Dead Center
David Rosenfelt
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2006 Mysterious Press
ISBN: 0892960027

When Andy Carpenter's ex-girlfriend is accused of murder, he rushes to Wisconsin to defend her.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Are David Rosensfelt's hero's maverick ways catching hold of the author? Street smart, wise-ass, charming lawyer Andy Carpenter came on the wide world of fictional lawyers back in 2002 with Open and Shut & the author has religiously supplied a Carpenter adventure every year since. I pose this question because even the acknowledgment page of Dead Center is written in Carpenter style -- dry, down to earth & humorous.

With that said, Dead Center is vintage Rosenfelt -- with breezy action & “needlepoint” suspense that will take your breath away -- all narrated with lashings of humor, a unique style we've come look for & enjoy with this author's thrillers.

Fed up with his maverick style both in court & in life, Andy Carpenter's girlfriend, Laurie Collins, (a detective by profession) has left him. But when she calls for his help & asks him to defend a girl accused of double homicide,…for once Carpenter is tongue-tied. However, Collins has also been arrested herself on the same charges, although the prosecutor Davidson doubts her guilt.

A reluctant Andy arrives in Wisconsin & starts preparing for trial, but the more he investigates, the more he's convinced that Jeremy Davidson might not have been leading a straight life -- & the bad company Laurie's mixed up with might just include some Satan worshippers.

What follows is the best in legal suspense culminating in a finish that's just awesome. David Rosenfelt, like James Patterson, made a career in marketing, & in his case in the motion picture industry itself. & for the past few years I've been expecting a blurb in the books, like “soon to be a major Hollywood motion picture” -- yup,…all Rosenfelt works ought to be turned into movies & it's a wonder why no one has yet thought of the same. I sure would like to see Adam Sandler take the role of Andy Carpenter -- he can be both witty & deadbeat serious at the same time.

A good read, one that ought not to be missed by connoisseurs of legal thrillers.

More from David Rosenfelt:
Sudden Death
First Degree
(07/02/06)

Narayan
2006©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org