I received an early copy of this book from Netgalley. I requested it based on the dog on the cover. I fell in love with it when the golden retriever puppy who almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning came wobbling out of the garage. When the author wrote" There is a Grand Canyon sized chasm between those who like dogs and those who love dogs" he earned my undying loyalty.

This book is actually about 2 serial killers. Everyman has been abducting young woman from highway rest areas in the Chicago area. The Velvet Choker Killer strangles young women and leaves a black velvet choker around their necks. Are they the same person? Are they connected? I was surprised by this aspect of the story.

This is supposed to be book one of a new series about Chicago dog trainer Mason (Mace) Reid and I can't wait to read more . I loved the characters in this book. Mace is trying to recover from a divorce. His wife was one of those who only likes dogs. Obviously Mace truly loves them and has several. He does basic obedience training but his main focus is training cadaver dogs and helping the Chicago Police Department when needed. Mace is a self-deprecating guy with a wry sense of humor that we see often in this book. He's an unlikely hero and he is easy to relate to. Officer Kippy Gimm is a patrolman with higher aspirations who was drawn into this case by the golden retriever. She also is coming off a bad relationship, sometimes doesn't listen to her superiors, and shares a sense of humor and love of dogs with Mace. My favorite character of course is Elvira (Vira) the golden retriever. Mace learns early on that she is something special. There would be no book without her. These characters and the well developed killers add to this suspenseful page-turner. The final scene with the killer goes on for many pages and had me holding my breath

Rating: 4 great start stars

What a brisk opening salvo for a new series by author Jeffrey B. Burton. His book, “The Finders” is the first book in the new “Mace Reid K-9 Mystery” series. It starts with a great big bark, and the pace doesn’t let up until the final page. For some reason, I was expecting a cozy mystery. However, to my surprise and delight, this was an action packed thriller. It kept me up late one night furiously turning the book’s pages.

Mason ‘Mace’ Reid is first, and foremost a dog lover. He lives on the outskirts of Chicago with his four dogs. He makes a living by teaching dog obedience classes, and by contracting with police agencies to use his specially trained dogs to sniff out human remains. He’s had a tough year what with a divorce he didn’t see coming, and the loss of his beloved springer spaniel. But things are looking up. He recently adopted a golden retriever he named Elvira, and then quickly nicknames her Vira. She catches on quickly when being trained to find and alert when she detects human remains. If fact, she seems to have a sixth sense about identifying the crime perpetrators.

The police call Mace in to help find the latest remains of a local serial killer. Vira finds the remains, and more. The story rockets off from there. I am not going to say much more about the plot as its great, and I do not want to give anything away.

I’m looking forward to reading the next installment of this series. I want to see if the budding romance between Mace and Police Officer Kippy Gimm starts to bloom. I am wondering what new twists await Mace and his dog pack as things start to settle down after this roller-coaster ride.

I would recommend this to mystery enthusiasts. This hero is smart and irreverent. In addition, he loves dogs. The dogs are a part of the story, not just props. Well done!

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books; and the author, Jeffrey B. Burton, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3★
“Dogs, in general, live in a world of scent and hearing, and cadaver dogs are trained to detect human remains via the scent of compounds—unique odors—given off by decomposing bodies. Decomposing human remains release nearly five hundred different chemical compounds.”

Anyone who’s taken a dog for a walk knows what it’s like when their household pet suddenly stops on the spot to sniff the ground and then either freezes or starts looking around, searching. It can be hard to keep your balance if you’re not paying attention. And if it’s a big dog, and they decide to take off to chase some enticing scent, you may find yourself dragged in their wake.

Mace (Mason) has always had dogs. Loves them. His ex ’liked’ them, but that was not enough to keep her. In fact, it seems to be what turned her off and sent her to someone new. That’s about as much as we get of a back story.

Jack’s dogs are special, of course. He’s a dog trainer, and his own dogs are family. When he hears about a pup who’s been mistreated, he’s keen to find out more.

“While Paul brought me up to date on the golden retriever puppy I’d come to visit, I sat in his guest chair and steamed, like veggies in a pot. I didn’t give a damn about Granger’s childhood. In my book, cruelty to animals merits the death penalty. If I had my druthers, we’d hang the Grangers of this world in the village square like Christmas ornaments. And if this particular jackass hadn’t managed to punch his own ticket—had not Darwined himself out of existence—I’d have driven to Forest Glen and popped him in the mouth.”

