Smoky Mountain Tracks

by Donna Ball

Book Overview

This first title in an all-new mystery series introduces North Carolina dog trainer Roane Stockton. Once a search-and-rescue volunteer with her dog, Cisco, Roane stopped after a tragic loss. Now, she... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451218027
• ISBN13: 9780451218025
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Good Dog Mystery-much better than average

As the first in a new series, this is very good and very interesting. It is very similar to Virginia Lanier's Bloodhound series. The same type of main character although this takes place in the Smokey Mountains rather than Georgia. This isn't a bad thing since Lanier's books were probably the best in the genre. Like Lanier, the characterization takes second place to the mystery, which I happen to enjoy. Bad mysteries and not enough characterization as in Susan Conant's dog mysteries are too boring.

A great new series!

Ms. Ball will grab your attention with the first line of the book, and you won't be able to put it down til you have finished the last page. This is the 1st of a great new series. How can we not love a book with such a wonderful dog featured.

Solid

A solid mystery with good characters, good pacing, interesting backstory (more revealed in next book) a likeable protagonist and wonderful overlay of information about search and rescue dogs.

A "Golden" Start to a Fabulous New Series!

In the 1st book in the Raine Stockton Dog mystery series, we meet "retired" dog-tracker, Raine Stockton and her dog, Cisco. The team has been reluctantly called out to assist in a troubling case of a missing child in the Smoky Mountains of Hanover County, North Carolina. Raine has given up working as a Search and Rescue team after the death of her favorite dog, Cassidy. Cisco is not the dog that Cassidy was, and Raine is embarrassed when he alerts to a find that appears only to be an open can of baked beans. Stumbling back to her vehicle and working Cisco around a bridge that he is petrified of, Raine hurts her "bad" knee while falling next to the dead body of the little girl's kidnapper. Laid up with her injury, Raine is taken off the search team. Determined to help find the missing girl, Raine continues her search and finds peace with the death of her beloved dog, Cassidy, and the knowledge that she has another great dog still willing to go to work helping people. Every once in awhile, I find a fantastic new series that grabs my attention from the beginning, and seizes my heart along with it. While reading this magnificent book, I felt a wide range of emotions, and was sad when it came to the end. Raine is a strong female character still reeling from the death of her beloved, devoted Golden. She doesn't trust the abilities of Cassidy's grandson, Cisco, but learns over the course of the book that she must let go of her grief and begin to trust her intelligent, sensitive young dog. I laughed at the dog's antics, I cried at the description of Cassidy's death, and went through the ups and downs of this twisting tale right along with this great team. As a dog lover, I am continually amazed at what these wonderful animals can do for us and it was great to see some of them highlighted in this extraordinary new series! The next book in this series is "Rapid Fire". Enjoy!

fabulous mystery

Hanover County, North Carolina, nestled in the Smoky Mountains, is home to Raine Stockton, the estranged wife of Deputy Sheriff Buck Lawson. She is a dog trainer extraordinaire and used to go on search and rescue missions but since her beloved canine Cassidy died, she hasn't had the heart for it any longer. That is until she receives a frantic phone call at three in the morning from Buck asking her to take her SAR dog Cisco to help in the search for Cindy Winston and her daughter Angel. When they fail to find them, she starts to return home when Cisco and Raine trip over the murdered body of Luke Pickens, a drug user and alcoholic, who kidnapped the two females but no proof of Cindy or Angel, is nearby. Cindy walks home to her mother's house injured by a bullet Luke put in her with no idea where Angel is. Upset that Cisco failed to find the missing girl, Raine starts asking questions, discovers that the whole episode might have to do with a land deal and continues to use her SAR canine to hunt for clues in Angel's disappearance. Donna Ball is a famous multi-faceted author who has written compelling novels in the horror, romance, paranormal and women in jeopardy genres. Now she turns her considerable talent to mystery writing and has provides an exciting, original and suspense laden who-done it that will please her myriad of fans who have been waiting too long for her to publish another book. SMOKY MOUNTAIN TRACKS is a simply fabulous mystery starring a likable dedicated heroine; anyone who reads it will eagerly await the next book in the series. Harriet Klausner