Andy Carpenter--work-hating defense attorney, video-game lover, wisecrack addict, sports fan, and well-known dogophile--is back. But here, in his twenty-fourth appearance in author Rosenfelt's popular series, Andy's spontaneous self is surprisingly subdued. Procedural elements, like working the phones and scowling at a computer screen, take the foreground, and that's both a blessing and a problem. It's Christmastime, and Andy is walking his pup when he comes across a snow-covered body. A suspect is quickly identified and arrested, but the details don't add up. Did the accused, zonked to the hairline on booze and fentanyl, really dispatch his victim and lug the corpse on a three-block trip? Along the way to Andy answering that question, Rosenfelt falls prey to some overpeopled and overcomplex prose, the sort of thing book doctors diagnose as "the muddle in the middle." Still, readers staying the course will be rewarded with a zinger of a courtroom scene. And there's enough of the old waggish Andy to keep his fans eager for more.

Edgar finalist Rosenfelt's jaunty 24th Andy Carpenter mystery (after Dog Eat Dog) opens on a snowy November night in Paterson, N.J. Semiretired defense attorney Andy is walking his dogs in the park when Tara, "the greatest golden retriever the world has ever known," discovers a hand protruding through the snow. It turns out to be connected to the body of Paterson's mayor, Alex Oliva. The police are quick to arrest journalist Bobby Nash, who had written a negative story about Oliva, which turned out to be false and cost Bobby his job. Vince Sanders, the editor of the local paper and a longtime buddy of Andy's, refuses to believe his former employee capable of murder and begs Andy to defend him. Soon homicides and attempted homicides are "popping up all over." In the end, Andy must put his life in peril to draw out the bad guys. Rosenfelt matches crisp action scenes with wry dialogue, and he pithily conveys his characters' shared histories. Newcomers as well as established fans will enjoy this installment. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Oct.)

It wouldn't be Christmas in Paterson, New Jersey, without a dead body covered by snow in Eastside Park. It's a bonus that the corpse is that of Paterson Mayor Alex Oliva and that it's discovered by Tara, the beloved golden retriever of Andy Carpenter, the city's most work-averse lawyer. As usual, Andy's inclined to walk away from his discovery, but that quickly changes with the arrest of disgraced reporter Bobby Nash, whom Andy's old pal, executive editor Vince Sanders, fired after a story he reported exposing a pay-to-play scheme that linked businessman Richard Minchner to Oliva's gubernatorial campaign was proved false and Bobby's principal informant, election committee member Theresa Minardo, said she'd never talked to him. Andy doesn't owe Vince a favor, but when Vince points out that he'd certainly pay up if he owed Andy, he reluctantly takes on Bobby's defense. It's a good thing, too, since the case is about to blow up--literally for Theresa Minardo and several other locals hanging around structures that shadowy forces seem to have targeted for demolition. Bobby is poisoned during his stay in the prison hospital; prosecutor Dylan Campbell is clearly licking his chops over the surfeit of forensic evidence linking Bobby to the crime; and as Andy prepares his impossible defense, he can't help wondering why the killer, after shooting Oliva in his driveway, would take so much trouble to dump his body a mere three blocks away. Very little mystery, with surprisingly muted canine roles. The wily prosecutor turns in the single strongest performance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Paterson, NJ, with more than two feet of snow suddenly dumped by a passing December storm. As the snow melts, the dead body of nasty businessman Thomas Lansing is discovered. When it's also discovered that the local reporter Lansing had fired for libel is missing, lawyer Andy Carpenter gets busy, with golden retriever Tara at his side. With a 50,000-copy first printing.