Good Dog, Bad Cop

October 1, 2022

Joined by K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, Corey Douglas's K-Team has its pick of cold cases from the Paterson (NJ) Police Department. The latest concerns the death of a cop named Jimmy Dietrich, unhappy in retirement, whose body was wrenched from the Passaic River with that of a local woman named Susan Avery amid lurid speculation. From Edgar-nominated, Shamus-winning Rosenfelt; with a 60,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 16, 2023
In Edgar finalist Rosenfelt’s appealing fourth K Team novel (after 2022’s Citizen K-9), the K Team—retired police detective Corey Douglas and other PIs who consult on cold cases for the Paterson, N.J., PD—look into the execution-style murder of police detective Danny Avery. Despite a lack of evidence, Corey is certain there’s a link between this case and the subsequent deaths of Danny’s mentor, former detective Jimmy Dietrich, and Danny’s wife, who were both killed on Jimmy’s boat. No one was ever arrested for this latter case, and cop gossip put the deaths down to a murder suicide, with Jimmy pulling the trigger. The K Team’s investigations lead Corey down a rabbit hole as the list of deaths and suspects grows, and no one is who they claim to be. The complicated, fair play mystery presents just the right amount of difficulty for the keen-eyed reader to solve. Corey’s musings and digressions on such topics as marriage and dogs add to the charm, as does Corey’s German shepherd partner, Simon Garfunkle (also retired), who acts like a real dog and only once jumps at someone threatening his master’s life. Rosenfelt reliably entertains. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

February 1, 2023
The K Team goes up against another global terrorist plot whose roots are in Paterson, New Jersey. Capt. Pete Stanton, the head of Paterson Homicide, was content to dismiss the shootings of PPD Det. Jimmy Dietrich and Susan Avery, whose bodies were found on Dietrich's boat a year and a half ago, as a murder-suicide. But the shooting of Susan's husband, Det. Danny Avery, as he sits in a civilian car doing a bit of independent surveillance on Marcella's restaurant, makes him call in the K Team, those private eyes who specialize in cold cases. Retired detectives Corey Douglas and Laurie Collins supply the brains, their hulking friend Marcus Clark the muscle, and their network of contacts a wealth of specialist expertise. In this case, all those resources will be stretched to the limit, partly because it's surprisingly hard to connect the three murders (if they were all indeed murders), partly because so many of the colleagues, informants, and lowlifes the K Team talks to end up deceased. It's very likely that at the time of his death, Avery was spying on New York visitor George Hafner, who'd booked a table for two at Marcella's that night. Since Hafner was the victim in a drive-by shooting three weeks later in Queens, though, he's a literal dead end. As Rosenfelt nudges things along by cutting away to computer hacker Ian Solis, whose evil plans are clearly on an epic scale, Corey struggles to make sense of the fact that so many witnesses don't recognize photographs of so many of the players in the complex case--until he realizes that that failure is itself at the heart of the case. Untidier and less satisfying than many another conspiracy-to-end-all-conspiracies devised by the ebullient Rosenfelt.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2023
Fans of pooch-loving Rosenfelt will feel at home with the familiar plot of his latest novel. A cop has been shot to death in his car. Corey Douglas and his partner, German shepherd Simon Garfunkel, key members of the K Team, investigate cases for the Paterson, New Jersey, police department. They find that a name on one list turns up on another. Why? The pieces begin to emerge and, eventually, fit together. Also appearing are Laurie Collins, wife of Rosenfelt's charming-but-pain-in-the-neck series hero Andy Carpenter. Readers who enjoy Andy and his banter may be disappointed that he only makes a few cameo appearances here. The detailed investigation will entertain procedural wonks but may seem painfully slow to those who like to put their feet on the gas pedal now and again. The overlarge cast can be a little problematic as well, but Rosenfelt's fans--they are numerous--will not mind. They'll know that the real star here is no-nonsense Simon Garfunkel, whose tussles with people who offend his sense of what's right are worth the price of admission.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.