Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima

 

First Line: Weather could make or break a search and rescue mission, and the wind would play havoc with the scent trail today.

 

Deputy Mattie (Cobb) Wray and her dog Robo are summoned to Washington's Olympic Peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity's missing child. Mattie doesn't really want to go-- it's only a week before her wedding-- but she and Robo are needed.

 

The mission is a difficult one: dense forest, rain, and unfriendly locals all combine to hamper progress, and when one of the SAR dogs becomes ill, Mattie's fiancé, Cole Walker, suspects poison and quickly joins the team as veterinary support. 

As the teams search, secrets come to light. The missing child was kidnapped, and the search becomes a full-blown crime scene. The missing child has to be found before it's too late.

~

This latest installment of Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 series is a nail-biter. Putting Mattie, Robo, and Cole in the unfamiliar territory of Washington's Olympic Peninsula certainly ratchets the suspense. The mystery is a strong one, too, so strong that I misidentified the bad guy, which doesn't happen often. 

But as good as the setting and mystery are, it's the characters that I always come back for in this series, and Gathering Mist is no exception. Of course, there are the wedding and family dynamics to deal with because there just has to be at least one person opposed to Mattie and Cole's wedding, but there's always more. 

Mattie and Cole's relationship and the relationships between Mattie and Cole's daughters and their indispensable housekeeper are very important, but I'm always drawn first to Mattie's relationship with Robo. Mizushima does such an excellent job of showing readers what goes into the training of search and rescue dogs and their handlers. Over and over again, this author shows me how indescribably valuable and wonderful these dogs are. But what touches me even more is how the closer Mattie gets to Robo, the harder it is to let him do his job. They get into so many dangerous situations that Mattie is afraid of losing Robo-- and readers certainly can't blame her.

If you enjoy atmospheric, compelling mysteries chockful of wonderful two- and four-legged characters, the Timber Creek K-9 series is one you should read. Due to character development, I would recommend that you begin with the first book, Killing Trail.

Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781639108954

Crooked Lane Books © 2024

eBook, 256 pages

 

Police Procedural, #9 Timber Creek K-9

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Striking Range by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: Today Deputy Mattie Cobb could interrogate the man who had once tried to kill her.

 

Deputy Mattie Cobb traveled to the Colorado state prison to find out if the man who tried to kill her also killed her father thirty years ago. But when she and cold case detective Jim Hauck show up for the interview, the man is found dead in his cell. After going through his things, Mattie can find only one clue: a marked map showing the rugged Redstone Ridge area right outside Timber Creek.

Mattie's used to working with veterinarian Cole Walker, but Cole is busy with the first litter of puppies sired by her K-9 partner Robo. She and Robo have barely started their search when they're called away to a nearby campground where the body of a young woman has been found. Identification of the deceased woman points to her recently having given birth, but no baby is to be found.

Mattie and her fellow police officers believe finding the young woman's killer will also find the baby. Unfortunately, they must begin their search in a storm that leaves the mountains covered in ice and snow. When Cole Walker goes missing, Mattie and Robo kick into high gear. Mattie believes Cole is stranded with a killer, and she's not about to let him go it alone.

~

 

Time can certainly fly when you're reading an exciting series filled with characters that you've grown to love. It's hard for me to believe that this Timber Creek K-9 series is already on book seven. Readers have been following Mattie Cobb's professional life as a police officer and K-9 handler as well as her training of Robo and her dealing with the emotional baggage of her personal life. We've also had much the same journey with veterinarian Cole Walker as he's dealt with divorce, raising two young daughters, and his busy practice. 

Mizushima does an excellent job of showing readers just what is involved in being a K-9 handler and keeping working dogs like Robo in top form. The relationship between Mattie and Robo is one of the reasons why I enjoy this series. I'm not one to care for much romance in my mysteries, but somehow this author manages to continue to develop a relationship between Mattie and Cole that brings real depth to both characters (and doesn't make me want to roll my eyes). Actually, it's been known to make me smile.

