Tuesday 28 February 2023

Book ~ "Good Dog, Bad Cop" (2023) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ The K Team enjoys investigating cold cases for the Paterson Police Department. Corey Douglas, his K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, Laurie Collins, and Marcus Clark even get to choose which cases they’d like to pursue. When Corey sees the latest list of possibilities, there’s no question which one to look into next.

Corey’s former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, had his whole identity wrapped up in being a cop. When Jimmy retired three years ago, his marriage quickly deteriorated and he tried - and failed - to get back on the force. Jimmy was left to try to adjust to life as a civilian.

Not long after, two bodies were pulled from the Passaic River. A local woman, Susan Avery, and Jimmy Dietrich. With no true evidence available, the deaths went unsolved and the case declared cold. This didn’t stop the whispers: an affair gone wrong ... a murder-suicide committed by Jimmy.

Corey never believed it. With this case, the K Team has the opportunity to find the real murderer and clear Jimmy’s name.

Corey Douglas is a retired police officer as is Simon Garfunkel, a his former K-9 partner.  They team up with Laurie and Marcus to form an investigation firm called The K Team.  Laurie is married to Andy, a retired criminal defense lawyer, and she and Marcus do investigative work for Andy.  Laurie is also a former police officer and Marcus has "persuasive" reasoning skills and provides protection when it's most needed.  Sam is Andy's accountant who is also a computer hack.  Corey, as a retired police office, used to have an issue with how Sam gets his information but he has changed his mind now that he seems how much faster Sam can access it.

There have been some budget cuts in the Paterson Police Department but they still have money to hire consultants.  Preferring to use it rather than lose it, the K Team are hired to investigate cold cases. They choose one that is near and dear to them ... the death of a police officer. Danny Avery had been on a stakeout when he was shot in the head. His widow, Susan, and his cop friend, Jimmy, are found dead the next year ... were they murdered or was it a murder-suicide? Corey and Laurie don't know if the deaths are connected but assume they are so they start from scratch with basically nothing and see where it takes them.

There have been 26 books so far in the Andy Carpenter series and I've read them all ... this is the fourth in the K Team spin-off series.  Though it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone as there is enough background provided.

I liked this book.  I like the writing style of this author as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written mostly in first person perspective in Corey's voice but is sometimes in third person perspective when the focus is on others. I found there were a lot of characters in this book so it was hard to keep them straight at times.

No comments: