven, and his wife Diana.  Oh, wait, scratch that....now it's only one party as it seems one of these two "blew up" at the situation...oh, now it's back to two again, now one, now...oh good grief!  This puppy is more highly sought than the last donut in the break room on a Monday!  Lucky for this little guy, Andy is a pro with pups and along with his helper, Tara (a golden retriever, no less), is more than qualified to take care of him while things get sorted out.  Shouldn't be long now, what with the way people keep up and disappearing...then again, who's to say who will be next?  There's a lot more at stake here than someone's claim over Waggy (though that's enough...he's so cute!)...something that people are willing to kill for.  Andy's job...to find out who, what, where, why and how...before it's too late!

YAY!  Let me just say that I totally enjoyed this book.  At just about 370 pages, it read surprisingly fast and kept my interest held fairly well.  The bonus aspect of short chapters also helps out those that are like me and dislike stopping mid-chapter if at all possible.  Now to talk about characters....

Andy Carpenter.  Hmm, how to put this...if he were real, I mean like actually existed outside of literature, he'd be someone I'd love to hang out with.  Snarky but fun....full of quick wit and humor...doesn't know when to quit, but in a good way....faithful to his girl even though they are states apart, a dog lover...  Hold on, I think I'm developing a character crush here.  ^_^  Seriously though, when I first started reading the book, it took me a second to get into his mindset, after all, he was a completely new character to me...but it didn't take more than a chapter or two and I was right there 100%.  Just try NOT to like this guy...no really, try!  I'd love to see how that turns out...especially with Marcus on the job...

Who is Marcus?  Glad you asked.  He's one of those characters that's there but not.  He doesn't feature largely in the main gist of it all until later on and even then, he more of a supporting role, but let's just say that if someone is supporting you, you know, backing you up...this is the guy to do it.  His presence in the story may not be huge plot wise, but it is felt in a big way.  (You'll have to read it to see what I mean....just try not to cross the guy unless you can run far, hide well, and....okay so yeah, he'd still probably find you, so just don't.)  Now on to the storyline...

I totally KNEW who the person behind all the shenanigans was. *fist pump*  No seriously!  Even when the author tried to make me change my mind with all the evidence presented, I still kept saying to myself...nope, sorry, I think it's really the-character-that-shall-not-be-named.  (What, you didn't think I was going to spoil it for you now did you?  *tisk*tisk*)  Now normally that would irritate the living day lights out of me, but in this case...not so much.  You see I was having such a great time with the story and the characters that it made little difference, plus it wasn't like it was handed to you on a platter or anything; you still had to work for it.  What does all this amount to?  Well, for starters, a bit of a discovery on my part...

In reading this book, I came to a realization about the 'mystery' genre that seems to be true for me at least....it's transparent.  Now before you bring out your mystery books to pelt me with, hear me out.  It's not in an I-know-EXACTLY-how-the-book-ends-from-page-one sorta way, but more in the sense that you know what's going to happen before it truly does. You're almost a step ahead of the lead characters if you're paying any sort of attention to the story. Take this book for example....the moment I read the portion that said the dog's current location was revealed the local news, I KNEW something was going to happen at Andy's house. I mean, laying out a welcome mat in this case would have been less obvious. Trouble just seems to follow little Waggy for some reason that I shall NOT reveal here...or confirm if it's really about him or something far more mysterious... *cue dramatic organ music*

All in all, a fabulously fun mystery read, great for a relaxing weekend or anytime you are simply looking for a little bookish fun.  Recommended for fans of the genre, but also those looking to just step into it...and no worries on the fact that it's one in a series, you'll never even know...it's that seamless.  I had such a fun time with this one, you can be pretty sure you'll end up seeing more reviews on this series in the future.

Review copy received courtesy of Hachette Book Group. (THANKS!)  For more information on this title and their complete catalog, visit them at their site or follow along on Twitter.  To see what the author is currently up to regarding this series, visit his site.

Now....are you ready for some more exciting news?  What's that?  How is it more?  Well, it's MORE because the first bit of excitement was my fun-tastic review (okay, so yeah, I'm saying it was fun....hopefully you agree)!  The NEXT bit of excitement belongs to YOU and is courtesy of Hachette Book Group!  Thanks to these fabulous folks, I have the opportunity to present you with the chance to win a copy of this fabulous book all your own!  Excited yet?  Here's the scoop...

The prize:

(1) copy of New Tricks by David Rosenfelt

How to enter:

Simply submit your information right here...

The rules:

*Open to US/Canada mailing addresses only!  No P. O. Boxes please.

* Entries will be accepted from Monday, September 27th, 2010 through Monday, October 11th, 2010 at midnight CST.  The entries will be tallied and entered into the random.org randomizer, after which a random number will be picked by their number generator.

* All entries must be submitted using the form accessible through this post.  You MUST include your email address in order to be counted as well as contacted should you be chosen as the winner!

*The winner will be announced and contacted via email by Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 and will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.  Should they fail to respond in the given time frame, a new winner will be chosen.  If you choose to include your address in your entry, no worries...the time frame issue is removed.

*Winners name and address will be forwarded to Hachette Book Group for prize send out only and then discarded.

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Good luck to everyone!

Until next time...happy reading!