Cloister Witte is a man with a dark past and a cute dog. He’s happy to talk about the dog all day, but after growing up in the shadow of a missing brother, a deadbeat dad, and a criminal stepfather, he’d rather leave the past back in Montana. These days he’s a K-9 officer in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and pays a tithe to his ghosts by doing what no one was able to do for his … brother–find the missing and bring them home.
He’s good at solving difficult mysteries. The dog is even better.
This time the missing person is a ten-year-old boy who walked into the woods in the middle of the night and didn’t come back. With the antagonistic help of distractingly handsome FBI agent Javi Merlo, it quickly becomes clear that Drew Hartley didn’t run away. He was taken, and the evidence implies he’s not the kidnapper’s first victim. As the search intensifies, old grudges and tragedies are pulled into the light of day. But with each clue they uncover, it looks less and less likely that Drew will be found alive.
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This book is one of my favorite types of stories, a layered mystery with clues leading to a bigger story arc that also includes a dash of romance. The author did justice to my favorite type of story. The fact that a dog is a main character is an extra perk… really. It couldn’t possibly be the reason I picked up this book in the first place .
The mystery is thought provoking, the characters are engaging, and the setting is beautifully illustrated. The narration was well performed and suited the rhythm of the writing.
I rarely offer up five stars for a first read/listen, but I was tempted for this book because I want to listen to it again already.
I loved this series from TA Moore, which pairs a sheriff’s deputy and his K9 dog with a federal agent. Javi is a bit of a tough character to like initially, but if you keep reading, you see that he’s all bark and no bite. Cloister, on the other hand, is a bit of a glutton for punishment. He’s got a knack for detective work but rarely gets credit for his insights, and he takes a lot of abuse from the people around him. And as these two come together, unable to resist a strong attraction, there’s an interesting mystery interwoven in the story. There’s a sequel, in which their relationship develops and becomes more balanced, and I expect there will be at least one more book to give us more insights into the Cloister’s childhood trauma. All in all, I found these characters refreshing in that they were realistically flawed rather than watered down to be perfectly nice guys. I enjoyed seeing them grow and let down their guard a little at a time — and 5 stars to the pooch. Bon-Bon (can’t remember her full name just now) really steals the show. I found it fascinating to read about all the ways she helped solve the crimes!
This is my first time reading this author’s work and reading a book involving K-9 unit. It definitely held my interest till the very end despite the “romance” term being a bit slim. Since it’s the first book in the series I am assuming that there will be strong feelings involved later. For now though it’s more of a hate-you-yet-lust-after-you feeling that transforms into you-are-hot-still-and-tolerable by the end of the book. Both men are so different, want different things in life, live different lives but they are drawn to each other like moth to a flame.
Cloister is a police officer who with his loyal K-9 Bourneville assists in missing persons cases. He is in his own words “a romantic at hear yet a complete doormat”. Despite his tarnished view of himself I liked him. He has that innate goodness that draws people to him. I liked his devotion to his dog he affectionately called Bon Bon, his dedication to his work. He is a man of few words and simple tastes. He is laden with guilt over his past and every person he is not able to find. It will be interesting to see how this “relationship” with Agent Merlo affects him.
Special Agent Javi Merlo is a downright jerk. Half the time I wanted to punch him. His treatment of Cloister in the beginning of the book, well, most of the time was reprehensible. But I have to give it to him, he is always upfront and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He never pretends to be what he is not. There is something good in him as is proven later in the book when he does have favorable thoughts about Cloister. But that something good is sooo far deep that it would take a lot of work to find it.
The case and how both men worked was interesting in their own right. Both men worked well separately yet together they came up with wildest assumptions that later on appeared to be true. I liked how both men relied on gut instinct and tried to find evidence to substantiate their ideas. The case was not gruesome just a bit convoluted, and spinning almost a decade, and involving many families that didn’t even know it. I liked how unconventional it was. All the secondary characters though were either self-serving or corrupt with the exclusion of very few.
