The Finders: A Mystery

Yes! First time author and knocked it out of the park for me. I requested this from the Title and the cover. Then I read the premise and thought I was in for an awesome search and rescue story. Oooohhhh no, this is SO MUCH MORE! Yes I am yelling, read this book. Murder, mystery, thriller, psychological thriller, dogs (more than 1, insert big grin here) heart break and a total out of the blue for me who the creep(s) was(were).. Mace (dog trainer, handler) was a likeable fellow, and made me smile with his interaction Kippy. (Police woman) And what can I say about Elvira, VIra for short our intrepid Golden. I am so thrilled this is book 1 in a series. Hello Mr Burton. so nice to meet your books! I want to thank Mr. Burton, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions. I will be posting everywhere I can find the book and upon release day will hit Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo. Thank you!

THE FINDERS marks the beginning of a new series featuring Vira (Elvira), a brilliant Golden Retriever cadaver dog and her handler, Mason Reid. Mace specializes in human remains detection. He also gives instructions in dog training. Coming across Vira at a bad time in his life, he's come to realize just how special the newest addition to his family truly is. When Chicago Police Officer Kippy Gimm, calls for a cadaver dog in her latest investigation, neither of them see the danger coming their way in the form of a serial killer called the Velvet Choker Killer ... and he's targeting Mace. I loved this book! Vira, of course, takes center stage, playing an integral role in the story, but it's also the laid-back, sometimes humorous character of Mace that everyone will fall in love with. There's a lot of action to keep the reader engaged, with a few twists and turns along the way that will have you scratching your head. As this is book 1, I really look forward to following the further adventures of Mace and Vira. Many thanks to the author / St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Cozy Animal Mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton A Mace Reid K-9 Mystery #1 New series, new characters, new-to-me author and a dog that is exceptional…well…so is the everything about this book, actually! What I liked: * Elvira “Vira” the exceptionally gifted Golden Retriever with superhero-like olfactory abilities but a gift for rooting out bad guys, too. Loved this dog! * Mason “Mace” Reid, dog handler/trainer that is perhaps more comfortable with dogs than humans * Kippy Gimm: relatively new police officer working in Chicago that is smart, dedicated and saved the puppy that became Elvira * Sue, Delta Dawn & Maggie May: Mace’s pack that Elvira joined. * Hanson, Maar and Wabs: police officers that did a great job * The plot, pace and writing – had me from page one and kept me till the end * The interaction between the characters * The way the story progressed, the clues were followed, and the serial killer(s) were unearthed * The creep-factor of the bad guys – also hated it but loved that I could hate the bad guys so very much * That the baddies were caught * Wanting to read the next book in the series as soon as it is ready. * Finding a new-to-me author that I would love to read more from in the future What I did not like: * The murderers and being reminded just how awful/evil some people can be * Having to wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars