Good Dog, Bad Cop Review

Author: David Rosenfelt

Series: The K Team #4

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: March 14, 2023

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for an arc.

For the K Team, playing "good dog", "bad cop" is all fun and games... until there's a body on the scene, in the next K Team Novel by bestselling author David Rosenfelt…

Review:

Retired Detective Corey Douglas is a member of the K Team - a group of investigators hired as consultants by the New Jersey Police Department to solve cold cases.  The team sorts through the cold case files applying different criteria to decide which cases they'll accept.  With backing from the police department, they have access to records and experts to utilize as needed in solving cases.  Corey is determined that his team take on the cold case murder of his original police mentor Danny Avery - a detective who was shot execution style while working solo on a case he shared with no one.  Unfortunately, that means that clues are scarce and/or nonexistent as no one has any idea why he was parked on the dark street down from a restaurant on the night he was murdered.  Stranger still is the fact that both his wife and friend Jimmy Dietrich are found dead a few short weeks later in what appeared to be a murder-suicide.  Are the three murders connected?  Corey knows in his gut that Jimmy didn't commit suicide so the K Team take on all three cold cases.  Things quickly heat up as it becomes obvious they're rattling skeletons and coming dangerously close to secrets that someone will kill to keep buried.  What follows is a convoluted mystery with more twists and dead-ins than a curvy country road.  

Good Dog, Bad Cop is a highly entertaining crime thriller with a healthy side of humor which I wasn't expecting.  While I haven't read but one of the previous series books, I had no issues settling right in with this motley crew and following the clues.  However, I'm sure one would greatly benefit from reading the series in order while getting to know the characters as they're introduced and developed.  The who-done-it presents quite the challenge to both the K Team and readers as red herrings are plentiful even if motives are not.  Characterizations are spot-on with a hefty team of support characters helping carry the load.  The main characters are unique and well-developed with their own set of skills to bring to the team.  And I'd be amiss if I didn't mention Simon Garfunkel, the retired police dog now part of the K Team.  I've read some of the Andy Carpenter series books by this author, and I know fans of that series are going to love the appearance of those characters in this one especially Andy as the husband of K Team member Laurie.  I really enjoyed the addition of wry humor in Good Dog, Bad Cop as it lightened the mood as team members grow frustrated at their lack of progress in the ongoing investigation.  

David Rosenfelt's Good Dog, Bad Cop is an intriguing crime procedural that challenges readers to solve the cold cases right alongside the K Team.  The story line flows swiftly even when the investigation doesn't.  I wasn't sure where this one was going until near the end as the clues are few and far between for both the team and readers.  Highly recommended to fans of lighter crime thrillers!