The 31st (!) entry in David Rosenfelt's series starring Andy Carpenter is DOGGED PURSUIT. But this one is significantly different from the earlier installments in one important way: it's a prequel featuring Andy as a rookie in the defense attorney business. He is approaching 30 years of age and has decided that it's time to help those who are essentially victims of the system. He wants to give the wrongly accused a real chance in court. And though he's relatively young, and all of his previous work has been on the prosecution side, he has an inner confidence that whispers, "Help people. You can do it."

Andy’s first client in this new role is a young man named Ryan Tierney, who has been accused of a triple murder, and the evidence is stacked against him. A necessary bit of background: Ryan had been an employee of Pearson Trucking, and he also was a personal friend of the owner, Stephen Pearson, who inherited the business from his father, the founder of the company.

Pearson Trucking had gone through some very tough financial times until it was revived by a mysterious series of loans totaling two million dollars. It's doing just fine now. As a matter of fact, it's expanding into some brand new business areas. Then one day, Stephen breaks the news to Ryan that he's firing him. Ryan, of course, is nonplussed and extremely angry. Never before have the two men disagreed so violently, but now, they are loudly screaming at each other, and Ryan throws out some threats. The whole office can hear what's going on.

For Rosenfelt/Carpenter veterans, DOGGED PURSUIT provides the usual pleasures. For anyone who has yet to read an Andy Carpenter mystery, it is a perfect introduction to this delightful series and a fascinating look at how it all started."

Shortly thereafter, Stephen throws a party for his employees. Ryan, obviously, is absent from the event. Following the festivities, Stephen decides to drive two of the employees home because they have had too many drinks to get behind the wheel. He turns on the ignition, and the car explodes, instantly killing all three riders. Everything points to Ryan as the perpetrator, and there's plenty of evidence aside from the huge office fight.

Almost everybody in Ryan's and Stephen's world assumes that Ryan is guilty. But Andy's research indicates that the young man has never been in an ounce of trouble, and he was liked and admired by his fellow employees before the murders. And besides that, Ryan loves his dog, Sonny, more than just about anybody or anything in the universe. If Ryan goes to jail, Sonny likely will spend the rest of his sad life in a cage and probably will not live very long.

Andy says that he will take Sonny to his own home, and the pooch gets along famously with Tara, whom Andy reveres as the smartest and best dog anywhere in the world. Still, Andy is not sure about Ryan's innocence, though readers of the series know that anyone who loves his dog as much as Ryan does certainly could not be a murderer. But Andy takes the case, his first as a defense attorney for an accused killer.

From that point on, the novel is perfectly typical of Rosenfelt's (and Andy's) style: terrifically witty dialogue and exceedingly clever and funny first-person narration. As usual, Rosenfelt pulls off the very impressive trick of creating an Andy Carpenter who is self-deprecating and an expert at insult humor. He's charming, too, but not so to his legal adversaries. And if any reader can absorb his adventures without a good laugh or at least a bunch of smiles, I'm afraid he or she probably has no sense of humor.

But Andy's path to legal success is dangerous --- and filled with suspense. First, the dangers he faces appear to force his wife, Nicole, to say that she can't take it anymore. He's probably going to lose her. And her fears are justified. Once he takes the case, he's the target of thugs and murderers. Somebody with plenty of power doesn't like Andy's direction, and that person lets him know that he's unhappy with the situation.

So Andy is almost murdered several times. But each time, he's saved by his investigative team, whom he meets and then hires: Laurie Collins, whom he eventually will marry; Marcus Clark, the nearly invincible fighter, who will save his life repeatedly as the series progresses; Sam Willis, a computer genius/accountant, who has no qualms about hacking into anything if he must get information that Andy needs; and Edna, the secretary, who loves her salary but hates having work to do. They are all fearless and brilliant, and Andy could not succeed without them.

Andy now believes that Ryan is innocent, but if he doesn't find the real murderer, he'll have a very difficult time convincing a jury. Post-trial, he pulls off a couple of unique maneuvers that are morally justified but legally questionable. They put Andy in grave danger, but once again, he is heroically saved by his investigators/bodyguards. Those masterful moves also provide plot twists that are stunning and shockingly clever.

For Rosenfelt/Carpenter veterans, DOGGED PURSUIT provides the usual pleasures. For anyone who has yet to read an Andy Carpenter mystery, it is a perfect introduction to this delightful series and a fascinating look at how it all started.