04/11/2022
In Burton’s enjoyable third Mace Reid K-9 mystery (after 2021’s The Finders), cadaver dog trainer Mace is called to the estate of Kenneth and Calley Druckman on the west side of Lake Michigan, where criminals have apparently broken into their home and stolen jewelry worth a small fortune. In addition, Calley and their five-year-old daughter are missing, presumed kidnapped. Mace’s golden retriever, Vira, is tasked with following footprints at the scene believed to belong to the robbers. But Vira keeps returning to the Druckman mansion, leading Mace to suspect that Kenneth may be involved in the crimes. When the battered body of Calley is found nearby, Kenneth’s precarious house of cards begins to collapse. Mace, Vira, and Chicago police detective Kippy Gimm, Mace’s sweetheart, race to find the truth before someone else is murdered. Once again, Vira displays her unerring ability to sniff out the guilty party and fearlessly defends her humans, though some series fans may grumble that Vira plays a less central role than usual. Even so, the sufficiently complicated plot will keep readers turning the pages. Dog lovers are in for a treat. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (June)
Praise for The Lost
“Before you start [The Lost], set aside time to read cover to cover, have snacks on hand, and block out any distractions. The fast pace will carry you from page to page, anxious to see what happens next.” —KRL News & Reviews
"A brave K-9 . . . You just cannot go wrong with a golden retriever." —Pioneer Press
“This book has it all…the dogs, solid action and a story that keeps you engaged to the end.” —Red Carpet Crash
“Burton displays a too-rare knack for keeping the heat on while moving a complex story to its finale, all the while injecting welcome jolts of humor.”—Booklist
“Enjoyable . . . Will keep readers turning the pages . . . Dog lovers are in for a treat.” —Publishers Weekly
"An intricately plotted, fast-paced story. Tension is alleviated in Burton's suspenseful mystery by the dogs, who have well-developed characters, and by Mace's irreverent, wry humor. For fans of K-9 mysteries."—Library Journal
“The Lost is an exciting, fast-paced thrill ride. I hated to see it end.” —Gumshoe Review
“The Lost grabs you with both hands and keeps you turning the pages to the very end. Burton’s tremendous talent for storytelling is gripping, suspenseful, and spot on. And if you are a dog lover, this book is essential reading. I highly recommend it.” –Allen Eskens, Bestselling author of The Life We Bury and The Shadows We Hide
“A high-octane thriller that will keep you guessing until the electrifying ending. Exceptional character development and breakneck pacing. If you haven’t yet read a Mace Reid Mystery, what are you waiting for?” —Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish
“Obviously, The Lost is a terrific crime novel for dog lovers, but what I specifically found fascinating is how Burton masterfully peels away the layers of the villains’ plot. This is a howdunnit of the highest quality, a page-turner that you won’t want to put down.” —Raymond Benson, author of Bond, The Black Stiletto, and Blues in the Dark
“Burton delivers a thriller that’s not only compelling but offers a good many chuckles along the way. The plot is wonderfully twisty and includes a couple of villains who are unique and oddly captivating. Add to the mix a pack of cadaver dogs that’ll charm your socks off, a wry narrative voice, and you’ve got the recipe for a deliciously delightful read. You’ll savor this one, I guarantee it.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land
“Action, humor, and danger collide in THE LOST, the third installment in Jeffrey B. Burton’s Mace Reid K-9 mystery series. In a race to find a missing child, Mace and his pack face corrupt CEOs, the Russian mafia, and more bodies than anyone but Vira could handle. Burton brings each character to life—humans and animals—with wit and heart. A wild and satisfying adventure.” —Mindy Mejia, bestselling author of Everything You Want Me To Be and Strike Me Down
"Boy, this book has it all... Gatsby-like wealth, fraud, murder, kidnapping, ransom... a heart-stopping ending, and dogs. Lots of dogs. It shouldn't be so much fun to read about such things. But it really is." —Steve Thayer of The Weatherman
03/01/2022
Burton's follow-up to The Keepers is an intricately plotted, fast-paced story. When Kenneth Druckman, CEO of a financial group, reports a home invasion and the kidnapping of his wife and five-year-old daughter, the FBI special agent in charge calls Mace Reid to bring in his pack of human remains-detection dogs. Soon Vira, Mace's golden retriever finds the body of Druckman's wife. Then Vira follows a trail that seems to implicate Druckman in the crime. In a complex investigation with twisted villains, Mace and Vira, along with Mace's girlfriend Officer Kippy Gimm, search for the missing girl. Money and jewels are involved, and it isn't long before several Russians and a secretive millionaire are on the lookout for the missing child too. VERDICT Tension is alleviated in Burton's suspenseful mystery by the dogs, who have well-developed characters, and by Mace's irreverent, wry humor. For fans of K—9 mysteries.—Lesa Holstine
2022-03-30
A faux kidnapping unleashes a cascade of all-too-real felonies for Chicago dog trainer Mason “Mace” Reid; his girlfriend, Detective Kippy Gimm; and his canine charges.
Financier Kenneth J. Druckman’s reputed to be one of the wealthiest residents of tony Glencoe. When Belgian investor Audrick Verlinden confronts him with evidence that he’s been running a Ponzi scheme and demands recompense, however, Druckman faces ruin. Desperate, he stages the abduction of Eleanor, his 5-year-old daughter, so that he can explain his sudden losses by paying himself a stratospheric ransom. Things immediately go wrong, leaving Druckman’s wife, former supermodel Calley Kurtz Druckman, bashed to death and Vira, Mace’s golden retriever, making a beeline from the place where her body was dumped back to Druckman’s house. That’s as good as a signed confession for Mace and Kippy. But their certainty that Druckman killed his wife and arranged his daughter’s kidnapping takes them only as far as the moneyman’s own corpse, for he’s soon executed by a recently imported Russian assassin. Now that their presumptive suspect is dead, Mace and Kippy can concentrate on the other people who are interested in getting possession of Eleanor Druckman—and that’s an awful lot of people. Burton litters his opening movement with so many glimpses into the scheme’s not particularly complicated backstory that the biggest mystery is what day of the week it is. Once he commits his tale to the present tense, things move along much more smartly until the mind-bogglingly gratuitous final outrage.
Next time: fewer bad actors, fewer flashbacks, more dogs.
