I give this book 3.5 stars. The cover of this book drew me in because it had a dog. I love dogs, dog stories and love to train dogs and their owners. I had a hard time getting through the first half of the book. It just felt kind of slow. The second half of the book picked up and kind of raced through to the end. This book was set in Illinois, in the Chicagoland area. I felt like the main character Mace, wasn’t quite as developed as I think he could have been. Vira, the Golden Retriever has supernatural abilities that I have a hard time believing. I did like the descriptions of his training for cadaver dogs and the world of scent. There is also some humor with his additional dogs along with their names. If you like stories that includes dogs, you’ll like this one. I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own.

I enjoyed this story. Well written and quite interesting. Plenty of twists to keep you guessing. I enjoyed the animals in the story and will looking for additional books by this author..

A cute dog makes this story seem more compelling than it is. THE FINDERS is a tale about canine sleuths and their human companion/trainer written by Jeffrey Burton. There is something oddly unsophisticated about the writing style, I would almost be tempted to call this an older child or young adult book except, and this is a very big except, this is a tale about a serial killer and victims with very poor behavioral choices. The subject matter is decidedly adult, although why the author made that choice, given his writing style, I don’t know. He ought to write young adult mysteries. This just isn’t complex and layered enough for an adult novel; even one with a cute dog. It is a fast read and not very satisfying, again, except for the dog. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Before I start my thoughts I would like to thank Sara from St. Martin's press for inviting me to read and review this book thinking I would like it and I did! This is the story of Mason Reid who runs a cadaver dog training school who adopts Vira, a dog from a not so happy situation. Vira helps the police catch a serial killer of young women. However it is discovered, the serial killer has a helper and Officer Kippy Gimm enlists Mason and Vira to help find the helper who is still killing and has a connection to the first jailed killer. This book was very different than any mystery I ever read because a lot of focus was on the work of the dog. Nice reveal toward the end of who the killer really was. I hope series continues.

There is much promise and potential in Jeffrey B Burton's first in the series featuring Mason 'Mace' Reid living in the outskirts of Chicago, Michigan and as we find out in the story in fascinating detail, trains dogs to find human remains. Mace has gone through some tough times, his marriage is over and he has endured the loss of a much loved dog. He has a real affinity, deep love and connection for his dogs, for him they are his 'kids', and he names them after songs, from the German Shepherd, Sue (Johnny Cash's A Boy named Sue) to the two collies, Maggie May and Delta Dawn. The author does a terrific job in creating different and distinct personalities for each of Mace's canine friends. Mace is to acquire another canine for his family, a gorgeous golden retriever, Elvira or Vira.

Vira was rescued from a horrific scenario, almost dying from carbon monoxide poisoning, and thankfully ends up being placed with Mace who trains and turns the retriever into a cadaver dog used by law enforcement agencies. Vira, though, is an exceptional dog with extraordinary abilities, ones that might be described as turning Vira into a super dog. Lansing police officer, Kimmy Gimm sees the possibility of Mace's dogs helping the police hunt down a serial killer targeting young women. Mace and Kimmy join forces to hunt a killer, and whilst Vira is phenomenal in this task, the attention of a truly sinister and psychopathic killer turns towards Mace, who finds himself in grave danger.

Burton writes a great mystery, a quick read with short chapters to keep the readers attention. The real stars of this new series are without doubt the canine characters, making this a real treat of a book for dog lovers. It is a light, absorbing and entertaining read, written with warmth and humour and does a good job in establishing the characters of Mace and KImmy, who do play second fiddle to our canine friends. There are some pacing issues, but this does not interfere greatly with the enjoyment of the beginning of what should be a wonderful series. Many thanks to St Martins for an ARC.

Mason Reid trains dogs to find human remains. Mason acquires a special dog, Vira. Mason and his dogs are on the hunt for a serial killer. Will they find him before the killer does?

This was a fun, quick, suspenseful book and with dogs!! I enjoyed the pace of the story, how the storyline gives us the point of view between Mason and the serial killer. I was really interested in the dog storyline and how they are trained and how they can “snuff” out a killer.

A very enjoyable read. This book had everything that appeals to me... mystery, murder, serial killers, humor, very slight / mild romance, some police procedural and of course, doggies! It’s fast paced, well written and entertaining. I would love to read future books in this new series.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.

I have never read Jeffrey Burton's books before but I thoroughly enjoyed "The Finders". The dogs and their role were fun and believable. Mystery, police detective work and animals make for a creative and enticing book to read. Great summer read!

