annieb123
Written on Aug 4, 2019
Bark of Night is the 19th(!!) book in the cozy mystery series featuring lawyer Andy Carpenter and canine crew. Released 16th July by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
This series has been consistently good from the beginning and this one lives up to the rest in quality of writing and readability. Despite being the 19th book, it's cleanly plotted and straightforward and new readers will have no trouble following the story or keeping the characters sorted out. The narrative is dialogue driven and the author is expert with witty repartee and banter. MC Andy is a smart mouthed criminal defense lawyer with a strong sense of justice which he's trying to convince everyone doesn't exist. (He's not fooling anyone). He's a beer drinking, back talking, everyman who gets involved when his dog's vet asks his advice about a dog which has been surrendered to the practice for euthenasia. The "owner's" story doesn't match up, and the dog, a French bulldog named Truman, comes under Andy's protection while the murders keep piling up.
This would make a super book selection for a book club read or just a fun solo read. I heartily recommend the series and this one in particular as a quick introduction to the series. I love binge reading these and went back and revisited earlier episodes after finishing this one.
The editing and formatting as always are top notch. The language is PG, a few damns and the like, no on-page graphic violence, apart from the opening prologue. The MC is happily married, with a kid and wife (who is an amazing character) and loves animals.
Five stars, I love this series and this book is a good addition. Looking forward to many more.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.