Pulse pounding read. Mason trains dogs to find dead bodies. He loves dogs and treats them well. They are his very best friends. Kippy is a beat cop who also loves dogs. Finding a puppy at a crime scene brings her into Mason’s world. Eventually both along with the dog find them chasing and being chased by a serial killer. I love Mason’s character because he is a bit of a geek that has to be protected by Kippy and his dogs. He says the wrong things and gets himself in trouble. Kippy is a go getter who knows how to kick butt. As the story unfolds there are surprises that you won’t see coming. I love the human feelings given to the dogs that make the story so much more exciting. Great job!

This is a bit of an unusual read for me but ones I got started I kept on reading. It shows the strong relationship between the dogs and their trainer. I learned a bit more about this type of dogs used by the police and rescue teams. The story itself keeps you guessing about the villain but everything becomes clear at the end. I hope there is a follow-up to continue with the lives of Reid, Kippy and of course all four dogs. The characters of the humans and each dog were well developed and in my case brought a smile to my face reading the description of their behavior. Actual I think the dogs are training Reid and not the other way around.

Let me start off by saying that I am more of a cat person than a dog person. My cat is nestled up next to me as I write this.

BUT, I was intrigued by the idea of a murder/thriller story told from the perspective of a Cadaver Dog Trainer. Mason "Mace" Reid regularly works with Chicago-area police by bringing in his dogs to sniff out human remains. After one of his 4 dogs dies, Mace gladly adopts a golden retriever pup that police rescued from a house where some bad stuff went down. This puppy, Vira, turns out to be extraordinarily gifted at finding cadavers. Mace and Vira find themselves entangled in the case of a local serial killer.

OK, so there were some insensitive bits in this book that made me cringe and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. It was very much an action driven story vs. a character-driven tale. I feel like we only got to know the characters at a surface level. The story itself kept me hooked and it was a fun read. This is supposed to be the first in the series, so I will keep my eye out for the 2nd book.

3.5 stars

Mace Reid specializes in human remains detection and trains cadaver dogs to search for them. One of his dogs recently passed so when the opportunity to save a golden retriever comes along he jumps at the chance and adopts her. Mace starts training Vira as a cadaver dog and soon realizes she is different from all the others and seems to have a special way of doing things. She is one of the best dogs he’s ever had and she is great at what she does. Soon Mace and Vira are helping the Chicago police with a serial killer case and while helping the serial killer soon turns and starts going after Mace himself.

This was a good mystery book and I was definitely surprised at a twist, but I wasn’t fully wowed by the book. The writing felt a little weird to me at parts, I’m not really sure how to explain it but the way Mace talked and acted just felt off at times. The story does switch to two different POVs at one point and that was a little hard to follow at times but also made it more interesting once I figured out who was who.

As a huge animal lover I’m always worried about reading books with animals in them because if anything happens to them I’ll cry and most likely stop reading. Luckily Vira does not die (nor do the other dogs in the book) but there are two incidents where dogs do get injured and there is talk about a previous dog who has passed, although she is not actually in the book.

I enjoyed how the dogs were written and each given their own personalities. The way they were described as doing something is basically how I talk about my own cats to other people. Also Mace has so much love for them it’s really sweet. He would do anything to protect them and it shows.

Although I didn’t love this book it was a quick, fun read and made me want to work with cadaver dogs. They play such a vital role in investigations and it was very interesting to read about!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a series that are centered around a dog that is trained to find cadavers and his handler. I have not read anything by this author before, and I am generally not interested or attracted to books about or involving animals. I love animals but I just don't usually want to read about them. This one was different. I think because this was a thriller/mystery that happened to center on a dog and trainer made it just enough different that it was a good read for me.
Thank you for the early copy for review.
#TheFinders #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #Minotaur

This book had everything I love in a good novel. The premise was great. However, the book fell a bit short for me. I loved the characters but wanted more character development. This is an easy read, the chapters go really quickly. I would definitely read more by this author to learn more about these characters.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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One of the worst things about the way this Spring got away from me is that I've been unable to get to this book until now—from the synopsis, this was so far up my alley that it might as well have been titled The Finders: Meet HC's New Favorite Series. But the important this is that I got to it now, and that subtitle would've been pretty much correct. I can't imagine there'll be a new series this year that'll top this for me.

I've kind of tipped my hand there, haven't I? It's a good thing I don't pretend to write suspense, eh? Still, having established what I think about it—what about you—is this something you should read? Probably, yeah.

