The National Forest K-9 series by Kathleen Donnelly is about Maya Thompson. Maya is a former Marine and is now a K-9 Officer for the Forest Service in Colorado. Her loyal partner is her Malinois K-9 partner. She slowly builds a meaningful relationship with Josh Colten, a sheriff’s deputy who becomes both her partner in investigations and someone she can’t quite keep at a distance. Their connection grows naturally over the series, adding a steady romantic thread to all the suspense.
Just as important is Maya’s bond with her grandfather, Wayne Thompson, Pops. He and Nana raised her, and Pops is one of the few people who truly knows her, understands her, and has always been in her corner. That family connection grounds her in a way nothing else can.
What makes this series work so well is the mix of high-stakes suspense, loyal K-9 teamwork, strong relationships, and real emotional growth. Maya is tough and capable, but she’s also carrying a lot of pain and learning how to trust again. Between Juniper, Josh, and her family, the emotional side of her life is just as compelling as the investigations she’s solving.
After losing her military K-9, former marine Maya Thompson swears she’ll never work with dogs again. But when she returns home to Colorado and accepts a job with US Forest Service law enforcement, fate brings K-9 Juniper into her life just as another tragedy unfolds.
Juniper, a beautiful two-year-old Malinois, isn’t the only new addition to Maya’s life. Josh Colten, the local deputy sheriff, insists on helping with her new case. Handsome and mysterious, he’s all anyone in town can talk about, but Maya can’t let herself like him, let alone trust him.
When Maya’s grandfather goes missing amid a growing drug war, Maya must put her faith in Josh, and her own battered instincts, to find him. But there's a web of secrets tying her grandfather to the tragedy that brought Juniper into her life—secrets someone would kill to keep hidden.
Maya Thompson is a former Marine who once had a trusty K-9 partner by her side. Tragically, her partner was killed in action, and now that Maya has been honorably discharged, she accepts a job with the U.S. Forest Service. She hopes this new position will give her a fresh start, but that hope is shattered when her lifelong best friend is killed on the job. He leaves behind his K-9 partner, Juniper, a gorgeous two-year-old Malinois.
When Maya is asked to take Juniper on as her new K-9 partner, it is the last thing she wants. She is still grieving the loss of her own partner, and being around Juniper only reminds her of what she has lost. To make matters worse, Maya’s life is already a mess. She is struggling with PTSD and has been using alcohol to dull the emotions she doesn’t know how to handle.
Maya is assigned a difficult case, and Deputy Sheriff Josh Colten steps in to help. Not only must Maya learn to work with a dog who brings back painful memories, but now she has to depend on a new human partner as well. And things become even more complicated when she realizes she is attracted to Josh.
The first book in Kathleen Donnelly’s National Forest K-9 series is packed with suspense, danger, action, and plenty of drama. The pacing is excellent, keeping the story moving while allowing readers to really get to know Maya, Josh, and Maya’s beloved grandfather, Pops. There is also a dangerous drug war unfolding, and when Pops suddenly goes missing, Maya has even more on her already overflowing plate.
I really enjoyed this book and the way Maya’s journey unfolds. Her grief, PTSD, and struggles with alcohol make her a complicated and vulnerable heroine, while Juniper slowly becomes much more than just a working partner. There is not a lot of romance in this book - or, for that matter, in the series - but I appreciated seeing the very beginning of something special developing between Maya and Josh. Their relationship has plenty of room to grow as the series continues, and I was eager to see where it would lead.
With its strong K-9 element, compelling characters, nonstop danger, and an emotional story of healing and second chances, Chasing Justice is an exciting beginning to the National Forest K-9 series. I was definitely ready to follow Maya, Juniper, and Josh into the next book!
Those are the last words Forest Service law enforcement officer and K-9 handler Maya Thompson ever heard her mother say.
Returning to the Colorado mountains, ex-soldier Maya is no longer a scared little girl. She’s here to investigate her mother’s cold case, but fear creeps in when it comes to her personal life—things are getting serious with sheriff deputy Josh Colten.
After new DNA evidence surfaces, both her beloved grandfather and Josh warn her away from the case, suspecting that she could be the next victim. But Maya doesn’t listen.
Instead, Maya and her K-9 partner, Juniper, track a suspect deep into the forest and directly into grave danger…
In this second installment of Kathleen Donnelly’s National Forest K-9 series, we learn even more about Maya Thompson, a Forest Service officer whose loyal K-9 partner, Juniper, is a beautiful Malinois. We also learn more about the tragedy Maya experienced as a child and the reasons her grandparents stepped in to raise her. As Maya’s story continues to unfold, so does her relationship with Deputy Sheriff Josh Colton, which has definitely grown since the first book.
This time, Maya begins investigating the murder of her mother, a cold case that has remained unsolved for decades. What starts as a search for answers soon becomes a dangerous journey into the forest, where Maya slowly begins to unravel the mystery surrounding her mother’s death. Having Juniper by her side proves to be more important than ever as Maya ventures deeper into the wilderness and closer to the truth.
I really enjoyed getting to know Maya better in this book and seeing more of the experiences that shaped the woman she has become. The mystery surrounding her mother’s murder adds an especially personal element to the story, making the danger feel even more immediate. And, of course, having Juniper right there beside her makes this another engaging K-9 suspense story.
The second book builds nicely on the foundation of the first, giving us more of Maya’s history, more of Juniper, and more of the relationship developing between Maya and Josh. With suspense, danger, family secrets, and a cold case that refuses to stay buried, this was another enjoyable addition to the National Forest K-9 series.
