The only single thing I can say against this book is that it is unnecessarily long at 461 pgs.

Now for the good stuff... Virginia Lanier did not begin writing this series until she was in her 60s, after working decades in the deep South during the years of Civil Rights and good ole boy attitudes. In this, her excellent debut mystery about an outspoken amateur female detective who leads bloodhound searches for all types of missing persons, her love for and her regret about the American South emerge.

There are lots of insights into Georgia's backwoods culture, beautiful descriptions of the land, great information on training dogs to find missing children/prisoners/tourists, and nice inclusions of humor and even a touch of romance. This is an excellent, fast-paced mystery with multiple story lines that many will enjoy.