Page 20 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - December '24

Page 20, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Book Review

’Twas The Bite Before … “I watch along with him for a minute or so, pretending “I am raising a Communist.”
As if David Rosenfelt’s delightful writing style weren’t
to be interested, then I leave. I could watch until someone
Christmas scores, but by then Bobby’s trial might have started. … enough to have me join his vast base of admiring readers,
“I can’t sugarcoat this or enter a state of denial … the how about the following: He and his wife live in Maine with
By Nils A. Shapiro simple fact is that I have a son who prefers soccer to good
When I was trying to old American college football. Book Review on page 21
decide on an appropriate
book to review for this
December column, several
features on the cover of this
month’s selection attracted
me: the obvious connection
to the Christmas holiday, the
cute twist of the “Bite” for
“Night” in the title and the
adorable Dalmatian with the
Gingerbread Man cookie in his mouth—an irresistible draw
for the doggie lover I am.
What I did not realize until I arrived home, opened the
book, noted the author’s credentials and began reading Life moves fast—
this novel is that I had struck literary gold in my selection!

Within the first few pages prepare for the unexpected
I understood why David
Rosenfelt has developed a with Accident Insurance.
massive fan base of readers
for his more than 40 already
published novels, over half of
them about Andy Carpenter,
the same attorney who stars
in ’Twas The Bite Before We’re here to help.
Christmas.
In this novel, Carpenter is
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with the murder of a high-
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and gave evidence at great personal risk. 22L-USAL-0872 112941 1222
With his friend and client declaring himself to be
completely innocent of the new charges, Carpenter must get
to the truth about the “evidence” and find the real killer. (He
also takes on the responsibility of caring for his friend/client’s
two dogs while he is in prison.) This won’t be an easy case:
The victim was found dead in the trunk of his client’s car,
and his bloodstains on the client’s clothing. It’s a well-told
tale with a surprising, satisfying and credible ending.
What makes this book special is Rosenfelt’s writing style.
But there are so many reasons to love this author it is difficult
to know where to begin. Most importantly, his tongue-in-
cheek humor will keep a grin on your face from first page
to last. I kept thinking that he would make a great writer for
the Saturday Night Live TV show.
Here, for example, are just a couple of examples early
on when Andy Carpenter is describing how he feels about
certain aspects of his family life. (I have omitted large
sections of the text for lack of space here and substituted
ellipses. …)
“I don’t like eggnog, and I don’t think anybody does. It’s
too thick and too sweet for my taste … like drinking melted
chewing gum. I just tried some again anyway and found that
sucking some of this batch through a straw requires either
a serious pair of lungs or a hydraulic pump; it’s not nearly
good enough to justify that amount of work.
“But the reason I doubt that anyone really likes it is
that it’s only popular at Christmas. Good food or drink
should not require a holiday to justify consumption … I
feel the same way about fruitcakes and candied yams; if
you like them, eat them all year. Otherwise, I don’t want
to hear about them.”
Or this passage about his son, Ricky.
“Ricky is watching a soccer game.
“He likes soccer.
“I’ve known this for a while, but it’s still jarring. I’m a
good parent, so as much as I hate soccer and hate even more
that he likes it, I’m not about to say anything or be critical.
He has to live his own life and make his own choices, even
a ridiculous one like this.
“What are you watching, Rick?”
“It’s a Premier League game. Liverpool is playing
Chelsea.”
“They’re five hours ahead there. Are they playing at
midnight?”
“I taped it.”
“You taped an English soccer game? Voluntarily?”
“Yup.” …
“Does it bother you that they score about once every
couple of months?
“Nope.”