Is Andy Going To Have To Share The Limelight?
If you’re familiar with the Andy Carpenter series then you know it’s apt to be quite a challenge for the fast-talking, somewhat smart-aleck, criminal defense lawyer, to step back and let the spotlight shine on the K Team.
If you’re not familiar, that’s just fine too. This new series doesn’t require that you know the characters from the Andy Carpenter books.
The K Team consists of Andy’s wife Laurie, who is a former police officer. Cory and his German Shepherd, Simon Garfunkel, both retired police officers that Laurie worked with. And lastly, Marcus who is a bodyguard in the Andy Carpenter books.
Spinoff Plot
In this spinoff, one of the judges in the Carpenter series is being blackmailed and wants the team to do some “quiet” investigations. Obviously, due to his position, he needs to count on the confidentiality of those on the team. In order to ensure that, he hires Andy to represent him. Of course, that means attorney/client privilege, and the team will then be legally bound to the same terms since technically they will be doing research for Andy. This is more or less a cameo appearance for Andy.
I was familiar with everyone on the K Team except retired cop Cory and his dog, Simon. And I was excited to see how Rosenfelt would weave a police dog into the story.
As A Side Note
I have grown with the Andy Carpenter series, starting with his first book Open and Shut. And at that time he was a new author who answered my email personally and even signed a book that I mailed for his signature. So I’m very familiar with Rosenfelt’s writing, including his non-fiction books.
Details:
- Title: The K Team
- Author: David Rosenfelt
- Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 24, 2020)
- Pages: 292
- Book Excerpt
My Thoughts
I hate to admit it, but I wasn’t all that happy with the characters. And here are the reasons why:
Cory – I kid you not, at the beginning of this book, Cory reminded me so much of Andy that I had to go back and make sure who was telling the story. That’s not a good thing. As I continued to read, he did start to veer away from what I considered to be Andy’s thoughts and humor. But Cory just didn’t stand out enough to be the key character in this book. In my opinion, Cory needed to have a very distinct voice, which he didn’t.
Simon Garfunkel – Cory’s police dog’s participation in this story was next to nothing. Quite disappointing. Knowing Rosenfelt’s deep love for dogs, I expected much more.
Lauri – What can I say? Lauri is Lauri. I have nothing negative nor positive about her character.
Marcus – Could be just my sense of humor or lack of, but when a character speaks only in grunts, he doesn’t add that much to a team, or a story. In fact, if Marcus got paid for every recognizable word he speaks, he’d be left asking for handouts on the street corner.
So with that cast of characters, it was difficult for me to get too excited regarding the plot. Don’t get me wrong, I was interested in the reason that Judge Henderson, alias Hatchet to many lawyers, was getting anonymous, incriminating mail, it just wasn’t enough.
What Concerned Me
- I thought this cast of characters was weak.
- And I want investigators to always solve mysteries with practices that are within the boundaries of the law.
What I Liked
Rosenfelt is a good writer, and I’ve appreciated his writing throughout the last few years. With some tweaks to the characters, I see The K Team as developing into another fun series.
My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for providing an ARC and the ability to post my thoughts.
Last Thoughts
David’s information on his website is so much fun, that I couldn’t help but quote from it. And for more about him click on Author below.
Also, if you haven’t read Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog by David Rosenfelt, I highly recommend it. It’s a wonderful way to learn more about the author.
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.
