Gathering Mist - (Timber Creek K-9 Mystery) by Margaret Mizushima

Book Synopsis

Secrets hide within the fog deep in the mossy forests of the Pacific Northwest in this ninth thrilling installment in award-winning author Margaret Mizushima's Timber Creek K-9 mystery series.

Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington's Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity's missing child. With only a week left before her wedding, Mattie is hesitant to leave Timber Creek, but her K-9 partner Robo's tracking skills are needed.

Dense forest, chilling rain, and unfriendly locals hamper their efforts, and soon Mattie suspects something more sinister than a lost child is at play. When one of the SAR dogs becomes ill, her fiancé, Cole Walker, suspects poison. Fearing for Mattie's and Robo's safety, Cole joins the search and rescue team as veterinary support.

Secrets that have lain hidden within the rugged terrain come to light, and when it is uncovered that the missing child was kidnapped, the search becomes a full-blown crime scene investigation, forcing Mattie, Robo, and Cole into a desperate search to find the missing child before it's too late.

Review Quotes

Praise for Gathering Mist
"The story of the search and the setting are beautifully developed in a mystery that builds in intensity and suspense."
--Library Journal, starred review

"Series fans will likely be pleased."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling, cozy storytelling . . . Fans of Mizushima's will find similar cozy justice appeal in the working dog thrillers of Sara Driscoll and Virginia Lanier."
--Booklist

"Compelling from start to finish."
--New York Journal of Books

"[Gathering Mist] is sharply focused and skillfully written and establishes Mizushima as one of the West's finest contemporary mystery writers."
--The Denver Post

"Well-written mysteries with a strong continuing story that underlies the work."
--Mystery Magazine

"This series has wholesome, kind characters, including four-legged ones and truly nasty villains."
--Seattle Book Review

"Outstanding."
--Midwest Book Review

"Mizushima's series engages on every level."
--First Clue

"Mizushima delivers another stunning page-turner."
--Feathered Quill

"The police-procedural details, particularly the K-9 handling elements, are fascinating without being overbearing and lend an air of authenticity to Mizushima's writing."
--Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Readers will be so engrossed in the story that you will feel like you are getting wet from the rain and feel the chill in the air."
--Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

"Interesting, engaging, and intense. The red herrings, twists and a shocking ending makes for a wonderful read."
--Crimespree Magazine

"[Margaret Mizushima] is the reigning queen of K-9 mysteries."
--Gumshoe Review

"Excellent."
--Game Vortex

"Mizushima's knowledge of search and rescue and veterinary skills add to the realism."
--Kings River Life

"Long-time readers get a happy payoff in this ninth novel of the series."
--Red Carpet Crash

"Each character is fully developed and interesting."
--Writeknit

"A taut tale with more twists and turns than a mountain trail."
--Rambles.net

"Readers who enjoy Sara Driscoll's F.B.I. K-9 books will appreciate the emphasis on search-and-rescue dogs."
--Lesa's Book Critiques

"Mizushima secures her place as one of the West's top mystery writers. Her impressive knowledge of search-and-rescue dogs, her descriptive powers, her fresh plotting, and smooth writing style put her in a league with authors such as C.J. Box. Gathering Mist is destined to become a western classic. While part of a series, Gathering Mist, nonetheless, reads like a stand-alone novel. It is the finest of Margaret Mizushima's nine Timber Creek K-9 mysteries. I love Robo."
--Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author

About the Author

Margaret Mizushima served as past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was elected 2019 Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She and her husband recently moved from Colorado, where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals, to a home in the Pacific Northwest.