The story starts off with the murder of one of the police dog trainers (Veronica). Heroine Gina, also a dog trainer, thinks her evil murderous twin brother is the killer. Gina’s brother killed their father two years ago and now he’s after Gina since she was the one who turned him into the police. Hero Shane is a rookie K-9 officer who becomes Gina’s protector. This was such an enjoyable read with two likable leads. I enjoyed Gina’s evil twin brother. It was interesting having recently graduated rookie K-9 officers this time around. I truly loved the dogs in this one—Shane’s wonderful K-9 partner Bella, and the two adorable puppies in training, Lucy and Ricky. There’s another mystery involving a missing puppy named Marco, and a wonderful Desert Valley, Arizona setting. Some storylines wrap-up while others will still continue on throughout the Rookie K-9 Unit series. ( )

Protect and Serve (Rookie K-9 Unit #1) by Terri Reed

This is the first of a continuity/series. Each book CAN be read as a standalone BUT there is a current murder (plus several deaths in the past that were not initially considered murder but are now being looked into) and other incidents that are not solved until the end of the series. The romance and certain events pertaining to the main characters in each book will be resolved but not the main murder. Be prepared for this before starting this continuity/series. This is a Love Inspired book which is Christian romance/suspense book where God, faith and verses from the Bible are used, so if that bothers you don’t read it. I enjoy reading all of the Love Inspired books.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting learning about some of the things that happen during the training of the dog and the person he/she will be partnered with. In this book you will meet Gina Perry, one of the dog trainers, and Shane West a graduate of the most recent class. The entire class has been ordered to stay until the murder is solved. Shane first suspects Gina as the murderer but soon finds himself a suspect as well. The action starts off from the first page and continues until the very end of this book. I do recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good clean suspense/romance book.