I'm a fan of this series and of Timber Creek Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo. While I enjoyed this one, the fifth, I have to say not quite as much as the predecessors. That is, I think, because of heavier focus on Mattie's romantic life and all the baggage she brings into her budding relationship with local veterinarian Cole Walker - I prefer reading about her relationship with Robo. As for Cole, I do have to wonder when he actually practices his trade given that he's always helping Mattie and her department, taking care of his two daughters and/or trying to cope with his ex-wife, Olivia, who suffers from serious depression. All that aside, though, the actual story is both intriguing and fast-paced. It begins as Mattie is called to the scene of a burning van. One man has been shot dead and another has been taken to the hospital. The dead man was well known - married to the daughter of an elderly landowner couple - but he was well liked and a motive isn't easy to nail down, at least at the outset. As the investigation progresses - helped along by Robo's considerable tracking skills, of course - a few suspects emerge. But just as one rises to the top, he, too, turns up dead. Clearly, these aren't your garden-variety killings; in fact, they have more to do with the vast forests that surround Colorado's Timber Creek region. And Mattie, Cole and Robo soon learn that there's an even bigger danger than they thought in them thar woods; will they all manage to escape unscathed?
Well, of course I'm not going to answer that - go read it for yourself. The ending also sets the stage for what I expect will be a theme of the next book - one that could alter the course of Mattie's life. Needless to say, I'll be in line to get a copy. Meantime, I enjoyed this one and thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima (Crooked Lane Books, November 2019); number of pages not listed.
No comments:
Post a Comment