The Twelve Dogs of Christmas: An Andy Carpenter Mystery

Description

Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter usually tries to avoid taking on new cases at all costs. But this time, he's happy--eager, even--to take the case that's just come his way. Andy's long-time friend Martha "Pups" Boyer takes in stray puppies that the local dog rescue center can't handle, raises them until they're old enough to adopt, and then finds good homes for them. Not everyone admires the work Pups does as much as Andy does, however. With Christmas just around the corner, one of Pups's neighbors has just reported Pups to the city for having more than the legal number of pets in her home under the local zoning laws. Andy happily takes Pups's case, and he feels confident in a positive outcome. Who could punish someone for rescuing puppies, after all, especially at Christmastime? But things get a lot more complicated when Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who registered the complaint against Pups, turns up dead. Pups had loudly and publicly threatened Hennessey after he filed his complaint, and Pups was also the one to find his body. All the evidence seems to point to Pups as the killer, and suddenly Andy has a murder case on his hands. He doesn't believe Pups could be guilty, but as he starts digging deeper into the truth behind Hennessey's murder, Andy may find himself facing a killer more dangerous than he ever imagined. With his trademark wit, larger-than-life characters, and clever plotting, David Rosenfelt delivers another gripping mystery.

DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of seven stand-alones and thirteen previous Andy Carpenter novels, most recently Who Let the Dog Out?. After years living in California, he and his wife recently moved to Maine with the twenty-five golden retrievers that they've rescued. Rosenfelt's hilarious account of this cross-country move, Dogtripping, is available from St. Martin's Press.

Praise for The Twelve Dogs of Christmas "Heartwarming... Carpenter's endearing first-person narrative moves the story along with just the right mixture of humor and suspense." -- Associated Press on The Twelve Dogs of Christmas "I loved it. This is a courtroom drama with charm and a really clever plot...Dog lovers will adore this book but serious mystery fans will love the puzzle." --The Globe and Mail "Dog lovers across the country drool at the thought of a new mystery about the curmudgeonly lovable lawyer and his quirky entourage...In each and every book, Rosenfelt manages to make the reading both humorous (laugh-out-loud funny) and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful." --Huffington Post "Rosenfelt integrates Andy's vocation of finding rescued dogs permanent homes--which the author shares with his character--without overwhelming the story."--Publishers Weekly Praise for David Rosenfelt and The Andy Carpenter Mysteries "Dog lovers won't want to miss this one." - Publishers Weekly on Dachshund Through the Snow "This book was a romping good time, perfect for taking a break through the stressful holidays." -- Dogster Magazine on Dachshund Through the Snow "All the elements dedicated readers will be expecting, wrapped up in a festive Yuletide setting. . . sweet moments of puppy love will have readers smiling." -- Library Journal (starred review) on Deck the Hounds "As is always the case with Rosenfelt's Carpenter novels, nearly every page will elicit a smile, if not out-loud laughter." --NJ.com on Deck the Hounds