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 - PACIFIC NORTHWEST K-9 UNIT (2023)

For your information. Regular readers may notice that typically my font style changes from column to column, but it hasn't been in this series. That's because while I'm writing reviews on K-9 series, I'm using the font Blogspot calls "Underdog." 

Another confession. I wasn't thrilled to see a series on the Pacific Northwest. True, it's more due to the politics of the urban parts of that region, not the wilderness that this series focuses on. Did the writers win me over? I'll get to that later.

This series starts out with a bang... actually, two. The co-owner of a hotel chain and her new boy-friend were shot and killed in the open. The co-owner is the sister of the hero of book one, a widowed father with an infant son. The new boy-friend is the former boyfriend of Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit Crime Tech Mara Gilmore, who's seen running away from the crime scene. Is she guilty? Or is she being framed. Of course, you have to read the whole series to get the answer to that question.

Two other questions. First, who stole three bloodhound puppies that were going to be trained to be K-9s? Second, which of the four candidates vying for two openings on the Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit is sabotaging the work of their three competitors?

Remember that there WILL be spoilers, as in the rest of these critiques. Here are the books in this series:

1. "Shielding the Baby" by Laura Scott.
2. "Scent of Truth" by Valerie Hansen.
3. "Explosive Trail" by Terri Reed.
4. "Olympic Mountain Pursuit" by Jodie Bailey.
5. "Threat Detection" by Sharon Dunn.
6. "Cold Case Revenge" by Jessica Patch.
7. "Undercover Operation" by Maggie K. Black.
8. "Snowbound Escape" by Dana Mentink.
9. "K-9 National Park Defenders" by Katy Lee and Sharee Stover.

Ready for a pair of items different? First, this is the first time I've read the Christmas novella duet. Second, I point out my two favorites. Why two? Well, I look at my year-end lists of favorite novels, and include those which made the list, which was two each in the previous four series. In this series, though, five out of the nine qualified! So my favorites were "Shielding the Baby," "Scent of Truth," "Olympic Mountain Pursuit," "Threat Detection," and "K-9 National Park Defenders." Out of these, "Scent of Truth" would be the top dog (sorry, couldn't resist), where the heroine is fighting a foe that looks just like her.

The main story in this series has similarities to the one from Alaska K-9 Unit a couple of years earlier. Both have a damsel in distress on the run, with the villain and his sinsiter henchman becoming apparent in the mid section of the series, and with a shining knight on his white ... uh, K-9 to rescue her in book 8. Yes, there are definite differences, but I caught some common ground.

My suspicion with the four candidates was that it was none of the four doing the sabotage, and all four would be accepted. Well, in book 7, it was revealed which of the four was trying to sabotage the others, and was dismissed. I still held to the thought that the others would all be accepted and an extra spot would be corrected, and I was right.

As far as the cute bloodhound puppies, which you see on the cover of book 7? Uh, would bloodhound puppies be that small when it took six months to find them? One Amazon reviewer mentioned they lost it when the heroine picked up all three puppies and ran. 

In spite of an easy mystery and some ignorance on how quickly puppies grow, this was definitely my favorite series out of those I've read (there were other series before True Blue K-9 Unit). And the novella duet gave me the closure I thought it was meant to do.

LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE BOOK SERIES CRITIQUE - ALASKA K-9 UNIT (2021)

Alaska K-9 Unit is the first series I read all eight of the main books (not counting the novella duet at the end). It also moved from the city where the two previous years (and maybe further back) were based into the wilderness, where it basically was since.

The big story was the runaway bride. A young lady (who it later was revealed was expecting), her best friend, and her fiance and his friend went hiking with a guide. The guide was killed, the bride's best friend was pushed off a cliff, and the bride went missing, and the men claimed the bride was responsible for the actual and attempted deaths. But were they telling the truth? Since this is a critique, and I had announced they will contain spoilers,  yes, it turns out that the groom-to-be was upset that the bride emptied her bank account that he wanted to empty. Other series wide stories include K-9 team assistant Katie Kapowski's family reindeer ranch being sabotaged by her not-very-nice uncle and Tech guru Eli Partridge trying to locate his isolationist family members.

