The Finders

“The Finders” is about Mason Reid and his dog, four dogs actually. Reid owns a dog training school and does “on call” work for city. His dogs are named after country and western songs and are trained as HRD, human remains detection dogs, dogs that find dead bodies. In a first person narrative, Reid talks directly to readers, gives opinions on events, and shares reactions as he tells the story. He is dedicated to his dogs and describes their personalities, temperaments, and skills. He is down-to-earth and practical. He worries about everything, his obligations, and his outstanding bills. He needs money for dog food and rent, but some people do not pay for dog training, and his business is less than thriving. Into this mix comes a new addition, a dog rescued from the edge of death, now aptly named Elvira, and it turns out she has unexpected and exceptional detection skills.

Burton structured the narrative as a casual conversation, as if Reid is talking to a friend over coffee with plenty self-deprecating humor even in the midst of danger. After being slashed on his left forearm and shot in the left armpit, Reid comments, “Thank God I’m right-handed.” Alternating with Read’s narrative is the third person account by a man who lives in the blind spots. Readers get to know the self-named “Everyman,” and know him well. Everyman knows killing is easy; thirteen-year-old gangbangers do it all the time. Getting away with homicide is the tricky part, and he always gets away with it. Reid does not know the threat, the peril, or the evil that pursues him, but readers know.

Burton created a compelling story complete with lots of blood, conspiracy, and viciousness, but there are four dogs, so that makes up for it. Reid’s affection and devotion to his dogs takes one’s mind off all the trauma, and makes the book both compelling and enjoyable. I received a review copy of “The Finders” from Jeffrey B. Burton, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books. It balances the strict Chicago Police investigation of a very, very evil person, with a casual, laid-back pursuit of “Everyman” by Reid and friends. I enjoyed Reid and his dogs, and I hope to read more of their adventures.

The Finders
Mace Reid K-9 Mysteries, Book #1
Jeffrey B Burton
5 Stars

Synopsis:

What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted?

Jeffrey B. Burton’s The Finders marks the beginning of a fast-paced new mystery series featuring a heroic golden retriever cadaver dog named Vira and her handler, Mason Reid.

Mason “Mace” Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection. He trains dogs to hunt for the dead. Reid’s coming off a taxing year—mourning the death of a beloved springer spaniel as well as the dissolution of his marriage. He adopts a rescue dog with a mysterious past—a golden retriever named Vira. And when Reid begins training Vira as a cadaver dog, he comes to realize just how special the newest addition to his family truly is…

Suddenly, Reid and his prize pupil find themselves hurled into a taxing murder case, which will push them to their very limits. Paired with determined Chicago Police Officer Kippy Gimm, Mace must put all his trust in Vira’s abilities to thwart a serial killer who has now set his sights on Mace himself. (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Mace trains dogs for all sorts of jobs, but his specialty is training dogs to hunt for dead bodies. He has adopted a new dog named Vira and she has an uncanny ability and is very good at her job. He has other dogs too and they all have distinct personalities and have jobs to do. I enjoyed reading about all of the dogs and how they all got along. Mace teams up with Chicago police officer Kippy Gimm to figure out the serial killer that has been creating havoc.

The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly through their actions and words. The author’s descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning and pulled me along at a breakneck speed. There was plenty of suspense contained in this book and I found myself hesitating to keep reading at times because I was afraid what would happen. I was very surprised who the killer ended up being, and that was great.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. And if you love animals you will definitely want to read this one. I am looking forward to reading the next book when it is released.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

This is a new author for me, and this book is a total page turner. If you love mysteries and you love fur babies and excitement then you are really going to enjoy this book too! Thanks for writing such a wonderful book!

I am a dog lover. Over the years, four dogs have been my companions. At one point in this book, THE FINDERS written by JEFFREY BURTON, the author’s protagonist Mason (call me Mace) Reid says to another character that he likes people who “love” dogs not merely “like” them. Many thanks to the source that told me about this book.

