I was anxiously awaiting this book, the thirteenth in the series, and I was not disappointed. Of course Tara (Andy's golden retriever ) was involved, as well as a dog that was kidnapped from the shelter and ended up standing over a murder victim. Some of my favorite parts of Andy Carpenter books are the conversations (two sided) that he has with Tara. I missed them in this book. In fact, although all of his characters make appearances, most of them are not as relevant in this book as they have been in the past. I understand Rosenfelt's desire to branch out, but I look forward to time with these characters each year.
It begins with Andy tracking the missing dog, and in typical Carpenter style he ends up defending the man accused of killing the body the dog is standing over. We soon find that the corpse was a bad guy, and he was being paid to kidnap the dog. We also are privy to a police search of the dead man's house and the two huge diamonds he hid in his drawer.
The story continues with missing scientists, foreign assassins and terrorist plots. The mystery is a good one. It is a bit more complicated than most of this series tends to be, with a few more bad guys than I would have preferred, but it kept me coming back and left me looking forward to number fourteen.
- Beverly
Publisher - Minotaur Books
Date of Publication - July 21, 2015