The series includes: 

1. "Alaskan Rescue" by Terri Reed.
2. "Wilderness Defender" by Maggie K. Black.
3. "Undercover Mission" by Sharon Dunn.
4. "Tracking Stolen Secrets" by Laura Scott.
5. "Deadly Cargo" by Jodie Bailey.
6. "Arctic Witness" by Heather Woodhaven.
7. "Yukon Justice" by Dana Mentink.
   
8. "Blizzard Showdown" by Shirlee McCoy.
   
9. "K-9 Christmas Protectors" by Maggie K. Black and Lenora Worth.

As you might expect, each series closes with reintroducing you to the main characters of the series. Some are handled better than others. This one, though, seemed staged. Each couple entered for a Thanksgiving dinner in order with their K-9s, and they didn't mention that the heroine of the first book was to be the maid of honor for the heroine of the eighth (and hostess for the dinner). If this is the weak point of this series, then we've got a good series.

This series does a good job of looking at various aspects of Alaska, such as dog-sled racing, summer cruises, northern lights, reindeer ranches, and, of course, lots of winter snow. Additionally, while they do have typical breeds in the series like German Shepherds, Border Collies, and Belgian Malinois, this one includes other breeds suited for northern environments like Huskies, Wolfhounds, Norweigen Elkhounds, Akitas, Newfoundlands, and St. Bernards.

My favorites were "Wilderness Defender" (I absolutely loved the interaction between the large K-9 and a little kitten) and "Deadly Cargo" (the first K-9 story I know of that one of my favorite authors, Jodie Bailey, wrote). I will admit, though, that most villains don't stand out. Lance, the treacherous bridegroom mentioned above, is a notable exception.

This was a very enjoyable series.

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 - "TRACING A KILLER" (MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT BOOK 7) BY SHARON DUNN

Which is the biggest challenge K-9 officer Hannah Scott and her Newfoundland partner Captain faces? Outsmarting the murderer who drowned her best friend? Protecting Trevor Gage from the Rocky Mountain Killer's deadly intentions? Or convincing Gage he needs to be in a safe house instead of making himself vulnerable to his foe by protecting Hannah from her foe? Oh, did I mention they're on an island, where there is plenty of water nearby?

"Tracing a Killer" by Sharon Dunn is book 7 of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit. Dunn has done a wonderful job of keeping the tension going with not one but two villains who first struck a decade earlier but are alive and well (unlike their victims). She also does a good job in developing the protagonists as they deal with their assumed failures of the past.

The big story of this series is the Rocky Mountain Killer, who killed three young members of a rancher's society ten years ago, killed three more in the current time, and dognapped Cowgirl who was being trained to be a therapy dog, renaming her Killer. A second thread through the series is someone who sabotaged the K-9 unit's tech whiz Isla Jimenez' plans of adoption, followed by escalating threats. A lot of these multi-author K-9 Unit series are written where you don't need to read all the stories in order. Not so with this one. 

I have been enjoying the series. It isn't my favorite, but this set has great characters and nail-biting suspense. "Tracing a Killer" by Sharon Dunn is a good example of that, and I recommend this novel and the series.
 

FAVORITE FICTION - 2024

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

My annual favorite lists start today with fiction, followed by songs with non-fiction the day after that. I'll call today's list a top ten, though I'm combining two books from the same series as one of the ten. 

I'll wait to next year to recalculate the novelists I read the most of, but I've read 3 novels by one author, which puts them in a tie with James Blish in 6th place at 13. 

Once again, I'll put them in alphabetic order by name. I don't want the author who's in tenth place disappointed they didn't end up higher, but I figured the real reason is that it puts all on the list on a level plane for potential readers. So here goes:

1. "BLOWN COVER" by Jodie Bailey. A non-K-9 book from Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense. I've lost track on how many books are in this series she's written. This is one of two stories where the male character has amnesia for most of the book. 

2. "COLD THREAT"/"COLD VENGEANCE" (Ryland & St. Clair, books 2 and 3) by Nancy Mehl. These are the second and third of the Ryland & St. Clair trilogy. This series is one that I thought got better as it got further along. 

3. "ICE LAKE" (A Katy Russell Mystery, Book 1) by Jackie Zack. Cozy mysteries are my comfort food, and this one fit the need. Looking forward to the rest of the series. 

