Rex’s adventures begin! What’s Bred in the Bone: WIDELY AVAILABLE NOW!

What’s Bred in the Bone

Book One of the XK9 “Bones” Trilogy

Search for ISBN 9781950748013 for the Ebook. Search for ISBN 9781950748037 for the trade paperback. Scroll down for direct links to booksellers.

Why teach a dog to speak if no one will listen to him?

Bio-engineered and cyber-enhanced XK9 Rex is the most capable police dog money could buy. He even has a collar-mounted vocalizer. But then a catastrophic explosion on a space dock sidelines his human partner.

Now his new masters on Rana Station assume Rex has nothing to say. But Rex’s keen nose picked up a vital clue about the explosion. He must get the investigators to listen, even though the handling protocols say that without his human, this forensic tool must go on the shelf.

Giving them “puppy-eyes” doesn’t work. Rex must dare to disobey orders and make them listen. But neither he nor the Police Chief know that the handling protocol hides an ugly truth. When Rex takes an independent hike to HQ, the truth is laid bare.

Rex has revealed an international conspiracy that could destabilize the entire Chayko System. Who will listen to him now?

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Want a Sample? Download Chapter One here!

Praise for What’s Bred in the Bone

From Publications and other Authors

“Lovers of smart SF exploring animal intelligence will find pleasures and insights on every page.”

—BookLife

“Gephardt excels at developing the canine characters. . . the XK9s prove irresistible .”

—Kirkus Reviews

“There were so many things to love about this book.”

—Booker T’s Farm

“Gephardt does a fantastic job of putting us inside of these animals’ heads . . . She also has a great sense of humor, with some pages making me giggle as I read them.

—Dogpatch Press

“This novel is a dog-lover’s dream!”

—Robin Wayne Bailey, author of the Brothers of the Dragon Series.

Want more XK9s?

Subscribe to Jan’s Newsletter. Each issue offers inside glimpses, art ,and updates, plus FREE Featured Fiction Downloads. Get her highly ranked prequel novella! The Other Side of Fear comes FREE as an ebook when you sign up. As one reviewer put it:

If you aren’t a subscriber, this author has a great mailing list. Worth looking into for a peek at the process of bringing this world and its characters to life.

–Unsolicited Review from a Reader in Canada.