The Lost: A Mace Reid K-9 Mystery
The Lost is the next mystery from author Jeffrey B. Burton starring an extraordinary cadaver dog and her handler.
Glencoe, Illinois: A home invasion turned kidnapping at the mansion of billionaire financier Kenneth J. Druckman brings Mason “Mace” Reid and his cadaver dog, Vira, to this wealthy northern suburb of Chicago. Druckman was assaulted, left behind while his wife and young daughter were taken for ransom.
Brought to the scene by the FBI, Reid specializes in human remains detection, and Vira is the star of his pack of cadaver dogs he’s dubbed The Finders. After Vira finds the dead body of the mother, former supermodel Calley Kurtz, everyone is on high alert to find Druckman’s missing daughter before the five-year-old disappears forever. But the trail Vira finds on the property’s dense woodlands leads right back to Druckman himself.
With the help of Detective Kippy Gimm, Reid and Vira must race against the clock. Nothing is as it appears to be . . . and the red herrings could be lethal.
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Community Reviews
This is a relatively new series for me that I’m rather enjoying. It’s a little different than the cozy, doggie detective series that I often enjoy in that Vira (short for Elvira) is a cadaver dog and simply one in a pack of them. All of the dogs are part of Mace’s business of trained cadaver dogs that work in conjunction with various law enforcement agencies (city, county, state and federal).
I like Mace; he’s funny and kind of dorky and a devoted and loving dog papa, which makes him good people in my book. While Elvira is the star of the Mace’s cadaver dog pack, my fave doggie is Sue with Billy Jo rising in the ranks. I also like his girlfriend (and Elvira’s initial rescuer), Kippi. I love it when she teases him that the best part of dating him is getting to love and adore his fur babies😊
One of my fave passages of the book:
“If you don't have a dog--at least one--there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.” Vincent van Gogh
All of the fur babies are named after classic country/rock songs: Sue (M-German Shepard), Delta Dawn (F-Border Collie), Maggie May (F-Border Collie), Elvira (F-Golden Retriever) and Billy Jo (M-Bloodhound). Sue is the pack alpha, Billy Jo is still a puppy, Delta and Maggie (a tripod after the last book) are litter mates and Elvira was rescued from an abuse situation where her owner tried to kill her with carbon monoxide and now, she has these seizures whenever she detects a murderer. This trait and/or condition is what has actually made her a great cadaver dog.
The book summary lays out the start of the primary storyline and pretty much the first half of the book so, I’m not going to repeat any of that here. The book summary doesn’t mention the second storyline, which is revealed at around the halfway point. The storylines begin to merge around the 70-75% mark. Around the 85-90% mark, the story takes on an intense and scary edge until the kind of creepy end. I can’t wait to read the next installment and really bummed that it will probably be another year.
Another one of my fave passages of the book:
"Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards." Diogene
I like Mace; he’s funny and kind of dorky and a devoted and loving dog papa, which makes him good people in my book. While Elvira is the star of the Mace’s cadaver dog pack, my fave doggie is Sue with Billy Jo rising in the ranks. I also like his girlfriend (and Elvira’s initial rescuer), Kippi. I love it when she teases him that the best part of dating him is getting to love and adore his fur babies😊
One of my fave passages of the book:
“If you don't have a dog--at least one--there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.” Vincent van Gogh
All of the fur babies are named after classic country/rock songs: Sue (M-German Shepard), Delta Dawn (F-Border Collie), Maggie May (F-Border Collie), Elvira (F-Golden Retriever) and Billy Jo (M-Bloodhound). Sue is the pack alpha, Billy Jo is still a puppy, Delta and Maggie (a tripod after the last book) are litter mates and Elvira was rescued from an abuse situation where her owner tried to kill her with carbon monoxide and now, she has these seizures whenever she detects a murderer. This trait and/or condition is what has actually made her a great cadaver dog.
The book summary lays out the start of the primary storyline and pretty much the first half of the book so, I’m not going to repeat any of that here. The book summary doesn’t mention the second storyline, which is revealed at around the halfway point. The storylines begin to merge around the 70-75% mark. Around the 85-90% mark, the story takes on an intense and scary edge until the kind of creepy end. I can’t wait to read the next installment and really bummed that it will probably be another year.
Another one of my fave passages of the book:
"Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards." Diogene
