What do you think?
Rate this book
Raine Stockton Dog Mystery #6
The Dead Season
Praise for the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series "An exciting, original and suspense-laden whodunit... A simply fabulous mystery starring a likeable, dedicated heroine..." --Midwest Book Review "A delightful protagonist...a well-crafted mystery." --Romantic Times "There can't be too many golden retrievers in mystery fiction for my taste." --Deadly Pleasures Book Six in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series
January is known as the dead season in the small Smoky mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina. For dog trainer and wilderness expert Raine Stockton, who hasn't had a client in six month, this season has been deader than most. When the New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens offers her a job leading a group of students on a winter camping expedition as part of their rehabilitation program, Raine jumps at the chance-- particularly since it means she will be able to take her golden retriever, Cisco, with her. But something is not right at New Day, and Raine and Cisco soon find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, suspicion and sabotage. As the group moves deeper into the wilderness beneath steadily worsening weather, Raine begins to fear she and Cisco may soon find themselves trapped on the mountainside... with a killer.
January is known as the dead season in the small Smoky mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina. For dog trainer and wilderness expert Raine Stockton, who hasn't had a client in six month, this season has been deader than most. When the New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens offers her a job leading a group of students on a winter camping expedition as part of their rehabilitation program, Raine jumps at the chance-- particularly since it means she will be able to take her golden retriever, Cisco, with her. But something is not right at New Day, and Raine and Cisco soon find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, suspicion and sabotage. As the group moves deeper into the wilderness beneath steadily worsening weather, Raine begins to fear she and Cisco may soon find themselves trapped on the mountainside... with a killer.
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2012
327 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
January 5, 2017
This was an on your tippy toes, edge of your seat mystery. I had never read any of the previous books in the Raine Stockton series, but I had no problems at all with that. The book had little to no flash backs or leaving you with that feeling of missing out on something thats happened before. This was non stop action from page one and I like them like that. I now have ordered the others in the series. With writing this good and this nail biting Im sure to read all of the books.
I love Raine's character. She is strong, intelligent and doesn't back down from anyone. She tells people off when they need telling. She is a bit fearless with the exception of her dog. She is always concerned for him. Her dog is a search and rescue Labrador Retriever. If your a dog lover this is deff the series for you!
I love Raine's character. She is strong, intelligent and doesn't back down from anyone. She tells people off when they need telling. She is a bit fearless with the exception of her dog. She is always concerned for him. Her dog is a search and rescue Labrador Retriever. If your a dog lover this is deff the series for you!
January 5, 2015
This was by far the most suspenseful of the series to date. I actually chewed all of my fingernails off, and had to keep taking breaks while I was reading it (over the course of two days, it was a crazy page-turner). I am coming to admire Donna Ball so very much. She is fantastic at character development, and she handled the foreshadowing and suspense masterfully in this book. The tension ratcheted up so slowly it was just excruciating. There was one point, concerning a call phone, where I just KNEW what was going to happen, because I'd seen it coming and coming, but then she turned it on its head and it ended up being WAY FAR WORSE. OMG.
Cisco is once again the star or the show. This book contains fewer references to dog training tips, but instead is just a trove of wilderness survival tips and little bits of advice to tuck away for when you go hiking or camping. Ball's knowledge of the area, of dogs and dog training and the "dog lifestyle," and wilderness survival is really outstanding. Either she really is an expert in these areas, or her research is impeccable.
I've already started the next in the series. I contemplated switching to something else, in order to savor this world and these characters and draw out the experience, because I think there are only 3 books after this one, but I can't. I just can't. I need more Cisco and Raine and Sonny and Maude, and now Miles and Melanie. Even Buck!
Cisco is once again the star or the show. This book contains fewer references to dog training tips, but instead is just a trove of wilderness survival tips and little bits of advice to tuck away for when you go hiking or camping. Ball's knowledge of the area, of dogs and dog training and the "dog lifestyle," and wilderness survival is really outstanding. Either she really is an expert in these areas, or her research is impeccable.
I've already started the next in the series. I contemplated switching to something else, in order to savor this world and these characters and draw out the experience, because I think there are only 3 books after this one, but I can't. I just can't. I need more Cisco and Raine and Sonny and Maude, and now Miles and Melanie. Even Buck!
December 28, 2014
Outstanding. By far the best book of the series so far. 4.5 maybe even a 5.
