Publishers Weekly
02/08/2021
In Edgar finalist Rosenfelt’s winning sequel to 2020’s The K Team, former police officers turned PIs Corey Douglas and Laurie Collins look into the shooting death of Lisa Yates on a street in Paterson, N.J. While on the Paterson PD, Corey was called to a domestic dispute involving Lisa and her live-in boyfriend, Gerald Kline. It was obvious that Gerald had hit Lisa, but she refused to press charges. Regretting he didn’t do more, Corey is sure Gerald had Lisa killed. Though lacking a client, Corey and Laurie, who’s the wife of defense attorney Andy Carpenter, the author’s main series lead, decide to investigate anyway to get justice for Lisa. Rounding out the team are investigator and muscle Marcus Clark and Corey’s K-9 partner, German shepherd Simon Garfunkel. The believable plot takes surprising twists as the insightful private detectives uncover an intricate conspiracy that reaches beyond a spurned lover. Andy becomes involved when Corey is arrested for a second murder. Rosenfelt smoothly mixes humor with a sharp plot and appealing characters. This series deserves a long run. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Apr.)Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the title of the author's previous book.
From the Publisher
Praise for Animal Instinct
“Rosenfelt smoothly mixes humor with a sharp plot and appealing characters. This series deserves a long run.” — Publishers Weekly
“A second outing for Paterson’s preeminent investigators ensnares one of their own members in uncomfortable ways. . . Though the case is a hot mess, the criminals’ sublimely simple central concept is worth all those subsidiary homicides.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A solid follow up to [The K Team].” — Red Carpet Crash
“[A]rtfully spun.” —BookPage
“A chiller with laughs.” —David Rothenberg on WBAI/RADIO
“[Animal Instinct] kept my interest well into the night. I highly recommend this new series.” —Deadly Pleasures
Praise for The K Team
"The K Team makes a strong companion to Rosenfelt’s ongoing series and it should be fighting crime for many novels." —Associated Press
“Corey serves as an investigator and narrator every bit as ebullient as Andy and a lot more diligent . . . If you liked Rosenfelt's rollicking previous series, you'll like this one too.” — Kirkus Review
“A promising start to what’s likely to be a long-running series.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fans of the "Andy Carpenter" series will find much to enjoy here, including some cameos from Carpenter himself.” —Library Journal
Library Journal
11/01/2020
In Bannalec's The Granite Coast Murders, Commissaire Dupin remains singularly unengaged during his Brittainy coast vacation until a local deputy is attacked, a tourist vanishes, and a corpse disrupts everyone's sun and fun (30,000-copy first printing). In Fredericks's Death of a Showman, lady's maid Jane Prescott learns in summer 1914 that a former beau has written a Broadway musical, but then the producer ends up dead (30,000-copy first printing). In Harris's What the Devil Knows, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is brought in to investigate when the lead investigator in the gruesome 1811 Ratcliffe Highway murders is himself dispatched. Hillerman's Stargazer brings back Officer Bernadette Manuelito, on the trail of an old roommate who's gone missing, though husband Jim Chee isn't sure Bernie should investigate (100,000-copy first printing). For the next Mystery Writers of America story collection, New York Times best-selling author Koryta gathers works by Michael Connelly, Attica Locke, and others that detail what happens When a Stranger Comes to Town (50,000-copy first printing). In Animal Instinct, second in a series Rosenfelt spun from the Shamus Award-winning "Andy Carpenter" series, the K Team investigate the murder of a woman Corey burningly regrets not having been able to protect from her abusive boyfriend when he was on the force (75,000-copy first printing). Bookseller Delaney Nichols is thrilled to be invited to outrageous socialite Shelaigh O'Connor's treasure hunt, but robbery, murder, and Shelaigh's kidnapping put a damper on things in Shelton's Deadly Editions (30,000-copy first printing). While Tsarevich Nicholas travels to England for royal wedding, look-alike cousin Prince George is attacked, and private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are called in to protect the future—and final—tsar in Thomas's Dance with Death (30,000-copy first printing). In Murder on Wall Street, Thompson brings back beloved midwife Sarah Brandt and her PI husband Frank Malloy for their 24th outing..
APRIL 2021 - AudioFile
Fred Berman returns to narrate the second in Rosenfelt’s K Team series. Berman’s regular-guy voice makes former detective, now private investigator, Corey Douglas a sympathetic character, especially when he works with his partner, Simon Garfunkel, a German shepherd. The story also includes characters from Rosenfelt’s popular Andy Carpenter series. Berman masterfully delivers Rosenfelt’s pace and tone. The story begins with the murder of a woman whom Douglas was not able to rescue from a domestic abuse situation when he was a cop and takes many twists and turns while showcasing New Jersey’s hot spots. Listeners will hang on every word as Douglas and the K team unravel the case through their instincts, solid detecting, and illegal hacking. E.Q. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-12-26
A second outing for Paterson’s preeminent investigators ensnares one of their own members in uncomfortable ways.
It’s not clear who shot Lisa Yates to death in a restaurant parking lot, but it’s clear who deserves leaning on: medical services headhunter Gerald Kline, whom she refused to file charges against for domestic abuse when he was living in her place. So Corey Douglas, who, when he was a Paterson cop, questioned Kline in vain, goes to see him now, blusters at him, and broadcasts hints unwisely around town that Kline deserves killing himself. Someone promptly obliges Corey by slitting Kline’s throat. But it’s not that big a favor since the killer also plants a bloodstained sweat suit of Corey’s along with the murder weapon in a nearby dumpster. Suddenly Corey’s in sore need of the professional services of the K Team, whose members include cop-turned-investigator Laurie Collins, tough and taciturn Marcus Clark, and Corey himself since he retired from the force. Released on bail, Corey’s free to join his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, and his fellow humans in tying both Lisa and Kline to an elaborate and extensive scam involving her employer, Ardmore Medical Systems, and a whole lot of other folks, including two hit men, one of whom incriminates himself in a way that would be conclusive if he hadn’t died immediately afterward. Andy Carpenter, Laurie’s husband, takes time out from his own long-running series to defend Corey, but the real fireworks take place far from the courthouse.
Though the case is a hot mess, the criminals’ sublimely simple central concept is worth all those subsidiary homicides.
