First Degree (Andy Carpenter Series #2)

Entertainment Weekly

A solid setup with suspense just where you want it, humor just when you need it....Plus, Carpenter is a breezily self-deprecating narrator.

New York Times Book Review

"...smartly balances his hero's...charm with a fast-paced plot, sophisticated courtroom techniques and...colorful sidekicks.
—6/8/03

The New York Times

Rosenfelt smartly balances his hero's bushy-tailed charm with a fast-paced plot, sophisticated courtroom techniques and enough colorful sidekicks (and lovable dogs) to keep this new series on its entertaining track. — Marilyn Stasio

Publishers Weekly

Clever plot twists, deft legal maneuverings and keen wit boost Rosenfelt's accomplished follow-up to his Edgar-nominated debut, Open and Shut (2002). Newly wealthy and no longer in need of cases to sustain his legal practice, Paterson, N.J., attorney Andy Carpenter is free to pick and choose his clients. The glib, amiable Andy certainly would not choose the character who comes into his office confessing to the grisly murder of corrupt police officer Alex Dorsey. The bad end of a bad cop has almost endless ramifications. After successfully dealing with one complication arising from this surprising visit, Andy is faced with an even worse one when his lover, PI Laurie Collins, winds up accused of Dorsey's murder. As the net of overwhelming circumstantial evidence tightens around Laurie during the judicial process, every lead Andy and his team pursue seems to result in either a death or a dead end. The author adroitly maintains a fast pace while switching gears effortlessly between the courtroom and the investigation. As satisfying as the nuts and bolts of the case are, it's the sheer likability of Andy and the odd assortment of his friends and staff that lifts the story from merely enjoyable to genuinely delightful. Rosenfelt should win a unanimous verdict: first-rate. (May 14) Forecast: On the heels of strong reviews for the author's first novel, plus blurbs from Harlan Coben and Donald E. Westlake, this Mystery Guild Featured Alternate should garner even better sales than those for Open and Shut. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Self-proclaimed hotshot lawyer Andy Carpenter, first introduced in Rosenfelt's debut, Open and Shut, has not had to work much since he inherited an unexpected $22 million. Still, when his chief investigator, who is also his lover, is charged with the murder of a corrupt cop, he naturally takes her case. In between clever but frantic legal maneuvers, Andy tries desperately to unravel multiple deceptions in this elaborate frame-up. The tone is kept light by Andy's sarcasm, sports fanaticism, and search for an appropriate charity to support, while the author's use of the first-person present tense emphasizes that Andy knows no more than the reader about what will happen next. Drawing on his experience in Hollywood marketing and scriptwriting, Rosenfelt keeps the plot roaring along, leaving incongruities and character development in its wake while keeping the reader chuckling and turning pages. Fans of Donald Westlake or Janet Evanovich may enjoy the wit and humor here. For all collections seeking lighter legal thrillers.-Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Rosenfelt's got it all -- canny invention, snappy dialogue, deftly managed legal conflicts, startling surprises -- and he displays it all with an economy that should make his courtroom brethren hang their heads in shame.

Booklist

Very good, indeed, and it confirms that Rosenfelt will be a force in the legal-thriller world for a long time to come.

Kirkus Reviews

Call Andy Carpenter a starry-eyed idealist, but when one Geoffrey Stynes walks into his Paterson, New Jersey, law office and announces that he's the man who cut off bent Lt. Alex Dorsey's head, poured gasoline over his body, and set it afire, Andy (Open and Shut, 2002) refuses to represent him. In fact, since the attorney/client privilege prevents him from sharing Stynes's revelation with the cops, he goes so far as to get himself appointed public defender to Oscar Garcia, the handyman/drug dealer who's been arrested for the crime. It's a resourceful, if quixotic, idea, but it doesn't prevent ADA Dylan Campbell from dropping the charges against Garcia and arresting Laurie Collins, the Paterson cop who'd served under Dorsey, fingered him to his superiors, then quit the force after a cover-up left Dorsey untouched except for a reprimand and Laurie hanging out to dry. Since Laurie has become Andy's investigator and lover, he takes an even more personal interest in the case. And he'll need every scrap of motivation, because the case against Laurie seems airtight; the judge, Walter "Hatchet" Henderson, is no friend of Andy's; Geoffrey Stynes has vanished; and every new lead Andy follows turns literally into a dead end. When Laurie makes bail, she's able to set up housekeeping once more with Andy and a security bracelet on her ankle. But how long will their pre-honeymoon last? Rosenfelt's got it all-canny invention, snappy dialogue, deftly managed legal conflicts, startling surprises-and he displays it all with an economy that should make his courtroom brethren hang their heads in shame.

New York Times Book Review

"Entertaining...fast-paced...sophisticated."

San Antonio Express-News

"Entertaining....Rosenfelt writes with exceeding charm and humor."