First
Sentence: It has been almost fourteen years since Kristen
McNeil's body was discovered.
A
tag on a Christmas charity wish tree leads attorney Andy Carpenter
and his wife Laurie to a young boy wanting his father Noah
Traynor to be brought home. The murder, for which Noah has
been arrested, was a cold case until his DNA is identified
on the victim's body. In the meantime, K-9 officer Sergeant
Corey Douglas is about to retire, but his dog, Simon, still
has time left to work. Corey wants Andy to help him get Simon
released to retire with him. Andy agrees to represent Simon
on the basis of species discrimination.
How
refreshing when characters defy stereotype. Laurie, Andy's
wife, is the type of person one aspires to be; kind, generous,
compassionate toward people. She is an ex-cop, and very capable
of taking care of herself and Andy. Andy, on the other hand,
is a lawyer who keeps trying to retire from the law and is
passionate about dogs. As a self-described weakling, he depends
upon Laurie and the indomitable Marcus to protect him. There
are interludes of Andy at home with his family and friends,
yet they avoid the over-sentimentality such interaction can
bring about.
Rosenfelt's
courtroom scenes are a pleasure to read. They are well presented
and honest, even when the client is decidedly unusual. He
creates an excellent analogy likening a court case to a mountain
climb such as Mt. Everest, and through it introduces the rest
of Andy's quirky and memorable team.
It
is always tragic when someone young dies. It is appreciated
when Rosenfelt acknowledges one of the great sorrows of such
a death--'It also once again highlights the terrible loss
that occurred when her best friend died; Kristen might have
gone on to bring other people into the world or cure some
disease or just do kind things for people that needed kindness."
The
story includes alternative POVs but only when needed to move
the plot forward by characters other than the protagonist.
Rosenfelt creates a plot which seems simple but grows into
something more complicated and more dangerous as it progresses.
Be aware; despite the cute dog on the cover, this is not a
cozy. Rosenfelt does like his body count, but the scenes aren't
particularly gory. He is also very good at the unexpected,
and very effective, plot twist, and a fun mention which lightens
the situation.
The
dialogue is so well written, the courtroom exchanges come
alive. Along with the on-going outside investigation, in which
there is a very nice escalation of suspense, plot twist, and
an excellent red herring, one feels the anticipation of awaiting
the jury's decision.
"Dachshund
Through the Snow" is a well-done legal mystery with plenty
of twists and suspense. A very nice aftermath hints at the
future of the series.
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