Decoy Training by Caridad Pineiro is the first book in the K-9’s on Patrol series, each book written by a different 
author. This is the second book I’ve read in the series, as I read them out of order, but they work as standalones.
The book blurb says that Shane Adler is a former Marine, but in the book, he’s described as a former Army sharpshooter trainer. Decoy is a stray dog from Afghanistan that Shane had befriended while deployed. After a car bomb left Shane under a pile of rubble, Decoy found him, and upon his return home, Shane brought him back with him. With a lingering injury that leaves Shane unable to perform his job, he leaves the military and takes Decoy to visit one of his former teammates, who tells him about the Daniels Canine Academy in Jasper. Wanting to get into Search and Rescue with Decoy, Shane signs them up for training.
Piper Lambert is assigned to work with the pair. She’s reluctant to deal with anyone from the military, as she had lost her Marine husband in Iraq four years earlier. Her goal is to stay detached from them but when strange things start happening at her home, she finds that hard to do as Shane becomes determined to keep her safe and get to the bottom of who keeps trespassing on her property.
The first part of the book is mainly readers getting to know Shane and Piper, as well as them developing a relationship; it felt like it moved a little slowly. The second half of the book is when the action picks up and things start to get more exciting. I tend to enjoy romantic suspense more when neither the romance nor the suspense overshadows each other. In this case, it felt like the romance/relationship building overshadowed the suspense in the first half of the book, but there was a better balance later on.
Decoy Training is about two wounded people, both physically and emotionally, finding healing and love with some suspense thrown in. While I didn’t like this one as much as I did the second book in the series, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like to read romantic suspense.
Book Info:
Publication: March 29, 2022 | Harlequin Intrigue | K-9’s on Patrol #1
Former marine Shane Adler’s used to perilous situations. But he’s stunned to find danger in the peaceful Idaho mountains—especially swirling around his beautiful dog trainer. After tragically losing her hero husband, Piper Lambert’s rebuilt her life. Now it’s up to Shane—and his loyal K-9 in training, Decoy—to make sure a mysterious enemy won’t derail her new beginning…or his.
