"The Second Grave" By Jeffrey Burton: Review/Giveaway

Review by Sandra Murphy 

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Jim, an older man, now widowed, is enjoying his family reunion at the Kankakee River State Park. His wife started the tradition. He wishes she were there to see the relatives gather, from children down to great-grandchildren. After everyone has eaten, played games, brought each other up to date on family news, Jim slips away into the forest as they begin to pack up.

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Cory Pratt's cadaver dogs, Alice, a seven-year-old bloodhound, and Rex, a five-year-old Springer Spaniel, are able to search and find a body no matter the conditions. When they’re called out to find Jim, it’s likely they’re looking for his body, not an old man who wandered off during the reunion.

After tracking his scent farther than Cory thinks that Jim could possibly have gone, he’s found sitting at the base of a tree, dead. Stretch, another handler, and his dog are there. While Stretch leaves to find a signal to call for police and ambulance, Alice and Rex wander a bit farther and alert again. They’ve discovered a shallow grave. And a second one nearby.

The bodies have been buried for some time. Three bodies in the first grave, one in the second. They won’t be the last. The killer now has to cover his tracks but with dogs and their handler tracking not far behind, that’s harder to do than expected.

This is book two in the series with The Dead Years being the first, reviewed on KRL and on my Best of 2024 List. Cory and his sister work well together. She’s with the police and he’s gaining a reputation for his dogs finding bodies. Of course, how could readers not like a book with not one, but two dogs who specialize in finding corpses?

It’s likely The Second Grave will be on my Best of 2025 List. Very likely.

To enter to win a copy of The Second Grave, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "second grave,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen February 15, 2025. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! 

You can click here to purchase this book.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won't see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.