Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining enough, but not riveting:
Review: Open & Shut is an acceptable "who done it" mystery with moderately likable characters, but is in no way a masterpiece. The lead character is entertaining in the beginning, but is quickly tiresome because his particular brand of humor is a bit overdone. The development is quite slow, so the story does remain still at times. Open & Shut is at its best in the last quarter of the book, so the venture was not a total loss.
Rating: 
Summary: Inaccuracies abound
Review: Open and Shut is a decent read, even if a bit cliche and trite. It wasn't a book "I couldn't put down," but I was curious to find out what would happen. It makes a nice beach read or gym read.That said, I found two things particularly bothersome:
- The depiction of a newspaper headline when the main character is set up for a humiliating moment. The headline from the Bergen (N.J.) Record is not one any self-respecting newspaper such as the Record would run.
- The depiction of New Jersey. For a novel so entrenched in Jerseyana and unabashed about talking about New Jersey, the author had several inaccuracies that alienated me as a New Jerseyan. For one, judges and prosecutors in New Jersey aren't elected, though the novel makes mention of such an instance at least twice.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Summer Read!
Review: Picked this up on a whim - and ended up really enjoying it. Plus, how can you not love a book whose cast of character includes a really cool dog! Give this one a try...
Rating: 
Summary: Quick, but too cute
Review: This book is a quick breezy read, but has pitfalls. There is great potential for the characters, yet some are ill-defined. Some of the plot "twists" are predicatable and in one case just too convenient. While I enjoy a mystery with some comedic overtones, the author seems to try and end each paragraph with a one-liner. After a while this becomes boring and I would have liked less Henny Youngman and more drama. Since this is a first novel, I would probably read a sequel. But if the style has not improved by book two I doubt I would be a follower of futher books in the series. Advice: buy it on the sale rack. Your disappointment will be reduced too.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Page Turner
Review: This debut novel is a fast-paced page turner. The main character is engagingly witty and smart without being superhumanly clever - a terrific mix for a main character in a mystery. The plot revolves around the main character's appeal of a defendant on death row. He was encouraged to represent the man by his father who had successfully prosecuted the alleged criminal and who had put him on death row. The new trial is granted and the plot spins around the trial and a thirty-five year old picture of the father with three friends. The plot has some interesting twists and turns, but what sustained the tension and kept the book moving were the courtroom scenes. The cross-examination and strategy were interesting and, again, at times amusing. Points are scored by the defense, but there is no Perry Mason moment - much more realistic and true to life. Your life will not be turned around by this book, but you will be exceedingly entertained. I recommend it as a mystery with some laughs and some good courtroom scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Good Page Turner
Review: This debut novel is a fast-paced page turner. The main character is engagingly witty and smart without being superhumanly clever - a terrific mix for a main character in a mystery. The plot revolves around the main character's appeal of a defendant on death row. He was encouraged to represent the man by his father who had successfully prosecuted the alleged criminal and who had put him on death row. The new trial is granted and the plot spins around the trial and a thirty-five year old picture of the father with three friends. The plot has some interesting twists and turns, but what sustained the tension and kept the book moving were the courtroom scenes. The cross-examination and strategy were interesting and, again, at times amusing. Points are scored by the defense, but there is no Perry Mason moment - much more realistic and true to life. Your life will not be turned around by this book, but you will be exceedingly entertained. I recommend it as a mystery with some laughs and some good courtroom scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Debut & a perfect beach read
Review: Wonderfully wry legal thriller that moves quickly and keeps the reader's attention. I'd love to see another book about this confident but compassionate lawyer, Andy Carpenter (yes, a compassionate lawyer) and next time, learn more about him (other than he loves golden retreivers and sports). Great supporting cast of characters, too - his investigatttor, Laurie & his potential law partner Kevin, the "law"dromat attorney. Great job by David Rosenfelt on this debut!
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