Library Journal
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Focusing on the alternating perspectives of a father and a son during a very rough couple of days, Edgar Award winner Schwegel's (Officer Down) latest novel is an ambitious work that depends upon the successful realization and creation of a child's voice. When the work focuses on Pete, a worn-down Chicago police officer trying to regroup in the K9 unit after a messy public scandal had derailed his career, the book breezes along like the best stories of George Pelecanos, Laura Lippman, or Michael Connelly. Whether bantering with an uncooperative witness, arguing with his wife and daughter, or parsing out the backstory of his scandal, Pete is a fully realized and engaging character. When the chapters switch back to Pete's 11-year-son, Joel, who is on the run with his dad's police dog Butchie after encountering an armed guest at a neighbor's party, the story begins to bog down. Something is off with Joel's characterization and narrative, and these chapters read like a contrived plot device rather than a smooth extension of the story. The work is not for readers squeamish about violence toward animals, as an early plot point hinges on an extremely graphic act. Verdict For fans of gritty police procedurals who are not opposed to scenes of animal abuse.-Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Chicago police officer Pete Murphy's professional and personal lives are both in turmoil. A past scandal derailed his career, and he now serves as a K9 officer, handling his dog, Butchie. The questionable arrest of a gang member and the subsequent lawsuit reopen past wounds. Meanwhile, financial problems have forced his family to sell their home and move into less desirable surroundings. Pete's marriage is on shaky ground, and his teenage daughter has become involved with a young man with ties to gang members. Throughout all these problems, Pete's intelligent son, Joel, goes largely unnoticed by the family. However, after witnessing a shooting at a party, Joel and Butchie go on the run. Pete is determined to find them, even if it means risking an encounter with gangbangers bent on revenge. Reader Luke Daniels does an excellent job. Verdict This very compelling work combines a crime story with the examination of a troubled family. Recommended to all listeners.-Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A series of unlucky coincidences drops a boy and his dog down the rabbit hole of Chicago's meanest streets. Butch isn't really Joel Murphy's dog. The shepherd-Malinois mix, whose specialty is sniffing out drugs, is the partner of Joel's father, Officer Pete Murphy. Although Joel doesn't know it--he's only 11, and his parents don't share every bit of the family's bad news with him--Butch is already in trouble for attacking Ja'Kobe White, a gangbanger Pete had pulled over in a serious error of judgment. Now David Cardinale, White's bulldog lawyer, is suing the Chicago Police Department, and Pete's under serious pressure to change his story about the stop so that the case can go away. All this intrigue is part of the long, long buildup before the fateful night when Joel, worried about his big sister McKenna's involvement with some violent bullies, follows her to a party, taking along Butch as backup. The dog follows his nose to a stash, and in the resulting excitement, someone fires three shots, one of which ends up in Aaron Northcutt, one of the bullies. Fearful that Butch will have to be "youth-nized" for his breach of the peace, Joel takes it on the lam. With no money to speak of, no experience of the streets, and no one to turn to but Katherine Crawford, the judge whose involvement with Pete Murphy was the backdrop to Pete's current troubles, Joel has his work cut out for him. Despite his fear and vulnerability, however, the kid turns out to be as cool under pressure as Alice in Wonderland and as resourceful in his way as Odysseus sailing the Aegean. If only the same were true of the father looking for him. The air of constant menace depends on too many muddled subplots. But when Schwegel (Last Known Address, 2009, etc.) keeps the focus on Joel and his father, you won't be able to look away.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Daniels delivers a strong performance in his reading of Schwegel's latest crime novel about Butch, a smart Shepherd-Malinois mix and prime member of the Chicago Police Department's K9 unit; his partner, officer Pete Murphy, who is doing his best to recover from a recent scandal that threatens his family and his career; and Pete's son, Joel, a socially awkward but resourceful 11-year-old. When Joel runs afoul of a local bully and his gang, he and Butch end up on the run, forced to navigate the streets of Chicago in search of safety. Although Daniels starts off a little stiff in his narration, he quickly warms to the material and delivers an engaging reading. He keeps the pace taut and suspenseful, but never allows the story to slip into melodrama. Daniels's characterizations are effectively diverse; he presents each character with an individual voice perfectly suited to age, gender, and ethnicity. A Minotaur hardcover. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Eleven-year-old Joel Murphy and his father's police dog, Butch, take center stage in this nail-biter from Edgar-winner Schwegel (Last Known Address). Officer Pete Murphy, Joel's father and Butch's handler and partner, is embroiled in a civil suit brought by the brother of a slain gang member, which all leads back to Murphy's last big case involving the protection of-and potential affair with-an influential Chicago judge. Wallflower Joel slips through life largely unnoticed, playing elaborate versions of cops and robbers with a neighborhood girl, Molly, while his older sister, McKenna, flaunts her teenage spirit with parties and underage drinking. But when Joel and Butch see something they shouldn't-and more importantly, someone sees them see it-they take off, each determined to take care of the other at any cost. The reader will empathize with everyone from Pete, who has his heart in the right place but makes several wrong turns, to Butch, who never speaks yet says volumes. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.