It's called the "Mace Reid K-9 Investigations" series, and the novel pretty much starts with the K-9 part, so I will, too. We meet a golden retriever puppy on one of the worst days imaginable for a young dog (or person). She's soon adopted by Mason Reid (call him Mace) a dog trainer who has a few Human Remains Detection dogs, in need of one more. This pup takes to HRD in a way that surprises Mace, she's more than a natural. I absolutely adore this dog. Mace does, too. He's in a pretty bad place when he meets this girl, and she's just what he needs to get out of it.

The other members of this pack would probably be as endearing if we'd got enough time with them—I'm going to leave their names out because Mace's names are so fun that you'd best read them (and the reasoning behind them) for yourself, I don't want to take that from you. There's a German Shepherd (Mace's descriptions of him are wonderful) and two trouble-making Collies.

There is a section where Mace describes the process that the dog goes through when scenting—probably not as technically correct as what Cat Warren gave in her book (adult or young reader's version*)—but as gripping (if not more so) and entertaining—and it really gives you an idea what's going on (as best as we can understand) during that process. Burton could've given us two or three more passages along those lines in this book and I wouldn't have complained at all.

* Either or both of which I recommend to anyone interested in this novel.

So, yeah, Mace is our narrator, he's got a great voice. You pretty much feel like he's a close friend telling you a story right away, and sitting around watching his dogs play while drinking cheap beer and eating pizza (preferably non-Hawaiian) sounds like a great way to spend an evening. He's funny, self-deprecating, smart, and driven (especially when the health and well-being of one of his "kids" is on the line). If I wasn't talking about an eARC waiting final revisions, this post would be littered with quotations--he is oh so quotable. His affection for his dogs and dogs in general, is right up there with Bernie Little, Andy Carpenter and anyone gutsy enough to try to feed and care for Clifford the Big Red Dog. Even if the plot was blah and the writing uninteresting, I'd have enjoyed meeting Mace (thankfully, that's not the case)

There are four cops in this book that Mace interacts heavily with—an unusual number, to be sure. Two are uniformed officers and two are detectives. Mace's relationship with each varies a little bit, but they're the kind of cops you want to believe fill our police forces. I don't know if all four of them will return in future volumes—but I'd be happy to see any or all of them again. I'll hold off on further discussion of them for the future when we get to know them a little bit more (assuming that's the case)

After Mace and his retriever find the remains of a serial killer's latest victim, something goes very wrong. This compels him to take a more active role in the hunt for the killer. Between his dogs, desperation, and a healthy portion of beginner's luck, he has remarkable success at that. Which ends up putting a target on his back—creating a need for more luck, his dogs, some more desperation, and the help of his police acquaintances/friends.

The plot moves pretty quickly—there's a time or two that your credulity might get stretched a bit further than you'd like. But if you roll with it, Burton'll reward you. The book moves quickly—even more than I realized a few times. Which isn't to say that anything feels rushed, it doesn't, you're on a roller coaster that starts quickly and doesn't let up. There were a couple of reveals that I didn't see coming, some plot twists I wouldn't have expected—in retrospect, I felt I probably should have seen it all, if I wanted to do something silly like stop reading the book to analyze and predict what's coming rather than just buckle in and read it.

So here's the thing about serial killers in fiction—I'm pretty much over them. I think I've been over-exposed to them, and by and large, I don't react positively to them. That's not to say I can't enjoy a Serial Killer novel if the plot is well done, the other characters are well executed, and so on—but I'm almost always apathetic about the killer himself/herself anymore. But this one? Initially, it seemed like this was going to be one of those books that I liked despite the killer. However, by a little after the mid-way point, the killer had won me over and had got me interested. I can't explain why without ruining the whole thing for you, so I won't. But color this jaded reader interested.

It's possible that I'm rating this a little higher than it deserves. If I was being entirely objective, I'd probably take off a half or maybe a full star from my rating. But this isn't an objective piece, or an objective rating—this is about how much I enjoyed this, how it appealed to me, entertained me and made me want to read on. For that, it scored really high for me.

A strong and fun central character, a collection of interesting police officers, a compelling serial killer, a well-paced plot, and four wonderful dogs. I can't think of anything else this book could deliver for me. I when I wasn't on the edge of my seat, flipping the pages as quickly as I could, I was reading as slowly as possible so I could relish the scenes with Mace and his dogs doing their thing. Now that Burton has established Mace's world and characters, I can't wait to see him explore it some and build on this really strong foundation.

Highly recommended. I won't pretend to assure you that you'll enjoy it as much as me, but I can't imagine anyone not liking this book.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this. As always, my opinions remain my own.

Mason “Mace” Reid trains cadaver dogs. Following a divorce, his romantic life is dead as well. Fortunately, a special pup joins his pack and a pretty cop comes around because she likes the pup. However, when the pup attacks someone, it sets off a dangerous chain of events that leaves Mace running from a killer.

