[.ca] Open and Shut: A Novel (ISBN 0446612537)

a swift moving legal thriller:
Andy Carpenter is an attorney practicing in Paterson, New Jersey. He is assigned a case defending a man on death row, Willie Miller. Willie was convicted of violently killing a young woman several years before. The problem is Willie can't remember anything about that night because he was too drunk. What is truly puzzling is that Willie gave up drinking for several months prior to the murder. Why would he start drinking that night? Andy is afraid of a cover-up. After receiving several threats against his life, he becomes much more convinced of Willie's ultimate innocence and must now try to save his life via an appeals trial. David Rosenfelt has written a swift moving legal thriller of a slight enough length that it can be consumed in one sitting. It certainly is compelling enough to keep one reading well into the night. However, characters are a bit stilted and one never quite shakes the feeling that the novel lacks any true originality. The wisecracking PI was all the rage in the mid to late 1990s. Resurrecting this character through Andy Carpenter almost seems redundant. Nonetheless, the novel remains entertaining and worth reading.

Quick Thrills:
Andy Carpenter is a defense lawyer in Patterson, New Jersey. Andy's father, retired DA Nelson Carpenter, asks Andy to consider the retrial of a death-row inmate Willie Miller. Andy considers this a strange request, since Miller's was an open-and-shut case: incontrovertible physical evidence, a credible eyewitness. Why would his father - who personally prosecuted the case seven years ago - be so interested in having his son represent Miller on a on a retrial initiated not by new evidence, but by a technicality? But shortly after this request, Nelson drops dead while watching a ball game with Andy at Yankee Stadium, eventually leading Andy to the discovery of a 35-year-old mystery involving Andy's father and his powerful friends. David Rosenfelt's first novel, "Open and Shut", is engaging and lively fiction; a well crafted legal thriller. As Andy goes about the business of settling his dad's affairs, he learns that he is suddenly a multi-millionaire, the heir of a secret fortune his father had hidden away. As he delves into Willie's murder retrial, a pattern of conspiracy unfolds, and the connection between Andy's father's past and the conviction of Miller starts to crystallize. Protagonist Andy Carpenter is an easy character to like - a self-depreciating wise-cracker whose courtroom stunts add a unique twist to more standard legal fare. The dialogue is peppy and, if a bit over-the-top in credibility, it is nonetheless entertaining. The supporting cast of characters lacks the depth and interest of those of contemporary authors Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, or James Lee Burke, but the imaginative plot, quick pace, and sense of humor more than compensate for this shortcoming. Bottom line: a well-executed and impressive first effort - the perfect read for a coast-to-coast flight. I'll look forward to Rosenfelt's second novel, "First Degree".

Just An Excellent Book:
I haven't enjoyed a book as much since I read Nelson De Mille's "Gold Coast". This author's tongue-in-cheek writing style reminded me of DeMille's. Rosenfelt is very active in Golden Retriever Rescue, and I commend him for including references to rescue dogs in his writing.

Good Page Turner:
This debut novel is a fast-paced page turner. The main character is engagingly witty and smart without being superhumanly clever - a terrific mix for a main character in a mystery. The plot revolves around the main character's appeal of a defendant on death row. He was encouraged to represent the man by his father who had successfully prosecuted the alleged criminal and who had put him on death row. The new trial is granted and the plot spins around the trial and a thirty-five year old picture of the father with three friends. The plot has some interesting twists and turns, but what sustained the tension and kept the book moving were the courtroom scenes. The cross-examination and strategy were interesting and, again, at times amusing. Points are scored by the defense, but there is no Perry Mason moment - much more realistic and true to life. Your life will not be turned around by this book, but you will be exceedingly entertained. I recommend it as a mystery with some laughs and some good courtroom scenes.

Entertaining enough, but not riveting::
Open & Shut is an acceptable "who done it" mystery with moderately likable characters, but is in no way a masterpiece. The lead character is entertaining in the beginning, but is quickly tiresome because his particular brand of humor is a bit overdone. The development is quite slow, so the story does remain still at times. Open & Shut is at its best in the last quarter of the book, so the venture was not a total loss.