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.
Cory Pratt is the owner of COR Canine Training Academy. Well, really since he’s the only employee, he’s also the CEO, president, treasurer, secretary, and for sure, the janitor. Of course, the talent and brains belong to Alice, a bloodhound, and Rex, a Springer Spaniel. They are cadaver dogs—the finders of dead bodies.
They are well-trained dogs beyond their specialty and are a big hit, bigger than Corey to tell the truth, when Corey’s sister, Crystal, convinces him to do a short presentation about sniffer dogs with Alice and Rex at Henry Horner Elementary School. Corey is not what you could call a natural speaker. Luckily, Alice and Rex are at ease in a crowd, especially a crowd with kids.
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| Image Source Severn House |
One glance at Alice’s tapping foot and Corey knew. There was a dead body and Alice knew where it was. They’re never going to get invited anywhere again.
The school had gotten a facelift and a killer took advantage of the renovation to hide the body of a teenage boy. Until now, it’s been a missing person case. Now, it’s murder.
Corey isn’t the most confident of men. Frankly, he’s in the shadow of his police officer sister, Crystal. They share a house and keep an eye on each other without overdoing it. Due to the death of their parents in a car accident, they’re closer than most brothers and sisters.
Crystal never hesitates to recommend Corey, Alice, and Rex when there’s a need for sniffer dogs. It can be gruesome work but does bring closure to the victim’s friends and families. Corey is growing more at ease in public situations (except with the school kids). He and Crystal are a good example of how to get along without getting in the way. Although he’d rather avoid the more gruesome aspects of the job, he does, after all, have cadaver dogs.
I have to say, I love Burton’s books. The Mace Reid series (The Finders, The Keepers, The Lost) got me hooked. The Dead Years and The Second Grave are the first two in the K-9 thrillers. In addition, the Agent Drew Cady thrillers are The Chessmen, The Lynchpin, and The Eulogist.
As happened last year, I suspect Burton’s book will appear on my Best of the Year List.
You can click here to purchase this book.
To enter to win a copy of The Boy in the Wall, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "boy wall,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen April 25, 2026. 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.
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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.
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