Betraying Trust (Sam Mason Mysteries, #4) (2024)

This is the fourth book in the Sam Mason series. You should read the previous books [Telling Lies], [Keeping Secrets], and [Exposing Truths] before reading this one.

Chief Sam Mason, Sergeant Jody Harris, and Deputy Keith Deckard are still looking for evidence to put developer Lucas Thorne behind bars for drug dealing, but solving the murder of Mayor Dupont takes priority, although officers know he's somehow connected to the death. While they're trying to find out who killed Dupont, the acting mayor, who seems to be worse than Dupont, brings in the County Sheriff, Bev Hatch, to help with the case. Just as the Sam, Jo, and the County Sheriff start working well together, an obnoxious FBI agent shows up out of the blue and he seems to know quite a bit about Sam and Mick's past. Uh oh. Mayor Dupont's murder isn't the only one they need to solve. One of their suspects, Scott Elliott, is missing and is later found in a shallow grave.

Deputy Keith Deckard is trying to redeem himself for the things he's done the past year. He now trusts Sam and Jo, so when he receives another anonymous note that wants him to implicate Sam, he tries to do the right thing. We find out why Jo came to White Rock and that she's thinking of making it a permanent move.

I'm glad the mystery of who killed Officer Tyler Richardson several months ago is solved and we find out what he was really up to before he was killed, and it's not at all what Sam and Jo thought. I was totally surprised by the revelation of who killed Tyler, Mayor Dupont and Scott Elliott but I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

I wasn't expecting what happened to Keith, and wonder if he'll recover. I'm not sure how I feel about the new part-time guy, Wyatt Davis. I have a funny feeling he may not be a good guy. Since Sam and Jo still don't have any evidence against Thorne for the drug ring, and can't pin any of the murders on him I think we'll see more of them soon.

Language--moderate cursing but no 'F' bombs.

This is the fourth book in the Sam Mason series in which Sam and his deputy Jo, are trying to track down the mayor's killer. When the acting mayor feels like Sam and Jo aren't working fast enough to solve the murder, he brings in the Sheriff from another county to take over. Add the arrival of an an annoying FBI agent, and you have added tension and suspense!

This is one of my favorite series! I love the characters and small town setting. There are a number of suspects and even a loveable K-9, Lucy. I love the way Ms Dobbs keeps me wanting for more time with her characters. Another excellent read!!!

Finished the series, where most everything got worked out, but there is still things that can happen if there is another book in the offing. Have to wait and see. Still a decent read except for repeat canned descriptions of places, the bar, the police office but that's just my bugaboo, it would be fine if they wern't almost word for word in each book.

Sam Mason is the chief of police of a small town in New Hampshire. The town is loaded with corruption. He has a small force of officers that help run the department. Sergeant Jody Harris is the one he trusts the most. When Mayor Harley Dupont asks for a secret meeting with Sam, the mayor is killed before the meeting takes place. Problem is, he was killed in the secret meeting place. Who is leaking out information from the department to Lucas Thorne?Throne is a real estate developer suspected of being responsible for the increase of drugs into White Rock.The mayor had information on him that would help incriminate him. As you read the story, you find that almost everyone in it has a deep secret they don't want to get out. It makes them second guess on who they can actually trust. Can Sam and his officers find the murderer of the mayor?What was the information he had? You will have to read the story to find out.I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. The review is my own opinion.

Finally got to the truth of some of the questions asked in the first three books. I enjoyed this book.

OMG!!! I love this series!! It's soooo good!! I would definitely recommend this series, YOU NEED TO READ ON ORDER! love the characters, the setting & especially Lucy, the German shepherd. I'm off to read the next in the series.

Character are becomg caricatures with no grey area at all. Annoying. I skipped to the end to realise the culprit was someone I had pegged early on anyway...

