My thoughts: I give it ♥♥. Okay before I get into my rant, I would like to say something positive. I thought Bourneville (or “Bon”) the dog as the smartest character in here. When it comes to his job while he was with Bon, Cloister was quite competent. He knew how to deal with the dogs, he knew how to talk to victims. Cloister definitely had better people skill than Javi.
The only time Cloister became a doormat was when he was within proximity with Javi. Seriously Cloister, Javi looked down on you, insulted you and your dog, but then he bought you food and you were willing to put out for him? Jeez, show some dignity!!
The mystery itself was okay … unfortunately I couldn’t focus on the mystery because I was too busy despising Javi.
Next, Javi … He was a condescending jerk. He was a snob, he looked down on people. Humph!! He didn’t even have the right hunch let alone any crime solving skills. ALL of the clues for this case came from Cloister. Javi took credit of everything. And he insulted Bon, the dog.
Also, Javi and Cloister’s initial meeting happened off page with little to no backstory. I couldn’t understand Javi’s negative attitude. All I knew was he was being an unprofessional jerk.
Simply put, I disliked this book because of Javi. It would have been a much better book with a tolerable if not likable second main character.
Author’s Blurb:
Cloister Witte is a man with a dark past and a cute dog. He’s happy to talk about the dog all day, but after growing up in the shadow of a missing brother, a deadbeat dad, and a criminal stepfather, he’d rather leave the past back in Montana. These days he’s a K-9 officer in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and pays a tithe to his ghosts by doing what no one was able to do for his brother—find the missing and bring them home.
He’s good at solving difficult mysteries. The dog is even better.
This time the missing person is a ten-year-old boy who walked into the woods in the middle of the night and didn’t come back. With the antagonistic help of distractingly handsome FBI agent Javi Merlo, it quickly becomes clear that Drew Hartley didn’t run away. He was taken, and the evidence implies he’s not the kidnapper’s first victim. As the search intensifies, old grudges and tragedies are pulled into the light of day. But with each clue they uncover, it looks less and less likely that Drew will be found alive.
My Brain Vacation 