Book obtained from: Library new book, audio book [2016]
Description: The newest [book 14] in the Andy Carpenter series. Andy is a criminal defense attorney and independently wealthy. He prefers being “retired” and working with his charitable Tara Foundation, rescuing dogs. But when someone he knows is charged with a crime, he takes the case.
Plot: An inmate, Brian Atkins, works with the dogs of the Tara Foundation, training them to make them more adoptable. One day he uses one of the dogs to escape from prison. Shortly thereafter, the man whose testimony put him in prison is found murdered. Andy tracks the dog and the police track Andy and arrest Brian, who swears he didn't do the killing. Andy believes him and agrees to represent him.
Characterization: Most of the characters are well-rounded and have individual personalities. Even the dogs in the story have individual personalities. Andy is sarcastic and wise-cracking, which makes the books fun to read.
Setting: Paterson New Jersey. Reasonably well described, I was able to picture every scene.
Other: The audio book was narrated by Grover Gardner and he definitely adds to the characterization of all of the characters.
Overall: I enjoyed this newest addition to the Andy Carpenter series.
Grade: A-
Book obtained from: Library ebook [2016]
Description: Two children move from a big city, not named but reminded me of NYC, to rural Maine. They experience culture shock, and meet new friends and a new neighbor with a heavy accent and a farm full of animals.
Plot: Reena, age 12, and her younger brother Luke meet their new neighbor Mrs. Falala, and agree to help her take care of her animals including an ornery cow which Reena trains to show at a fair.
Characterization: The main characters are well-rounded and have individual personalities. Even the animals [especially the cow] have individual personalities. The kids' relationship with the neighbor is very well done and funny.
Setting: Rural Maine. Reasonably well described, I was able to picture every scene.
Other: Culture shock scenes are really funny.
Overall: This is a cute middle grade book. The ebook includes several fonts and creative formatting which made for a fast read.
Grade: B+
Book obtained from: Library, new books shelf, audio book [2016]
Description: This is #27 in the Agatha Raisin mystery series. In this book, Agatha [a private detective] is hired by a murdered man's son to find the killer.
Plot: Agatha is hired by a murdered man's son to find the killer. Lots of suspects. Rather convoluted investigation.
Characterization: I know the characters so well from previous books that I can't really say they are, or are not, well-rounded. The new characters in this book aren't really that developed though.
Setting: England, Cotswalds. Nicely described, I was able to picture every scene.
Other: The audio book was narrated by Penelope Keith and she did a reasonably nice job. One thing that really stood out to me, were the inconsistencies. For example, Mrs. Bloxby's first name ends up being different than it was in previous books, and Charles is a different age than he is in previous books. Apparently the author and even the publisher didn't do any fact-checking or review for consistency or whatever you call that. I've seen this happen with other “major” authors who have written a lot of books in a series [Janet Evanovich comes to mind, with several inconsistencies in her later books].
Overall: I forgot most of what happened in this book almost immediately after I finished reading it. It was enjoyable while I read it, but nothing really stood out to me.
Grade: B-
