Book Review: Flop Dead Gorgeous by David Rosenfelt

Twenty-seven books into the best-selling Andy Carpenter series and our defense lawyer protagonist may have finally reached his breaking point. It begins simply enough when an old friend from high school comes back to the Paterson, New Jersey, area to sort through her recently deceased mother’s estate. Staying in Englewood Cliffs also affords Jenny Nichols relative anonymity while shooting a movie in nearby New York City. 

Decades earlier, Jenny followed her dreams to Hollywood and became a huge star, with all the media attention that comes with it. As Andy wryly notes:

Like all beautiful actresses, there is huge media speculation and reporting on Jenny’s love life. I sometimes notice it when I see a story on a magazine cover at the supermarket, but I’m not that interested.

 

I’ll occasionally skim through them, but to my knowledge they have yet to mention the fact that she dated Andy Carpenter in high school. It’s a sad commentary on the state of American journalism that no reporter has dug out that fact, especially since I would be willing to give interviews.

All kidding aside, Andy and Jenny have remained friends, with Andy even introducing Jenny to her beloved miniature French poodle Mamie as part of his work with a dog rescue foundation. Jenny and Laurie, Andy’s wife, have also become friendly, so it’s only natural that the Carpenters hold a small dinner party in her honor when she comes back to town.

Unfortunately, their pleasant gathering of friends is crashed by her co-star Ryan Griffin, who is also a producer on her latest film. He’s not there in a professional context, however. Jenny recently decided to end their romantic relationship, and he hasn’t taken that well at all. Unhappy that she’s been dodging his calls, he tracks her down to the restaurant where the dinner is being held and insists that she leave with him. To assist in this endeavor, he’s brought along some hired muscle. They’re no match for Andy’s friends though, who swiftly escort Ryan and his goons off the premises. 

The rest of the evening passes much more peacefully, so Andy is alarmed to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning by a distraught phone call from Jenny. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to soothe a restless Mamie, and found Ryan stabbed to death in her kitchen. She called the police but is worried that they think she might have killed Ryan herself. 

Jenny is right to worry, as she’s swiftly arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Andy knows that his kind-hearted friend could never have killed anybody, and not just because they dated in high school. Trouble is, he’ll have to convince a jury of the same:

Because of the circumstances, the jury will view Jenny’s guilt as likely, and the only way we will be able to refute that definitively is to demonstrate someone else’s guilt.

 

To feel good about themselves, to feel like they have accomplished something, the jury will have to leave the trial believing that the guilty party will be punished for plunging a knife into Ryan Griffin’s back. If that is not Jenny, then it will have to be someone else.

 

Our job is to find the someone else.

In order to do this, Andy and co will have to dig into Ryan’s background so that they can come up with a viable alternative killer. Unfortunately, their efforts soon unearth some very dangerous people who would have no qualms about getting rid of Ryan or anyone else who gets in their way, Andy included. Will he be able to clear Jenny’s name without running afoul of a criminal conspiracy that, it soon becomes clear, will do whatever it takes to achieve its nefarious aims?

Andy may have wanted to quit the legal profession even more than usual following the events of this novel but he simply mustn’t. His brilliant mind is needed by the wrongfully accused of his fictional world and by the discerning readers of this one! As clever and hilarious as the twenty-six other books in the series, Flop Dead Gorgeous brings a touch of Hollywood glamor to the proceedings, as Andy delves into Ryan’s life as both an actor and financier. The running joke about Andy’s prior relationship with Jenny goes through several entertaining permutations over the course of the novel, which seamlessly blends legal and investigative savvy with Andy’s self-deprecating humor. I devoured this book in a matter of hours and am already looking forward to the next.