BOOK REVIEW - "CHRISTMAS K-9 PATROL" (DAKOTA K-9 UNIT BOOK 9) BY LYNETTE EASON AND LENORA WORTH

Who has placed a bounty on Dakota K-9 Unit's Tech Specialist Cheyenne Chen? Can her co-worker and friend Jack Donadio and his K-9 keep her safe? Meanwhile, back on the ranch, how will U.S. Marshal Lorelai Danvers and her Austrailian Shephard K-9 partner survive the triple threat of a blizzard, a murderous fugitive, and a crochety widower who isn't sure he wants a pretty law enforcement official interfering as he faces a familiar foe?

As usual, December sees a two-novella edition to give a denouement to Love Inspired Suspense's 8-novel, multi-author K-9 Unit series. "Christmas K-9 Patrol" fills this role for the Dakota K-9 Unit series with "Deadly Christmas Trap" by Lynette Eason and Lenora Worth's "Dangerous Holiday Manhunt." By the way, is it my imagination, or does the first of the two novellas feature the tech analyst? (Well, one of the four I've read technically deals with the rookie sister of the tech, but still...) 

Both stories have their twists and thrills, as well as compelling main characters and adorable K-9s. If you're a mystery lover, neither are who-dun-its, but the first is one where you see the chess game between good girl and bad guy, and the latter has you guessing the motivation until the climax.

The Dakota K-9 Unit was the best series I've read. These stories - especially "Dangerous Holiday Manhunt - seem to be tied only by common characters but not by plot. Still, they are enjoyable, and I recommend both the series and this pair of novellas.
 

LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE BOOK SERIES CRITIQUE - MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT (2024)

Some of my writing friends have a 5-star policy in reviewing fellow authors - if it's not worthy of a 5-star review, they don't review it. The purpose? To encourage authors and recognize the work it takes to make a publishable book. While I feel as a reviewer that I have at least as much (and probably more) responsibility to be honest enough in the reviewing to warn readers of things that will take away from their enjoyment, I give most novels 5 stars because they have done a good job writing the book, even if it's not one of my favorites. 

But this is not a review of the series, meant to strengthen the interest in a books. This is a critique. So this has spoilers. And I'll point out my opinion even if it is negative. And I'll go ahead and state - my favorite series is the Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit and my least is the Mountain Country K-9 Unit. No, I don't think it's a bad series - I gave all the books a deserved 5 star - but there were several small things that made it less enjoyable.

However, let me start like I usually do, and give you an overview of the three main storylines, though in this case, two are intertwines immediately. The focus is on the Rocky Mountain Killer (aka RMK), who killed three young men of a seven person group a decade earlier, two more just before the story starts, number 6 in the middle of the series, and "saving the best for last." The group (or most of the group) had mistreated and humiliated a young lady ten years ago, so someone is taking revenge. In fact, the Mountain Country K-9 Unit was created specifically for the purpose to bring RMK to justice.

The second theme is the suggestion Ashley Hanson, the  rookie of the K-9 unit, to train a therapy dog for the small town where the killings were centered, and the designee was named "Cowgirl." Well, by the time the first book ends, RMK dognapped Cowgirl and got her a collar with "Killer" on it, showing up on occasion to taunt the good guys. During that 6 month course, Cowgirl gets pregnant and has pups, which RMK puts in a place where the K-9 Unit will find them, so they don't get in his way.

The third continuing storyline involves the tech guru Isla Jimenez, who wants to foster care and adopt this young boy. But someone calls the adoption agency and gives false accusations of Isla being on drugs and putting the adoption on hold. Then, that person locks up Isla's bank account. If that's not enough, Isla's house is set on fire. And is that the end of it?

Here are the books in the series:

1. "Baby Protection Mission" by Laura Scott.
2. "Her Duty Bound Defender" by Sharee Stover.
   
3. "Chasing Justice" by Valerie Hansen.
4. "Crime Scene Secrets" by Maggie K. Black.
5. "Montana Abduction Rescue" by Jodie Bailey.
6. "Trail of Threats" by Jessica Patch.
7. "Tracing a Killer" by Sharon Dunn.
8. "Search and Detect" by Terri Reed.
9. "Christmas K-9 Guardians" by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee.