Even though I found the bad guy to be rather easily guessed, I still enjoyed the journey to this person's unmasking. I like watching the Timber Creek sheriff's department work together to get things done, and Striking Range wouldn't be another strong story in this series without an exciting chase/search/rescue high in the mountains.

If you're a reader who enjoys reading strong mysteries involving working dogs, the great outdoors, and an intelligent cast, you need to read Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 series. You can read Striking Range as a standalone, but if you love character development, I'd advise you to start with the first book, Killing Trail-- and I won't be at all surprised if you then join me in my annual visit to the Colorado Rockies.

Striking Range by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781643857473

Crooked Lane Books © 2021

eBook, 288 pages

 

Police Procedural/Working Dogs, #7 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Hanging Falls by Margaret Mizushima

First Lines: Friday afternoon, mid-July. A stitch in her side plagued Deputy Mattie Cobb as she jogged uphill, telling her that her level of anxiety and this form of exercise didn't mix.

When Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo accompany a Fish and Game officer up into the high country around Hanging Falls to check for trail damage, they find a body floating at the edge of a lake. When Robo catches the scent of a homeless man living in the forest, this person rapidly becomes suspect number one.

With the help of local veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie identifies the victim and finds herself visiting some new residents to the Timber Creek area: an odd religious cult whose dress and manners hark back to the nineteenth century. As clues are gathered and the list of suspects grows, Mattie has a dream come true. She is visited by members of her long-lost family, and she's hoping that they will be able to shed light on the night when she was abducted at the age of two. 

Hanging Falls, the sixth book in Margaret Mizushima's enjoyable Timber Creek K-9 series, has more of what I always look forward to: wonderful outdoor scenes in the high country of Colorado, animals like Robo to enjoy, and catching up with some of my favorite fictional characters. 

I found the mystery in this book to be a bit pedestrian, but perhaps that's because I've read Betty Webb's Lena Jones mysteries. What is more important (besides those riveting scenes up in the mountains) is Mattie finding out more about what really happened during her traumatic childhood.

I've enjoyed this series, not just for its animals and high country action, but also because of its characters. Mattie's journey to put her past behind her touches the heart as does Cole Walker's attempts to balance a very busy veterinary practice with his home life and two daughters. He's trying very hard to be there for his two girls after they were abandoned by their mother. Mattie's fellow police officers also play important roles in the stories.

I'm slowly recuperating from my trek up to Hanging Falls, and now it's time to wait once more for Mattie and Robo's next adventure.

Hanging Falls by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781643854465

Crooked Lane Books © 2020

eBook, 288 pages

 

Police Procedural, #6 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: Tonight, the stage had been set for love.

When a bomb explodes and the body of outfitter Nate Fletcher is found shot through the heart outside a community dance in Timber Creek, Colorado, Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are part of the investigation.

The investigation takes them to the ranch of Doyle Redman, whose daughter is Nate's widow, but before they get much further, they receive an emergency call from a man who's been shot in the mountains. Mattie and Robo are first on the scene, and both are disconcerted when they hear the ominous growl of a large predator they've never heard before. What on earth is roaming the mountains around Timber Creek?

The animal must be tracked and caught before anyone is hurt, and as new players emerge, Mattie begins to understand the true danger that involves everyone in Timber Creek.

Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 mysteries set in the high mountains of Colorado continue to impress me with their strong mysteries and charismatic main characters. She certainly knows how to set her stage: the tracking scenes in the high country had me on red alert, listening for the deep-pitched, rumbling growl of something that wanted me for dinner as I turned the pages.

The two main characters, Deputy Mattie Cobb and veterinarian Cole Walker continue to grow and change. Mattie lived through some traumatic incidents in her childhood and she's still working through the aftermath. In Tracking Game, Cole's two daughters are learning more than they want to know about the confusing and often devastating illness of depression. The secondary characters are solid, and I like the way the entire community reaches out to help others.

