Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Published by Minotaur Books on June 29, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Mason “Mace” Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection—that is, he trains dogs to hunt for dead bodies. He calls his pack of cadaver dogs The Finders, and his prize pupil is a golden retriever named Vira.
When Mace Reid and Vira are called in to search Washington Park at three o'clock in the morning, what they find has them running for their very lives. The trail of murder and mayhem Mace and CPD Officer Kippy Gimm have been following leads them to uncover treachery and corruption at the highest level, and their discoveries do not bode well for them . . . nor for the Windy City itself.
I am a fan of K-9 books, so I discovered this Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series. I got the first title, The Finders at the library and then requested this one to review. The beginning was a bit slow but it took off explosively.
Mace has several dogs who are all human remains or cadaver dogs. There are a few different breeds. There is a special one, Vira, a golden retriever. She not only detects bodies but also the scents of others involved in the death. Vira is stunningly accurate. But none of these dogs are trained to deal with bad guys or take them down.
We do get a view into the dog’s personalities and see some of their work. We don’t get much focus on that aspect (which I enjoy) but more on the investigation. Mace works with a team of cops, Dave and Kippy, as a consultant, and also for some others at times. He gets called out to find the remains in bad situations like fires or out in the woods. Normally, Mace and the dogs are not part of the investigation.
Mace and Kippy are alerted to some information because of Vira. Unfortunately, it looks bad for some powerful city officials. It quickly becomes a case of who can be trusted which is no one. Their safety has me on the edge as they worked to nail down evidence against the bad guys. It will be interesting to see if Mace and the dogs are more or less involved in police investigations in the future.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Summer
Oh, this series sounds like a good one! Having dogs with different capabilities is interesting, especially the training aspect. Excellent review, Anne?
Thank you! I love the K9 books.
Another good sounding K9 mystery series you’ve found. 🙂
I enjoy them so I try to find them all.
That is one happy looking dog on the cover! Then, I read what the dog does, and wonder why he looks so happy. LOL. Terrific review!
This one has a lot more danger and suspense than some K-9 books. Thank you!
This sounds so good, I don’t think I ever read about this kind of dog before either. Thanks
I read many K-9 books. It’s a genre I love.