Rosalie's Suggestions

Suspect
by Robert Crais
Fiction-–312 pages

Maggie, a German Shephard military dog, was severely injured by a sniper while she was guarding the body of her Marine partner who died while hunting for explosives in Afghanistan.  A vet saved her life, but she now suffers from PTSD. So her superb training won't go to waste, she is eventually adopted by the LA K-9 unit.

LAPD officer Scott James also suffers from PTSD from an ambush shooting that left his partner dead.  He requests the K-9 unit instead of a medical discharge. The K-9 unit captain doesn't quite know what to do with the emotionally and physically disabled hero who refuses to retire quietly and a dog that startles at loud noises. Both are on the verge of washing out of the service .   Against his better judgment, the captain assigns Maggie to Scott.   Man and dog begin to form an alliance as they endeavor to heal themselves and each other, while Scott searches for the criminals who murdered his partner.

I liked the way short sections  are told from Maggie's  perspective–how the dog sees with her nose and sorts out the various scents, and also how she finds her greatest joy in being part of a pack.  By the end she and Scott are "pack."  This was a satisfying read.

In a Dry Season
by Peter Robinson
Detective Mystery--422 pages

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called to investigate a skeleton found in the ruins of a deserted village. Flooded by a reservoir shortly after World War II, Hobb's End had been under water until a recent drought exposed its remnants. Thanks to modern forensics, Banks and the local Detective Sergeant, Annie Cabbot, learn that the remains were those of a young woman who had been strangled and then stabbed.  An apparent 50-year-old crime faces Banks and Cabbot as they go about gathering facts in an attempt to determine the identities of the victim and her murderer. The charm of this story lies in the way it is played out. Readers are privy to the thoughts of the characters from 50 years ago as their story is told as it happened.  Readers learn about life in a small village in England during World War II. Interspersed with these chapters are the investigations, interviews, and research conducted by the detectives in the present day. The traits and foibles of the townspeople take shape and a portrait of the victim emerges. Despite its length,  this book is an easy read.