Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt 4 stars

[Sue]

Andy Carpenter is a defense lawyer who uses some questionable courtroom antics to get his clients released. In this first installment of the series, Andy takes a couple of cases to court, including a retrial of a death row inmate who's been granted a retrial.

In spite of the subject matter, the book took a very lighthearted and humorous view of Andy's cases and messy personal life. From the picture on the cover - a lovely golden retriever with a stack of books - I was not surprised to find the book was on the lighthearted side.



But I also expected that with her picture on the cover, that Tara the Golden Retriever would play a role in the story. In the edition I read, we see Tara's full face on the cover, wearing glasses like she's the lawyer.

So to help those who may make that same assumption in the future:

- Is Tara the Golden Retriever in the book? Yes

- Does Tara play any role in the plot of the story? None whatsoever

- Is Tara at least there when people break into Andy's house and take other steps to intimidate him into dropping his case? Nope

- Does Tara even make it out of the house? Not much. She does go on vacation with Andy at the very end of the book, when all is said and done, but even then we don't see much of her

Am I judging this book by its cover? Yes I am! But that's not stopping me from feeling the bait and switch here!

Did that impact my rating of this book? No. It was a solid and funny book. I enjoyed it. I just wished Tara had been allowed to be part of the action.

[Theresa]

I am with you, Sue! Fun as the book may be, and right up my alley, sidelining Tara is just wrong!

Thank you for the Public Service Abbouncement.

[Robin P]

Tara appears throughout the series. Originally the books had different covers but after while he started using dog-related titles and dog pictures on the cover and then they must have redone the earlier covers.

I love Andy who is a scoundrel with a heart of gold. I have read 3 or 4 and plan to keep going.