Officer Kippy Gimm, who found her, thought she was a bit of a miracle. She also ‘loves’ dogs and has a special soft spot for this pup, who turns out to have unique skills, not only as a cadaver dog, but as a dog who can spot a criminal at 100 paces. (That might be an exaggeration, but not much.)

“Vira’s still a novice as a cadaver dog, and now she’s dealing with this other thing. It’s like she takes it all in, inhales it or something—disappears for a moment, inside herself or somewhere—and then comes back with some kind of . . . ‘insight.’”

The chapters are told from different points of view. Some are first-person for Mace, others are third-person about someone else – Kippy or the serial killer.

I’m afraid after the initial ‘event’, I began to lose interest and skimmed a lot of the rest to see where and how the story was going. It seems to have a lot of the elements of a good tale and is the introduction to a new series, but it didn’t catch my imagination.

The more I think about it, the more I think this might appeal to young readers, so I’m going to tag it as such. There are certainly some ‘adult themes’, as I think the saying goes, but nothing they haven’t been exposed to on most cop shows, I’m sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. I feel sure the series will continue just fine without me.

This is a very interesting story about a man and his dogs. Mason Reid, Mace, trains cadaver dogs. Not your everyday 9-5 job by any means. He is going through a rough patch and then he meets Elvira. Yes, the man loves some country music. Elvira had a rough start, but proves to be quite a dog. I think she just needed someone that would bring out the best in her. Grab a seat and get ready for a crazy ride as you go along with Mace and his band of dogs, Kippy, and some of Chicago’s finest as they work through some crazy times. I hope you enjoy this tale as much as I did. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Who isn't instantly sold by a mystery series that promises to be focuses on a heroic golden retriever?! Incredibly well written, with not just one mystery but two, this fast paced plotline was a quick read that I really enjoyed.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books for allowing me to read this one in exchange for my honest review.

Including this title in a few blog posts, including my June 30th release day post - https://booksaremagictoo.com/2020/06/30/june-30th-releases/ that will release on 6/30

Some parts of this book I really enjoyed. Of course I loved the dogs, their personalities and quirks! However, I really didn't like the main character, Mace. I think that might make continuing the series an issue. He came across as condescending and conceited. I think this was due to some of the macho comments. As much as I appreciated Mace's dedication to his dogs, I did not like how he viewed many of the other characters (especially the female one) in the book. In that way, this book felt very old school, tough guy PI, with the floosy girl hanging around. Except the girl in the story was a police officer and no floosy! And her bandage wasn't cute! I really would have enjoyed the book more if Kippy had gotten Vira and the story centered on them.

The protagonist Mason "Mace" Reid is adorable--not as cute as his dogs, mind you, but there is a vulnerability about him that makes him massively approachable. (Unhappily divorced, he's still going through the awkward stage.) He does love dogs. He trains them--obedience, search, and HRD (human remains detection). It's that latter niché that has him on the local police payroll, called from time to time to search for cadavers. Well, it's gross but necessary, after all he lives in Lansing but is frequently called to Chicago.

He already has two canine sisters, Delta Dawn and Maggie May, and a boy named Sue. When Elvira (Vira) is rescued from a near-death experience, he was chosen the forever home.

There is something extra special about Vira. Officer Kippy Gimm, who found Vira thought so too, and seeks out Mace to see about joining forces on a missing persons file she and her partner are working. It doesn't take long, however, before Mace and his sensitive nose-sniffing dog catches the villain's attention and ooh is he bad!

The author has given as much personality to Mace's dogs as to Mace and Kippy comes in a very close second. The usual fast-pace slacks just a tad when they get their heads together to bounce off perp and profiling ideas, but otherwise, the storyline drives the well-plotted novel with humor, human interest, snappy dialogue, and canine info, along with some nasty side-stuff from the bad guy. Who doesn't enjoy the perfect mix of K-9 with engaging MC personalities, mystery, and Chicago area location details you can visualize?