4. "K-9 NATIONAL PARK DEFENDERS" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 9) by Katie Lee and Sharee Stover. This is a two novella conclusion of the Pacific Northwest K-9 unit. Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense has an annual multi-author K-9 series, with the main continuing stories resolved in book 8, but includes a two novella Christmas wrap up. This is the first of the concluding novellas I've read, and it won't be the last. By the way, this is the fifth of those series I've read, and is definitely my favorite.

5. "OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN PURSUIT" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 4) by Jodie Bailey. Yep, the second Jodie Bailey book I've mentioned, as well as the second Pacific Northwest K-9 story. 

6. "RHATALOO" (a Takamo Universe Novel) by Kerry Nietz. This is a prequel to his Muto Chronicles ("Rhats," "Rhats Too," and "Rhats Free" are all out). This story has the man-sized rats landing on a primitive earth in the days of Napolean. 

7. "SECRET SABOTAGE" by Terri Reed. Like "Blown Cover," this is a Love Inspired Suspense story where the male lead has amnesia through most of the book. I'll let something slip here: those were my two favorites of the year. 

8. "SCENT OF TRUTH" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 2) by Valerie Hansen. In this book, the heroine is trying to solve killings and bad behavior from someone who looks just like her.

9. "THREAT DETECTION" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 5) by Sharon Dunn. You might look at the list, and realize I have 4 books from this series on my list, just less than half. Well, I actually have the first book on last year's list, meaning over half the books have the "honor" of being one of my favorites!

10. "WITNESS IN PERIL" by Jodie Bailey. The third Jodie Bailey book on the list. It takes place at the Grand Canyon, helping me feel homesick. 

Have you read any of these books? Any that you want to add to your list to read?

Tomorrow, I'll be looking at my favorite songs.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "THREAT DETECTION" (PACIFIC NORTHWEST K-9 UNIT BOOK 5) BY SHARON DUNN

 

Why is a stranger shooting at volcanologist Aubrey Smith, than claiming she has something that belongs to him? What is her sister's picture doing on a collection of five people's photos, and who is killing those five off? Will Aubrey working near Mount St. Helen's be less explosive than having her ex-fiance and K-9 officer Isaac McDane attempt to trying to protect her? (At least his beagle partner is adorable, as you can tell from the cover.)

This is the sixth of eight full novels (plus a pair of novellas) of the Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit series on Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense imprint. As usual, each installment is written by a different author. Also, you don't need to read them in order to enjoy them (I read this book before I read book 2) - they're written so it's easy to catch us with the important parts of the previous books, nor do the newer books spoil the older ones.

This is the sixth Sharon Dunn novel I've read (all Love Inspired Suspense, and five of them part of K-9 series), and this is definitely my favorite by her. I've enjoyed seeing Isaac and Aubrey work through their past, present, and future (I mean, any suspense on whether they'll fall back in love with each other by the end?). The plot has as many twists as the trail going up the legendary volcano, Also, most of Dunn's books I've read so far let you know who the bad guy is about halfway through; this one has a good, riveting mystery.

This has been my favorite series, and this book is part of the reason why. I recommend both this novel and the rest of the set.

BOOK REVIEW: UNDERCOVER MISSION BY SHARON DUNN

 If you enjoy Love Inspired Suspense's K-9 series, you'll enjoy this one.

Alaska State Trooper Maya Rodriguez goes undercover on a cruise ship where one slender, pretty brunette is murdered and another escapes the same fate. By the way, did I mention Maya also is slender, pretty brunette? Or did you already guess? Can she, with the help of her K-9 partner Sarge (also undercover, as a service dog) and the handsome ship Security Officer David Garrison (this is a romantic suspense, after all) stop the killer before he stops her?

If, like me, you like this type of story, you'll enjoy this. This is the third part of an eight part series. If you are familiar with these multi-author series, you'll know that this is a stand-alone story with references to other plotlines that are sprinkled through the series. If you're not, you can enjoy this story without reading the others.

I especially liked the relationship with Maya and David, especially her early concern if she should reveal her assignment to the security officer, since he clearly realizes something isn't being told to him.

I enjoyed this book, and I'm enjoying the series.