Until an avalanche ripped down a mountainside, exposing a serial killer’s dumping grounds, Antler Valley, Colorado was a quiet town. Now Forest Service officer Maya Thompson and her beautiful K-9, Juniper, must catch the murderer before they become the next targets.
With the neighboring town’s new overconfident sheriff deterring the entire investigation, a murderer on the loose and heartthrob deputy Josh Colton racing through her mind, Maya is at a crossroads. Josh is ready to go all in, but Maya has one foot out the door. As she lets her guard down, she needs to accept that she’s falling deeply in love with him, no matter how risky it may be.
When evidence from the Antler Valley victims links the murders to deaths in other ski towns, secrets long buried are unearthed. Maya and Juniper must run toward an answer, though finding it might lead them directly into a fatal trap…
It takes an avalanche to ultimately unearth a body, and that discovery leads Forest Officer Maya Thompson to something much more frightening: there is a serial killer at large. In this third installment of Kathleen Donnelly’s National Forest K-9 series, Maya once again finds herself facing danger, but this time the case becomes especially personal.
As she investigates, Maya uncovers corruption within a police force in a neighboring town while also learning more about her own troubled past. Secrets begin coming to light, and some of those revelations could have devastating consequences.
I really enjoyed the way this story combines the suspense of the investigation with the personal struggles Maya is facing. With a serial killer on the loose, her growing relationship with Josh, a sheriff’s deputy, corruption being uncovered, and an aspect of Maya’s own past coming into focus, there is plenty to keep the pages turning. With danger around every corner and Maya determined to uncover the truth, this was another exciting installment in the National Forest K-9 series.
DESCRIPTION:
When the man she loves is framed for murder, Maya Thompson and her K-9 will follow every trail to track the real killer down, in the fourth book in Kathleen Donnelly’s National Forest K-9 series.
U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer Maya Thompson and her K-9, Juniper, are both ready for a break. Ever since moving to Colorado, it’s been one investigation after another. Murder, arson, kidnapping…they’ve handled it all. Now that her boyfriend, Undersheriff Josh Colton, is coming home, Maya is looking forward to spending some quality time together.
Until she and Juniper find the body of a woman in a pile of forest debris meant to burn, that is. Then Maya’s just looking forward to having Josh’s help in solving the crime.
But when the victim turns out to be Josh’s volatile ex-fiancée, and all signs point to Josh as the main suspect, Maya and Juniper must dig into Josh’s past to uncover the truth…before the killer, fixated on revenge, finds them.
For fans of... K-9 detectives Romantic suspense Ex-military heroines Small town romance Police procedurals
This fourth book in Kathleen Donnelly’s National Forest K-9 series continues the drama surrounding Josh Colton, Forest K-9 Officer Maya Thompson’s boyfriend and a sheriff’s deputy. When Josh’s ex is found murdered, the situation quickly becomes even more complicated when evidence points toward Josh. Someone is deliberately trying to frame him for a murder he didn’t commit, and Maya refuses to sit back and watch the man she loves be blamed for something he didn’t do.
Determined to prove Josh’s innocence, Maya once again puts herself in harm’s way. Thankfully, her loyal K-9 partner, Juniper, is right there beside her, ready to provide whatever backup Maya needs. Together, they face danger as Maya works to uncover the truth and clear Josh’s name.
This installment continues the ongoing story of Maya and Josh, so I highly recommend reading the National Forest K-9 series in order. There is quite a bit of relationship history and continuing drama that makes reading the books in sequence much more rewarding.
With danger, murder, an attempt to frame Josh, and Maya’s determination to protect the man she loves, this was another suspenseful addition to a series I’ve really been enjoying. And, of course, having Juniper by Maya’s side makes every adventure even better!
Danger—and revenge—threaten the forest in the fifth book in Kathleen Donnelly’s thrilling search and rescue National Forest K-9 series.
There’s nothing more terrifying than a trail of smoke over a summer-dry national forest—at least, that’s what Forest Service law enforcement officer Maya Thompson thinks when she and her boyfriend, sheriff’s deputy Josh Colten, spot the first signs of a fire over the Colorado mountains.
But when she learns that a teen girl has been kidnapped and taken deep into the wilderness, a new fear grips If she and her K-9 partner, Juniper, can’t reach them fast enough, the fire might not just destroy her beloved forest—it might be the end to an innocent girl’s life.
An innocent girl who is tied to Maya in ways she never could have imagined. And in ways that will upend everything she’s always believed about her family…and the dark past that haunts her.
Forest K-9 Officer Maya Thompson has a lot on her plate. Not only is there a teen named Hope missing, she is trying to stay ahead of a spreading forest fire while she searches for the teen. Previously, Maya had gotten a dirty cop off of the street Her name is Abigail and she has escaped prison. Abigail has a sole purpose and that is to reign revenge on Maya. As Maya soon learns, it is Abigail who has abducted Hope.
Meanwhile, Maya is not just at a crossroads in her relationship with Undersheriff Josh Colton, Maya is seeking to cement other family relationships. Just as she’s fully come to terms with who her father is, he makes a surprise move that she wasn’t quite ready for.
This thrilling installment in the National Forest K-9 series is rich with action, drama, and excellent pacing. This book, along with the previous two, Killer Secrets and Buried Lies, has been wonderfully narrated by Hayli Henderson. She brings a lot to a wonderfully written series and has been a pleasure to listen to.
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