The story takes place in and around the city of Chicago in the state of Illinois in the upper Midwestern part of the United States (details for readers outside of the U.S.). Over a few years, several people have disappeared/died while their vehicles, for the most part, have been found.

As the story opens, police officer Kippy Gimm and her partner have been called to investigate a domestic disturbance. They arrive at a townhome from which a neighbor claims he hears a strange humming sound. The officers break into the townhome and find a dead male in the kitchen and his car running in the adjacent garage. In the garage, Kippy also finds a golden retriever puppy near death from the fumes. Kippy is a dog lover.

The puppy is given to the Chicago Animal Care and Control agency for adoption. A few days later Mace Reid adopts the puppy and plans to train her a cadaver dog. His best friend is Paul Lewis who runs the C.A.C.C. Paul tells Mace about the puppy’s history. Paul calls Reid “The Dog Whisperer” because of his ability to train dogs. That is Mace’s job as well.

In his entourage, Mace has a male German shepherd he calls “Sue” and two collies named “Maggie” and “Delta”. The name he gives to the puppy is “Elvira” which he shortens to “Vira”. The older dogs are all trained as cadaver dogs, which is a secondary source of income for Mace. Vira develops what Reid calls a “mediumistic sensitivity” that he names Scent D.N.A. He thinks the near asphyxiation has something to with that ability.

Several months later, after training Vira, Mace is called to find a body of a young woman. After locating the victim, Mace and Vira were heading to his truck when she breaks away and attacks a man in the crowd who was watching the police activity. This leads Mace, Kippy and Detective Eric Hanson on a chase to find a serial killer called “The Velvet Choker Killer” because of his habit of leaving a velvet choker around the neck of those victims he has strangled to death.

“Everyman” is the killer and starts stalking Reid and his dogs. To help find the killer/killers, Reid and the police ask for help from the Illinois Department of Transportation because several of the missing people were last seen at highway rest areas. At the IDOT, Jake Saunders, an IT person, and Bernt Landvik, Jake’s boss, are enlisted to help find any suspicious activity at highway rest areas.

Lovers of dog stories and mysteries will enjoy this book. I hope that it is the start of a multibook series. In my opinion, this book is in the top three of books I have read this year. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

GO! BUY! READ!

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton is a really fun start to the Mace Reid K-9 mystery series! I love books that focus on animals, and even though some of what happens made me sad, I still loved the focus on all of Mace’s dogs. I’m not sure that Vira could be as smart as what the author is touting in this book, but I’m certainly no dog expert and there are tons of super-smart dogs out there. While you do have to suspend some disbelief for this one, it was good escape read that also happened to really surprise me. I didn’t see the killer coming until it was revealed, and I loved having his viewpoint as well as Mace’s in the book.

The best way I can think to describe the writing is masculine, but I loved the way The Finders flowed and the fast pacing. The chapters got really short towards the end and it was great for building the suspense even further. There were a lot of things happening throughout which kept things interesting, and I loved the moments that made me laugh which there were quite a few of. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did such a great job. I don’t know if Matt Godfrey’s voice is what I would have picked for Mace because I think he sounded older than that character is supposed to be (although I have no idea what Godfrey’s age is), but besides that I was really impressed with his narration and afterward read a very interesting interview with him on http://horrorafterdark.com

This is my first time reading a book by Burton, and I love that he’s a Minnesota author since that’s where I am from. I was completely endeared to Vira right off the bat, and I also came to have a soft spot for Mace even if he was a little awkward. It made him more realistic for me even if the plot itself wasn’t super realistic, but I didn’t have any issues with that personally. I will definitely be looking forward to the next installment of this series!

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

First off, I’m going to note that despite the adorable golden retriever on the cover, don’t be fooled into thinking this is a cozy mystery. There’s nothing cutesy or cozy here. This is a proper mystery thriller, and it’s an absolutely corking good read.

