Maggie is a military canine who is injured and loses her handler in combat. Scott is a cop in Los Angeles who is injured and loses his partner in an unexpected shooting. Both are struggling with the trauma they have experienced and are working together to overcome these past tragedies. Suspect is told using multiple perspectives, which sometimes bothers me, but it’s well done here. Maggie's perspective is not cheesy, and seems realistic. The reader is able to understand Maggie better as she navigates her confusion and adjusts to new members of her pack. As the action moves along we learn about the different scents Maggie picks up. As Scott and Maggie work together to uncover who killed Scott's former partner, Stephanie, Maggie starts to notice unusual scents around Scott's home. Maggie is exactly who Scott needs to solve this case.
The audiobook is read by MacLeod Andrews, one of my favorite narrators. Andrews has a way of totally engrossing the listener and before you know it the story is over. Crais' writing packs in a lot of emotion; I teared up a few times. While Suspect is a stand-alone novel, if you would like more, check out Crais' Elvis Cole series starting with The Monkey's Raincoat.