There are some excellent twists and turns in the plot of Tracking Game, so if you're in the mood for a strong mystery with three intelligent, likable lead characters (Mattie, Cole, and Robo) who live and work in a vivid high country setting, pick up a copy of Mizushima's latest Timber Creek K-9 novel.

Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781643851358

Crooked Lane Books © 2019

eBook, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #5 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: If Deputy Mattie Cobb had eaten supper at home with her K-9 partner, Robo, she wouldn't have noticed the rig parked illegally across the street from the Main Street Diner.

When a charred body is found in a shallow grave up on Redstone Ridge, Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo, are called in to lead the investigation. As the pair continue to gather evidence in the mountainous terrain, more gruesome discoveries are made, but none will shock Mattie as much as when the first body is identified.

Then the killer begins playing a deadly cat and mouse game with Mattie. She could very well be the next victim on the killer's list, but there are two who will fight to the last to make sure that doesn't happen: Robo and veterinarian Cole Walker.

Margaret Mizushima's Burning Ridge is the fourth book in her Timber Creek K-9 mystery series, a series which relies on good strong mysteries (most of which take place in the glorious Colorado outdoors), the relationships between the characters, and exciting scenes that put readers right in the middle of the action. A theme throughout the series has been Mattie coming to terms with her difficult past, and Burning Ridge brings this theme to fruition. Not only does Mattie have to deal with her past, she also has to come to the realization that she now has people around her who truly care about her, people whom she can trust. It's how Mattie deals with these emotional questions that adds so much to this book (and the entire series).

After the last book, Hunting Hour, I was hopeful that Mizushima would steer clear of any further child jeopardy, and I'm happy to report that she did. She still delivers a tightly woven, exciting mystery that takes place in the mountains of Colorado. Every time Mattie had to saddle up a horse to head up to remote Redstone Ridge, I was reminded of some of my own trail rides. Mizushima can pull you right out into the great outdoors, which is something I enjoy. In many respects, I'm reminded of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, so if you're missing Anna as much as I am, I'd like to recommend the Timber Creek K-9 series. Good characters, good setting, good mysteries. Good stuff!

Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781683317791

Crooked Lane Books © 2018

eBook, 279 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: "Whom do you trust, Mattie?" 

Deputy Mattie Cobb is having a difficult time dealing with issues from her past, and as a result, she's withdrawn from veterinarian Cole Walker and his family. Instead, Mattie focuses on work and on training her K-9 partner, Robo. Shortly after Robo and Mattie find the body of a missing school girl, another young girl goes missing, and this time it hits hard. The missing girl is one of Cole's daughters, and there's nothing Mattie won't do to find her. 

Deputy Mattie Cobb is more emotionally attached to her K-9 partner, Robo, than she is to anyone or anything else, and it's this attachment that makes them one of the best teams in crime fiction. However, in this third book in Mizushima's riveting series, Mattie is much too emotionally involved to be objective, and readers get to see her coming off the rails in her frenzy to find Cole's daughter. 

One of the reasons why Mattie loses her objectivity is because she really doesn't understand mental illness-- one of the issues Mizushima handles so well in Hunting Hour-- and this stresses the importance of proper training for all police officers, not just the four-legged ones. 

As in the previous two books, Hunting Hour is a superb look at working dogs in a police department, their training, what they're capable of doing, and how those capabilities could expand. The book also has the author's trademark action sequences that keep readers glued to the page, and the rich relationships between the main characters that make them so easy to care about.

Evidently my whodunit radar was in fine fettle when I read this because I spotted the villain immediately. Perhaps it's the work I did in a mental health institution so many years ago. I really don't know. Be that as it may, I enjoyed Hunting Hour, and was happy to see a small hint at the end that leads me to believe that Mattie and Robo could have new challenges in the future. I really think a new direction is needed because the series has been heavy on child jeopardy. After all, Cole's daughters have had more than their share of terror!

If you're a fan of small town Colorado settings, action that gets your adrenaline pumping, solid mysteries, wonderful dogs, and a fine cast of characters, you're in for a treat with Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 series. Start at the beginning with Killing Trail! 

Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima

eISBN: 9781683312789

Crooked Lane Books © 2017

eBook, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #3 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: A bead of sweat rolled down Deputy Mattie Cobb's face beneath the plastic guard on her helmet.

When a search and rescue mission for Deputy Ken Brody's girlfriend turns into an overnight vigil over a dead body in the snowy mountains, Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo find themselves in the middle of a determined killer's stalking ground. There's only one thing for the two to do: find the killer before any more people die.

Reading Margaret Mizushima's first book, Killing Trail, hooked me on her characters and the setting. I thought her debut had a couple of minor glitches, but looked forward to her second book. I am thrilled to say that Stalking Ground addresses almost all those points I noticed in the first, and in addition is an even stronger, tighter, more thrilling read.

Mattie's relationship with her K-9 partner Robo is a very important part of the book (and the series)-- and not just because of the mysteries they solve. A training session for the two of them in Denver is worked seamlessly into the narrative, and later on Mizushima introduces us to another canine character, Bruno the Doberman Pinscher. It's fascinating to learn about the lives of working dogs like Robo.

These Timber Creek K-9 mysteries are a character-rich environment, which may not be preferable to those who prefer mystery to that "relationship nonsense," but I love it. Mattie and Robo aren't the only two in town; we also are privileged to watch busy veterinarian Cole Walker on his rounds, as he volunteers for search and rescue, and-- most importantly-- how he and his daughters adjust to a very difficult divorce in which his wife left the family. This adjustment period isn't going smoothly because Mizushima's characters are very human and make their share of mistakes. Cole and Mattie are obviously being paired off (slowly), and it will be an interesting relationship to watch develop. Mattie has her own demons, and her own dreams of family that may, or may not, come true. 

Once again, Mizushima has written some wonderful action sequences high up in those Colorado Rockies, especially the scene involving Cole. There's just one little thing to dull the bright shine of Stalking Ground: it was still all too simple for me to deduce who- and where-dunit. All that needed to be divulged were a few specifics. However, with the characters and setting this author has created, this is a minor quibble indeed, and I'm certainly looking forward to book number three.
 

Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima

ISBN: 9781629538334

Crooked Lane Books © 2016

Hardcover, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: A

Source: Amazon Vine 


 

Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima

First Line: Deputy Mattie Lu Cobb liked her new partner.

A young girl has been found dead in the mountains outside Timber Creek, Colorado, and Officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 police dog Robo are assigned to the case. 

With the help of local veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie and Robo are trying to track down the truth before it claims another victim, but the more Mattie digs, the more secrets she uncovers about her small town. 

Killing Trail is the first book in an extremely promising new series. Mattie Cobb is a fascinating character whose childhood in the foster care system gives her a rapport with children that sometimes leads her to err in the young ones' favor. Mattie is smart and brave, a loner who believes in the value of hard work. Her growing bond with Robo-- which is one of the strongest elements in this book-- has the added bonus of improving her social skills with her fellow humans. 

Veterinarian Cole Walker is finding it difficult to heal from his wife's desertion, which leaves him as the sole parent to their two young daughters. He may be a potential love interest for Mattie, but he does have problems he must deal with. Mizushima has created two-- make that three with Robo-- very strong characters for her series.

Mizushima has also written some first-rate action sequences in Killing Trail, and the explanations of the training and procedures required for working with police dogs is fascinating. I found myself comparing it favorably to Robert Crais's Suspect as a matter of fact.

As much as I enjoyed this book, it's not without a rookie problem or two. The writing is a touch amateurish. As the K-9 training and work procedures are explained, these feel more like lessons instead of flowing smoothly as part of the narrative. Also, many of the clues are too obviously planted. But you know what? Things like this are easy for me to overlook because Mizushima nails her characters and the action in her engrossing story.  These slightly rough edges can be knocked off by the second book, and speaking of that second book-- bring it on! I want more Maggie and Robo!  
    

Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima

ISBN: 9781629533810

Crooked Lane Books © 2015

Hardcover, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Timber Creek K-9 mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Amazon Vine