This book was an easy read, it had a few twists that I did not expect but made the story much better than I expected. Will definitely read more from this author.

For some reason this David Rosenfelt novel really hit for me.
By now you know the deal. Our wisecracking hero Andy Carpenter is drawn into a murder case, this time with a body found by his own beloved Tara. The police arrest someone who has been set up for the murder. Andy takes the case based off some personal or dog based connection to the wrongly accused. Andy then unravels a conspiracy with the help of his friends.
So why is it this book, which follows the exact same formula as most of the others, works so well? Frankly I don’t know. The jokes hit. The conspiracy is well rounded and thought out. The action is well written and the court scenes are exciting. It is the platonic ideal of an Andy Carpenter book.
For the first time in a while, I listened to an audio version and I think that may have helped as well. Grover Gardner IS Andy Carpenter. His narration is just plain funny, he punches up jokes with his inflection. Gardner really is the king of these books. Even when I’m reading in print, it is his voice I hear in my head.
Just another gem from Rosenfelt. If you’ve liked the last 24, you’ll like this one. And I assume I’ll type the same thing when Andy Carpenter 26 comes out. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced audiobook for review purposes.

I listened to the audio version provided by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Best in Snow was a pleasant listen. The narrator has a soothing voice that fits the character of Andy. The author basically uses the same voice for the entire book (or the differences between characters is very, very subtle) except for one of the bad guys.

The story uses a nice combination of court room scenes and investigative and personal scenes.

Best for those looking for a relatively light, cozyish read.

I'm not someone who generally enjoys politics in books, even just as a political thriller. This book was about a mayor that was murdered and it involves other politicians and people involved with politicians. It is not my go-to type of story.

However, I absolutely love Andy Carpenter as our narrator. I love his quips and snarky comments. I find him really humorous. I also love Lori and the rest of the gang. I laughed out loud several times while listening to this book.

This is just a fun, intelligently written story.

I began this series with the audio of the last book, Dog Eat Dog, which was narrated by Grover Gardner and decided to continue with the audio. Grover Gardner is an excellent narrator and will forever be the voice of Andy Carpenter in my head. I was happy to find that he has been the consistent narrator for the entire series.

I look forward to going back to the beginning and reading the previous books about Andy, et al. I will listen to as many of them as I can on audio.

I truly found myself laughing out loud at multiple points in this lighthearted, excellently written murder mystery. David Rosenfelt is a new to me author and as soon as I finished this book, I ran to the library and scooped up as many others as I could find. That to me communicates great writing. In this story, Andy had me chuckling with his sarcastic wit and disdain for Lori’s need for holiday cheer outside of good food and sporting events. I enjoyed the camaraderie with other law enforcement officials and lawyers. Andy came into the case dragging his feet, but as soon as he had something to prove, it became a matter of principle. I loved the genius of his methods. Supporting characters add just enough expertise and humor, not to mention the brilliance of the dogs! All in all, absolutely recommend this book, this author, to others and will be busy reading his backlist. The narrator, Grover Gardner, did a great job of capturing Andy’s emotions and thought processes, both internal and external. All characters were distinguishable and enjoyable.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

I don’t know about you, but I love a book set during the Christmas season! Andy Carpenter has a new client, and he is defending him in Maine! All of our favorite characters are present and accounted for! I count this novel as my first Christmas gift of the season! So put on your favorite, Christmas jammies, make a cup of hot cocoa, and settle down for a solid holiday mystery!

It was okay. I was not over the moon about the content of the book. Did have some good qualities such as humor and dogs!

Best in Snow
by David Rosenfelt
Pub Date: October 19, 2021
MInotaur

I jumped into this series because of a patrons suggestion. She follows this series and it brings her joy! So I decided to pick up this ARC #24 . It was a great listen!

I am pleased to say the writing and intricacy of the plots are so good! LOVED LISTENING TO THIS NOVEL!!!

I wouldn’t call it a Christmas book but it does start on Thanksgiving and continues into the New Year.
Thanks to Minotaur and Netgalley for the ARC. I will recommend this audiobook.
5star

3.5 stars

In this 24th book in the 'Andy Carpenter' series, set during the holiday season, the defense attorney represents a man accused of killing the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Ever since he inherited a large fortune, New Jersey defense lawyer Andy Carpenter takes very few cases. Instead, Andy hangs out with his wife Laurie - who's in Christmas mode; son Ricky - who likes to play sports; and three dogs - golden retriever Tara; basset hound Sebastian; and pug Arthur. Andy also schmoozes with his friends at a local sports bar; helps run a canine rescue operation called 'The Tara Foundation'; watches football on television; etc.

