"Suspect"

"Suspect" by Robert Crais features LAPD cop, Scott James.  I've been reading Crais' "Elvis Cole" series in order but couldn't find "Indigo Slam" at the library so purchased it on line and decided I'd read "Suspect" while waiting for it to arrive - good decision!

Crais has woven another great mystery involving LAPD cop, Scott James, who is recovering after being caught in the crossfire of a shootout that killed his female partner.  James has lots of physical as well as emotional scars with much healing still to be done.  The job he had planned to move into the day after the shooting is no longer an option for him so he's gotten himself accepted into the K-9 platoon and is just waiting to be assigned his police dog.  He's still working with a psychiatrist trying to remember more details from the night of the shooting despite the fact that he's not been allowed to be part of the ongoing investigation.  However, that is soon to change.....

In the meantime, Maggie, a USMC canine, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is still healing from wounds she suffered when her handler was killed.  The couple who adopted her have recently given her to the LAPD K-9 platoon but the head of the platoon is unsure she's fit for duty.  He has his doubts about James, too, but when James refuses the dog he's offered and asks for Maggie instead, he's given a chance to work with her for a few weeks.

That decision turns out to be a turning point for James and for Maggie and they bond while both are healing from their wounds.  They have much to overcome but working as a team they begin to play an important role in figuring out what happened the night James' partner was killed and who was behind it.

I found the details about Maggie and how such a canine bonds with their handlerer and was fascinated by all the details of how she smells out scents and detects.  The book is worth reading just for those details but it's also a complex mystery that was deeply satisfying to read.  Crais has maintained his status as one of my favorite authors!  pazt