Thank you Jeffrey Burton for finally bringing back Cory, Crystal and my two favorite crime sniffing dogs Alice and Rex! This book moves like a speeding bullet with, as always, an unexpected and explosive ending. I look forward to the next book in this series!

Jeffrey B. Burton's The Dead Years is the first installment in the author's A Chicago K-9 Thriller series featuring a sibling sleuth-duo and their working dogs. A serial killer, dormant for years, reawakens after viewing a Netflix docuseries depicting his string of homicides. The Dead Night Killer is not happy with his portrayal and no one in the cast and crew is safe! Key Characters: Cory Pratt (23), Sole proprietor of Cor Canine Training Academy, Crystal Pratt, Detective Chicago PD Violent Crimes investigator, Alice (bloodhound), and Rex (springer spaniel).

7 years ago, The Dead Night Killer suddenly stopped killing. Nobody knows why. Except for the killer. But now the bodies are starting to pile up again. Then again, that's nothing new for Chicago. Anyone associated with the Netflix docuseries is finding themselves tracked down by the serial killer. Cory and his sister Crystal are slowly getting on with their lives after losing their parents in a freak storm. Cory still has issues and blames himself, but thankfully he has Alice and Rex to keep him from losing himself.

The only thing that distracts them now is their jobs. Crystal has recently been minted as a detective and Cory is the one-man band who operates his own canine training academy, and now as a consultant to the Chicago P.D. But when the siblings start poking around the killer's business, the killer sets their sights on the pair and particularly on Cory and his dogs! Will they be able to escape the fury of the serial killer or become the newest victims?

The author tends to alternate each chapter from a different character including the serial killer and yet another who I won't spoil. The killer's part of the story is creepy. Seriously. But necessary to understand why after 7 years, the DNK killer chooses to pick up his killing. Burton is the writer of another K-9 series called Mace Reid K-9 Mystery. As with the previous series, Burton's dogs tend to steal the show, and thankfully Cory has both of them to keep him sane, and safe after he becomes a target of the killer.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the chance to read an ARC of The dead years by Jeffrey B. Burton. I discovered this author when I started reading his Mace Reid K-9 mystery series. The dead years is the beginning of a new K-9 series featuring Siblings Cory (owner of a dog training academy) and Crystal Pratt (CPD detective). Chapters are written from a different character's perspective, including the killer, which I really enjoyed. Totally loved the dogs, Alice and Rex, just as much as Mace Reid's K-9's!

I have enjoyed previous books by Jeffrey B. Burton. He has a knack for creating irreverent, sympathetic characters and pairing them with working dogs-- always a potent combination in my book. Although the same framework is present here, I found The Dead Years to be less satisfying.

The story is told from Cory Pratt's perspective, and I liked this twentysomething's voice. However, I found his angst over the deaths of his parents a bit of a yawn. (Why do so many characters in mysteries have parents who died tragically?) His canine partners, Alice the bloodhound and Rex the springer spaniel, did their jobs well, and Cory's sister, Crystal, is the more logical, grounded one of the pair.

The serial killer in The Dead Years is a bit different, resurrecting his reign of terror after becoming incensed over his portrayal in a Netflix documentary, and he also plays a role in Cory's dreams about his parents. Readers learn the killer's identity before Cory and Crystal do, but once they do know, it's a race to the finish.

I did enjoy this book. It's all there: fast pace, engaging story, sympathetic characters, but I have to admit that it felt as if I'd read it all before. Even a winning formula can become tired.

I like series featuring K9 and this is the start of a promising one as it's twisty, dark and gripping. I appreciated the surprises, the growing sense of dread and the well rounded characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me to read an ARC of this title. This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I like how it flowed and each chapter was from a different character's perspective. Sometimes it took me a paragraph or two to figure out who's narrative I was reading though. I know what I read was an ARC but there were a lot of words in italics that I am not sure why they were so. Anyway, that is small potatoes-overall the story was great and I really enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this mystery and the relationship between brother and sister. It had me fooled as to who was the father of the killer. I also enjoyed Alice and Rex the human remains detection dogs. I hope this is the start of a series because liked Cory and Crystal.

Loved, loved, loved the dogs, Alice and Rex in The Dead Years by Jeffrey B. Burton. Crystal was a good character, too. I did not like Cory for some reason. He came across as brash and a bit arrogant.

The story was just okay for me. Not a page-turner as advertised. There is definitely an audience for this book, but I was not that audience.

#TheDeadYears #NetGalley @severnhouse

I really enjoyed this, I loved the sibling relationship it reminded me so much of mine. The dogs are adorable the crime was different shocking intense I was completely gripped this is my first book by Jeffrey Burton so will be looking at his others. Over all a good mystery/thriller with great characters who you can’t help but love and dogs who doesn't love dogs especially working dogs!