Standing Dead

by Margaret Mizushima

The story of Standing Dead opens with Mattie, a Deputy Sheriff, and her newly found sister Julia driving to a little town in Mexico looking for their mother.  Mattie had a traumatic childhood (ages 2-6) involving a kidnapping and abuse from a man who pretended to be her father. Her real father, a Border Patrol Agent, was murdered and eventually the case was a designated “cold.” Mattie wants to get to the bottom of this case and bring her mother out of hiding.

After her long trip home from Mexico and a reunion with her boyfriend, veterinarian Cole Walker, his two daughters, and her K-9 officer Robo, Mattie and Robo return to their house. There she discovers the first of many creepy notes taunting Mattie and directing her through a variety of difficult situations. She is led to a beetle-kill pine forest where the trees are not the only “standing dead.” Mattie, her family, and her friends are all in deadly danger.

As always with the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Series, watching the relationship between Robo and Mattie is touching as Mattie understandably has trust issues. Robo is highly trained and intelligent and does some pretty amazing things.

As things get “interesting” for Mattie, Cole is called out to the same area in the mountains to attend to some very sick horses. Their paths cross, and Cole is able to provide a clue that helps the law enforcement team determine the cause of death. Cole goes through his own crisis as he supports Mattie by backing off when she makes decisions to put herself in danger to save those she loves.

Other branches of law enforcement join in with the small local squad. They pool their manpower and resources for the good of the team. Also, there is a local sheriff’s posse that helps as needed, and Cole is a trusted and active member.

I stayed up late to finish this page turner. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and plan on returning to the few that I have not yet read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #8 in the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Series. It could be read as a standalone, but to understand more of Mattie’s background I would recommend reading some of the previous books.

Publication:  March 7, 2023—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

She leaned to stroke the dark fur between his ears while she kept up with Sophie’s banter, and soon Cole noticed the taut muscles in her face relax as kids and dogs—two of Mattie’s favorite things in the world—seemed to ease her distress.

He knew how hard it was for her to trust others, and he felt he’d passed a test. He just wished it wasn’t a test involving life and death.

She drove steadily into the night seeing ahead only as far as the headlights would allow. She decided it was symbolic of the mission that lay ahead—she could only see ahead one step at a time. The rest of it would play out and reveal itself very soon.