A cracking start to a new crime/thriller series that is bound to have wide appeal.

Dog trainer/handler Mason Reid has had a tough year. His beloved springer spaniel has died and the divorce from his high school sweetheart has become final. Both of these things have left him with too much time to spend inside his own head, and he's become withdrawn, maybe drinking a little too much. So when his friend at Chicago Animal Care and Control calls him in to see a newly rescued golden retriever pup as a potential new human remains detection dog, Mace is cautiously hopeful that things might be about to turn around for him. The pup shows a lot of promise, so he takes her and begins her training.

Ten months later Elvira - Vira for short - is ready for her first HRD job and she does exceptionally well. So well in fact that Mace begins to wonder if perhaps she might have some special skill. The body she found is believed to be a victim of the Velvet Choker Killer who has been terrorising Chicago, and before they know it, Mace and his small pack of cadaver dogs are in the thick of the hunt for the serial killer.

I enjoyed every minute of reading this book. Mace is a great character, who has such a caring and symbiotic relationship with his dogs. That he sometimes thinks his dogs might be gaslighting him is very appealing (and amusing), and shows the depth of the relationship. But this is not 'a book about dogs' - it is first and foremost a fast-paced, clever thriller, that delivers lots of twists and turns before we begin to fully comprehend who's behind the rising bodycount. In fact, I actually wouldn't have minded a bit more dog action, as they were such interesting characters in their own right. I'll be looking forward to catching up with Mace and Vira again in the future.

I really enjoyed this book! Mace Reid trains search and rescue dogs and is contacted by police departments when they need help to search for missing persons or when a death is suspected. It was interesting to read about cadaver dogs and the relationship between Mace and his dogs.

The book is well written and certainly grabs and keeps your interest. I think all the characters were really well done, but I have to say that the dogs and the portrayal of their unique personalities was my favorite part. I would recommend this book!

Mason Reid (Mace) trained his dogs as cadaver dogs and when he found Elvira, the golden retriever puppy had been close to death. Shortening her name to Vira, she joined Maggie Mae, Delta Dawn and Sue (male German Shephard) all named for the songs Mace had loved all his life. It wasn’t long before Mace realized he had a special dog in Vira; her intelligence and knowledge was astounding. Mace was seconded to the Chicago Police Department when they needed help searching for the dead, and police office Kippy Gimm was particular enamoured by Vira. It wouldn’t be long before Vira’s talents would save Mace’s life…

The murder case had been particularly brutal, but it was the serial killer who was so elusive. But when it seemed the killer was after Mace and his dogs, Vira showed her true colours. What would be the outcome? Mace wasn’t a police officer; he didn’t carry a gun. Could the CPD along with Mace and his dogs solve this particular case?

The Finders is the 1st in the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series by Jeffrey B. Burton and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The dogs were gorgeous – especially Vira. With a full-on pace, plenty of action and red herrings throughout, The Finders kept me reading well into the night - I'm looking forward to #2. An excellent crime/mystery novel which I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

The Finders is the first in a planned series about Chicago Dog Trainer Mason Reid, and his super-smart Cadaver Recovery Specialist, Golden Retriever Vira.
Now, I’m a cat person, obviously. I don’t mind dogs, many of them are beautiful, and the whole unconditional loyalty and fierce protectiveness thing is very appealing, but in reality I’m not good with all the slobbering, jumping, needing-to-be-walked smelliness that they entail. Which is probably why I LOVE fictional dogs. This has a gorgeous happy looking retriever on the cover, so I had no hesitation in requesting it, and overall I enjoyed it, with some reservations, hence three stars.

Amiable divorcee Mace lives in a trailer with his four specially trained dogs. When new recruit Elvira, named for a country song, finds the body of the latest victim of a serial killer, then promptly attacks a bystander, Mace is sure her super-senses have identified the murderer, so breaks into his house to find the evidence that will stop her from being put down, and only the intervention of his German Shepherd Named Sue saves him from a crazed attacker. This puts Mace in the sights of a far more dangerous predator who wants revenge. Can Mace, helpful equally dog-loving police officer Kippy and his four fearless four-legged friends stop a determined killer?

This was a fast easy read, had two likeable if two-dimensional main characters, great dogs, an uncomplicated plot and unsurprising ending that leaves things nicely open for a sequel. It’s told from Mace’s first person and the killer’s, perspectives. I personally don’t enjoy spending too much of a thriller in the baddie’s head. This one, dubbed Everyman, was a bit generic, and while we do get some background, his motivation is never explained.

