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Edgar( Award finalist and author of "Bury the Lead," a "Today" show Book Club pick, returns with a tale of murder and deadly secrets in an ultra-secretive religious community.

"After Laurie Collins left him and headed west, New Jersey defense attorney Andy Carpenter didn't expect to ever see her again. So he's shocked when his ex-girlfriend appears on TV - and then calls him pleading for his help." "Two coeds in Wisconsin have been found brutally stabbed to death. As the town's acting police chief, Laurie had to arrest a young college student with a carful of bloodstains who argued with one of the victims just before her death. Yet Laurie strongly believes that the suspect, Jeremy Davidson, is innocent." "Trading the refineries and factories of Patterson for the frozen pastures of Findlay, Wisconsin, Andy soon finds himself in a small town handling a big-time double homicide case. He looks into Jeremy's romance with one of the victims ... and the possible involvement of a bizarre religious cult - one that may sanction the most unholy, and vicious, of acts." "While Andy tries to save Jeremy, make sense of his love life, and find a decent pizza for his beloved dog, Tara, the secrets of an ultra-religious community begin to rain down on him like bricks from a cracked fortress. But as Rosenfelt proves to us once again, the path to the truth is littered with lies and misdirection. And before it's all over, the unexpected is the only thing Andy can count on."--BOOK JACKET.

After picking this book in hardcover from a thrift store for my backup "stash", I had occasion to read it when I couldn't find anything new I wanted bad enough to order on my Kindle. I always prefer to read series books in order, but I was desperate so I read it. It took me awhile to "get to know" the characters, but Rosenfelt explains past history enough that I could follow the relationships easily, and soon was right in the groove of the series. <br /> <br />Andy Carpenter is a good character with a good moral compass, and he won me over with his beloved golden retriever Tara, and the fact that he is a devoted animal rescuer. Apparently, the next book, Play Dead, is all about Andy rescueing a goldie that is "on trial" for biting her owner, and is on doggie death row for it. I just ordered it on Kindle, and am going to start it right now!

Dead Center is David Rosenfelt's 5th in the Andy Carpenter series of enthralling legal thrillers. Picking up with the ending of his fourth novel, Sudden Death, the love of Andy's 37 year old life, Laurie Collins and he have parted ways. Andy stays put in Patterson, New Jersey living in the home he grew up in while Laurie, a former police officer and private investigator goes home to Findlay, Wisconsin where she is serving as the Acting Chief of Police. <br /> <br />In her new role, Laurie calls Andy and tells him that following the evidence, she has arrested a young man, for the gruesome murder two college girls; however, she knows the boy and his parents and is certain he could not has committed the crime. Agreeing to talk with the father and son, but not guaranteeing that he will take the case, he finally relents and takes the case. <br /> <br />As bodies start to mount and threats on Andy's life increase the story takes a turn and his familiar friends and associates from the series join in the action His fearsome bodyguard, Marcus Clark is the first to arrive at Andy's newly rented home. Soon his hypochondriac law associate, Kevin Randall assists with the case and occupies another bedroom in a house that they share with the Andy's and the world's best golden retriever, Tara. <br /> <br />From afar, Sam Willis, Andy's accountant and accomplished computer hacker extraordinaire and other's in Carpenters and Collins' debt including an FBI agent and a FAA official aid then in finding pivotal information for their case and finding the bad guys. <br /> <br />Like the other 4 David Rosenfelt legal thrillers that I have recently read in one sitting, I found myself totally immersed in this murder mystery/legal thriller, frantically ripping through the pages of this meandering whodunit interwoven with fantastic wit from beginning to end. <br /> <br />I enjoyed this book immensely and can hardly wait to begin reading the 6th in the series--Play Dead. In fact, I have it on deck, am revved up and ready for action--I'm off for another fantastic journey! <br />

#5 Andy Carpenter mystery. Andy is a lawyer in Paterson, New Jersey but in this installment is off to the midwest in response to a call from his ex-girlfriend Laurie who is now the acting police chief in her home town of Findlay, Wisconsin. The son of a childhood friend has been accused of murdering two young college women, one of them the girl who just broke up with him. Andy, who has finally made up his mind to start to come to terms with life sans Laurie, is reluctant to take up the case primarily for that reason, but also because he can afford to be picky about his cases and he likes to have a belief that his client truly is innocent. Although he normally trusts Laurie's judgment implicitly, he feels she may be too close to the situation. <br /> <br />Eventually he does drive out with his dog Tara in tow. But after meeting Jeremy (the accused) and his family and getting a feel for the locals from Calvin, the local attorney he'll be working with, he comes to believe that Laurie is right. There is something bigger going on, probably involving the Centurions, a cultish, isolationist religion that is the sole cornerstone of the neighboring town of Center City, where Elizabeth and Sheryl, the two murdered girls, were from. It takes another murder or two to convince the judge that Jeremy is innocent and that charges should be dropped, but Andy is disinclined to just go home and let things hang in the air. Plus, he and Laurie have started their relationship up again and he really doesn't want that to end, either. I did spot the bad guy very early on, but had no basis for it, just a gut feeling. This was a great entry in the series, one of the very few "lawyer/courtroom drama" mysteries I will even go anywhere near.

This one was pretty good - not my favorite of the series, but still a fun and entertaining read. I liked the weird cult aspect and the ending was certainly a surprise, but there was something missing from this one... maybe because it took place in Wisconsin rather than New Jersey... or maybe because the usual cast of characters wasn't completely there. My only other complaint is that that all of these frame-ups are adding to make a rather ridiculous series and Marcus' "character" has been reduced into nothing more than a deus ex machina. Still, I am looking forward to reading _Play Dead_ since the first thirty pages that prompted me to read this series.

What a funny funny guy. Great characters. Hilarious little barbs, quips, and comments intertwined with interesting plots.