For the last 19 years, I have worked narcotics K-9s for a private company called Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines. I recently retired from the K-9 work, but over the years, I loved seeing how dogs solve crimes in real life. Not only do they help us solve crimes, but dogs have a way of reaching people and changing lives. Dogs are quite literally “man’s (or woman’s) best friend,” and because of that, they become the best partners for many characters in books. There’s nothing better than discovering a new K-9 series that depicts the real-life love and bond between K-9 and handler.
I love the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series and Mizushima’s latest book was one of my favorites. As a retired K-9 handler, sometimes books with working dogs get facts wrong. I could tell that Mizushima put a lot of research time into each of her books. I love the fictional K-9, Robo, and Mizushima’s accurate portrayal of the bond between handler and dog.
Mattie Cobb, the main character, is intriguing and makes the reader cheer for her. The dashing veterinarian, Cole Walker, adds a little romance to the storyline. I would recommend starting with the first book, Killing Trail. While each book stands on its own, reading about the mystery of Mattie’s family makes the conclusion of Standing Dead even more thrilling.
From critically acclaimed, master thriller author Margaret Mizushima, comes the eighth installment of the award-winning Timber Creek K-9 mysteries.
“Tense and satisfying,” (JA Jance) Standing Dead is the perfect read for fans of CJ Box and Longmire.
Deputy Mattie Cobb and her sister, Julia, travel to Mexico to visit their mother, but when they arrive, they discover that she and her husband have vanished without a trace. Back in Timber Creek, Mattie finds a chilling note on her front door telling her to look for “him” among the standing dead up in the high country.
I was excited to read another book with fascinating characters and of course, a great K-9. Nickless’ characters are well-developed and very believable. Her fictional K-9 Clyde is captivating and while he’s technically retired, still has the skillset to help his handler, Sydney Parnell.
I love the character arc with Sydney in each book as she recovers from the traumas of serving in the military. I also love that Nickless had Sydney return home to Denver to work as a railroad police special agent. This is a law enforcement job that I haven’t seen in any other book. I appreciated the thrilling storyline and how Nickless created strong tension that ratcheted up to a suspenseful ending.
A young woman is found brutally murdered, and the main suspect is the victim's fiance, a hideously scarred Iraq War vet known as the Burned Man. But railroad police Special Agent Sydney Rose Parnell, brought in by the Denver Major Crimes unit to help investigate, can't shake the feeling that larger forces are behind this apparent crime of passion.
In the depths of an icy winter, Parnell and her K9 partner, Clyde-both haunted by their time in Iraq-descend into the underground world of a savage gang of rail riders. There, they uncover a wide-reaching conspiracy and…
I am so happy I discovered Griffith’s Sam Rivers Mystery Series. While each book reads great as a standalone, I recommend starting with the first book in the series, Wolf Kill. Dead Catch, the fourth book, continues the story of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent Sam Rivers and his faithful four-legged sidekick Gray—a wolf-hybrid. I love that Griffith has a wolf-hybrid as his fictional K-9 character.
Griffith weaves environmental issues into each book. Dead Catch explores the world of poaching walleye, which I found fascinating. But adding to the mystery is the relationship between Sam and his childhood friend charged with murder. I appreciated the theme of giving those we love a second chance and reviving a friendship years after a tragedy.
A murdered conservation officer and a multi-million-dollar poaching business-how are they connected to Sam Rivers' childhood friend?
Holden Riggins is an expert outdoorsman and a known poacher. He's made a small fortune by exploiting nature's bounty. So it's no surprise when two conservation officers (COs) from the Department of Natural Resources come upon Holden's fishing boat, anchored beside an illegal walleye net.
What is a surprise, though, is Holden's condition: nearly frozen to death on the bottom of his boat. That's not the COs' most shocking discovery. Twisted and tangled within the twines of another nearby net is the dead…
A friend of mine sent me this book and I’m thrilled she did. I’ll admit, I was a little worried at the beginning of the book that something bad was going to happen to the K-9, Vira. Instead, I discovered a fascinating storyline of a dog with a near-death experience developing “superpowers.” Vira finds her way to trainer Mace Reid who teaches her to find human remains. I like books that depict different types of working dogs.
I appreciated how Burton wove the city setting of Chicago into the plot as Reid and Vira hunt a cunning serial killer. A strong female sidekick, Chicago Police Officer Kippy, rounds out the story in a great way. It kept me up past my bedtime, unable to put the book down.
Jeffrey B. Burton's The Finders is the beginning of a fast-paced new series featuring a heroic golden retriever cadaver dog named Vira and her handler, Mason Reid.
Mason "Mace" Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection. He trains dogs to hunt for the dead. Reid’s coming off a difficult year―mourning the death of a beloved springer spaniel as well as the dissolution of his marriage. He adopts a rescue dog with a mysterious past―a golden retriever named Vira. And when Reid begins training Vira as a cadaver dog, he comes to realize just how…
I love books set in the Colorado mountains and, of course, a great K-9 character. In the first book of the Tin Star K-9 series, the reader is introduced to Caitlyn Reed and her dog, Renegade. Unlike many K-9 series, this story starts before Caitlyn and Renegade become law enforcement officers and shows their journey into that career.
The family dynamics in this book create great tension throughout the story. I love Caitlyn as a character because she’s a strong female who isn’t easily deterred from investigating a murder. I appreciated that Burnett’s K-9 was a Malinois-German Shepherd mix—a combo that is being bred more often for law enforcement purposes. Burnett did a great job of weaving together a strong plotline with murder, revenge, and hidden secrets.
Caitlyn Reed and her dog, Renegade, are thrown into the midst of murder and intrigue when they discover a dead body while on a trail ride in the black hills of Wyoming.
The local sheriff is hell bent on a conviction, and Caitlyn’s brother, Dylan, is in his crosshairs. Desperate to prove his innocence, Caitlyn turns to Deputy Colt Branson for help, but she must grapple with their rocky romantic past to gain his aid.
As Caitlyn and Renegade pursue the killer, the investigation catapults their lives in a dangerous new direction, one with mysterious strangers,…
After losing her military K-9, Marine veteran Maya Thompson swears she’ll never work with dogs again. But when she returns home to Colorado and accepts a job with US Forest Service law enforcement, fate brings K-9 Juniper into her life. Juniper, a beautiful two-year-old Malinois, isn’t the only new addition to Maya’s life.
Josh Colten, the handsome and mysterious deputy sheriff, insists on helping with her new case. Maya can’t let herself like him, let alone trust him. When Maya’s grandfather goes missing amid a growing drug war, Maya must put her faith in Josh and her own battered instincts to find him. But there are secrets tying her grandfather to the tragedy that brought Juniper into her life—secrets someone would kill to keep hidden.
Writer, reader, editor, reviewer, publisher… those are all parts of me. With a lifetime of experience in the “words” industry, I have a pretty good handle on what makes a book not just good, but hot. I say this with the understanding that each reader brings their own histories to the reading experience, and what one person may like, another may not. Nonetheless, I offer you my professional and personal favorites in the mystery/thriller/suspense categories. It is my sincere hope that you find these books as addictive as I’d found them. Superb and clever writing, engaging characters, unpredictable plots—yes, please! Though I occasionally step outside my comfort zone, I'm consistently drawn back to these categories.
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own. A friend murdered. A business in trouble. A marriage struggling to survive. And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own.
A friend murdered.
A business in trouble.
A marriage struggling to survive.
And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
