Rosenfelt, David – SUDDEN DEATH

[LJ Roberts]

SUDDEN DEATH (Legal Thriller-New Jersey-Cont) – G+ Rosenfelt, David – 4th in series
Mysterious Press, 2005- Hardcover

Defense Attorney Andy Carpenter is called to the home of NY Giant’s Kenny Schilling who is in an armed standoff with the police. Andy conveniences Kenny to surrender and agrees to defend him when they find the body of New York Jets Tony Preston in the closet and Kenny insists he’s innocent. Andy definitely has his hands full with a high-profile murder trial, gangsters, a possible serial killer and a girl friend who may be leaving him.

I very much enjoy Rosenfelt’s style, which is reminiscent of Robert Parker and Harlan Coben in the style of humor. Real strengths, to me, are the secondary characters surrounding Andy and courtroom scenes which are interesting and yet don’t overwhelm the story. I like that Andy isn’t as overwhelming macho as some characters, but he’s almost too insecure for me. But, I found the story interesting; I liked the twists along the way and didn’t see the killer until the end. To me, the weakness is that in each book, he kills off a significant secondary character. Once or twice, I can deal with, but done each time, it become predictable and loses its impact. But that’s not enough to keep me from having enjoyed the book, continuing to read the series and recommending it to others.