HOUNDED

David Rosenfelt’s protagonist—he’s too much of a wise guy to be a hero, although he is sometimes heroic—is Andy Cooper, a superstar defense lawyer who’d rather run his dog rescue agency than practice law. Andy’s girlfriend is a private investigator, and his retinue of goofball assistants provides a full complement of computer wizardry, muscle, and crime-busting skills to help him swing into action when, say, his friend Pete, a police detective, is falsely accused of murder. Narrator Grover Gardner totally understands that the tone is both tongue in cheek, especially in Andy’s first-person sections, and serious about providing a thrill-ride puzzle with a satisfying ending. Gardner somehow gets this “noir lite” feeling just right and leaves the listener thoroughly amused and entertained. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2014]