So in the end I think I liked what TA Moore came up with. There is a reason why both her MCs are emotionally closed off – there is a light at the end of the tunnel for that love story, there are many past hurts that need to be uncovered. Javi did say he would have to get used to the dog. We will see what’s going to happen next. I recommend it.
Hey. There’s a dog. You knew I was going to love this,
because there was a dog.
There are plenty of other points of awesome, such as main
character Cloister Witte. I’ve never seen a character named Cloister before. Having
a character named Cloister didn’t make it any harder for me to relate to him. He
and his dog were everything I want in a book hero – they do their thing, they
don’t spend a lot of time wringing their hands about doing their thing, and they
save they day.
The other lead, Javi, is a little less my speed. When the
blurb describes him as antagonistic
they’re not joking. I kept hoping he would fall down the stairs and break a
bone or something, so Cloister could find someone decent. I’m sure he has his
reasons for being such an ass, and here’s the thing –
With the way Moore wrote this book, I trust that Javi’s
reasons will be revealed just as soon as the time is right, and not a minute before.
This book deals with a lot of factors that are difficult to
unpack. Some readers might find some aspects a little difficult. There was
definitely a lot of classism, especially from Javi, and it’s good to see that
addressed in fiction. I personally didn’t find anything to be too much or thrown
in for shock or titillation. I loved every bit of this book and couldn’t put it
down.
Then again, I have a bias. There’s a dog, who is a German
Shepherd, and so I was always going to love it. Sorry not sorry. I think you
will too, though.
I really enjoyed the book! Both of the main characters were likable and interesting. The two characters were law enforcement employees which I found particularly fascinating. This first book makes you want to read the next if only to find out what happens between them.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/bone-to-pick-t-a-moore/
In my meager experience with Romantic Suspense I have always found books much more focused on the romance than on the mystery. In some cases, the last was almost incidental… This book is just the opposite, so if you are looking for more romance… look somewhere else.
In this book we meet Cloister, a police officer who is a member of the K9 Unit. His dog is called Bourneville and she never leaves his shadow. He is kind of a rebel. On the other hand we have Javier, an FBI agent who needs to control everything and everyone. For obvious reasons, both main characters tend to clash against each other very often. They are forced to work together when a little kid is kidnapped and they need to figure out who took him before it’s too late.
I wasn’t expecting such a huge focus on the mystery. It has been a very welcome change of pace for a Romantic Suspense book. If you are a fan of C.S.I. kind of shows you will enjoy the mystery in this book. More or less follows the same pattern. The author throws several pieces of evidence, adds a bunch of suspects and lets the reader accompany the main characters in their quest to save the kid. I need to confess that I wasn’t even closed to solve it before they did… It doesn’t help that the author cramps the story with many characters who don’t amount to anything. Or maybe it was just her technique to take our attention from the real suspicious ones.
Even though I liked the mystery quite a lot, there is sometinhg that is still bugging me. The kid disappeared from a vacational complex to let people with money be closer to the Nature. That complex is a known former weed farm run by the same guy who dealt with the drug… Maybe I’m not being fair, but I can’t believe families with pedigree would choose such a place to spend part of their holidays with their kids. Too snob? I just think parents tend to be extra-careful with that kind of things…
I have nothing special to say about the characters. Both of them are OK. Nothing remarkable about Cloister or Javi on their own. When they are together, the fun begins!! The attraction between them is obvious since the first moment, but they can’t stand each other. They respect each other just enough to make their jobs, but Javi doesn’t miss an opportunity to belittle the K9 Unit and Cloister is more than happy to put upside-down the perfectly manufactured rutine of the FBI Agent.
With that kind of relationship, it is no surprise that the sex scenes happen when the reader least expects them. They are not bad, per se. My main complaint is that Cloister sometimes feels out of character during the intimate encounters. There is actually no Romance in this book. It’s just a couple of very naked moments and then both of them go their separate ways. I missed a good talk to be honest with each other and with themselves, but this is the first book of a saga, so… They’ll get there…
At least I hope there is a second book coming. This one was published in 2017 and the author has yet to announce the sequel. Very enjoyable book that reminded me of the best part of the Cut & Run saga…