This is a wonderful start to what promises to be a wholly entertaining series. I read a lot of doggy stories, and I happily recommend this novel and new series. Must Love Dogs? Nah, this is fun whether you do or don't. 4.5/5 stars

What a fantastic new start to a suspenseful mystery series. The story revolves around Mason Reid and his K-9 dogs. Vira is his newest dog and, along with Sue (a boy named as such), Delta and Maggie May, steal the show.

What surprised me was that the book was not only a great suspense and mystery book but also really funny. The author has a way of bringing the dogs to life and wraps them around the the heart of the audience.

I liked all of the dogs but Sue, especially, stole my heart. I could just see him strutting around in front of everyone as he was the most alpha of the pack, including Mason.

Also surprising was how much information the author provided about the science of using dogs to find cadavers and how they are uniquely able to find scents that others cannot.

I’ll be looking forward to reading this series in the future. I can hardly wait to find out what happens next.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

As an avid dog lover, I was excited to read a book that featured dogs in the forefront. The Finders is about Mace, a cadaver dog trainer, who adopts and trains a golden retriever who has a knack for finding dead bodies, as well as, their killers. It was an intriguing premise, however, I could not get past how much it pandered to the male demographic. There were so many instances where the characters would say something infantile to elicit a laugh from the reader. I had a tough time taking any of the writing seriously. I powered through to the end. There was a predictable, yet satisfying conclusion.

Kippy Gimms a police officer finds a golden retriever in a garage filled with carbon monoxide during a routine check to the house. He is taken to a shelter where Mace Reid, a dog trainer that teaches them to detect human remains and become cadaver dogs adopts it and names it Elvira (Vira). Vira is a fast learner and after a while Kippy notices something special in Vira.
Kippy and Mace work together in the hunt for a serial killer of young women.
This was a quick enjoyable read with a little romance built in.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC.

The Finders is the first in a new crime scene investigation/mystery series from Jeffrey B. Burton. Mason "Mace" Reid trains HRD dogs (human remains detecting) and assists the Chicago PD with cases. After the police conduct a welfare check they discover a Golden Retriever puppy who seems to have defied the odds. Mace is contacted and meets with the puppy and decides her heroic abilities would be perfect for HRD training. This leads Mace and his "kids" onto the hunt for The Velvet Choker Killer-a serial killer who has been stalking female victims and into a friendship with police officer Kippy Grim.

Vira, the puppy Mace rescued, seems to have an uncanny ability to "sniff" out the real villains as Mace and Kippy discover the deadliest threat is much closer than they think.

Overall I enjoyed this novel (3.5 stars)-the interaction with the dogs is endearing and they are definitely a main character in the story and provide a lot of charm and some humor. There are some male-protagonist cliches that seem overdone to try to emphasize this is written from a male voice as well and that begins to feel a little repetitive. The unfolding mystery and cat and mouse game is well written to keep the action and interest going.

Thank you to the writer, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

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 is the first book in a new series by author Jeffrey B. Burton, and a brand new author for me. The book caught me right away. Mace Reid trains and works with cadaver dogs. Mourning the loss of one of his beloved “kids” he agrees to adopt a golden retriever. As he begins to train Vira, he realizes that she is quite special. Mace and Vira are soon caught up in a murder. Joined by police officer Kippy Gimm who rescued Vira as a pup, the murder investigation takes an unusual twist into the path of a serial killer who now wants Mace dead. I enjoyed the character of Mace. I liked that he was an average guy, more comfortable around dogs and home life. He and Kippy had great chemistry ! I loved the dogs! Being named after songs was hilarious and their personalities were a great addition to the story! Sue, he is SO freaking adorable...I have always loved German shepherds, and the author hit their traits bang on! The plot was great, fast-paced, and I totally loved the ending!!!

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the Advanced copy for an honest review.

I highly enjoyed this first installment into what should be a great series!

Mace has had it tough. He's divorced and has just lost a beloved pet.
He has the luck of getting to take on Vira, a new recruit in his cadaver dog training business. Vira is something really special, taking to the training fast. She's amazing as she saved Mace's life several times. Mace has become the target of a serial killer who will stop at nothing until Mace dies. The serial killer is such a crazy villan.

If you love dogs and police work, I'd highly recommend this book.

Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton is the 1st book in the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery, and my first book by this author. Wow this book was intense at times. I'm a big animal lover and I almost stopped reading it in the beginning, but I'm so glad I kept reading. Mace Reid has had a rough year, his beloved dog died as well as getting a divorce. He rescues a golden retriever, Vera, and begins training him as a cadaver dog. Mace has other dogs too. This book has so much action, like a roller coaster ride! So many twists and turns, I could not stop reading. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a fast paced mystery and dogs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dog lovers: this is the mystery series for you! This was a fun read set in the Chicago area, so part of my enjoyment of the story sprang from all the references to areas of the city and suburbs I'm familiar with. Even Batavia made it into the story!

In the first book of this new series, we are introduced to Mason Reid who trains dogs for human remains detection. His team of dogs live with him as part of his family and their relationships are so heart-warming.

As the story opens, Officer Kippy Gimm and her partner, Officer Dave Wabiszewski are called to the scene of a suspected suicide by carbon monoxide. The home owner is indeed found dead with his car running, but Kippy is even more saddened to also find a golden retriever puppy curled up dead on blankets in the garage.

But somehow, somewhat miraculously, the puppy c0mes back to life and Kippy falls instantly in love, cuddling it, and calling it Honey Bear. But the puppy is taken to the Chicago Animal Care and Control facility where Paul Lewis, the executive director of the facility, gives Mace a call--the close friend he calls 'the dog whisperer.' Mace makes his pitch to befriend the abused puppy, using a Milk Bone and peanut butter, and soon they are fast buddies and Mace has a new dog to train for HRD. Poor Kippy will just have to settle for occasional visits.

Several months later, Elvira, as the puppy came to be named, is well-trained and when the cadaver crew are called in to help the Chicago Police Department find the remains of the latest victim of the Velvet Chocker Killer, Vira does a stellar job. But then she does something shocking....

I really enjoyed these characters but most especially the intelligent and brave dogs. The mystery is intriguing and well-plotted out and there's enough action to keep the reader turning those pages. I would definitely like to read more in this series. Hope there will be lots more to come.

I received an arc of this mystery from the publisher via netGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. —Sigmund Freud.
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I am a huge sucker for any book that has dogs, especially if it is a Golden Retriever. That is what drew me to the book.
This is the first book in the new Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series and the author has done a great job with Mace and his dog Vira who specializes in cadaver detection and recovery. I had a harder time figuring out who the killers were and that’s a bonus!.
It was fast paced and enjoyable. I’d definitely put this in the cozy mystery category.
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If you are a huge dog lover I would suggest this book. It’s a little different as the dog plays a very big role. Sort of reversed roles from what you usually read!

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publisher for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the characters in this book, human and animal. I think it is a great start to a new series as it is well written and crafted.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will just start by saying that I am not a big fan of serial killers and thrillers based on them. I know a lot of people read them but I think they are a bit of a cheat for the author. Why figure out why people cross the line into murder when you can just create an evil genius outside the normal humans. I read this because of the dog connection. There are plenty of dogs and they do good things so if you like serial killers and dogs you probably like this book.

In Jeffrey B. Burton's The Finders, the first installment in the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery thriller series, this delightful introduction to a new charming series featuring K-9 dogs you're bound to love. It all started when Mason received a call about an abandoned golden retriever at a crime scene, it tugged his heart when Officer Kippy Gimm came to the puppy's rescue as the puppy miraculously survived a tough ordeal and surprised them all. That's when Mason adopted her and named her Elvira, "Vira" for short, and trained her as a K-9 dog along with his other dogs Sue, Delta, and Maggie May. Fast forward, a year later, Mason and Vira are called on the scene when Vira attacked Nicky Champine. Something drew her to him when she went on attack mode. While he's told to "put her to sleep", he covers the fact that he's keeping her, even from Officer Gimm. Later, he's on the trail of the Choker Necklace killer when he returned to Champine's horror house and discovered a live victim there among other earth-shattering secrets. While this happened, a serial killer known as Everyman is on the prowl and watches the scene before him. He covers his tracks and plans to go after Mace Reid and his dogs. As this goes on, Mace and Vira, along with the CPD to put the pieces together and devise a timeline of the past crimes. Little did they know, that Everyman set out a trap to lure for Reid and attack him and his dogs. Right under their noses, they discovers he was right under their noses and identifies him, as a shocking twist pops up when they piece it all together to solve this grisly crime spree and stop him in his tracks before he leaves town.