by Sandra Murphy

This week we have a review of the latest Andy Carpenter mystery by David Rosenfelt, Dachshund Through the Snow. We also have a very entertaining interview with David. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Dachshund Through the Snow, a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Dachshund Through the Snow: Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt
Review by Sandra Murphy

Andy Carpenter is a lawyer, but he doesn’t like to take cases. Thankfully, he has enough money that he doesn’t have to work. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get lured into it now and again. For instance, his wife Laurie has arranged for him to represent a K9 officer and his dog. The officer is retiring, but the department wants his dog to keep working in spite of age-related problems. Andy, a dog person and publicity hound, loves this kind of case.

Laurie is determined to make a child’s wish come true for Christmas—a coat for his mom, a sweater for his Dachshund Murphy, and to have his dad Noah, come home in time for the holiday. This results in more work for Andy, much to his dismay.

It’s more complicated than you’d think. Noah is wanted for a murder that happened fourteen years ago. The evidence looks solid. There are no other suspects. Andy thinks Noah is innocent which means since there’s no way to prove he didn’t kill the girl, the jury would have to recognize reasonable doubt and vote not guilty.

There’s a disturbing trend in that Andy goes to interview someone and their body is the next one found. It’s difficult to tie them all to the original murder, but since it’s the only case Andy has, what else could it be? An attempt on his own life convinces Andy he’s on the right track, but he has no idea what that is. Getting Noah home for Christmas make require more than legal procedures. Making it happen might call for a little Christmas magic and the willingness to believe.

Rosenfelt writes a multi-layered mystery full of humor, suspense, and dogs. His characters come to life on the page, inviting readers to come along for the adventure. Andy’s love for his family—Laurie, son Ricky, Tara the golden retriever, and Sebastian the basset hound who naps a lot and occasionally blinks so you know he’s still breathing—is evident.

In spite of writing eleven stand-alone books and nineteen Carpenter mysteries, Rosenfelt and his wife have managed to rescue and/or rehome four thousand dogs, many elderly or with special needs. Only twenty-five of the dogs live with them in Maine. Rumor has it, there is very little room on the bed for humans.

This book has a place reserved for my Best of 2019 list.

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.

Interview with David Rosenfelt:

KRL: How long have you been writing?

David: I’ve been writing novels for 18 years. Before that I spent 10 years writing movie and television scripts.

KRL: When did your first novel come out? What was it called? And can you tell us a little about it?

David: Open and Shut came out in 2002. It introduced Andy Carpenter, a Paterson, New Jersey lawyer who has somehow managed to survive through 20 more books (and counting).

David Rosenfelt

KRL: Have you always written mysteries/suspense? If not, what else have you written?

David: Basically yes, although I wrote two non-fiction books about our insane life in dog rescue. They were called Dogtripping and Lessons from Tara.

KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book/series?

David: All of my books are centered in Paterson, New Jersey, which is where I grew up. It’s an area I know very well. They say to write what you know and understand, which is why there are so few women in my books.

KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to take away from your work?

David: Strictly to entertain, although Andy has a dog rescue foundation. If there is any message at all I am trying to convey, it is that rescuing an animal is a wonderful, rewarding thing to do.

KRL: That’s a wonderful message! Do you have a schedule for your writing or just write whenever you can?

David: No set schedule, though I write better at night.

KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

David: Not only don’t I outline, but I never have an idea of what is coming next. The book just goes where it goes and I’m along for the ride.

KRL: If you had your ideal, what time of day would you prefer to write?

David: In a perfect world, I would start writing at 10 a.m. and finish at 10:05 a.m.!

KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?

David: No, I was very lucky. I wrote the book, sent it to my film agent, he sent it to a book agent, she sent it to one publisher, and they bought it with sequels. Everything just fell into place.

KRL: Future writing goals?

David: I just signed a six-book deal, so my main goal would be to find a ghostwriter.

KRL: LOL Writing heroes?

David: Anyone who writes well-researched non-fiction. So maybe Robert Caro and Michael Lewis.

KRL: What kind of research do you do?

David: I Google a lot and if I’m feeling really industrious, I check out Wikipedia.

KRL: What do you read?

David: Mostly non-fiction. Among fiction writers, my favorites are Lee Child and Michael Connelly.

KRL: Favorite TV or movies?

David: Seinfeld, Honeymooners, Godfather films (except for number 3), Tootsie, Inherit the Wind.

KRL: Any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

David: Don’t obsess about it, don’t talk about it, don’t strategize…just do it.

KRL: I hear that you are personally involved in animal rescue, can you tell us about that?

David: My wife and I are lunatics when it comes to dogs. We have rescued more than 4,000 and placed them in homes. We also always have in the area of 20-30 old or ill dogs in our own home. Did I mention we are lunatics?

KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

David: That I’m six foot three, 170 seventy pounds, with blue eyes and cat-like movements. The people who would be most surprised to hear that would be the ones who have actually met me.

KRL: Website? Twitter? Facebook?

David: Website and Facebook.

To enter to win a copy of Dachshund Through the Snow, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “dachshund,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 14, 2019. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. We delete all emails after the contest is over.

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 featuring a Christmas mystery short story by Donna Andrews.

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

Dachshund Through the Snow: An Andy Carpenter Mystery (An Andy Carpenter Novel #20)

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

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.