Title:  The Keepers

Author:  Jeffrey B. Burton

Genre:  Thriller

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

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.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I enjoyed this one as well. The dogs are great characters, of course, but I like bumbling Mace, too. This one got a little bit dark, but I was fully invested, wondering how Mace and Kippy were going to get out of such a mess. I love how the author ups the stakes and the tension, keeping the reader in the palm of his hand, racing to find out what happens. I’ll definitely continue to read this series!

Jeffrey B. Burton was born in California. The Keepers is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

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