The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton – a Review

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Description:
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.

Review:

The Lost by Jeffrey B Burton is the 3^rd book in his Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series. Refresher:  Mace Reid, our hero, trains dogs (cadaver dogs) that can hunt for dead bodies. He works with the police, and Vira, one of his amazing dogs (Sue, Maggie, Delta and Bill), has unique abilities to sense things besides dead bodies, such as a slight paranormal element of sensing the murderer.

Mace receives a call from Special Agent Len Squires to bring Vira to the home of Billionaire Financier Kenneth Druckman, who was assaulted and his wife and daughter have been kidnapped.  A ransom has been demanded, with Mace and Vira assigned to trek on the extensive grounds around the mansion.  Vira finds the dead body of the wife, but the daughter is still missing; however, Vira finds the trail leads back to the Druckman’s estate.  Unable to prove to Squires, Mace now suspects the husband had a hand in killing his wife.

Kippy Grimm, our heroine and Mace’s girlfriend, is a homicide detective, and starts to work close with Mace and Vira to investigate Druckman and his Russian mob connections.  What follows is a wonderful exciting, tense thriller, with non-stop action, edge of your seat suspense, and a few twists along the way, Things will escalate when Mace and Kippy searching for the daughter and Vira (who is protecting the girl), find themselves in intense danger. 

The Lost was intriguing and tense, with a complex tale of kidnapping, murder, and the Russian mob. To tell too much more would be spoilers, and this is the kind of book you need to read to understand.  Mace continues to be a wonderful hero, as well as Kippy, who is tough,savvy and strong. Not to mention Vira, who remains the star of this series, being an amazing dog.

The Lost was another great addition to this series, and very well written by Jeffrey B. Burton.  If you enjoy murder mystery thrillers, with great characters and wonderful specialized cadaver dogs, you need to read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher