Review: The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton

About the Book:

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.

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-lost-by-jeffrey-b-burton

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724860-the-lost

My Thoughts:

Jeffrey Burton’s cryptic and intriguing opening scene hooked me right away. From the prologue to the finish, I couldn’t put the book down. The Lost is the third book in the Mace Reid K-9 Mystery series, and the author has again written a fantastic story that crosses the genres of police procedural and cozy mystery.

Kippy, Mace’s police woman pal and sometimes partner, is assigned to a high profile kidnapping that seemingly has nothing to do with the prologue scene (but you know will be woven into the main storyline). Kippy brings in Mace and his trained canine companion, Vira, and the sleuthing begins. The dogs are truly my favorite part of this series, so I was a bit disappointed that they had smaller roles in this book. However, that allowed for further development of the human characters (Kippy and Mace).

The Lost features a good mystery with a complicated plot, some humor, and a big surprise culmination.

About the Author: Jeff was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received his BA in Journalism at the University of Minnesota.

Novels in Jeff’s Agent Drew Cady mystery series include: THE CHESSMAN, THE LYNCHPIN, and THE EULOGIST. His short stories have appeared in dozens of magazines.

Jeff is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Horror Writers Association. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, an irate Pomeranian named Lucy, and a goofball of a Beagle named Milo.