This gritty crime tale with the deceptively pretty Golden Retriever on the cover, is a serial killer tale first and foremost. We also get to know a K9 trainer. In the first book in the new ‘Mace Reid K-9 Mystery’ series, Mason Reid takes on a challenge in more areas than one. He already trains dogs for a living, and specialises in training dogs in human remains detection (HRD). When he is lucky enough to rescue a smart Golden Retriever puppy called Vira from a bad fate, he has the dog he needed to resolve a horrific series of abductions and murders.

THE FINDERS work with police departments in Lansing & Chicago. Policewoman Kippy Gimm, is also concerned about Vira’s fate and starts to befriend Mace. With his team of talented dogs, why not? Kippy gets caught up in the trailing of a vicious criminal, and confusion sets in when the man changes from his usual MO of abducting young women.

Jeffrey B. Burton has previously written other hardcore thrillers, with political murders and more serial killers to the fore. THE FINDERS is followed by another chiller called The Keepers. I don’t read many serial killer tales, but the K9 dogs and their training are always fascinating so this came out as a good combination. Training Vira is represented as a bit too easy, but she is a prodigy, and retrievers are bred to scent and work. Maybe Vira should have had her name changed partway, for a reason shown in the tale, but she’s no standard Golden, displaying rather more aggression than most of her often soppy but smart breed. Then again, if a protective dog is all that stands between you and a criminal, you’re not going to argue.  

Much of the determined policing work occurs out in the rural town areas of Illinois, rather than in the big city, perhaps because people can more easily go missing in open space. Rough country is unforgiving, and here the dogs come into their own, covering ground effortlessly and without tiring. When reading you’ll meet strong language and violence, but you expect those from the genre. A nice variety of typical-seeming characters populate the pages, plus the seriously depraved angle. Anyone who enjoys a meaty crime thriller will get on well with THE FINDERS and will probably be looking for more.  

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