Always trust your dog!

Synopsis

Elise Butler is a wildlife biologist who enjoys her stable (if somewhat predictable) job in finance at the World Wildlife Trust. However, when the veterinarian at Riverbend Animal Conservation Center goes missing, Elise offers to help the unlucky wildlife Conservation Center get back on its feet. Not only will the job in Riverbend, Indiana let her get back to her roots of working with animals, but it’s also a short drive from her sister’s workplace at Riverbend K-9 Academy, a training center for some of the FBI’s best explosive detection dogs.

FBI Special Agent Finn Cooper and his canine partner, Sedona, are chasing a well-funded animal trafficking ring. After an injury sidelines Finn from official FBI undercover work, he goes to work at Riverbend K-9 Academy to stay busy while he recovers…and to investigate his only remaining lead in the animal trafficking case.

Just as Elise begins to settle into life in Riverbend, her sister asks her to help the K-9 Academy by fostering one of their puppies. Finn is eager to keep Elise focused on training Zeke, the enthusiastic German shepherd puppy earmarked to become Riverbend’s first wildlife detection K-9, and keep her well away from his quiet animal trafficking investigation. Zeke quickly proves himself an expert both at chewing shoes and sniffing out clouded leopards. When Zeke starts finding scents where they don’t belong, Elise and Finn begin to realize that the Conservation Center may be more criminal than unlucky. And if Elise doesn’t keep her nose out of it, she might be the next target.

An Ear for Trouble is Book 2 in the Riverbend K-9 Series. All books in the Riverbend K-9 Series may be enjoyed as standalone novels or as a series.

My review

Elise Butler enjoys her job in finance at the World Wildlife Trust. But not only is she good with numbers, she also has a big heart for any kind of animal. So when her help is needed at Riverbend Animal Conservation Center, as the veterinarian has gone missing, she is happy to help the Center to get back on its feet, especially as now she can work more with the animals.
And this is also the perfect opportunity to see more of her sister Zoey, who works at Riverbend K-9 Academy.
Her sister, that asks her to foster one of the puppies, Zeke, where Elise does not hesitate one minute, especially when her new neighbour Finn Cooper is happy help training Zeke. Finn is a FBI Special Agent with canine partner Sedona, injured after chasing an animal trafficking ring, and now spending his recovery time at the K – 9 Academy.
But when a cub clouded leopard dies unexpectedly, both Elise and Finn start to realize that both their investigations are linked somehow…

While I have no pets myself, I consider myself an animal lover (and being on my own I don’t think it’s right to leave a pet all day alone in a small apartment – this just FYI…).
So having a second part of a series where dogs truly steals the show, how could I resist?

It’s also very obvious that Elise has an even bigger heart for animals. Even if she is working on the financial parts of Animal Centrums, she doesn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty (even literally speaking). And she doesn’t waste a breath for taking Zeke in…
Elise is a character so easy to like and relate to. She is just a young woman trying to find her place in the world, even had her own share of bad luck that at some moments still haunt her. And the fact that she at moments still feels anxious after having a burglar at her home, made me relate with her even more, as I had the some ‘lucky event’ a year ago.
Her gentle heart is also obvious, seeing her reaction when one of the cubs has passed away. her hurt is so obvious from just reading it…

Then there is her stubbornness.. that for sure made me laugh! Her stubbornness is something she shares with her sister, so when we have two characters not giving in… well, I for sure was curious to see who would win!
And that same stubbornness shows clearly with the interactions with Finn! But it was also sweet to see how at ease she feels with Finn and how alert she is whenever Finn thinks he is being subtle.

Obviously this is Elise’s love interest. And while it was great to see their bond grow, that was not the focus of this story.
The focus was on the animals, dogs and cubs clouded leopards. I already had a feeling that there would be so much more than the author shows us. And even if my suspicion were confirmed in every way, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth… Not because the story isn’t any good, but because unfortunately the fiction written here is also reality…
How people try to gain an own profit on the back of animals that cannot defend themselves…

Luckily for the animals in this story and for us readers, we have Zeke! Reading his fascination with shoes was hilarious, but I also felt proud of his own set of skills. Not only does he show how good animals are at sensing the emotions of their owners, but also how when trained well, they show how invaluable they are, as they ‘see’ what we ‘mere’ humans cannot see.

The author has clearly done her research, it shows how she describes the works of both Elise and Finn. The mystery (while not so very mysterious to me) still was an intriguing one, as I was eager to read how deep things were entwined.
And while Elise and Finn are the obvious main characters, determined to find out the truth themselves, the true hero in this book was Zeke, with his young eagerness and his expertise.  Obvious proof that a dog’s instinct are always right!

This was a great second book in a series, which can be read as a standalone. But having read the first book myself, I found it awesome to see how the previous main characters were doing and how they still had an important spot in this new story, without taking the spotlight away from Elise and Finn.
A spotlight that was truly well – deserved as I was rooting for them, not only for solving the mystery but also for getting closer to each other!