Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

Standing Dead by Margaret Mizushima picks up right after the events of the last book, Striking Range, and finds K-9 Deputy Mattie Wray and her older sister, Julia, in Mexico in an attempt to visit their mother, Ramona, who has been in hiding for the last few decades. Ramona was the only adult witness to the murder of her husband and the girls' father, Douglas Wray, when he worked Border Patrol, and she is still convinced the remaining killers will one day find her. Much to Mattie and Julia's surprise, their mother and her husband, Juan, have disappeared and appear to be on the run, but what spooked them? When Mattie returns home to Timber Creek, she finds a mysterious note left on her front door giving her ominous instructions, but claiming to be from "a friend of her father's."

Meanwhile, hunting season is about to kick into high gear in Timber Creek and the campgrounds are flooded with hunters from all over, but Mattie's boyfriend, Dr. Cole Walker, has been called out to one of the campgrounds when a pair of horses fall gravely ill. It seems to be selenium poisoning, but who would want to poison the hunters' horses?

When Mattie and her crew from the Sheriff's office investigate the area mentioned in the foreboding note, they discover a body left "among the standing dead," which refers to a copse of dead pine trees, ravaged by beetles. Of course, there's another note, and it seems someone wants to force Mattie to play a sick game of scavenger hunt, or else find her mother's body next.

Before long, an officer is shot, and people close to Mattie are targeted and attacked, forcing the Sheriff's office to work quickly with the feds in order to locate the mysterious letter-writer in the hopes of saving multiple lives. With Mattie squarely in the crosshairs of this deadly killer, she'll have to rely on her wits and her team, especially her K-9 partner Robo, if she has any hope of reuniting her family.

Once again, Mizushima weaves a thrilling tale revolving around Mattie and her partner, Robo, a whip-smart German Shepherd. She not only builds on Mattie's family and her wild and mysterious backstory, but she builds out the other relationships in the series, like her vet boyfriend, Cole, and her friends and co-workers at the Sheriff's office. I love that I am learning Mattie's story, even though I have only read the last two books. Mizushima never alienates a reader new to the series, but instead pulls them in and makes them want to learn more. Personally, I am a dog lover, so I enjoy reading about Mattie's work with Robo, but I am also a lover of mysteries and thrillers, and the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series is right up my alley. Do yourself a favor and check this series out!