As much as I like Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 series, I was happy to see the ongoing storyline of Mattie Wray’s family end in Standing Dead. At least it felt as if it came to a logical conclusion. I’m hoping we can move on to more traditional investigations with the deputy sheriff and her K-9 partner, Robo.

After her father was killed, Mattie Wray, her mother, and brother were kidnapped when Mattie was only two. Now, in her thirties, Mattie is still trying to put her family together, locating a sister she never knew about, and trying to reunite with her mother. But, when Mattie and her sister, Julia, travel to Pueblo del Sol, Mexico, they learn their mother and her second husband, Juan Martinez, left town abruptly.

Mattie returns home to her job as a deputy sheriff and K-9 handler in Timber Creek, Colorado, only to find a note on her door, “You’ll find him among the standing dead”, signed “A friend of your father’s.” When the sheriff’s department mount a search, they find the body of Juan Martinez. Now, Mattie is forced to reveal her mother’s story to her boss and co-workers. Notes continue to appear, and Mattie’s friends are threatened and even shot. Pressure mounts quickly, and she and the supportive law enforcement team know Mattie is the ultimate target for someone who has terrorized her family for thirty years. 

Standing Dead is relentless in its tension. Readers who have followed the series will be eager to read the conclusion of the family storyline. As I said, I’m eager to move on with Mattie and Robo, knowing they’ll have difficult investigations in the future. But, I’m ready to see a little more Robo, and a little less ongoing drama in Mattie’s life. I’m sure that’s just me, though.

Margaret Mizushima’s website is https://margaretmizushima.com/

Standing Dead by Margaret Mizushima. Crooked Lane Books, 2023. ISBN 9781639102440 (hardcover), 288p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I downloaded a galley from NetGalley to review for a journal.