Jeffrey B. Burton drew me in to this story from the beginning. The character development was thorough with the people and the dogs. The relationships between characters were well-developed. I enjoyed having perspectives from Mace and from the killer.

The Finders is the first in a series. I will definitely be seeking future installments to find out what is in store for Mace and his special pack of dogs.

It’s always a good day when I come across a novel that is factual, entertaining, and relates a story while never venturing outside the realm of reality. “The Finders” is one of those novels.

Mason Reid – Mace to his friends and his canine kids – conducts obedience classes for dogs though his specialty is training dogs in human remains detection. Essentially, they are cadaver dogs, able to detect the scent of death. His most recent work with the Chicago Police Department brings him in contact with Kippy Gimm, who has a connection with Mace’s newest dog. Both become entangled in the web of a practiced killer, and Mace is number one on the killer’s hit list.

Author Jeffrey B. Burton injects the suspense element right from the beginning, but instead of a slow buildup to the climax, he ratchets our emotions up and down while expertly guiding the plot to match. Mr. Burton tells the story through multiple characters, including the killer. The storyline is realistic, and the author deftly keeps us on the edge of our seats. I recommend you carve some time out of your day, because it is difficult to stop reading this book.

I think the scariest element of this book is the methods the killer employs to lure and kill his victims and then hide the bodies and not get caught. One could work in the same company with this person and never suspect the danger. Highly recommend this suspense thriller. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for a complimentary electronic copy of this title.

This book’s subtitle should be “must love dogs.”

Even though this book is pretty intense and about a serial killer hunting down Mason Reid and his cadaver dogs, I kept cracking smiles at how Mason treats his dogs and refers to them as “the kids”. It’s the type of thing that my husband and I do with our dog Miley. I was extremely anxious that the killer would kill one of the dogs pretty much the entire book (spoiler alert the dogs all make it thank god!).

I loved Kippy Grimms’s character and hope she is featured in the rest of the series. She’s such a firecracker and also loves dogs (do you see the theme yet?). Each of Mace’s 4 dogs are given a unique personality which was so fun. As any dog owner will tell you, no two dogs are the same. And sometimes they give you the sassiest looks!

SYNOPSIS Mason Reid and his dogs specialize in human remains detection aka cadaver dogs. After an incident at a crime scene, Mace and his dogs get caught in the cross hairs of a terrifying serial killer bent on destroying them. Will they be able to catch the killer before he catches them?!

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press and Jeffrey B. Burton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBvcq45g9jl/
Goodreads post: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3388683842

Pub day post will also be done on 6/30

This is the first I've read by Burton and I loved his writing style. His humor coupled with the suspense made for a great read. I've always loved animals so reading about Mace and his cadaver dogs was enjoyable. After a rough year of divorce and losing one of his dogs, Mace stumbles upon Vira who has defeated the odds at such a young age and as they train together he realizes how amazing her talent is for her "job" in assisting the police.

Mason “Mace” Reid trains cadaver dogs. He assists with the rescue of a golden retriever that almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning and realizes that this dog, Elvira (Vira for short), is very special. Officer Kippy Gimm was there when Vira was rescued and follows up on how she is doing. When the body of a young woman is left for dead, after suffering at the hands of a killer, Vira recognizes someone in the crowd that is connected to the dead woman. A very unusual and amazing feat. The search is on for the serial killer and Mace and Kippy continue to be a part of the hunt…or are they the hunted? The characters, the story, and the humorous writing style of the author (reminiscent of David Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter mysteries) made this a very enjoyable mystery. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

I really loved this book! It follows Mason Reid and his human remains detector dog Vira, along with some other pups and cops. I loved Vira and Kippy the most; I feel like I really connected with them. This book gets 4 stars and a dedicated fan; I can't wait for the next one!

This mystery is by the American author of the FBI Special Agent Drew Cady mystery series. The Finders is the first in a new series (Mace Reid K-9). In this book we are introduced to Vira, a golden retriever seemingly gifted with amazing abilities who is rescued when her owner tried to kill her. Mace is the dog trainer who adopts her, training her in cadaver finding. When she finds her first body, the victim of a serial killer, her additional talents lead the Mace to the killer. Mace, Vira and police woman Kippy Gimm then work together to catch another serial killer. This is a fun mystery and will surely be a hit with dog fans.

**3.5-stars**

The Finders, the first installment of the new Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series, is an Investigatory Thriller following an unlikely hero and his four-legged companions.

Mason, 'Mace', Reid, is a dog trainer who specializes in training cadaver dogs which he uses to help out local law enforcement with body searches. At the beginning of the story, Mace has the opportunity to adopt a Golden Retriever puppy who has had a very traumatic start to life. Dog lover that he is, and having recently loss one of his pack, he welcomes the puppy with open arms and names her Vira.

