“Splendid… intricate plotting.”
“A great book… one part gripping legal thriller, one part smart-mouth wise-guy detective story, and all- around terrific.”
– HARLAN COBEN, author of
“Engaging and likable… The action is brisk.”
New Tricks
Dead Center
Bury the Lead
Sudden Death
First Degree
Open and Shut
For Mike, whom I could never beat
at anything…
And for Rick, whom no one would
ever want to beat at anything.
I’m not a big fan of acknowledgment pages; most of the time I refuse to even acknowledge them. I especially hate when authors drop names of famous people as a way to impress the readers, and then go on to tell heartwarming little anecdotes to show how tight the author is with those bigshots.
Not me; that’s not what I’m about. I make my acknowledgments short and to the point, and I don’t go scrounging around for impressive names. I let my literary achievements do my showing off for me. If someone has been helpful or inspirational, I thank them… if not, I don’t. No one gets a free pass.
So, in no particular order, I would like to acknowledge…
Michael Jordan Bill Clinton
Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower Debbie Myers
Jonas Salk
Britney Spears
Clarence and Marlo Thomas Bob Castillo
Babe Ruth
Wolf Blitzer
Wolfman Jack
Stacy Alesi
Gandhi
Jessica and Homer Simpson Little Anthony and the Imperials Derek Jeter
Susan Richman
Wayne and Fig Newton Puff Daddy
My Daddy
My Mommy
Alex Trebek
Various Rosenfelts Golda Meir
The Barbara sisters: Bush, Streisand and Walters Nelson Mandela
Ozzie Nelson
Ozzy Osbourne
Les Pockell
Kevin Costner
Kevin Federline Robin Rue
George Costanza Joe Montana
The entire state of Montana David Divine
Bruce Springsteen Walter Cronkite Norman Schwarzkopf Tony Blair
Tony Gwynn
Tony Soprano
Kristin Weber
Bialystock and Bloom Ralph and Alice Kramden Bobby and Gladys Knight Doug Burns
George Burns
Henry Kissinger Trixie and Ed Norton June Peralta
The Taylors: Lawrence and Elizabeth Cal Ripken
Paris and Conrad Hilton Tokyo Rose
Al and Nancy Sarnoff The Bird Brothers: Larry, Charlie and Big Warren G. Harding Stephanie Allen Celia Johnson
Magic Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Johnson amp; Johnson Norman Trell
Gracie Allen
Ernest Hemingway The Jacksons-Michael, Stonewall and Phil Simon amp; Garfunkel Scott and Heidi Ryder Joe Frazier
Christopher Columbus Christopher Cross Sandy Weinberg
Sam and Whitney Houston Anthony, Bernard and Johns Hopkins Muhammad Ali
John and Carol Antonaccio The Rogers: Kenny, Roy and Ginger Rocky Balboa
Geraldo, Chita and Mariano Rivera George Kentris
Abbott amp; Costello Chief Justice John, Julia and Robin Roberts Michael, Sonny and Don Corleone I apologize if I left anyone out.
On a serious note, please e-mail me at [email protected] with any feedback on the book. Many people have done so in the past, and I very much appreciate it.
“ANDY, YOU’RE NOT going to believe this.”
This is the type of sentence that, when said in a vacuum, doesn’t reveal much. Whatever it is that I am not going to believe might be very positive or very negative, and there would be no way to know until I see it.
Unfortunately, this particular sentence is not said in a vacuum; it’s said in the Passaic County Animal Shelter. Which means that “positive” is no longer one of the possibilities.
The person speaking the words is Fred Brandenberger, whose job as shelter manager is an impossibly difficult one. There are far more dogs that come through his doors than potential adopters, and he therefore must helplessly supervise the euthanasia of those that are not taken. I know it drives Fred crazy; he’s been in the job for two years, and my guess is he’s not going to last much longer.
It bothers me to come here, and I rarely do. I leave this job to my former legal client, Willie Miller, who is my partner in the Tara Foundation, a dog rescue operation. We rescue a lot of dogs, over a thousand a year, but there are many more worthy ones that we simply do not have room for. I hate making the life-or-death decisions on which ones we will take, and Willie has been shouldering that responsibility.
