His last “stand alone” offering, Blackout, featured New Jersey State Police Officer Doug Brock, and it involved gangsters and shootouts and a fairly good storyline. I reviewed it in 2016 and found myself missing some of the humor that generally peppers his writing. That being said, it was a good read and l thought Brock made a strong protagonist.
Apparently Rosenfelt agreed with me, because this “stand alone” became part of a two part series. His latest book, Fade to Black, brings back Brock, his partner Nate and his fiancé Jessie in another good guy -vs- bad guy police story. Brock is back on the force after getting shot and suffering from amnesia. He has some, but not all, of his memories back, and with the help of an amnesia support group and his friends he is almost as good as new.
When a fellow member of his support group asks for Brock’s help and then ends up murdered, the plot thickens. The wrong man might be in jail for the murder of a woman whose body has never been found. A local hospital might be involved with some gangsters in drug dealings, and there is definitely a Las Vegas connection. When the FBI steps in because of terrorist implications, things go into high gear.
I was happy to see that Rosenfelt added a bit more of his snarky humor in this novel, and I kept having to remind myself that this was not a Carpenter novel. It read with the same strong characterization as his popular series, and the protagonist from this book could certainly be a member of Andy’s posse of friends.
This book is not due for publication until March, but it should definitely be on your to do list. This will give those of you who missed Blackout a chance to read it before book two is available, and if you have yet to read the Andy Carpenter series then I suggest you start it immediately.
- Beverly
Publisher - Minotaur Books
Date of Publication - March 13, 2018