Tags
4 stars, Book Review, dogs, Jeffrey B. Burton, mystery, series, suspense
About The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton
Mason “Mace” Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection—that is, he trains dogs to hunt for dead bodies. He calls his pack of cadaver dogs The Finders, and his prize pupil is a golden retriever named Vira.
When Mace Reid and Vira are called in to search Washington Park at three o’clock in the morning, what they find has them running for their very lives. The trail of murder and mayhem Mace and CPD Officer Kippy Gimm have been following leads them to uncover treachery and corruption at the highest level, and their discoveries do not bode well for them . . . nor for the Windy City itself.
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Review of The Keepers
Mace Reid is the trainer/handler of the Finders. In his position he gets into trouble with the bad guys. Really it is Vira’s (short for Elvira) fault. She is uncannily able to scent out the bad guys and does so in a loud and aggressive manner. Which draws attention to Mace.
This time, the bad guys are gangsters with suspicious connections. Events build, dead bodies pile up and eventually, when Mace and Kippy (the cop that Mace has a thing for) are being hunted for a crime they did not commit they will have to go on the run with the dogs.
The overall plot was not terribly clever. Despite the fact that several characters began as nameless actors, it was easy to figure out who was who. There are more than a couple of bad guys that need to be brought down, so there is a lot of action in the story. Some of it was quite violent. If The Keepers was a movie, I would not watch it because of the violence.
While the presence of the dogs helps to lighten the mood, there are some very dark themes. A psychopath along with mafia characters means everybody gets shot at. Everybody, including the dogs, gets injured. And the death of a semi-beloved character was heartbreaking.
On the lighter side, the relationship between Mace and Kippy is cute, and moving along at just the right pace. Very slowly. I have high hopes for this couple.
I fell in love with the Finders in the first book of this series. These dogs are oh so smart. They are also very protective. And they are dogs, doing dog things like chasing squirrels and rolling in stinky stuff. The thing is, they have a terrible job as cadaver dogs, sniffing for dead bodies. So they should get to dog things. And get treats. And get an even bigger role in these books!
Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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