Every evening before bed, Andy takes the dogs for a walk in the park. One snowy night before Thanksgiving Tara digs a hole in the ground and unearths a hand. The hand is attached to Alex Oliva, the mayor of Paterson, New Jersey, who's been shot in the back.

Within eight hours the police arrest a disgraced reporter named Bobby Nash, who had written an article saying the mayor took bribes to steer business to a local contractor. Bobby's 'proof' didn't hold up, he was accused of libel, and he lost his job. Bobby is arrested in the hospital because he was in a car crash on the night of the murder and is seriously injured.

Newspaper editor Vince Sanders - who's Bobby's mentor and Andy's friend - prevails on Andy to represent Bobby, and Andy reluctantly agrees. When Andy interviews Bobby in the hospital, the journalist confides he can't remember much about the night of the mayor's murder. Bobby also tells Andy that the woman who gave him 'proof' of Mayor Oliva's corruption later denied everything, and he thinks she purposely set him up. This woman comes to a bad end as well. Bobby is eventually accused of two murders.

As Andy prepares for trial, he puts all his resources to work to prove Bobby's innocence. This includes Andy's law partner Eddie Dowd - a former football player who speaks in sports clichés; the bubbeleh brigade - a cadre of elderly Jewish computer hackers; and the K-Team - a detective agency composed of Andy's ex-cop wife Laurie; tough guy Marcus; ex-cop Corey Douglas; and Corey's K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel. The bubbeleh brigade always brings homemade rugelach, which is a nice treat.

Andy and his team uncover a complicated conspiracy, and the conspirators want to make Andy and his client go away. Luckily Marcus is equivalent to Spiderman, Superman, and Batman rolled into one, and Marcus always has Andy's back.

Andy is his usual sarcastic jokey self, and the narrative provides plenty of laughs. Moreover, newspaper editor Vince - who's NOT a dog person - get's temporary custody of Bobby's golden retriever Duchess....and it's fun to see Vince warm up to the pooch.

The story is set during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, so the narrative is interspersed with delicious meals; Christmas trees; Christmas decorations; Christmas music; gift-wrapping; televised football games; and so on - all of which provides a nice holiday vibe.

The conspiracy that drives the plot is a little over-complicated, but the book is fun and entertaining. Recommended to Andy Carpenter fans and readers who enjoy light mysteries.

Thanks to Netgalley, David Rosenfelt, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

I love audio books and I usually am reading one book and listening to another simultaneously. With Best in Snow I stopped reading and just listened from beginning to end.

The story is a mystery told from the perspective of the semi-retired lawyer who is defending the reporter being tried for murder of the man whose body the lawyer's dog dug up in the snow. Whew, that's a great description of what you are in for if you read book 24 in the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. The author has written the lawyer as a successful, witty, and ready to retire who knows how to solve a mystery and get his clients out of trouble. With all the cards stacked up against his client, he just may not be successful this go around.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was very well thought out and the murder(s) not easy to solve. This book I got as an ARC from NetGalley makes me want to read others in the 24 book series (it's no wonder the lawyer wants to retire).

#netgalley #ARC #AndyCarpenter #DavidRosenfelt #mystery #series #MinotaurBooks #MacmillanAudio #GroverGardner

This was my first try with an adult mystery/court room crime. You don't need to read other books in the series in order to read this one, it stands on its own. The writing was different than what I have read before, I'm not sure if it is typical of this genre or just this particular author. It was a lot of explanation of each decision and it could have easily been cut out and cut the book in half and I don't think it would change anything for the plot. I didn't mind it for one book but I don't want to read it often.

The actual court room crime was fine, It was entertaining but I didn't care about the outcome at all. I think I learned that this genre just isn't for me and that fine. For the right audience I think the book would be very successful.

I have read about a dozen books in this series and this is my 1st Audible one. The narrator is very good; perfect for the story.
Andy Carpenter is walking his dogs in a park near his house and Tara runs off playing in the snow and then starts digging in the snow. On close look a human hand is revealed. The current City Mayor is the body under the snow. As a favor to his friend Vince, Andy becomes the lawyer for the suspect and there begins another interesting. complex courst case. There is a cute secondary story where Vince becomes a foster parent for the suspects dog..his first time as a dog parent.
I'd like to thank NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book which publishes on October 19th, 2021

So, I was sold on this as it is titled and marketed as a Christmas book. Unfortunately, it was not. It was just more of a mystery which was ok but I was really excited to get to my holiday reading!!

The mystery was well written but at times a bit boring. It is worth a read if you are a fan of mysteries.

Advertised as a Christmas mystery with a dog on the cover and a dog pun for a title, BEST IN SNOW has very little to do with Christmas or dogs. It does have a lot of court room scenes and dad jokes, if that's your jam. It's not mine, and I wish I'd researched the Andy Carpenter series before requesting this title. As this is the 24th book in the series, I've no doubt it has a readership who will know what to expect and be satisfied. However, the marketing of this book does not reflect its content.

The narrator was a bit dry, but his inflection seemed to match the main character's sense of humor.

This series is probably the only one I've kept reading that has a main character that is a lawyer. Usually they're boring but this series isn't. The humor and the dogs make it so much better.

Thank you NetGalley … for (once again) introducing me to a great author, who has written dozens of books, and had not been on my radar.

Best in Snow is evidently #24 in the Andy Carpenter series. I didn’t realize that this was a “series” book and requested it because I wanted something light and the cover was so darn adorable.

I loved the snarky wit of Andy Carpenter and how he incorporated his love of dogs into the story. As Andy is walking his dogs, they find a body.

This book reminded me of the Robert B. Parker books.

I smiled and laughed out loud with the writing style!

The audiobook was very well done. I breezed right through this book in a little over one day.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author David Rosenfelt, the narrator Grover Gardner and the publisher Macmillan Audio. Planned release is Oct 19, 2021.

One of the funnest mystery series around is David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter series. This book marks #24. This is also the 5th Christmas themed book. Yes, the books tend to be formulaic and certain ideas are repeated. But they are still just plain old fun. And kudos to Rosenfelt for always providing a well thought out plot with lots of twists and endings I never see coming. He proves that mysteries don’t have to be dark to be engrossing.
This time, the mayor of Patterson has been murdered. And Andy and Tara are the ones to find the dead body. Reporter Bobby Nash had recently done an expose on the mayor which blew up in his face, so no surprise he’s arrested for the murder. Andy’s friend, Vince, convinces Andy to take the case. As always, there is so much evidence against Bobby, the case looks like a lock for the prosecution.
Vince’s awakening as a dog lover is alone worth the price of the book. But as always, there are lots more laughs throughout the book. Andy is a smart a** of the first degree and never wastes an opportunity to be one.
Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator. He totally channels Andy.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.

These books are such a comfort read for me. They are predictable and so safe. I enjoyed this one just as much as every one of David Rosenfelt's other mysteries. It may not be an award winner, but it's exactly what you want from a David Rosenfelt mystery.

Best in Snow is another great installment of the Andy Carpenter series! Don’t worry if you haven’t read the other books in the series, Best in Snow stands perfectly fine on its own.

Andy Carpenter is a retired attorney who tends to get caught up in helping others who aren’t able to help themselves. Usually it is one of Andy’s cronies who manages to get him in the middle of an investigation. That being said, Andy is not just a great attorney, he can also lead a criminal investigation with impressive skill. Even so, Andy and his wife, Laurie, often manage to get themselves into some dicey, nail-biting situations.

Andy and Laurie are dog lovers, and dogs are featured in this series. This time around, the accused man, Bobby, is laid up in the hospital. Andy has to listen to his buddy, Vince, whine about having to take care of Bobby’s puppy, Duchess. Apparently, Vince did not know he needed to walk the puppy. What happens next…and the way it is written…is so funny!

If you have read and enjoyed any of the previous books in this series, you will definitely want to read more books from the Andy Carpenter series.

I just adore this series. I know that in always going to get a good story. Well written with plenty of much appreciated snark, sarcasm and humor no matter how dark and grizzly the case he is working on gets. While Andy os out for a walk with his beloved golden retrieved, Tara when they find the body of Mayor Alex Oliva. And so begins his quest to discover who murdered him while being nudged (pushed, cajoled, guilted) into representing the disgraced reported who is being framed for the crime. Its a great addition to the series that I hope never ends.