Raine accepts a last minute job offer to work as a staff survival specialist on a 10 day hike with a group of juvenile delinquents who have been sent to the camp by their parents. The staff includes the camp rigid camp owner Paul Evans, his wife Rachel who resents everything Raine does, and Heather who evidently wants to get rid of Raine and whose presence presents questions from the start.
The purpose of the hike is to teacher the kids to think and to work as a team. Despite being told not to interfere with the "therapy" Raine can not approve of some of the tactics of the camp leaders. Conflicts about among the campers and between the campers and the staff members, and then the weather becomes the greatest enemy of all or does it. A dark secret overshadows the experience and changes everyone involve forever.
Although we only get a quick visit from most of the regulars for whom I have come to care greatly, Cisco gets to go on the hike and of course contributes his share to the story.
Raine accepts a last minute job offer to work as a staff survival specialist on a 10 day hike with a group of juvenile delinquents who have been sent to the camp by their parents. The staff includes the camp rigid camp owner Paul Evans, his wife Rachel who resents everything Raine does, and Heather who evidently wants to get rid of Raine and whose presence presents questions from the start.
The purpose of the hike is to teacher the kids to think and to work as a team. Despite being told not to interfere with the "therapy" Raine can not approve of some of the tactics of the camp leaders. Conflicts about among the campers and between the campers and the staff members, and then the weather becomes the greatest enemy of all or does it. A dark secret overshadows the experience and changes everyone involve forever.
Although we only get a quick visit from most of the regulars for whom I have come to care greatly, Cisco gets to go on the hike and of course contributes his share to the story.
October 23, 2017
Another Great Mystery!
Love this book by author, Donna Ball. The characters, human and canine alike, are well-drawn and the story is exciting with never a dull moment. Satisfying all the way around. I’m hooked on the Raine Stockton series.
Love this book by author, Donna Ball. The characters, human and canine alike, are well-drawn and the story is exciting with never a dull moment. Satisfying all the way around. I’m hooked on the Raine Stockton series.
August 28, 2012
I received this book today (8/20/12) and will review it as soon as I finish reading it.
I finished this book in less than 24 hours! This book was a well-written easy read that kept me totally immersed in the character's story from page 1 to the very ending. I fell in love with Cisco and really liked Raine, Cisco's handler.
The story is set in the mountains of Western North Carolina in a small town in Hanover County. Raine is a dog handler and the owner of Dog Daze, a dog training facility. When she receives several calls from the counselors of New Day, she decides to check it out.
New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens is a camp designed to help wayward teenagers learn how to cope in the wilderness and develop the social skills to become successful in life. What begins as a sales pitch from Raine, quickly turns into a job paying a lot of money.
Raine agrees to accompany the counselors and teens on a 10 day survival trek. January is known for its bitter cold and occasional heavy snowstorms. As soon as they set out on the hike, Raine begins to notice that things aren't as they seem-counselors are terrified of the owners of New Day, the teens fight and argue among themselves and Raine seems like a fifth wheel.
As they continue on their trek, Raine finds out some disturbing news-on a previous hiking trip one of the teen's was in an accident that took his life. Now Raine is faced with the challenge of protecting everyone when a freak blizzard, while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. Is New Day what it claims to be or is it just a front for a sadistic couple?
I finished this book in less than 24 hours! This book was a well-written easy read that kept me totally immersed in the character's story from page 1 to the very ending. I fell in love with Cisco and really liked Raine, Cisco's handler.
The story is set in the mountains of Western North Carolina in a small town in Hanover County. Raine is a dog handler and the owner of Dog Daze, a dog training facility. When she receives several calls from the counselors of New Day, she decides to check it out.
New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens is a camp designed to help wayward teenagers learn how to cope in the wilderness and develop the social skills to become successful in life. What begins as a sales pitch from Raine, quickly turns into a job paying a lot of money.
Raine agrees to accompany the counselors and teens on a 10 day survival trek. January is known for its bitter cold and occasional heavy snowstorms. As soon as they set out on the hike, Raine begins to notice that things aren't as they seem-counselors are terrified of the owners of New Day, the teens fight and argue among themselves and Raine seems like a fifth wheel.
As they continue on their trek, Raine finds out some disturbing news-on a previous hiking trip one of the teen's was in an accident that took his life. Now Raine is faced with the challenge of protecting everyone when a freak blizzard, while trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. Is New Day what it claims to be or is it just a front for a sadistic couple?
