I didn't plan for my first novel of 2020 to be about cadaver dogs and serial killers - but just like the very twisty plot of this book, sometimes one's reading schedule takes many unexpected twists and turns!

The Finders is the first book in the new (upcoming) Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series about dog trainer Mace Reid.

When Mace adopts a young Golden Retriever puppy who miraculously survives a scrape with death and trains him for cadaver work, he has no idea that his work helping the police department to find dead bodies will ultimately result in hm a target himself.

As an animal lover, I enjoyed reading about the heroic acts of Vira (the Retriever), Sue (the male Shepard named after the Johnny Cash song) and the "twins", although it was also tough reading about some of the battle scars they took during the line of duty.

The book is very well researched - I now know more surprising facts about cadaver dogs, serial killers, and the state of Illinois's DOT than I ever thought possible!

The book is full of unexpected plot twists that I did not see coming (and you probably won't either!)

What prevented me from rating this 5 stars were the characters - I didn't "like" or relate to the good guys as much as I wanted to (the "bad" guy characterization was much stronger). Vira and Sue (the dogs) were my favorite characters in the book.

Nonetheless, the characters grow on you as the book progresses. I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.

The Finders is the first in Jeffrey Burton's new series, Mace Reid K-9 Mystery. 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. She learns quickly, can mimic many skills, and when she begins going on jobs, she is as good as any cadaver dog Mace has ever had. It’s as though she has special powers to find the bad guys, well beyond the ability to track by scent. When she attacks what at first appears to be an innocent bystander, in the crowd of people watching the police work a murder, Mace won't quit until he proves that she actually sniffed out the killer, doing the job she was trained to do. In the process of proving this, Mace is attacked by the man's son and ends up killing him as he tries to save his life and Vira's. That puts both Mace and Vira in the crosshairs of another psychotic killer who considered this boy like the son he never had. The question is, will Vira, with her exceptional abilities, and Mace, with his uncompromising belief in his new cadaver dog, survive the onslaught of this vicious psychopath?

I love dog stories so I was pulled into the story quickly. I was intrigued when for much of the early pages, I couldn’t tell the sex of Mace. He was simply an androgynous professional doing his job and loving his life.

Overall, this is a wonderful read, quickly consumed, and hard to put down. It is fast moving with lots of unexpected twists and turns. If you love working dog stories (such as Margaret Mizushima's K-9 Mysteries and Sara Driscoll's FBI K-9), you will love this book. It respects dogs as working animals, doing their jobs, and acting as part of a team. It never treats them as pets or weak or needy. I'd highly recommend this for those who love animal stories.

--review to be published on my blog, WordDreams, 2/20

I was into a few chapters before I realized the dog trainer was a man. The voice, to me, is very female which gave me a disconnect to the book. I really enjoyed Vi and Sue. They had the most depth of character and the special abilities debate was a good one. The 2 police were good as well but the main character was too ambiguous and weak to me
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me this arc

A good addition to the list of search and rescue dog books. One of seven books I was trying to get interested in and the only one that kept me reading to the end.

An excellent book that I really enjoyed. I do not usually read books that have a male as the lead character but this book c aught my interest and did not disappoint. Looking forward to book #2.

I loved this book. I am always pulled into the books with the search and rescue/cadaver dogs, and this author did a good job of explaining how the dogs do what they do. I also enjoyed the majority of the book being in Mason's voice. Normally, I don't care much for third person writing, but what can I say, I like this guy! I also liked his numerous dogs, especially Sue, named after a Johnny Cash song, and Vira, short for Elvira. The story is very intense, vivid, and frightening. I enjoyed the budding romance between Mace and Kippy, and meeting all the characters in the book. The killer is ruthless, and I kept swiping the pages on my kindle to get to the end to see what happens. I will definitely look for more books in this series.

While an enjoyable read, this novel seems to contain too many story lines--dogs with different talents, including possible criminal detection, two serial killers, one of which assists a father/son team, etc. My main takeaway was that the dogs and people were just all lucky not to be dead by the end.

As a mystery/ crime book enthousiast and an animal lover I was really looking forward to reading this one. As a first in a new series of books I had a feeling the writer still needed to get his bearings. I’d say the first 10 or so chapters just didn’t read “right”, but as the book progressed it got a lot better.
The storyline was alright, I must admit I didn’t see the bad guy coming, so that’s great. The characters seem a bit one dimensional, but with ,ore books to come this could surely be improved.
I’d love the read the next one.

I really enjoyed this book! Loved the whole interaction with the dogs. This book grabbed me from the first description and I couldn’t put it down. I’m happy to see it might become a series too, I will definitely be adding them to my list. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I enjoyed this book. The story was interesting with not one but two serial killers and the second one's identity was a surprise. I really liked the dogs and how they can find things. This book has a lot of tension and great world building. hope that the two main characters do get together. I'd really like to read more about them all. #The Finders #NetGalley.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ARC of this intriguing book. The opening section describing the discovery of an unconscious golden retriever puppy overcome and almost dead from noxious fumes and its rescue. Its subsequent training as a cadaver dog was compelling and informative.

The puppy was rescued by policewoman, Kippy, who wished to keep her, but animal control decided on a placement with Mace Reid who specializes in training cadaver dogs. The goal is having the dog, now named Vira, work alongside her handler, Mace, as consultants to the police in finding dead bodies.

Vira turns out to be a prodigy in learning her main task, zeroing in on bodies using her innate and highly developed sense of smell. The dog also shows some mysterious special skills which lead to debates as to whether she is clairvoyant or whether her powerful, highly effective sense receptors enable her to make connections between crimes and their perpetrators.

Young girls are being kidnapped and eventually killed. Mace with Vira manages to identify the kidnapper. Mace finds the latest girl taken, chained in a shack by a lowlife criminal and his son. The rescue was exciting and suspenseful, but one of danger and bloodshed. Mace’s German Shepherd was seriously injured in the action. Mace himself seems prone to injuries during his work with the police and on his own.

The book for me lost its momentum and rapid pace during a second investigation into an elusive, cunning, and controlling serial killer. He is skillful in hiding his identity and changing jobs. Mace, Kippy, and Vira are working together, with the self-conscious, bumbling Mace hoping for a romantic connection with Kippy. Kippy has bonded with the dog, and Vira seems to recognize her as the policewoman who saved her life.

I look forward to reading further books in this series. I would like to see more emphasis on Vira’s training and highly developed skills related to her work as a cadaver dog. She also has assumed the role of an attack dog. I hope to see the main characters featured more in conjunction with the police force. There were glimpses of a sense of humour within this gripping story and hope to see more of that. Recommended for anyone who is interested in the training of police dogs and their work.

I read The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton quickly because I just couldn't put it down. It grabbed me from page one and kept my interest throughout. Mace Reid is a great character, and his dogs are the stars of the story. Learning about cadaver dogs and their training was a bonus. The characters had depth, and the dialogue was crisp and engaging.

I am looking forward to more books in this series.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The story line grabbed me right from the start and didn't let go.

This is the first of a supposedly new series starring dog trainer Mace Reid. Mace is not your ordinary trainer, although he does his fair share of that, but his personal dogs' modus operandi is that of cadaver dogs. Specially trained to find the dead. His prize pupil is a Golden Receiver named Vira who comes into his life as a puppy and becomes his best decomposition finding dog. But Vira seems to have an extra-sensory perception which is put to the test when a daring, prolific killer sets sights on both Mace and his beloved pet.

Please put this one on your to read list for this coming summer and stay wary of interstate rest stops. Enough said.

I really enjoyed the background on training cadaver dogs. This book grabbed my interest at the beginning. The story line had too much about the bad guy, I just wanted more about the main characters and the dog

This is a fascinating story which taught me so much about the power of dogs to help in human endeavors. When Chicago Police Officer Kimmy Gimm finds a golden retriever puppy in a carbon monoxide filled garage during a police investigation, she falls in love with it but has to turn it over to Chicago Animal Care and Control where Paul, the head of the organization realizes this dog would be perfect for his friend Mason Reid, who is a dog trainer who works with the police department but who is also mourning the loss of his springer spaniel Amie. When Mason first begins to train the golden, who he names Elvira, he is astounded at her capabilities and accomplishments, all of which make for a compelling plot. I enjoyed the story and feel that I have a new appreciation for human cadaver dogs and the work that they do.