My biggest problem with this was the structure of the narration - constantly interrupting the action with bits of backstory or random observations. Mace would be reporting dialogue and oh look a squirrel drop in irrelevant details about his coffee or relevant but out of place facts about dogs. Everyman does the same thing. It might not have bothered me but once I noticed it, I just found it annoyingly distracting and it slowed the pace right down.

Despite this, I’d be happy to read more of Vira and Mace’s adventures.
Trigger warning/minor spoiler/reassurance - dogs are injured but not killed, and apart from the beginning where Vira’s atttempted murder and subsequent rescue kicks off the story, and don’t worry - the perpetrator gets what he deserves - there is no sadistic animal cruelty described.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. The Finders is published on June 30th.

I knew would enjoy this book- some of the characters are dogs! But it turned out to be more intense than I expected. Mason Reid is a dog trainer and has dogs who can find human remains. When he gets Vira, something unusual happens. She can apparently smell the person who killed the body she has found. Of course the humans have to do some great detective work but in the end, Vira is the real hero. Luckily Reid has enough sense to listen to her. A great escape read.

Mace Reid trains cadaver dogs – dogs trained to search for human remains. When a golden retriever puppy survives an attempt on her life, Kippy, a Chicago police officer, rescues her and the pup ends up in Mace's care. Mace names her Vira and starts training her along with the rest of his dogs. The three of them find themselves at the center of a serial murder case, and the murderer seems to have set his sights of Mace himself.

This is the first book in the Mace Reid K-9 series, and I was excited to start reading it, probably mostly because of the beautiful golden retriever on the cover. I asked for the book quite awhile ago, so I don't remember how much information about it was available at the time, but unfortunately, it was not at all what I expected. Maybe it was that I had a hard time accepting that a golden retriever could behave in such a fashion, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book right now, but I found the book *very easy to put down – and hard to pick back up again.

That said, I liked that the story alternated viewpoints, switching between Mace and Everyman, who we learn early on is the killer. It was a bit like reading a game of cat and mouse, watching the mouse bait the cat, and waiting for the cat to win the game. Most of the characters were well-developed, and I found it fascinating to read about how HRD (human remains detection) dogs are trained. Now that I know what to expect, I will probably read the next book in the series and see how it goes.

Kippy Gimm is a young Chicago Police Officer performing a wellness check when she stumbles upon a golden retriever puppy stuck in a garage with a running car. Miraculously, Kippy is able to save the puppy and turn it over to a rescue center to be rehabilitated.

Mace Reid specializes in detecting human remains and has several pups trained as cadaver dogs. When his friend at the rescue center contacts him about the miraculous survival of a golden retriever puppy, Mace is eager to add the puppy to his crew.

Mace and Elvira (Vira for short), form an immediate bond and Mace quickly realizes there is something special about Vira and her abilities. When Mace is called to a scene to find human remains, he brings along Vira for training purposes. Vira finds the remains in an instant and also sets sights on a looky-lou in the crowd. The normally gentle and people friendly Vira is suddenly in attack mode and ends up gravely injuring the bystander and going so far as to rip out one of his eyes.

Mace is immediately ordered to put Vira down. Distraught over possibly losing his dog and at her sudden outburst, he knows he needs to find a way to save her and to get to the bottom of her uncharacteristic behavior. Looking into Vira's victim more closely, Mace comes to believe that he is the feared Velvet Choker Killer who has been attacking innocent people throughout and around Chicago. It seems as though Vira may have smelled something on him that triggered her attack.
Without more than a hunch to go on, Mace decides to pursue the potential killer himself, breaking into the man's home and ultimately finding his latest victim. But also present is the killer's son - a feral child born from incest - who also has a murderous streak. Barely making it out alive, Mace is able to rescue the victim and ultimately end the son's life.

Kippy Gimm learns of the attack and becomes involved in the case. Her bond with Vira remains strong, even after being apart. She was completely unable to reconcile the image of a survivor puppy with a vicious attack dog so when she learns that Vira detected the killer, she isn't surprised at all. She instinctively believes that there is something special about Vira and that they need to follow the dog's intuition.

When Vira's alarm bells go off in the middle night, it becomes apparent that catching the Velvet Choker Killer and killing his son isn't the end of the story. Suddenly, Mace and Vira appear to be the crossfire of another killer, and it will take the uncanny abilities of the cadaver dog, the CPD, and the stellar Mace and Kippy duo to solve the case... and hopefully get out alive.

This was a quick and fun read. I found the premise of cadaver dogs extremely interesting and it was easy to feel a connection with Mace's crew. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Kippy and Mace and love that it left me wanting more from the future books in the series. If you love dogs and enjoy Dean Koontz-esque thrillers, this book is definitely for you!