Not long after her training begins. Unbeknownst to Mace, Vira is soon to be working her first case, as a deadly killer is lurking very close to home. When the serial killer sets his sights on Mace, all bets are off. It's up to Mace, his new friend, CPD Officer Kippy Gim and Vira, to stop the killer and stay alive.

This was a solid start to a series. Dealing with a fictional serial killer can definitely up the ante of a story and this is no exception. It was intense, it was fast-paced, but there were some elements I wasn't crazy about. For example, there was some cringey, insensitive humor, but also some fairly good humor where I laughed out loud. Yeah, so a mixed bag. The occasions where I actually grimaced at badly worded jokes were fewer than things I liked about the story overall though, hence my 3.5-star rating.

I also had a hard time with some of the scenes involving the dogs. I will say, dogs in stories, is generally something I have a problem with; it's not specific to this. It causes my anxiety to rise and makes it hard for me to relax and connect. With this being said, I am aware that this is 100% specific to me as a reader. If you are fine with reading stories with dogs, or even love them, you will most likely really enjoy this. Mace is a really good dog owner. You can tell he loves his boy and girls and treats them like part of his family; as they are.

Overall, I think this is a solid start to a series. I would definitely consider picking up the next book, praying the whole way that all the dogs remain happy and healthy throughout. Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate having the opportunity to provide my opinion.

I very much enjoyed this book right from the start. It's a super easy thriller read with a plot twist that I definitely didn't see coming until it smacked me in the face. Burton did a fabulous job keeping me guessing on who the Everyman was, and I was pleasantly surprised without having to do Olympic-level mental gymnastics to get there when the killer's true identity was revealed.
Mace's character was fun, albeit a little naive, and his love of dogs had me relating to him immediately. His dogs just made the story better. Kippy Gimm, while being a female potential love interest, was a strong female character (always a nice deviation from the standard damsel-in-distress often found in thrillers) who was like a dog with a bone when it came to a good case. Watching as these two blundered through this case (in the most entertaining way, of course) made for an even more enjoyable read, without the standard dark-and-twisty plot. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of dark-and-twisty, but it was well-balanced with some humor and lightheartedness.
The cop/detective side of the story was a little unorthodox, and most definitely unrealistic, I thoroughly enjoyed The Finders, and will recommend it to several friends. I look forward to reading more of Mace and his HRD dog's adventures.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books, for an advance copy of The FInders in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC

Mason 'Mace' Reid is a dog trainer, specialising in cadaver dogs. His best is a golden retriever called Vira, whose exceptional talent and nose will prove invaluable in their hunt to catch a serial killer stalking Chicago.

3⭐- While I enjoyed the story arc of this book, the dogs and the serial killer, I couldn't warm to the writing style unfortunately. Mace's constant quips and tough guy image just didn't resonate with me and in parts it came across as trying too hard.

****ARC provided by Netgalley for a free review***

I’m was pleased surprised how good this book was. I read it in about a 10 hour span! It kept getting better and better with each chapter. There was no waiting for it to grab you that happened straight out of the first chapter. Perfect rainy day read that you can’t put down!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This is another book where I was approached by someone at the Publishing House to see if I would be interested in reading it. Again, it was a book I had looked over many times(okay, I always LOOK at it because there is a dog on the cover) but since I have never been all that interested in thrillers or suspense, I never requested it. And MAN, again someone knew me better than I knew myself. I loved this book. It is the first in a new series(I am happy to say) and I am thrilled there will be more on the way. This was also my first book by this author and I loved his writing style so I know I will be back for more. Also, you have to figure there will always be dogs involved and who doesn't love that? For this particular book, Elvira(Vira to her friends) is the main dog...she somehow lived through being shut into a garage full of carbon monoxide and ended up at the shelter...soon after, she ended up with Mace and his other dogs...He is training her as a cadaver dog and she quickly moves to the head of the class. She has no problem sniffing out bodies and at one such time, she noticed someone across the street and literally rips his eyeball out. Um, what just happened? That particular scene is the start of a wild ride and you just don't want to stop. This dog is amazing but will she be able to figure out the who ultimate bad guy is before he gets her Dad?Well, Der, if is is a series, it's likely nothing too terrible will happen to her Dad-at least until the end of the series. But hey, who am I to say?

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton is a good start to a series! Mace Reid lives outside Chicago and trains cadaver dogs. He has not had the best year in his personal life He rescues a golden retriever named Vira and starts training Vira in human remains detection. In the meantime, there’s a serial killer in Chicago. The police need his help and special dog Vira’s help. This is a great thriller and I really enjoyed it. Dog lovers will especially love this book. I have a feeling this will become a very popular series. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.