Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

Mizushima’s plodding ninth Timber Creek K-9 Mystery (after 2021’s Striking Range) takes Deputy Mattie Cobb, a K-9 handler for the sheriff’s department in Timber Creek, Colo., and her sister, Julia, to Pueblo del Sol, Mexico, to see their mother, Ramona, and meet their stepfather, Juan Martinez, but the pair have decamped from the small village without leaving any indication of where they might be going. Back home in Timber Creek, Mattie and her German shepherd partner, Robo, are called to the scene of a crime. A dead man has been bound in an upright position to a tree. A closer examination reveals the victim to be Juan. Mattie is soon receiving ominous notes that not only threaten her life but also the lives of Ramona and Julia. The plot lurches along between Mattie’s search for clues to the kidnapper’s identity through her fragmented memories of the past and visits to the veterinary clinic of Cole Walker, her fiancé. Diehard fans will be pleased to learn that Mattie is ready to set a wedding date and that Robo’s adorable puppies are healthy, happy, and ready for new homes. This isn’t the place to start for newcomers. Agent: Terrie Wolf, AKA Literary. (Mar.)