The first half of this book was boring and disjointed so I almost put it down. I'm glad I didn't, because the second half was very suspenseful and exciting. Like another reviewer said, I wish he'd stop putting the dogs in harms way though.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
I LOVED the first half of this book so much! It was everything I was waiting for after reading THE FINDERS. It gets really tense and had me wound up in knots in the second half. I love suspense and edge of your seat but not so much when canines are involved because I need to know they will be okay. I LOVE this group of canines! There are some seriously dangerous villains in this tale and some bad things happen. I also felt the "good guys" made a couple of mistakes that they should have thought through more beforehand but I can kind of forgive that because of their reasoning. SPOILER ALERT: All the dogs make it but Maggie is maimed and I wish that was handled differently. I am not sure how much I trust Burton anymore and he is an excellent writer so I am not very happy about that. I hope in future books Burton will go easier on us and stop putting us through these dogs being in harm's way so much. Please?
Jeffrey Burton's second Mace Reid K-9 mystery is fast-paced and filled with tension and suspense as readers try to outguess Mace and Kippy. Are they asking for help from the right people, or are they walking right into a trap? This aspect of The Keepers certainly kept me turning the pages even though I usually knew when they were headed right for that trap.
Of course, the biggest draw to this book and series for me is the canine one. The fact that Mace names his dogs after songs is endearing. His dogs are Elvira, Delta Dawn, the rambunctious puppy Billie Joe, Maggie May, and the alpha male named Sue. (Johnny Cash, anyone?) Probably the thing I love most about Mace's relationship with his dogs is that he listens to them. There's another series set in Los Angeles that I'm tiring of even though the stories are really good. Why am I tiring of them? Because every time the man's dog alerts him to danger, the man ignores him (and usually gets beaten up). Idiot! There's none of that stupidity here.
If you're in the mood for engaging, fast-paced stories filled with talented working dogs and the human who trains and works with them, find yourself the two books in this series, The Finders and The Keepers. I'm looking forward to Mace and Vira's next assignment.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
Of course, the biggest draw to this book and series for me is the canine one. The fact that Mace names his dogs after songs is endearing. His dogs are Elvira, Delta Dawn, the rambunctious puppy Billie Joe, Maggie May, and the alpha male named Sue. (Johnny Cash, anyone?) Probably the thing I love most about Mace's relationship with his dogs is that he listens to them. There's another series set in Los Angeles that I'm tiring of even though the stories are really good. Why am I tiring of them? Because every time the man's dog alerts him to danger, the man ignores him (and usually gets beaten up). Idiot! There's none of that stupidity here.
If you're in the mood for engaging, fast-paced stories filled with talented working dogs and the human who trains and works with them, find yourself the two books in this series, The Finders and The Keepers. I'm looking forward to Mace and Vira's next assignment.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
