by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Bark of Night, and a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Andy Carpenter is a defense attorney who really doesn’t like to take cases, investigate, and go to court. Luckily, he has enough money that he doesn’t have to. When his beloved Golden Retriever, Tara, is at the vet’s office and the vet asks about a legal problem, that changes everything.

A man brings in a French Bulldog and pays to have the dog euthanized. Who would do that to a healthy, young dog? It turns out the man’s name, the dog’s name, and the story he gave were all lies. Is a vet obligated to put down a healthy dog just because he was asked, and payment was accepted? Andy, a known dog lover and rescue advocate, says no. He contends the dog is evidence and puts him in protective custody at a shelter he helps support. The pup’s real name is Truman.

When Truman’s real owner is found murdered and a suspect is arrested, it adds more complications, especially since the suspect seems to be innocent, no matter what witnesses say. Andy hopes to solve the case before he has to actually go to court.

The more clues he and his investigators unravel, the more complicated the case gets. Laurie, Andy’s wife, knows he’s not big on protecting himself so she has Marcus follow and keep Andy safe. A case that started with a dog named Truman, now involves the FBI, interstate murders, and hit men. What’s Andy gotten himself into now? And can he get himself out safely? And still be in the good graces of the FBI and local law enforcement.

This is the nineteenth Andy Carpenter mystery and the first one I’ve read. Andy is a delightful character and Laurie is the perfect match for him, each with their own strengths and willingness to acknowledge and use them. Andy is sarcastic but not mean, Laurie is realistic and able to do what’s needed. Marcus is just scary. Along with help from other members of the team and a lot of negotiation, Andy might just come out of this case with everything he wants – including Truman.

Readers will wonder, like I did, how there are nineteen books, and this is a new-to-me series. It’s a tossup between, there are eighteen I haven’t read, darn it, and there are eighteen I haven’t read, yay! I’m going with yay and finding the first books to catch up with the series. Rosenfelt is a must-read for any dog lover.

Rosenfelt has also written nine thrillers and two non-fiction books. Look for Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog and Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteer, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure.

When he’s not writing, Rosenfelt and his wife, Debbie, adopt older and special needs dogs. It’s best not to ask how many dogs they have.

To enter to win a copy of Bark of Night, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “bark,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 10, 2019. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Be sure to check out our new mystery podcast too with mystery short stories, and first chapters read by local actors. A new episode went up this week!

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Bark of Night (An Andy Carpenter Novel #19)

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.