Showing posts with label search-and-rescue dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label search-and-rescue dogs. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

The First Death by Kendra Elliot

 
Deschutes County, Oregon

When Rowan Wolff was five, she and her brother, Malcolm, were kidnapped. Rowan was saved; her brother was never found. Now, twenty-five years later, Rowan helps to find the lost and the missing with her SAR dog, Thor. And every year on Malcolm's birthday, she returns to the forest where she was found to search for his remains. On one of these searches, she discovers the body of a young woman. Her death seems to match the recent murders of two other young women. Detective Evan Bolton, who's assigned to the case, suspects they might have a serial killer on their hands. And the more he investigates, the more convinced he becomes that these cases relate somehow to Rowan's and her brother's kidnapping.

My thoughts:  Kendra Elliot knows how to craft a compelling mystery with some very engaging characters. Her Mercy Kilpatrick series is a favorite of mine, which is where she first introduces readers to Evan and Rowan. But now they have their own book. And I loved getting to know them better. Thor, too, of course! Elliot does an excellent job of weaving Rowan's past experiences in with Evan's current investigation. And the ending, as the truth of the situation finally comes out, is both exciting and satisfying. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to check out The Next Grave, and read more about Evan and Rowan and their developing relationship. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!


Other Kendra Elliot novels I've posted about:

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Still Waters by Sara Driscoll

 

The plot:  Meg Jennings is a search-and-rescue dog handler for the FBI's Human Scent Evidence Team. Her K-9 partner is a black labrador named Hawk. They're camping in Minnesota with several other search teams for a weekend of water search training. There's also a trials competition for all the handlers and their dogs...a competition Meg hopes she and Hawk will win. But then, on the second day, Hawk alerts to the dead body of one of their competitors. And Meg finds herself one of the suspects. She and her friends must move quickly to find the real killer.

My thoughts:  There are so many reasons I love this K-9 mystery series! The setting is always different and interesting. The search-and-rescue work with the dogs is fascinating. And there's not just Meg and Hawk, but also fellow FBI handler Brian with his German Shepherd, Lacey. They make a good team; and their dogs are so endearing! I also love Meg's relationship with firefighter, Todd Webb, and her friendship with newspaper reporter, McCord. It's really the characters and their interactions that make these books so good. (The camping scenes in this one with Meg, Todd and their friends were especially fun.) And, of course, the murder investigation in this one was as compelling as ever. This series just gets better and better, which is another reason why it's one of my favorites. 

Happy Reading!

Other books in this series I've reviewed: