This is another great book by author Clair M. Poulson. It immediately hooks you in during the prologue with a huge scene of a death caused by a mob hit-man and the girlfriend of the victim on the run. You don't hear much more about this girl until a little later in the story. Instead, we meet pro ladies basketball player Nadia Fairchild whose mother a college basketball coach, and one of her players, have disappeared. Nadia hires PI Jayden Spaulding who is one of the best in town to help Nadia find her mom. Jayden and Nadia hit it off right from the beginning and a relationship starts developing. I really like both characters but I REALLy liked Jayden's partner his German Shepherd, Bullet. His dog is trained to protect Jayden and follows commands very well. He actually has a great personality for a dog. There are also some awesome side characters I enjoyed like Nadia's grandfather Marley, parole officer Booker, and police chief Owens. They all contributed a lot to the story and in helping solve the case.
I like the way that Poulson develops the story leaving great clues without making it too easy to solve. You are steered in one direction to only be turned another in the next chapter. This keeps it interesting and keeps you guessing. The romance is developed quickly but everything is kept clean. The main characters are LDS so they occasionally talk about their religion but nothing along the lines of being preachy.There is some violence as there are attacks on people by the bad guys and then Bullet taking care of those same bad guys. There is nothing there though that I wouldn't let me teen read.
If you like mysteries, a budding romance, and plenty of suspense...and a truly loyal and amazing German Shepherd, then you'll enjoy reading The Search.
