‘‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas

Title: ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas 

Author: David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter #28
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Format: Kindle and Audiobook ARC
No. of Pages: 
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Length:  6 hrs 33 mins
Date of Publication:  October 10, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

In National Bestseller David Rosenfelt’s ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas, all through the Carpenter house, five dogs are stirring, and not even Andy can get out of working this latest case at his door.

Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is at the Tara Foundation’s annual Christmas party. The dog rescue organization has always been his true calling, and this is one holiday tradition he can get behind because every dog that’s come through the rescue—and their families—are invited to celebrate.

This year’s party is no exception. But before the stockings can be hung by the chimney with care, homicide detectives ruin the evening. Derek Moore, one of the foundation’s best foster volunteers, is arrested for murder.

Andy discovers Derek—whose real name is Bobby—is in the witness protection program after giving evidence against his former gang. The police believe Bobby murdered a member. But Bobby swears to Andy he didn’t do this. He’s built a new life, a new business, has two new dogs after being a double foster-failure.

There isn’t much Andy likes about this case, but he likes Bobby. If he’s innocent, Andy wants to help. Before Andy can settle down for his long winter’s nap, he has a client’s name to clear, a murderer to catch, and two new dogs to look after: a golden and a Dalmatian. Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, will have to adjust to not being the only golden at the house while Andy gets to the bottom of this one…

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MY THOUGHTS:

 

One of the volunteers at Andy Carpenter’s Tara Foundation, Derek, had previously adopted two of the foundation’s dogs. His dog adoptions certainly impressed Andy. However, during an office Christmas party, Derek was arrested. To Andy’s surprise, Derek was actually Robert, and Andy agreed to defend him, with the condition that any of his clients must always tell the truth. Bobby claims his innocence, and Andy was now tasked with proving it and getting Bobby out of jail.

As Andy delved into Bobby’s case, he was shocked to discover that Bobby was in the witness protection program. Despite this, Bobby was being charged with murder. However, Bobby believed that Andy simply needed to believe in his innocence, which didn’t go well. In fact, Andy found himself in danger more than once.

I absolutely adore this series. David Rosenfelt’s writing of Andy’s character is witty, and narrator Grover Gardner delivers the narration perfectly every time. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to each and every book in this series, including the latest one, And to All a Good Bite. One thing I can’t wait for is another Andy Carpenter story. This is among my favorite series, and I genuinely hope it continues for years to come.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am a novelist with 27 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, “Ozzie and Harriet’s” clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every “Rambo”, “The Natural” and “Rocky”, there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither have inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It’s safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About fourteen years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. They surround me as I write this. It’s total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

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