The heart-pounding thriller of a series continues as FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue K-9 companion confront the fury of nature—and the more dangerous nature of man . . .
In the wake of a devastating hurricane, Special Agent Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk—invaluable members of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team—have been deployed to Virginia Beach. They have their work cut out for them. Amid graveyards of debris, and the buried cries for help, the search and rescue operation begins. The most alarming discovery is yet to come—a teenage girl hiding in the Great Dismal Swamp. Shaken by the storm, she has reason to be scared. But this young survivor is terrified of so much more.
Her name is Emma—a disheveled runaway lost to the sordid underbelly of a Virginia sex-trafficking ring. Its leader has disappeared in the chaos—along with other victims. With so much evidence, and so many witnesses, seemingly washed away, Meg joins forces with Special Agent Walter Van Cleave to ensure no further harm comes to their vulnerable charge. They soon discover that this is no small-time localized syndicate. Its branches are rooted in some of the most influential powers in Virginia. Now as Meg’s investigation digs deeper, she’s making some very dangerous enemies. And one by one, they’re coming out of the storm to stop her.
Woohoo! Set in Virginia Beach, the reader is thrust on a wild ride facing loss, a search for the truth, relationships, survival, child exploitation/trafficking and a need for justice.
Wow! Wow! Wow! This is the third book in the series – I have read and loved both the previous books Lone Wolf and Before It’s Too Lateso I jumped at the chance to read this #badboy! A slow build up, adds to the suspense of this novel as you just have no clue what will be happening. Poor Meg and Hawk are sent on a rescue mission to deal with the fall-out of Hurricane Cole but they stumble upon two bodies of young girls which opens a pandora’s box into the seedy underworld of child exploitation/trafficking. In a race against time and the elements, Meg works with Van Cleave to find a missing girl and bring their captor to justice. I loved the plot of this story – and the authors really do know their stuff when it comes to K9 search & rescue as well as everything else! I personally enjoyed the opening of each chapter which explained certain techniques or rules – I am a knowledge seeker and this just made me squeal with delight!
Character-wise, I have to say the mention of Deuce did choke me up a bit as we know how much Meg LOVED Deuce. Those who haven’t read the series, may not understand this fully, but you definitely feel the emotion whenever Deuce is mentioned and credit to the authors for giving readers just enough information to catch up on the previous stories without leaving those who have read the books overwhelmed. It had been awhile, so the refresher worked perfectly for me. In fact, I loved every character in this novel- I was thrilled that Cara and McCord had their part – I have a soft spot for McCord and had originally hoped he and Meg would hit it off (ha ha) but equally glad that her sister has found her match. Love, Love, Love Clay and we see things develop further on this front too. And Van Cleave was the typical G-man – in it to catch the bad guy, down-to-earth and determined – I had wavered when we first met him, but glad it was just me! And I have to mention Emma – strong-willed and vulnerable, she has been through hell and back – I just wanted to wrap her up. So well written!
In a nutshell, would I recommend this book? Oh that would be an absolute HELL YEAH from me. I simply adore this series! BOOM! – Thrilling, fascinating and absolutely unputdownable – I raced through the pages of this superb read! #GottaLoveHawk – he is one of my favourite characters as the authors bring him to life with such a realism, every time something places him at risk, my heart leaps into my throat! Can’t wait to see what happens next!
