Though the case is a hot mess, the criminals’ sublimely simple central concept is worth all those subsidiary homicides.
A second outing for Paterson’s preeminent investigators ensnares one of their own members in uncomfortable ways.
It’s not clear who shot Lisa Yates to death in a restaurant parking lot, but it’s clear who deserves leaning on: medical services headhunter Gerald Kline, whom she refused to file charges against for domestic abuse when he was living in her place. So Corey Douglas, who, when he was a Paterson cop, questioned Kline in vain, goes to see him now, blusters at him, and broadcasts hints unwisely around town that Kline deserves killing himself. Someone promptly obliges Corey by slitting Kline’s throat. But it’s not that big a favor since the killer also plants a bloodstained sweat suit of Corey’s along with the murder weapon in a nearby dumpster. Suddenly Corey’s in sore need of the professional services of the K Team, whose members include cop-turned-investigator Laurie Collins, tough and taciturn Marcus Clark, and Corey himself since he retired from the force. Released on bail, Corey’s free to join his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, and his fellow humans in tying both Lisa and Kline to an elaborate and extensive scam involving her employer, Ardmore Medical Systems, and a whole lot of other folks, including two hit men, one of whom incriminates himself in a way that would be conclusive if he hadn’t died immediately afterward. Andy Carpenter, Laurie’s husband, takes time out from his own long-running series to defend Corey, but the real fireworks take place far from the courthouse.
Though the case is a hot mess, the criminals’ sublimely simple central concept is worth all those subsidiary homicides.Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-2502-5720-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A tough heroine who refuses to quit uses her own troubled background to crack the case.
A private investigator from Louisville, Kentucky, reluctantly takes a job that may be the death of her.
Annie Gore has hocked her watch again to pay her bills, so when a young man wants help finding his long-vanished sister, she’s glad to take on the job. Max Andrews has long been saving up for Annie’s retainer, and although her resume mentions Air Force service, college degrees, and private security, when he meets her, she’s not what he imagined. Max comes from a small North Carolina mountain town; Annie’s own experiences with a battered mother in a similar town make her well aware of small-town secrets and grudges. Max’s sister, Molly, was one of three girls abducted years ago. In each case, an applehead doll was left at the scene. When Jessica Hoyle, the child of a poor family, vanished, her case aroused little interest. A second girl, Olivia Jacobs, was returned two weeks after being kidnapped, perhaps because she’s autistic. Once Molly was taken, an all-out hunt was launched, and the FBI got involved, but neither she nor Jessica was ever found. Annie doesn’t get a warm greeting in Quartz Creek, and poking around doesn’t increase her popularity. The sheriff, who’s Olivia’s uncle, is hostile, but his deputy is willing to help. One of the first people Annie meets is Susan McKinney, who makes potions and reads cards. Some of the townsfolk think she took the girls because she was moved by the tale of a witch who traded apples to the starving mother of two girls and then turned them into birds. Eventually, Annie turns up so many suspects that she’s almost killed in a meth lab fire and narrowly escapes serious injury from a shooter.
A tough heroine who refuses to quit uses her own troubled background to crack the case.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781250338686
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
The procedural emphasis continues to set this series apart from other dog mysteries.
A police officer and her canine partner search for a body missing from a gruesome crime scene.
A slasher has executed a St. Valentine’s Day massacre of his own in Fort Worth. A call from Detective Audrey Jackson summons Officer Megan Luz and Brigit, her K-9 teammate, to the scene, a suburban kitchen covered in blood. It’s not the way Megan pictured spending the night of her engagement to Seth, her firefighter boyfriend, but Seth has a dog of his own, and he understands the importance of K-9 teams. When Megan gets to the scene, poor homeowner Shelby Olsen is distraught by the gruesome mess but even more upset that Greg, her loving husband, is missing. She asks Audrey and Megan where Greg could be. The two don’t know how to tell her that, given the blood volume they see, it really doesn’t matter where Greg is any more. Eager to impress her mentor and prove that she’s fit to fill her shoes one day, Megan digs into the case of the apparent murder and the missing body. But all the obvious leads go nowhere, and Megan isn’t sure what’s next. Interspersed chapters adopt the perspectives of the slasher, who’s mainly keeping a low profile at a hotel, and Brigit, who’s equally concerned with tracking the killer and scoring some liver treats. At length Megan’s investigation leads her to the one and only possible conclusion.
The procedural emphasis continues to set this series apart from other dog mysteries.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-19739-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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