There are only two kinds of people in this crazy world of ours-those who like dogs . . . and assholes.” Sign me up for this series! Mace trains cadaver dogs and helps the Chicago PD. He gets a new yellow lab, Elvira or Vira for short, and trains her. Her skills go beyond anything he has experienced. The two of them then must deal with a serial killer that has his sights set on Mace himself. I loved the dog angle of this book. There are several with their own personalities and quirks. This is the first in a new series and I look forward to more with these characters.
Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for the arc.

If you love your crime novels and want a unique premise then look no further! This is the start of a new series to feature cadaver dogs and it's a winner for me! I know nothing of this side of the police investigations and haven't read about it in a novel before. I feel so enlightened now! They are certainly the overlooked side of the police team. Well not now in fiction at least! (Gorgeous cover by the way!)

There's a real sense that you're getting even further inside the workings of a police investigation than you would normally in a novel. There's a definate love of dogs here but more than that; a respect and admiration.. There are two main dogs and they are very different and well developed so kudos to the author for that as i've never seen that before. Well in a children's novel perhaps but that's different.

The dogs and focus on them really opens up more avenues of interest into the regular serial killer story. They even provide a few moments of aaaah and even comedy which again Ive never read before in a murder mystery.

Yup. Book one in the bag and I now need number two mr Burton!

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton was an enjoyable read. I liked the idea of a dog trainer with a very talented, well-trained cadaver dog being the main character. That Mace Reid mostly trains cadaver dogs is a little something different for me. I'm more used to drug/bomb sniffing dogs or search and rescue dogs in stories. This book has a well-developed storyline and good pacing. I will be looking for more books by this author.

The Finders
A Mystery
by Jeffrey B. Burton
5 out of 5 ⭐
⭐ { MY REVIEW }⭐
I was hooked after the first few pages. It was very entertaining and the dog just made it that much better. I am and forever will be a dog lover. I was drawn In from the beginning and my interest kept throughout. It is very well written and each character is really well developed. I felt like I was right there with them during every part of the story. It was so good i didn't want it to end.I really enjoyed the characters and story. I absolutely love love loved it !!!!This is one book you will not want to miss. This is the first book by this Author that I have read, but it won't be the last. I want to read all the books this author writes.Thank you to NetGalley ,the publisher and the author for the chance to read and review this amazing 5 star read for an honest review ! Wish I could give it more than 5 stars
#TheFinders
#Mystery
#JeffreyBBurton
#Stmartinpress
#arc

Exciting, intense, suspenseful! These are just some of the adjectives that can be used to describe this novel.

The Finders is the first novel in a planned series involving Mason (Mace) Reid, and his band of Human Remains Detection (HRD) dogs -- with the star being a golden retriever named Elvira or Vira for short. Eventually, Mace teams up with Kippy Gimm, a Chicago police officer to track down a serial killer by locating human remains and extracting any clues.

Suddenly, the tables get turned as the serial killer begins to stalk Mace and Vira. But why? Who is this serial killer? You'll find out in the surprising climax.

Five stars! Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Finders peaked my interest primarily for the dog-centric plot. I'm an old pro at serial killer thrillers but cadaver dog trainer is not a POV you see a lot. And for that aspect; how the dogs are trained, their different personalities, their outings and intuition, I gave the 3 stars. The book requires you to suspend disbelief from the very beginning and the hallmark of a great thriller for me is it's believability and parallels to real life. I didn't particularly like Mace's (MC) character and other than the dogs, all the characters were flat and two dimensional. But if you want a fun, far out there serial killer book with lots of man's best friend, check out The Finders.

Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for providing me with this eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mysterious and captivating. Amazing how you can train dogs to do so many things including find the dead. This book captures your attention from the first chapter.

Thank you Netgallery for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own. I was unable to finish the book I just could not get into it.

I received an ARC of this excellent thriller. Fast-moving action with an engaging main character. I couldn't put it down. I hope there will be more books featuring Mace and his dogs.

It starts at the beginning of Mace's relationship with Vira, when she is abandoned at nine weeks and scheduled to be euthanized. There's something about her that makes Mace save her and train to be a cadaver dog, in support of Mace's growing business in the assistance of the Chicago PD and their Canine Training Center. From the beginning, it's clear Vira is indeed special.

Even if we don’t get the direct point of view of the dogs, Vira and Reid’s other dogs are omnipresent in the book. Mason Reid doesn’t like dogs. He loves dogs. He empathizes with them. He constantly notices what his dogs are up to and are thinking, and hence let the reader know about it. It is obvious the author put a lot of research into dogs in general, and police dogs specifically. It’s to be noted, as well, that each of Reid’s dogs has its distinct and coherent personality.

