Classified K-9 Unit is this year's linked series of
romantic suspense stories involving highly trained police
dogs and their handlers. I have enjoyed all the previous
books so I'm looking forward to this crop. Terri Reed
starts us off with a crime story set in mountain country.
GUARDIAN features FBI agent Leo Gallagher and his trusty
K-9 partner True, a chocolate Labrador.
Alicia Duncan is enjoying visiting a lake in Wyoming when
she sees a woman's body being dumped in the water. She has
to flee with her young son Charlie before the criminal gets
a clear shot at her. When she reports the crime, a special
FBI unit in Montana is notified. Leo takes the assignment
as his True is trained for water search as well as air
scent tracking. The unit suspect that this crime may be
linked to a recent gangland arrest gone wrong, which
resulted in one of their unit being kidnapped. The dead
woman could be a witness who had agreed to testify.
I have previously read about an Irish mountain rescue dog
trainer who taught himself how to teach his dogs to
identify the scent of a body under water. Here I see a good
account of the technique, with a diver to do the underwater
work. Not long after, Leo has escorted Alicia and Charlie
home and is securing the area when a quadcopter drone
buzzes over the house. Someone wants to find and eliminate the
witness. Alicia, a teacher, is widowed and is determined
not to get mixed up with any more police officers like her
late husband. Her elderly father agrees. Leo's not sure
what went wrong, but he thinks the little family deserves
all the protection he can give them.
I like the vivid descriptions of the natural environment
and how it can make searches slower. On one search a yellow
Lab pup is found hiding in bushes - his lady owner has been
killed. This is a sobering reminder that although we've
seen explosions, fires and dangerous driving, most of the
characters in this suspense story are ordinary people
living usual lives. I can heartily recommend GUARDIAN to
anyone who enjoys a suspenseful romance story. The
relationship develops slowly and can be read by anyone from
teens to adults. Trust Terri Reed to give us a romance in
which the dogs wear Kevlar jackets. I'll look out for the
rest of the series, with Sheriff followed by Special Agent
next in line.
PROTECTING THE SINGLE MOM
When a fellow FBI agent is kidnapped and a protected
witness vanishes, Leo Gallagher will stop at nothing to
find them both. So when he discovers a link between the
case and a single mother in Wyoming, Leo and his trusty
K-9 partner rush to question Alicia Duncan. Could she be
the key to locating the missing persons? Not if a killer
has anything to say about it. Someone is determined to
keep Alicia from talking, so Leo and his chocolate Lab
must keep her and her little boy safe on their family
ranch. With danger lurking around every corner, Leo must
work overtime to not lose another person who's important
to him.