A frame-up that almost worked!

First Degree by David Rosenfelt

This was a rather tough case as everything had been very carefully planned to 'perfectly' frame Andy Carpenter's 
love interest and investigator, Laurie Collins.
Andy is sharing "opening day" with his golden retriever, well, really, THE BEST golden retriever in the world, Tara. 
Though this opening day has nothing to do with baseball, 
as he had shared with his father, who had also shared the same 
with his father, Andy's grandfather. 
Nope! This "opening day" refered to that of 
Paterson, New Jersey's first-ever dog park.

I've never actually been to a dogpark; I'm not even sure what one is. Tara hasn't been to one either, unless it was during the first two years of her life, before I knew her. If she has, I suspect the experience was less than thrilling, since I told her yesterday that we'd be going, and she was not awake all night in eager anticipation. (2)
Yes, this made me laugh! I love the bits of humor Rosenfelt throws in every now and then!
That is followed by the scene at the dogpark where he has about 20 women all huddled around him to hear about his last and well-known win in court as well as how he rescued Tara. All is well. He believes "the group attitude quickly moves toward hero worship" until...
  As Laurie comes closer, I can see that she doesn't only look good, she looks intense. She doesn't even lean over to pat Tara, an uncharacteristic oversight which surprises me and positively shocks Tara. Laurie comes right over to me, and my devoted fans part slightly and grudgingly to let her through. 
  "Alex Dorsey is dead," she says.
  "What?" It's a reflect question. I wasn't asking to get more information in the moment, but that's exactly what I get. 
  " Somebody decapitated him, then poured gasoline on his body and set it on fire." 
  If you ever want to get rid of twenty adoring women, I know a line you can use. My fans leave so fast...Based on the gleam in Laurie's eye, that's exactly what she expected. (5)
Ha! Ha! Laurie is no fool! :)

Andy and Laura complete a competitive Scrabble game in which she plays "klept" and the dictionary usually kept in the game box seems to be missing when Andy wishes to check "klept"... :) (Evidently Laurie is quite competitive! And determined to win!) She wins by 67 points.
That's the bad news. The good news is it means we can go to bed, and bed with Laurie is better than Scrabble with anybody. Though I'm speaking from a rather limited database...
  I wake up at six-thirty in the morning and turn on the television to the local news. Laurie is still sleeping, but the sound doesn't wake her. The sound of an enormous asteroid hitting Hackensack wouldn't wake her. (32)
I'm sure my husband would say the same of me! I can sleep...boy, can I sleep! :)

In speaking of a "wanna-be" client:
It's a DUI case, which resulted in a near-fatal injury to a pedestrian. The potential client, when he came to see me, had the smell of liquor on his breath. The decision to pass on the case was not a close call. (19)
Yeah, I guess that's kinda a no-brainer!
Then there's another potential client:
  There's no doubt Edna thinks he's got something going for him. She has put down her crossword puzzle and has already gotten him a cup of coffee. For Edna that qualifies as undying devotion. (23)
It is rare that Edna, Andy's 'secretary,' ever allows anything, including him at times, to disrupt her completion of a crossword puzzle! She is a "crossword queen"! 
In the above-mentioned decapitated and burned corpse, a suspect has been arrested. His prints were all over the warehouse where the body was found. 
...as he so eloquently puts it, "Prints don'g mean no damn shit anyway."
  "Write that line down. I'll want to use it in my closing argument."
  He doesn't respond; there may be no bigger waste of time than using sarcasm on someone who has absolutely no understanding of it. (52)
Some of these clients are real winners, are they not? And have you ever been in a situation where you realize any and all sarcasm is lost upon the people with whom you are speaking? I have (since I tend to be a 'sarcasm queen') and it is a rather strange feeling! Admittedly, it makes me a bit uncomfortable. :)

In discussing the eating habits of his co-counsel Kevin and Vince, one of his buddies who runs a local newspaper:
The main eating difference between Kevin and Vince Sanders is that Vince overeats only fattening, unhealthful food. Kevin will eat anything: put a barrel of wheat germ in front of him and he'll inhale it. (76)
Perhaps the humor of this statement was pertinent to me because there was a time when I was slipping wheat germ into almost everything and anything I cooked. My kids were small and I wanted all the healthy stuff in every dish served that I could possibly squeeze/sneak in! I took a large bowl of macaroni salad to a gathering once and someone asked what the brown specks were in the salad I'd brought. Once I'd replied, she passed right by it, stating "Oh, I don't want a germ!" I tried to explain...but it was futile. :) Or had to learn to be trickier or just lie. :)

And poor Edna...
  Kevin and I are alone; Edna isn't in yet. We could have met at ten and we'd still be alone. Since Edna doesn't do any actual work, she doesn't see the need to put in long hours. There's an irrefutable logic to that which I have given up trying to refute. (76)
Although when push comes to shove and they need help, Edna proves she can and will pitch in and do her part! 

There are plenty more twists and turns in this plot, and some real tension regarding Laurie's arrest, trial, and the verdict. I found this second installment to be more tense than the first. 

I love this series!

Do you have a series you just truly enjoy?

Reading these is just pure relaxation.