Burton weaves a compelling, inventive and suspenseful narrative with unexpected twists. It is all culminating in a thrilling denouement. Multidimensional characters with complex motivations compliment the propulsive prose that leads to an entertaining and enjoyable read

It's no secret that Minotaur puts out some of my favorite titles, so I was thrilled to be pre-approved for The Finders. I love serial killer narratives, and rarely do we find dogs front and center of a page-turner unless it's to further the MC's plot. How many times are characters given animals only to have them killed off as some sort of revenge-fueled action response (I will excuse John Wick from this equation, because it was so well done and heartbreaking, but still).

Mace Reid trains cadaver dogs, canines that are used specifically in the retrieval of dead bodies. When he gets called in on a potential serial killer case and one of his dogs brutally attacks a by-stander, Mace is distraught at the possibility of having to put him down--so he's determined to find out why it happened. Returning to the scene of the crime, Mace discovers the "victim" is actually the Velvet Choker Killer. What he doesn't expect is an outlier, a second player with ties to the VCK, and Mace is soon caught in the cross hairs of a deranged killer known as Everyman.

I stewed on this review for a day because I was conflicted. On the one hand, the cadaver trainer is an interesting take in a genre dominated by grizzled detectives and vigilantes with hearts of gold. I was struck by Mace's love of dogs and his acute awareness that in his personal life, he'd need someone as devoted to them as he was. The inner workings of cadaver dog training were fun to read, and treating the dogs as relevant characters instead of props was refreshing.

However, some things I did not care for, primarily the treatment of female characters. From stereotypes (the constant reference to "lady cops" and the first victim being a drunk sorority alum leaving a wedding where she made out with a former "bestie's husband) to object of affection (Kippy Gimm being used as bait in an interview with a serial killer to get a rise out of his fixation) to nameless sources of evil (the Velvet Choker Killer's sister who is a series of photos on the wall and a sad story) and finally as motivation for male characters to prove their masculinity (rescuing a helpless female victim who is overpowered by another, stronger masculine figure). Officer Kippy Gimm was lovely in her relation to Mace's dogs, but her character wasn't as developed as I would've liked. Often focusing on her sexuality (or her "time off from guys" because of a relationship that ended poorly when their sexual exploits were exaggerated and bragged about) she felt more like a means to an end than a character standing on her own two feet. Some of these are supposed to be Mace's character flaws or the lens of the Everyman, but on the whole, it caused some disjointed moments for me, like I was reading the personality of a 75 year old Clint Eastwood impersonator rather than a young, divorced man who's recovering from a broken heart. I just couldn't reconcile these things. Again, I'm not saying any of these on their own is bad, but as a whole, it missed the mark for me.

The serial killer plot was in line with a pretentious narcissist with a god complex, but not altogether surprising. Everyman was a cool name--it's actually one of my favorite morality plays from the medieval period; I helped write a parody of it my senior year of college, but I digress--but the name itself felt forced. Given by a victim (who again is little beyond a fixation of "the one who got away") she says he's not tall or short and "could be everyman." It felt awkward and forced, trying to make it work instead of just letting it happen naturally.

Overall, The Finders is a great read if you're looking for a dog-forward thriller and don't mind overgeneralized depictions of gender roles and relationships.

Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

3 1/2 stars, rounded down
It didn’t take me long at all to connect with Mace Reid. Whenever a news clip comes in about pet abuse, my first comment is always “hang ‘em high”. So, when Mace states “In my book, cruelty to animals merits the death penalty. If I had my druthers, we’d hang the Grangers of the world in the village square like Christmas ornaments”, I knew we were kindred spirits.
Burton’s writing includes a fun sense of humor. “She took to finding smells not unlike my ex took to remarrying - with passion and speed.”
I always enjoy books that explain how dogs are trained to do specialized tasks. And this book does that. Burton also understands that dogs have unique personalities the same as humans and makes sure to point out their individual traits.
The book does require you to suspend belief. I had trouble giving Vira the super intelligence the author tried to impress you with. I also didn’t quite buy into the villian. <spoiler> I had trouble believing he would be capable of caring for someone else. <spoiler> That said, it was an entertaining, fast read. I appreciated both main characters, Mace and Kippy, and hope they continue to work together in future books.
I would recommend this for fans of David Rosenfelt even though it doesn’t rise to the ranks of an Andy Carpenter book.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.