Thank you to St. Martin's press for a finished copy of this novel and to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️‘s
Mace trains and works with cadaver dogs. When he ends up with an abused Golden Retriever puppy he had no idea the exceptional abilities she would have. Abilities that he has never seen before. Abilities that make her a wonder dog! This is a great beginning to a new series by Burton! The interaction between Mace and his dogs was lighthearted and fun, add a mystery and you have yourselves a good read! Looking forward to the next book in this series!

Mace Reid is a dog trainer and huge dog lover. He uses his own dogs, who are trained as human remains detectors, to occasionally help out the police. He quickly realizes that his new dog, Vira, is extraordinary at what she does, and knows she will be vital to solving the case of an active serial killer.
The cover of the book almost kept me from requesting it because I figured it would be a typical “dog story.” It’s not that I don’t like dogs - I do - but I don’t like sappy stories.
I was very pleasantly surprised to find that not only wasn’t this book sappy, but it was fast-paced and exciting. I was glad, also, that the story didn’t require a lot of suspension of disbelief like so many thrillers do. The dogs, especially Vira, were endearing and a real highlight of the story.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this ARC of #thefinders.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to start this book. The description sounded so interesting. But, for me, the first few pages felt like running a hurdle race without any preparation. The path wasn’t smooth and each time I reached a hurdle I wanted to slither under it or knock it down.

Okay, in book-talk, the sentences didn’t flow and the use of dashes throughout made me feel uncomfortable. But while the use of dashes didn’t seem to stop, the sentences and use of dashes soon stopped bothering me. In fact, everything started falling in place. And as I continued reading, I began to care more and more about the story.

When Mace and his new rescue dog Elvira (Vira for short) begin to work together he soon discovers that she has some extraordinary qualities. Not only does she pick up on her training quickly, but she has abilities that are extremely unusual.

Things begin to happen when Mace and his dogs team up with Chicago Police Officer Kippy Gimm and her partner to solve the mystery of a lady who has disappeared. The search begins to open new discoveries are thoughts.

Every other chapter is that of a sociopath who is cunning and enjoys taking chances. But when Mace’s efforts start messing up the sociopath’s well-thought-out plans, it’s time for him to eliminate his newest problem.

What Concerned Me
As I mentioned earlier, the use of so many dashes tended to distract me. I also felt the sentences didn’t flow in the beginning. They felt overlong and the dashes contributed to a choppy feel. (I think this is probably a personal concern, so I wouldn’t let this stop you from considering the book.)

I also had trouble feeling too much of an attachment to the characters.

What I Liked Best
The longer I read the more involved I became and the faster the pages turned. It was also a very original plot.

Received this through Net Gallery.This is a different kind of crime mystery story of a man and a dog who is trained to find read bodies.Next thing he knows he's helping the police find dead bodies with the help of his plain old dog,and then their is a serial killer and what did I do? He's after me and my dog! Funny in different parts,but you have adventures ,crime,dead bodies, an ending marriage,a dog who knows no better! You will enjoy this mystery murder story of a man and a dog. How can you go wrong when a dog is involved?

This is what I want dog handler stories to be, the dog is present throughout not just a prop. Not only Vira but also the other dogs he trains showing their individual personalities. The mystery itself was well flushed out, and kept the story moving, I devoured this in one day.

You have two different serial killers in this story, hearing from their POV's at times. Also hearing from Mace the dog training, his process, training, and his interest in Kippy the female officer that first met Vira. Kippy checks in on Vira, the dog she helped save on a call and while she is taking a break from dating she finds herself entangled with Mace on this new case.

When I finished the book I wanted to run and find the next book, however it isn't out yet! That is the sign of a good book.

Thank you Netgalley and st. Martin's press for the opportunity to read The Arc of the Finders. This was a good story line, I found at the beginning as characters were being introduced I got a little confused as they were introduced by their full names and then given nicknames.
I enjoyed the story, the use of dogs in the novel had my attention as the main character trains dogs and these dogs help search for bodies. The who dunnit plot was well developed and I liked how we found out who the bad guy's real identify was, well done. It took a whole for me to really get into the novel, by about the one quarter mark I was hooked. I found too much description of certain things near the beginning of the book
Overall good and would read more from Jeffrey B Burton

I got to read an ARC of this one thanks to NetGalley which in no way influenced my review. In a way calling this a K-9 mystery series is a bit misleading. It's actually about a police consultant who trains and utilizes cadaver dogs so more K-9 adjacent.

