An Ear for Trouble by K.T. Lee

It’s my stop today on the blog tour for An Ear for Trouble by K.T. Lee. Many thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for the invite.

Title: An Ear for Trouble (Riverbend K-9s #2)

Author: K.T. Lee

Published on: 18 October 2022

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers

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An Ear for Trouble is the second book in K.T. Lee’s Riverbend K-9 series.

Elise Butler is a wildlife biologist who enjoys a desk job in finance at the World Wildlife Trust. A Veterinarian at Riverbend Animal Conservation Center goes missing and Elise offers to help the Conservation Center get back on their feet. Her boss approves the workplace switch. Elise’s sister, Zoey works at the Riverbend K-9 Academy, a dog-training center run by the FBI.

FBI Special Agent Finn Cooper and his canine partner, Sedona, were chasing a well-funded animal trafficking ring in Nepal when Finn fell into one of the traps set by the poachers; the trap was set for him. He managed to escape but ended up with a leg injury. He’s currently posted at the Riverbend K-9 facility, just to keep himself busy while he recovers.

Just as Elise moves to Riverbend, her sister asks her to help the K-9 Academy by fostering a German Shepard puppy, Zeke. The pup is earmarked to become the K-9 Academy’s first wildlife detective K-9 and is trained by Finn and his dog, Sedona. Zeke is trained to sniff out clouded leopards. When Zeke starts finding scents where they don’t belong, Elise and Finn realize the Conservation Center may be a center for animal trafficking.

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Having read the first book of this series – A Nose for Mischief – I was eagerly looking forward to catching up with the K-9 gang and their owners. At the end of book #1, the author had mentioned that the next book would have Elise in a lead role.

First things first, I love the setting – rural Indiana where everybody knows everyone and nothing remains a secret. Second, the characters – furry babies included! I am a cat person but these doggos are so good and well-trained that I am seriously thinking of getting a pup. Well-behaved and well-trained, of course.

Coming to the mystery behind the animal trafficking and the missing Vet, gosh, we readers are in for a roller-coaster ride. A clouded leopard cub dies. This is followed by the zoo vet going missing. The FBI was involved in the missing Vet’s search and a body was found in a crevice – it could not be retrieved though. When Elise arrives at the Conservation center, she’s welcomed – not as she expected though. While one of the employees is very friendly and outgoing and the other, distracted by personal events, their boss is always busy.

Elise gets roped into fostering a K-9 pup. As she starts bringing the pup to her workplace, the pup starts picking scents – of clouded leopards – in places where there shouldn’t be any. We also have a dash of romance to seal the deal – in my honest opinion, this was bound to happen. Finn and Elise live in the same apartment complex and are neighbours. Both are good looking, single, and animal lovers.

The mystery was good, all right. It kept me guessing till the end. There’s a shocking twist in the second half of the book – I never saw it coming. The ending too, was simply mind-blowing. Having said that, I found the mystery in book #1 more intriguing than this one. Nevertheless, An Ear for Trouble was an enjoyable read.

If you are looking for an engrossing, intense and enjoyable read, you might want to give An Ear for Trouble by K.T. Lee a try. Bonus points: K-9s galore in this story. Don’t miss this series if you love them furry babies.