First off you lose an entire star for writing in an exceptionally trained dog that sensed danger well, stalked enemies, and stealthily attacked. But then wrote her off by having her standing still and just barking at a man before he shot her. Not at all consistent with her character in the books prior. If you’re going to put your readers through an animal death at least make it meaningful.
Secondly, you lose another star because you use the same phrases and verbiage over and over. The first thing you learn in English is to not start your paragraphs with the same introductory phrases and so on. I don’t know how many times in this book series I’ve heard the words “max pulled the trigger.” Or whichever character it was at the time. You also always they pulled the trigger or fired in rapid succession.
For a survival thriller this series has the same problems most of the others do. It’s a great idea but the author is never creative or experienced enough to take it to that next level that these type of stories should be.