Mason "Mace" Reid has lost one of his best human remains detection dogs and is called in to foster a Golden Retriever pup with her own tragic story. He and Vira click immediately and he begins to train her. Fast forward a year and Vira is a cadaver dog prodigy. Mace and Vira are hired to find the remains of a woman thought to have been taken and killed by a serial killer. That's when things go sideways.

Barely getting out of it alive (both of them) Mace finds himself striking up a friendship with the lady cop who originally rescued Vira, by the name of Kippy Gimm (I honestly can't put into words my visceral hate of her name, sorry). She's as convinced as Mace is that Vira is special and they both need to be right about that because Vira has managed to put herself and Mace in the crosshairs of another serial killer, Everyman.

The bulk of the mystery is Everyman's plotting to get back at Mace (so we do spend a lot of time in his mind too). I will say that the mystery part of this was good and how Everyman was hiding was creative. I liked Mace, Vira and Kippy well enough but I never fully clicked with any of them sorry to say. I enjoyed this, I'd read another one, but on the other hand I wasn't blown away either.

I also had a few issues with this book, mostly revolving around Vira so let me put that under a spoiler cut. <spoilers>Vira attacks the first serial rapist/killer viciously and was meant to be destroyed. Honestly I didn't think it added much to it. Her finding and going for the guy, yeah fine. The attack was a little less fine for me.</spoilers>

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.75 Hearts I am so in love with this story. Not for Mace (or Kimmy) but for all the dogs. I have never read this author before but when I saw the cover and read the synopsis I had to read this story. And it helped it was the first in a new series.

In short Mace trains dogs and it is amazing how Burton writes different personalities for each dog just like each dog in your family has their own personality. But these are working dogs. And they know their business. And when Mace, as the trainer, and Kimmy as the detective use Vira (the dog) to track a serial killer the story amps up.

I really enjoyed this new series and look forward to the next in series which I think will be even better because there is always a lot of time spent meeting the characters in the first of a series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Vira is a rockstar. This book is the beginning of a series that I am excited to read more of. The writing is descriptive and the story was multifaceted. I did not figure out the Everyman until it was presented which is always a good thing.

There is a hint of a romance, but the story is really about Vira, her skillset and this case. The development of friendships with Mason and the detectives was fun and the love of animals tangible.

The criminal(s) themselves are colorful and fully developed. The story shows the point of view of the Everyman and provides background to help enrich and strengthen his storyline. The practicality of his decisions was jarring, but helped create this world and how he did successfully complete so many horrendous acts

Vira is not the only pup, Sue and the twins were also important to the case and story. Sue sounds wonderful and I can’t wait to see what is next for the four dog crew, Mason and Kibby.

Thanks for the chance to read this book and share my opinions.

Mason Reid trains cadaver dogs and helps the police with finding dead bodies. When a young puppy (Vira) is found virtually gassed to death in a garage, he agrees to look after her. He quickly realises that she is a very intelligent puppy and soon becomes an important part of the pack.

Mason and Vira help the police catch the Velvet Choker Killer but in doing so , catches the eye of another serial killer, Everyman who takes a personal interest in Mason and his dogs and the hunt is on but "Everyman" has the advantage that he knows Mason but Mason has no idea who Everyman is.

This is a great story of a dogs recovery from near death, her skill at sniffing out the bad guys and determination to do whatever it takes to protect her owner. I look forward to reading others in this series

this book was just ok for me, if not for the dogs, i wouldn't have bothered though was afraid something bad would happen to one of them so that kept me on edge.. the rest of the story was pretty predictable and i could have written it myself

I didn't really know what I was going into when I started this book, but once I finished it I was blown away. The Finders is a debut book in a new series, which always puts me on edge if it's going to be a good start or not. The author does a fabulous job with writing such a compelling start and well-developed and likeable characters. The main character Mason, "Mace" trains dogs mostly for finding human remains. I connected with Mace almost immediately because he treats dogs not just like family, but as if they were his children. Mace is going through a lot in his life and he has to train a new dog for law enforcement. While he is training this new dog who came from a horrible place, the police are trying to catch a serial killer and Mace and his new dog get caught up in a dangerous situation.

I really love a good mystery and I loved this with it's fast paced chapters and such a wonderful storyline. What I loved most was how the author really focused on the dogs and how amazing and individual each dog is. I think this was a really great start to a series and I can't wait to read the next one.

A lovely novel about a man, Mace Reid, and the dogs he loves and trains in human remains detection. This is the first in a new series, and dog lovers/mystery readers are sure to be huge fans. The book is a quick read with very likeable characters, especially those of the four-legged variety.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.