by Amy Shojai

Amy Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and has written 26 Award-Winning Pet Care Books. She has also developed a dog training vocabulary game. She uses this knowledge to create her first book of fiction. Lost and Found is definitely a “Thriller with a BITE”.

There are many interesting characters in the story – both human and animal. The main character, September, is an animal behavior specialist – just like the author. September’s relationship with her family is very complicated, her nephew Steven is autistic, and there are bad guys chasing her all over town. She also trains a young German Sheppard named Shadow to be a service dog to keep her nephew safe.

The author did a great job in researching autism. She was able to describe how autistic children behave and how their parents can be desperate enough to pay an exorbitant amount of money for medication that will “cure” their children. My daughter is autistic and I know I would love to find a miracle drug for her. As I was reading the story, I could feel my stomach in knots as I feared for Steven’s safety when he was lost in a blizzard, even though he had Shadow with him.

I enjoyed how the author anthropomorphizes the animals. There is Macy, September’s Maine coon cat, who loves to play laser tag, fetches toys on command and knows how to beg. We are also privy to Shadow’s thoughts as he tries to protect Steven, responds to his trainer and interacts with other humans. He teaches us that dogs “see” with scents, and can taste and smell fear. He is puzzled why people don’t shake off water instead of rubbing themselves dry. Shadow is a pivotal character in this story. He learns a lot about the human world and starts to make decisions that he knows might not be what is expected of him. Luckily for the humans, he is right.

If you’re an animal lover and are looking for a good mystery book with some interesting characters, Lost and Found is the one for you.