Having read the previous three books in this series by L. A. Dobbs, I feel this is the best one so far. A few loose ends and questions were answered in this book. Is Kevin on Sam's side or not? I think he is starting to see that Sam and Jo have not done the things that his contact tells him they have done. Sam has added a new member of the Police Department, Wyatt. Part of me feels like Wyatt might be a "plant" to gather inside information for Thorne or whoever is the drug lord. Vice Mayor Henley Jamison who is now acting mayor replacing the dfeceased Mayor Dupont doesn't think Sam and Jo are solving the Mayor's murder fast enough so he calls in county sheriff, Bev Hatch. Things go from bad to worse when Holden Joyce, a FBI agent, strolls into the Police Department demanding to see the files on the murder of Tyler Richardson.
Lucy is still on track to assist the team in solving these crimes.
This book should definitely be read by anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. This one has lots of twists and turns. You will not want to put it down!

This is book 4 in the Sam Mason detective series. In this book Sam and his best detective Jo are trying to find evidence against Mr. Thorne about drug trafficking. They are set to meet with the Mayor who claims to have inside knowledge of Thorne's dealings. When they arrive for the meeting they find the Mayor dead on the floor from a gun shot wound. The interim Mayor sticks his nose in the case demanding an immediate arrest. He brings in the Sheriff making Sam and Jo a little nervous. They get some information from one of Sam's informants that a person who works for the town is involved in the drug dealing. The detectives and the Sheriff seem to be getting no where when out of the blue an FBI agent shows up insinuating that Sam is a suspect. Will Sam and Jo be able to solve the case and bring down Thorne? I really enjoyed this book and found it fast paced and it kept me reading it till the surprising conclusion. Another gem from Lee Dobbs.

Worst in a poor series.

Good grief where do I start?
1. The constant repeating of information from earlier books like doughnuts, Jo's sister, the old post office, trying to pin everything on Thorn without any evidence, and of course the murders.
2. Sam, Jo and Kevin hiding evidence, messing with crime scenes, and lying about a lot of events that don't meet with the narrative Sam is pushing. That leads me to believe the White Rock police department is corrupt.
3. Bev the sheriff comes in and takes over ordering everyone around and Sam doesn't have any issue with that? He sure must not have any confidence in himself, of course he spends most of his time trying to hide his corruption.
4. Why make the State Police so incompetent?
5. Without Bev and Lucy, Sam couldn't solve anything.
6. This book could be condensed down to maybe 150 pages.
I will not be reading any more of this series.
The author should read the Virgil Flowers series to get an idea of how a good mystery series is written.

Questions answered and questions created

Tyler and the mayors killer is found, but more questions arise over the drug deals, land deals and more. The FBI and a new cop enter the picture and both are over the top suspicious. No, Mason and Kevin get closer but then face another crisis.

The writing was faster paced in this story and the focus was more on one case rather than separate town functions. I have my questions regarding the naivety and innocence of two women mentioned frequently and the former chief, but these questions make it good. The relationship or lack there of between Mason and Jo is somewhat annoying bc they both appear to have feelings but won’t go there, so either let it go or make them go for it..four books on though it is frustrating to see the same emotional thoughts regarding their feelings of the other.

Looking forward to the next book and more answers about this town! Also to see how everyone is doing from the fallout of this book!

This wasn't the best book in the series and it seemed rather repetitive to me. We already knew some of the details surrounding police officer Tyler Richardson's death and knew Sam didn't always keep things on the up and up. He and Jo, his colleague and friend, were keeping secrets from the rest of their team, uncertain of who they could trust. The FBI put in an appearance and threatened to blow the case wide open while a fellow officer, Kevin, was in possession of a flash drive that could clear Sam and Jo but didn't want to reveal he'd been working behind the scenes for the bad guy.

The author did tie things up nicely at the end and I did enjoy the characters in the series. I admit there were a couple of times I got confused due to multiple players involved in the suspense but other than that I found the series, as a whole, very entertaining.

This is the fourth in the Sam Mason Mystery Series. This is not a cozy but more of a police procedural with characters hiding secrets.

The ongoing mystery that has run through the first three books is finally resolved. We learn who killed Tyler Richardson but not why. There is still a lot of rehashing from the previous information- some I feel is over kill if you have been reading the other books and probably not needed if you haven’t been reading them.

We have a replacement mayor and how could he be worse than Dupont. Read and find out.

I was totally surprised when it was revealed who killed Tyler, Mayor Dupont and Scott Elliott. I was also surprised at what happens to Kevin. He has begun to fit in with the current police crew. I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

I look forward to the next book if only to see what Kevin’s outcome is.

