Everything going for it except the soppy personal relationships

Burning Ridge
by Margaret Mitzushima

She's not the action writer and her killer's motivation was awfully weak, and at the end, things didn't make much sense. Plus I got a little bored at the heroine's internal woes as she tried to let herself love and be loved.

And after saying those mean, judgemental things, I will happily read another in the series. After all, it had dogs!  And mountains and forests, search-and-rescue, forensics, and veterinary stuff. I wonder if descriptions of the drugs used by the perp were accurate? They were certainly fascinating.

So I'm in two minds about this--it has a lot to recommend it, but if you're looking for a series to fall in love with, probably not. But who knows? Maybe she's just getting started!