Beneath the Bones by Candace Irving is Book 3 in A Hidden Valor Military Veteran/K-9 Suspense Series.
When a skull is discovered by a local sandbar, Sheriff Sims, "Kato" (Kate Holland), and the other deputies begin the task of discovering how the male's head turned up there. A new deputy has suddenly been added to their midst and the sheriff isn't being very talkative about why this particular guy has been hired. He wants the new guy partnered up with Kate and that isn't sitting well with her, especially without a reasonable explanation, since he's obnoxious and arrogant.
In this story, things happen fast with that skull swiftly identified along with cause of death, but without a lot to go on, other than discovering her best friend's father (Carl Vogel) was the therapist to the man whose disappearance, then death, was labeled a suicide by none other than Kate's father when clearly upon examination it was murder. Being unable to justify that history, another murder occurs that seems to connect to the first man.
In all of this, there are connections to a couple of other men from a particular military unit. However, because of Carl Vogel's connection to the first found victim, Kate goes to visit Vogel to see if the man can add any information about him. Knowing Carl has dementia, it's going to be tricky to talk with him, but what she doesn't expect is her best friend Liz, Carl's daughter, to be there and to greet her with hostility and an unwillingness to allow Kate to speak to him. What Liz reluctantly volunteers is that she knew the victim and liked him. From there, things get weird and Kate is basically forced to leave without a brief interview with Carl.
Candace is terrific at making her plots in this series puzzling and complex, bringing new characters that contribute to the story but also can add confusion. Plus, there's something very strange going on with this new deputy and the animosity between them elevates to a boiling point.
There's so much happening in Beneath the Bones that I'm laboring not to post spoilers. It's an excellent addition to this series with noticeable growth in Kate's psyche and real diligence to overcome her extremely difficult history. Her relationship with Detective Moradi is finally moving forward, and Ruger is excelling at his potentially new career. This is definitely a series worth reading with a strong heroine and some wonderful peripheral supporting characters. Highly recommend it.
(Some profanity.)
Father, only you know hearts and minds. Only you save souls and nourish each one. We're desperate for you, Lord, whether we know it or not. Please bless Candace in all her writing endeavors and continue to provide those stories you have just for her to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.