Dissatisfied by the lack of progress on DuPont’s case acting mayor Jamison calls county sheriff Bev Hatch in to oversee Sam and Jo’s work; new officer Wyatt starts work while Kevin still hasn’t decided which side he���s on. Though favorite villain Thorne is considered a suspect, it’s only fleeting as FBI agent Holden Joyce comes in knowing as much as our dynamic duo does and more than the other, but Kevin steps up to protect them.

Joyce has declared Sam guilty and it’s up to the others to prove he isn’t. This is a huge problem because Joyce’s claim includes the kerfuffle that happened in Sam’s cousin’s trouble and officer Tyler Richardson’s murder. Lucy, of course, does a great job protecting her people, enough to make one wonder how crimes were solved before she joined the force!
Rating: 4stars

Actually, this is the fourth of the L. A. Dobbs Sam Mason K-9 Dog mysteries I’ve read, and I became less enamored the further I went. I know that the thing to do with serialized themes is to keep the customer coming back. The only reason I even began this series was because of the involvement of the dog Lucy, and the fact that they are all available in the Kindle Unlimited system. However, I became quite frustrated in that I don’t believe either the dog or the human characters lived up to the promise. I was even more frustrated at the “stingy” way the author doles out the tantalizing hints about the back stories of the two main protagonists, but is in no real hurry to develop the story. Maybe this is why I never liked "soap operas", either. I have returned the books I’ve read so far to my Kindle Unlimited, and don’t plan to follow the series any further.

Determined to pin the murder of Mayor Dupont on Thorne. Sam and Jo are studiously working to find the connecting leads. Acting mayor Jamison is determined to see this case closed so he will look good for the upcoming election. He calls in Sheriff Bev Hatch to take the lead in the investigation.

Sam and Jo are trying to keep some things from her investigation, when the FBI steps in and decides they can do a better job. The sheriff has had prior dealings with Special Agent Joyce in the past. She already doesn't like him, and she likes him even less since he is openly trying to pin something, and it doesn't matter what on Chief Sam Mason.

Another great story from the mind of Leighann Dobbs.

In the fourth of the Sam Mason Mysteries Sam andJo are trying to discover who murdered the mayor. The acting mayor is pushing them to find answers so he brings in the Coos County Sheriff, Bev Hatch. Sam and Jo are walking a fine line in working the case while keeping Bev in the dark about some things. Before they can solve the case one of their suspects is also murdered. An FBI agent shows up who seems to be intent on pinning the murder on Sam. Kevin is questioning his past behavior and starting to trust Sam and Jo more. During the investigation it is discovered that the mayor and deputy Tyler’s murders are connected. Luckily the murderer is caught without Sam and Jo’s secrets coming out. I especially liked that Kevin’s character evolved in this book.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Sam Mason and his team continue to deliver a nail biter till the end. This is not only a mystery, but a thriller too in that the story includes murder, corruption, drug crime, lies, secrets and drama with twists and turns that you just don't see coming, what one would expect in a book like this! Well developed characters in a well told story that provides some closure but certainly leaves room to pick up in book 5. The character interactions will have you gritting your teeth and talking out loud to get them to try and see what the others have up their sleeves. This book completely holds its own as a standalone, but I recommend the other books in the series as well.

Three stars

I have been reading this series from the first book. I am sorry to say this was kind of a let down. I did like that the Sheriff was a woman. However, who called the FBI into the case. They just don't show up and butt into murder cases, especially in some tiny village with a four person police force. I disliked the ending where Joyce waltzed in threatening suspensions. Too far from reality! The FBI has no authority over other agencies in disciplinary matters. I would like to see Mrs Dobbs go to stand alone books in her series. This book just didn't click for me and there are still issues set up in book one that have yet to be resolved. It is starting to look quite murky.

Unsatisfying conclusion

This is book four in the series and appears to tie up some of the ongoing story arc. We finally find out the killer of Officer Richardson as well as Mayor DuPont and another murder. However the book ends as if in the middle of a chapter and the big villain still hasn’t been dealt with.

And Jo is still keeping her secret which is stupid and Sam’s secret still appears to be a threat as the villain hasn’t been dealt with. Though Sam now has information that Thorne won’t want to get out...Mexican standoff.

Quite an unsatisfactory and anti climatic wrap up. Definitely didn’t get my five dollars worth here and probably won’t read another book as this all just drags out too long with too little payoff.

Book # 4 in the Sam Mason series I received for a fair and honest review:

Sam and Jo with new officer Wyatt, part time officer Kevin,and K9 Lucy are back at it. trying to figure out who killed the Mayor as well as Tyler, the young officer who had been killed the summer before while on a traffic stop.
With the help of the county sheriff, who seems to know how to help, and be on the right side of things and an FBI agent who it seems is out to pin the killing on Sam...
Ms Dobbs adds lots of twists and turns, I for once did NOT see the final answer at all!
This book reads both well as part of the Sam Mason series AND as a stand alone book...

Questions answered?

If you have not read the other books in this series you would be find to read but you most differently would want to read the previous books so you knew the back story.
I am glad that the book answered most of the questions that came up in other books but still left more so that there will be more to come.
Sam and Jo are wonder if the changes they made at the crime scene will come back to bite them. Kevin is taken on more responsibility and feeling like he is part of the team. We are also introduced to the new hire. Still not sure about Wyatt yet.
Very good read. Would recommend it to others to read.

Betraying Trust.

This is the 4th book in this series. Sam and Jo are the chief and detective of this town. They have solved the murders but still have nothing to prove that Thorne is the drug lord.
The characters in the story are developing into real people. We get to read their thoughts along with what they say. They all have some secrets like real people. We are slowly learning their secrets.
Trust is building between all of the officers. Kevin and Wyatt are new to the police force. Kevin is part time and Wyatt was just hired.

Betraying Trust (A Sam Mason K-9 Dog Mystery Book 4)

Sam and his human partner Jo and his canine partner Lucy really didn't know who they could trust. They had an officer that had been murdered and the mayor had just turned up dead also. People wanted answers that they just didn't have, there were just too many read ends and no new leads. There was someone out there pulling strings that kept the drugs coming into their town and no clues as to who was delivering the product. There are so many secrets here, but no one is talking. Something had to break the silence soon.

Just finished & I LOVED IT!!! This is the first one I’ve read in this series, but it was easy to pick up and follow the characters & plot! Lots of twists and turns. Well developed characters. Exciting plot throughout! I’m going back to read the rest of this series, starting at #1! I love these characters! Thanks Ms. Dobbins! You’ve got me hooked on yet another one of your series!🤣 This book was gifted to me by the author, with no expectation for a review.

Opening with a murder sets a fast pace for the next book in this series. Although some mysteries regarding Tyler are resolved, others remain and even more are discovered. Sam and Jody continue their "safe" relationship-although I wish they would progress a little faster. Trust and Loyalty are still a huge issue in this installment and our heroes have decisions to make. Jody still has not given up on her personal quest and Sam still mulls over having to replace Tyler. Solid book for the series.

Best one so far

I enjoy reading the San Mason series because they are clean mysteries that have just enough "real world" investigation to it. I can visualize the stake outs, squad room and shootouts as I am reading. I am a real fan of Jo and Sam getting together as a couple not just work partners. The book has great character development, scenes described in detail and keeps you hanging on till the next book.

Keeping secrets...

Oh the positions we find ourselves in keeping secrets. Homicide investigation with so many possible suspects. Too many clues being misread. Who is the FBI agent? Is he on the up and up or is he on someone's payroll? You'll be surprised at who the third person up the chain is! Will Kevin come out of the coma? Will they think to check his pocket? Great story. Great job. Thank you.

Great book-Great series!!

I have enjoyed very much reading this series. I love mysteries. This book as well as book 1,2 and 3 kept me interested and I had a hard time putting each one of them down in the series once I started reading them. There was no bad language or adult content--just great enjoyable reading. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who loves reading and loves a good mystery. Can't wait to read book 5!!

The death of Mayor Dupont brings in the county Sheriff to assist in the investigation. Sam Mason chief of police and sergeant Jody Harris do not know who to trust in this mystery that also brings in an agent from the FBI. Agent from FBI is not only investigating the mayors murder but the agency's suspicion of past and present inquiries of Sam's methods of law enforcement. Twists and turns many characters with secrets including those in the law enforcement agency in New Hampshire.