Allow me to say there are things I applaud the writers of this series for. Of course, each story has thrilling plot twists, great romance, and interesting characters. For example, Jessica Patch repeatedly introduces me to characters I absolutely love, and Rocco and Sadie in "Trail of Threats" are prime examples. Also, most series introduces you to the main stories in book 1, and on rare occasions book 2, but only give reviews and updates until at book 7-8 (maybe as far back as book 6), while the authors focus on their individual stories. Not so here. The RMK is suspected to be involved in several crimes that he isn't. And unless if you count finding the puppies in book 7 a wrap up of that storyline (I don't, because Cowgirl is still in RMK's clutches), none of the story-lines are resolved until finale book 8, where unit chief Chase Ralston has to deal with RMK's plan to kill his final victim, the person troubling tech guru Isla Jimenez, and a person who's trying to kill a mother of a young girl.

For those who love youngsters as well as K-9s in this story, this will be your series. Six of the eight novels and one of the two Christmas novellas have a minor involved (two feature teen-agers, and one is approaching the 9th month of her pregnancy at the story's start).

As mentioned, this is not a bad series, but I do have a list of things that took away from the story in my opinion. They may not be negatives to all readers. So here goes.

• What is the difference between Mountain Country and Rocky Mountain? Both are separate series with no overlaps, but it is the same geography, with one story in New Mexico but mostly staying north. By the way, the two series ends with the respective K-9 units becoming permanent, though via different roads (Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit earned it in spite of sabotage by overcoming the various battles; permanence was not a goal of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit, but they received it by being successful in their main purpose.)
• While this series has three good covers ("Crime Scene Secrets," "Montana Abduction Rescue," "Search and Detect," the infant on the cover of "Baby Protection Mission" doesn't look realistic to me. By the way, neutral rather than negative, Laura Scott starting this series with the threat of kidnapping is not the first series she kicked things off with that plot - she did the same with Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit's "Shielding the Baby", the immediately previous series - nor the last - she's launching the next series, Dakota K-9 Unit, with "Chasing a Kidnapper. How long a streak will this be?
• Some of the individual stories had twists that I didn't care for. I never care for stalker stories, where the victim has to play along to keep alive, as in the climax of "Trail of Threats" (otherwise one of my favorites). Then in "Search and Detect," Chief Chase Ralston three or four times made a good case on why he felt one of the two main suspects was the killer. Surprise, surprise, he guessed wrong. Sorry, but I thought that could have been done better.
• The top reason I was disappointed in Mountain Country K-9 Unit was what I sensed as a greater than normal dose of sadness mixed in with the happy endings. The rookie ended her story on desk duty after shooting the villain (who survived that shooting). One male lead started the story handcuffed being transported to where he'd face trial, and he was temporarily in custody at the end until they officially recognized his innocence. The cousin of another female lead's cousin found out the woman he loved and was going to marry was a serial killer and a thief. And one of the other heroines learned that her brother was the RMK and hade to deal with that. 

I want to close a little more upbeat, though. There were several stories I enjoyed. As mentioned above, Rocco and Sadie were one of my highlights in Jessica Patch's "Trail of Threats," (book 6) and while Rocco wasn't as fun when he appeared in following stories, Jodie Bailey did a good job of showing the promise of Rocco being entertaining in "Montana Abduction Rescue" (book 5). The RMK was also an entertaining villain, a cold-blooded killer who took good care of the dogs he stole.

I hope you noticed with the warnings of spoilers and my disappointment that you read this series, and that you liked it better. As for me, this weekend I'll be starting the third-in-a-row-baby-abduction-Laura-Scott-K9-Series-Kickoff, book one of the Dakota K-9 Unit series. (And hoping sometime they'll have an Arizona series.)

 

LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE BOOK SERIES CRITIQUE - ROCKY MOUNTAIN K-9 UNIT (2022)

I keep hoping for an Arizona series, but this is getting close.