March 13, 2016
You know how you have a favorite series as a kid...that you will always remember and maybe even still have tucked away on your bookshelf. Well, this is by far my most favorite series as an adult. The joy I experience when reading these books are beyond measure. Ball has such a talent for flushing out the details and nuances of raising and training a golden retriever, but it is so much more than that. These are serious suspense books with genuine characters. I can't tell you how many "fluff" fiction dog books are out there for mass market that should not be! These books shoulx be available everywhere and highly touted. I appreciate that Ball is not "preachy" in her style. Raine is a real life dog owner and trainer, and Raine acknowledges, often humorously, her missteps. She is also loyal and ferocious. How may authors could have you so upset over a mutilated dog toy....and even be able to explain why you felt that way!!??!! I would give this series a 10, and this book is no different. It is a bit darker than her others, but that actually was perfect for me and very well done. Her books are a treat!
August 16, 2016
... and level heads prevailed!
Although this is the 6th book in the series, it is the first of the series that I've read, and author Donna Ball has gained, yet, another fan! Actually, having loved "Flash" and it's sequel " The Sound of Running Horses," I'm already a fan of this fine author, but now I'm a fan of this series, as well!
Great characters, intriguing plot, and a smooth-flowing storyline all come together to make this an enjoyable and moderately suspenseful read. Fans of this author are sure to enjoy this book, as will soon-to-be fans who enjoy well-plotted and well-written adventure/mystery stories.
Although this is the 6th book in the series, it is the first of the series that I've read, and author Donna Ball has gained, yet, another fan! Actually, having loved "Flash" and it's sequel " The Sound of Running Horses," I'm already a fan of this fine author, but now I'm a fan of this series, as well!
Great characters, intriguing plot, and a smooth-flowing storyline all come together to make this an enjoyable and moderately suspenseful read. Fans of this author are sure to enjoy this book, as will soon-to-be fans who enjoy well-plotted and well-written adventure/mystery stories.
June 18, 2017
Wow!!!
I could not put it down....a whole night without sleep. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Thanks for honoring the SAT and all the hard work that they do. I used to be one....but I got old. Still love it.
I could not put it down....a whole night without sleep. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Thanks for honoring the SAT and all the hard work that they do. I used to be one....but I got old. Still love it.
August 9, 2017
This one is a scary right from work one - you can't put it down
October 6, 2020
Just at the point when a lot of series begin to falter, coast along, and generally see a drop off in quality "The Dead Season" comes as a very pleasant surprise. It is short, sharp and tightly focused.
Raine and Cisco join a motley crew of troubled teens and their mentors in a 10-day trek across dangerous terrain. Taking Raine out of familiar surroundings, stripping away friends and family, pares the book back to basics, leaving a linear story of disaster, death and intrigue.
I particularly liked the ending as it raises - and leaves unanswered - the solution to a dilemma.
In my opinion this is one of the best books in the series so far - I would have preferred if it were twice as long, but you have to work with the book you're given :)
Raine and Cisco join a motley crew of troubled teens and their mentors in a 10-day trek across dangerous terrain. Taking Raine out of familiar surroundings, stripping away friends and family, pares the book back to basics, leaving a linear story of disaster, death and intrigue.
I particularly liked the ending as it raises - and leaves unanswered - the solution to a dilemma.
In my opinion this is one of the best books in the series so far - I would have preferred if it were twice as long, but you have to work with the book you're given :)
November 30, 2020
The Dead Season
Raine Stockton Dog Mystery #6
by Donna Ball
Very, very scary. This is one author who is not content to stick with the same formula over and over. She repeats the main characters, but varies the action so very much that I never know what to expect from a book.
And in this one the detective goes on a camping trip as "wilderness survival expert" with a group of troubled teens. She soon finds that the teens seem to be less troubled than the leaders--they're downright creepy. Not to mention that she doesn't agree with their methods for helping kids learn to work together or for wilderness survival.
Then, as you might expect but I didn't, they end up in a real survival situation. And it gets better. Best one of the series so far!
Raine Stockton Dog Mystery #6
by Donna Ball
Very, very scary. This is one author who is not content to stick with the same formula over and over. She repeats the main characters, but varies the action so very much that I never know what to expect from a book.
And in this one the detective goes on a camping trip as "wilderness survival expert" with a group of troubled teens. She soon finds that the teens seem to be less troubled than the leaders--they're downright creepy. Not to mention that she doesn't agree with their methods for helping kids learn to work together or for wilderness survival.
Then, as you might expect but I didn't, they end up in a real survival situation. And it gets better. Best one of the series so far!
July 27, 2021
Probably my favorite installment yet of the Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries. At the last minute, Raine accepts a contract to help lead a group of rebellious teens on a winter wilderness hike. She's hoping it will work into a full-time job supplying training to the dogs of counselors in the New Day Wilderness Program. The story opens as Raine is being interviewed in a police interrogation room about what happened on that disastrous hike and the suspense ratchets up because we know something bad must have happened as we flash back between the narrative and interruptions by the policemen as Raine tells the story. Great wilderness survival story, marvelous interaction of Raine with her dog Cisco, and fascinating look at troubled teens in a rehabilitation program.
June 3, 2017
More action than in the previous books in the series. I think it would have been better being told in real time, instead of the protagonist (Raine Stockton) telling the story in a police station, supposedly a suspect. Nothing in her story or the circumstances made her a likely suspect and the technique made the story less suspenseful.
Like all the books in the series, it will appeal to dog-lovers. The dogs are all realistically drawn, but the human characters on the camping trip never felt very real to me.
Like all the books in the series, it will appeal to dog-lovers. The dogs are all realistically drawn, but the human characters on the camping trip never felt very real to me.
April 22, 2021
I liked this one, but not as much as the others in the series. Even though I frequently read chapters out of sequence, I didn't like the way this one kept flashing back and forth between the police station and what had happened out on the mountain. There was an overall sense of vagueness about all the "goings on" that never quite came together for me.
November 28, 2022
Best Raine Story!
This story about a wilderness hike with troubled teenagers was the best Raine story I have read yet. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Raine and her dog Cisco come through a blizzard and hazardous trail conditions and bring the kids along with them.
This story about a wilderness hike with troubled teenagers was the best Raine story I have read yet. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Raine and her dog Cisco come through a blizzard and hazardous trail conditions and bring the kids along with them.
February 26, 2023
Love all of this series! Read all the current books. I have reviewed them on another site at the time I read them. Now how been thru a few other series and can't do this justice with a full review, as I have read so many, I just know they were great reads, or I wouldn't have kept buying them one after the other
January 6, 2023
Excellent addition to the series and a bit outside the routine. Made me anxious to get so close to the end without a resolution, but it didn't leave us hanging.
Definitely preferred the cover art earlier in the season, though. These last few feel self-published.
Definitely preferred the cover art earlier in the season, though. These last few feel self-published.
September 9, 2017
Amazing!
March 30, 2018
Wonderful read
A wesone series. This is the second time I've read this series. It's that good.
The review process, not so much
A wesone series. This is the second time I've read this series. It's that good.
The review process, not so much
December 22, 2018
Love this series, this book did not disappoint.
January 8, 2019
I love this series. Good bedtime reading, but keeps my interest.
January 22, 2020
What an edge of your seat read!
April 2, 2020
Another entertaining Raine Stockton dog mystery. Always a great read, especially for a dog lover
April 29, 2020
4.5 stars
May 17, 2023
Very good thriller. Lots about the dog - always a plus. I'll be looking for more of hers.
February 9, 2024
Fantastic story
I liked this book even more than the previous ones in this series. A real thriller! Love the new characters.
I liked this book even more than the previous ones in this series. A real thriller! Love the new characters.
June 30, 2025
I could not put it down!!
December 31, 2025
good easy reading
January 16, 2015
This is the best story in the series....or maybe it's just that it is the 6th and the characters are developed and the reader knows them well. Ball's character, Raine, and her therapy dog, Cisco, dive right into the mix of difficult teens and troublesome adults on a wilderness camping trip....in the middle of winter!
Raine is not the cleverest sleuth, nor does she want to be but, she is an expert in wilderness survival. Cisco is a young golden retriever training for search and rescue but sometimes just can't help being distracted and searching for scratches and pets instead.
I've learned about the nature of dogs and dog training as well as nature and wilderness survival in this series which makes the laugh out loud antics of the main characters a worthwhile good read.
Raine is not the cleverest sleuth, nor does she want to be but, she is an expert in wilderness survival. Cisco is a young golden retriever training for search and rescue but sometimes just can't help being distracted and searching for scratches and pets instead.
I've learned about the nature of dogs and dog training as well as nature and wilderness survival in this series which makes the laugh out loud antics of the main characters a worthwhile good read.
April 30, 2013
What is there to not like about a series where Cisco, the dog, is such an important character? I like the Smoky Mountain setting and characters. The winter setting of this particular book chilled me on an 80 degree day. Not to quibble at a trivial point but even smart phones don't normally work in the wilderness. All of the texting and phoning being done on a backpacking trek far from civilization was a bit unrealistic. At least that has been my experience.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews