Going Mutts

Andy Carpenter is trying to keep his retirement free of new clients. Agreeing to a charity golf tournament for his friend Robbie Divine is already a concession. When Robbie mentions a man accused of murder and that man’s stray dog turns up at the Tara Foundation, Andy finds himself considering a much bigger favor.

Scott Frazier has been charged with killing Patrick Deegan, the head of the tech company that fired him. Scott’s wife is seriously ill, and he needs money for her care. A large bet that his former employer would miss its planned stock-market debut gives the police an obvious motive: Deegan’s death made Scott’s wager pay off.

Scott insists the company was in trouble long before the murder. He also says someone knocked him unconscious while he was walking his dog that night, leaving a gap in his memory. With the dog safe, Andy takes on the harder job of sorting through competing stories, business grudges, and mob connections to find out what really happened.