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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In Tracy Carter’s Can't Run with the Big Dogs, Veronica Kildare, a professional dog trainer, begins preparing Irish Red and White Setter Decla for detection work at Blue Columbine Downs. Integrity Steward Jenna is concerned about unexplained irregularities around the meeting as Veronica’s father, Bob, studies race footage for anything management may have missed. Veronica’s Chesapeake Bay Retriever Leda remains her partner on search-and-rescue assignments, with narcotics detection keeping them connected to law enforcement. Michael, Veronica’s eighteen-year-old assistant trainer whom she considers a younger brother, works beside her at Dogged Pursuit K-9. As questions surrounding the racetrack widen, Veronica waits for forensic results that could determine whether escaped murderer Tommy Arnett, the man responsible for killing her fiancé, is dead. The uncertainty leaves Veronica facing a present investigation alongside danger from her past.
Tracy Carter’s Can't Run with the Big Dogs is a well executed K-9 mystery, and Veronica is a protagonist we want to follow, especially as her partnership with Leda shows their trust. The author fleshes her out as a trainer first, keeping Leda working through blowing snow after a head-injured driver leaves a crash site near Trueheart. The racetrack setting is fantastic, with exercise riders cooling horses after workouts as Decla learns her job in busy barns. I love how the school assignment lets Leda and Ferro work beside law enforcement at Lark Hill High, placing their training inside a larger investigation. Michael is my favorite supporting character, with his patience around rescued Rottweiler Lucky showing why Veronica trusts her assistant with frightened dogs. There are some twists in the storyline that are incredible, and multiple subplots that tie together perfectly. Well written and atmospheric, readers who enjoy K-9 mysteries will adore this.