Note - this critique will give spoilers of the series.

The main story involves a car crash with one fatality, one person in a coma and with amnesia when she recovers, and one missing baby. Other stories include a serial killer striking at various state parks who targets blondes (such as K-9 officer Harlow Zane in book 6) and Sergeant Tyson Wilkes working to  convince his highers up to make the K-9 unit permanent, in spite of several sabotage attempts.

This series includes:

1. "Detection Detail" by Terri Reed.
2. "Ready to Protect" by Valerie Hansen.
3. "Hiding in Montana" by Laura Scott.
4. "Undercover Assignment" by Dana Mentink.
5. "Defending From Danger" by Jodie Bailey.
6. "Tracking a Killer" by Elizabeth Goddard.
7. "Explosive Revenge" by Maggie K. Black.
8. "Rescue Mission" by Lynette Eason.
9. "Christmas K-9 Unit Heroes" by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee.

Once again, I didn't read the Christmas novella duet.

In the previous series, the broad stories are resolved in books 7 and 8, but this one completes one of the stories in book 6. My favorites are "Undercover Assignment" and "Explosive Revenge." The former one is based in New Mexico (the territory for this K-9 Unit is from New Mexico to Montana); not quite Arizona, but close enough for me to feel homesick.

While I enjoyed the series, there was one story I had a hard time getting into, a first for the K-9 series, that being "Hiding in Montana." Also, there were two different stories in this series where the heroine enters the book struggling to keep her business afloat, with her main business antagonist is a suspect for the trouble-making, and exits the book selling her business to that main antagonist (who was not part of the troublemaking after all) to take another job and be close to the hero. I may be one of the few, but that made me feel sad in both cases. 

That said, this series is full of great suspense and romantic tension. 

 

LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE BOOK SERIES CRITIQUE - TRUE BLUE K-9 UNIT BROOKLYN (2020)

In this critique series (all of which contain spoilers), I'm dealing with six Love Inspired Suspense K-9 series. Most of them have several covers. However, I wasn't able to do that with True Blue K-9 Unit Brooklyn, and the cover I'm showing belongs to one of the two in the series I didn't read!

This series is a spin-off of the previous year's True Blue K-9 Unit, which is set in Queens. There are a few characters from the previous series - Chief Gavin Sutherland whose wife still works with the Queens Unit, Lani Branson whose romance with Queens Chief Noah Jameson, and Snapper, a K-9 MIA in the previous series and is now handled by Lani. Other than that, it's new heroes (both human and canine) and new villains.

The story starts with a man in a clown suit giving a young child a stuffed monkey before going into the house and killing the child's parents on the 20th anniversary of an identical murder. Was the same fiend involved, or was it a copycat killer, meaning there are two bad guys to catch? Also, the Unit adopt an abandoned dog and her pups, with the goal of training them. But then a neighbor claims those dogs belong to him. 

This series consists of: 

1. "Copycat Killer" by Laura Scott.
2. "Chasing Secrets" by Heather Woodhaven.*
3. "Deadly Connection" by Lenora Worth.
4. "Explosive Situation" by Terri Reed.
5. "Tracking a Kidnapper" by Valerie Hansen.
6. "Scene of the Crime" by Sharon Dunn.
7. "Cold Case Pursuit" by Dana Mentink.
8. "Delayed Justice" by Shirley McCoy.
9. "Brooklyn Christmas" by Laura Scott and Maggie K. Black.*

* Indicates ones I haven't read. Until recently, I haven't read the Christmas novella duets because those follow the main action. Also, most of these have come to the Indianapolis Library when I suggest them for purchase, but COVID was messing up ordering books during that time, which is how I missed "Chasing Secrets."

I found this series well written over all. My favorites were "Explosive Situation" - where a K-9 Detective falls in love with the internal affairs officer investigating him - and "Delayed Justice" - where a reporter finds herself threatened by a man who's been dead for years. 

Needless to say, there are two killers. Penelope McGregor solves the case where her parents were killed twenty years earlier in "Cold Case Pursuit",  and "Delayed Justice" reveals who the modern day killer is, with an exciting rescue of the heroine. 

SERIES ON LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE K-9 UNIT SERIES CRITIQUES

You probably have noticed that I read and review a lot of novels from Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense imprint, and the majority of those belong to their annual multi-author K-9 series. After all, who can resist all those wonderful dogs?! So far I've read six series (or the majority of six series) and will be starting a seventh next week.  With that in mind, I thought I'd give an overview of the six series I've read.

Technically, this is my second review of a series. The first book review I did, in fact (posted September 22, 2020) was on this series. If you want to review it, click here. 

However, there is a difference between that and what I'll be doing here. This series is not of book reviews but critiques. What's the difference? In my reviews of the individual books, I go out of my way to avoid spoilers. (Anybody notice that?) My goal is to get those who would enjoy that book (or movie or album) interested in reading it and not ruining it in the process. Let me make this clear: THIS SERIES WILL HAVE SPOILERS! I'm looking at the development of each series, and thus cannot avoid spoiling parts of it. 

Typically, each series can be considered to have either eight or nine books. The story, which includes a major and usually two story threads that go through most or all of eight novels. But then, they have a ninth book featuring two novellas, which take place after the main stories have concluded. I have not read most of those final books. In the True Blue K-9 series, the main story involves the unsolved murder of the K-9 unit's chief and finding his K-9 Snapper. The other stories is the choosing of a new chief (which is one of the three brothers of the former chief, all of which are in the unit) and a restaurant that has a section for the K-9 officers and their partners called the doghouse, which closes down but is reopened at the end. One difference with this series is that it also has a prequel. 

The books in this series are: 

1. "Shield of Protection" by Dana Mentink.
2. "Justice Mission" by Lynette Eason.
3. "Act of Valor" by Dana Mentink.
4. "Blind Trust" by Laura Scott.
5. "Deep Undercover" by Lenora Worth.
6. "Seeking the Truth" by Terri Reed.
7. "Trail of Danger" by Valarie Hansen.
8. "Courage Under Fire" by Sharon Dunn.
9. "Sworn to Protect" by Shirlee McCoy.
10. "True Blue K-9 Unit Christmas" by Laura Scott and Maggie K. Black.

Note - I have not read the first two on the list nor the 9th one, due to the quickness of books going out of print and COVID. Less than 24 hours before writing this, I found the Christmas book, so I read this primarily to confirm my hunch that the restaurant reopened (it did).

My favorites were numbers 3 and 6. "Act of Valor" was the first K-9 unit book I read, and it got me hooked. It also included one of my all-time favorite villains - Javier Beck, a drug dealer who enjoyed being bad. But that one was topped by "Seeking the Truth." The heroine, reporter Rachelle Clark, basically had no family. She fell in love with widower Carter Jameson, one of the brothers of the murdered former chief. But Rachelle didn't just get the love of her life: she also got Carter's daughter and mother and rest of the family. After Carter proposed, his eavesdropping mother then told Rachelle it was time to go shopping.

Some of these older series may be hard to find, but if you can, they're worth it.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "CHRISTMAS K-9 GUARDIANS" (MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT BOOK 9) BY LENORA WORTH AND KATY LEE

As if attempts to keep tech guru Isla Jimenez from adopting, burning down her house, and a threat to her life wasn't enough, why is she running for her life with Veternarian Michael Tanner while being unsure if he's given the whole story of what's going on? Meanwhile, back at the ranch, can FBI agent/K-9 officer Cara Haines protect her sister from a ruthless killer while aided by an untested K-9 candidate and U.S. Marshal Sully Briggs, who has some... shall we say history with her?

 

"Christmas K-9 Guardians," part 9 of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit, consists of a pair of novellas: "Perilous Christmas Pursuit" by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee's "Lethal Holiday Hideout." The key stories of this series have been resolved in part 8 ("Search and Detect" by Terri Reed), but these serve as a nice epilogue. Both novellas have beginning to end suspense, and characters you've been introduced to in the previous books.

I recommend this book and the series.