Dog handler and trainer Mason Reid took on the young golden retriever puppy Elvira ‘Vira’ for short, after she barely survived her first owner’s malice. Training her as a cadaver dog, he’s astonished by her abilities… and a little bemused when she takes her training above and beyond and starts tracking down the killers as well as finding their victims. Vira’s skills put her and Mason on the radar of another killer, though, and with Everyman on the hunt, both of them will need all their skills just to survive to search another day.

I absolutely loved this story. Mason’s a lovable dork of a dog lover, and Vira is a proper character in the story in her own right. Policewoman Kippy Gimm and Mason’s other dogs play excellent supporting roles, and I didn’t figure out the killer until the big reveal despite the fact that he’d been around since early in the story. I would have liked a little more insight into how and why Everyman chose his victims, especially since we did get quite a few scenes from his point of view, but that was a very minor quibble in a book I otherwise immensely enjoyed. I’ll definitely be looking out for more books in this series and looking forward to seeing what Mace and Vira get up to next! Five stars for a fantastic read.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.

The Finders is the first book in Jeffrey B. Burton’s Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series. This new series features dog handler, Mace Reid, and his golden retriever cadaver dog, Vira.

There’s a killer loose in the areas surrounding Chicago. Mason “Mace” Reid, dog trainer/handler, and his golden retriever cadaver dog, Vira, whom he acquired under strange circumstances, are drawn into the investigation and they, along with Mace’s other cadaver dogs and Chicago Police Officer Kippy Gimm, become objects of the killer’s murderous rage.

The Finders is a great read. The characters are well-developed and believable with complete backstories. The dogs are a compelling element in the story. The premise and plot are unique and very interesting. Mr. Burton successfully injects humor into the dialogue and character’s introspection. I absolutely enjoyed this novel and rate it an easy 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to everyone, especially those who enjoy a good mystery.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

Loved the cover & premise! Mason Reid specializes in human remains detection. Mason had a rough year, he’s mourning the death of a beloved springer spaniel as well as the dissolution of his marriage. He adopts a rescue golden retriever he names Elvira & trains her as a cadaver dog. Elvira aka Vira is a special pup and the bond between them are strong and unique.
Their first assignment went well though ended terribly. Vira finds the remains of Kari Brockman, the latest victim of a serial murderer dubbed the Velvet Choker Killer. Vira senses the killer nearby, springs into action and captures him ripping out an eye.
Together along with Officer Kippy Gimm they captured another serial killer! This is a quick & easy read! The Finders is Book 1 of a series and I can’t wait for the next one! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jeffrey B. Burton, and Sara H. for a finished copy. This is my honest review.

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton is a great first installment in a new series featuring trained cadaver search dogs. Vira is an exceptional addition to Mason Reid’s team, who works with the Chicago PD.

Mr. Burton has created compelling characters and developed them so that readers are invested in the continuing storyline. The dialogue is organic, the plot progression is solid, and the story is wholly believable. In any sort of police procedural or P.I. mystery I find that realistic, believable characters are key to my engagement in with the story, and The Finders delivers!

I was fully engaged in this murder mystery. I love dogs, and stories with dogs always grab me. Vira in particular, is a very special character. While I enjoyed Mason Reid and Officer Kimmy Gimm, Vira and her canine compatriots stole the show. Mr. Burton’s plot twist caught me completely by surprise. Between the mystery, humor and plot twists, I was riveted to the end. The dogs “lovableness” and being named after song characters didn’t hurt either.

The Finders by Jeffery B. Burton is the first in what is hoped to be a long and enthralling series. I am excited when a new and legitimate talent shows up on the mystery/thriller scene. Mr. Burton and The Finders fits that bill nicely.
Mason Reid is a trainer of dogs with a special purpose. Here, Reed is training and asked to supply the Chicago P.D. with a dog specifically trained to find and uncover human remains. All the players in this exciting novel are well-drawn, interesting, and colorful. The Finders reads quickly and is a compelling story about finding and apprehending a serial killer. Sparkling dialog and a realistic portrayal of the characters combined with an authentic narrative combine to produce a well-written, unpredictable, and suspenseful story. A sure-fire winner.