Special Agent Meg Jennings and her trusted search-and-rescue Labrador, Hawk, must race against the clock before a diabolical killer strikes again . . . Somewhere in the Washington, D.C. area, a woman lies helpless in a box. Barely breathing. Buried alive. In Quantico, the FBI receives a coded message from the woman’s abductor. He wants to play a game: decipher the clues, save the girl. The … clues, save the girl. The FBI’s top cryptanalysts crack the code and Special Agent Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner, Hawk, scramble to the scene of the crime—too late. But the killer’s game is far from over . . .
Another message, another victim. The deadly pattern is repeated—again and again. As the body count mounts, Meg decides to break protocol and bring in her brilliant sister, Cara, a genius at word games, to decipher the kidnapper’s twisted clues. Meg knows she’s risking her career to do it, but she’s determined not to let one more person die under her and Hawk’s watch. If the plan fails, it could bite them in the end. And if it leads to the killer, it could bury them forever . . .
“Tense and exciting, Sara Driscoll has created a new power couple, Meg and her FBI K-9, Hawk.” —Leo J. Maloney, author of Arch Enemy
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BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE (FBI K-9 #2) by Sara Driscoll is an edge-of-your-seat FBI K-9 crime thrill ride! I enjoyed the first book in this series and this addition to the series did not let me down. I had to continue turning the pages without stop anxious for the team to catch the killer, but also dreading the next type of asphyxia used on each victim.
As women go missing, their dogs are found with coded messages attached to their leashes all addressed to Special Agent Meg Jennings. As the FBI cryptanalysts decode the messages, Meg and Hawk, as well as the other FBI K-9 team members race to save the women from a horrific death. It is a deadly game in which each woman bears a striking resemblance to Meg.
Meg cannot let these women be substitutes for her any longer. She breaks the FBI rules and brings in her sister, Cara who is talented with codes and puzzles and Clay McCord a reporter who is extremely well versed in Civil War history to solve each clue sooner to give the team more time to rescue the abducted women.
When Cara and another woman are abducted, Meg is told by the killer she cannot use any law enforcement to help. Can she save her sister in time? Will she have to let another die in her place? These games have to end and it is time to unmask this killer who keeps killing Meg over and over again.
Meg and Hawk are such an interesting team. If you love dogs added to your stories, this is the series to follow. This is a suspense/thriller series with just a hint at romance for the future. It was great to follow all of the team again, but this book also goes more in depth into Meg and Cara’s private lives. This story is full of action, thrills and chilling methods used by the killer. (The first death is a primal fear of so many, including me.) I am looking forward to reading more of this series in the future!
Before It’s Too Late by sara Driscoll
FBI K-9 #2
Meg and Hawk are a great human/K-9 team and it was wonderful catching up with them again. I don’t know if I could do the work Meg and her fellow K-9 handlers do for the FBI but I admire them and others like them heartily!
This book is as filled with suspense and danger as the first one was but instead of a maker of bombs to be caught there is a serial killer that must be stopped. With each victim a doppelganger of Meg and her name mentioned on each of the notes retrieved from the sites women disappear from Meg sees there must be some personal vendetta behind what is happening BUT who hates her enough to do what is being done? Each time a woman is taken there is a time limit set for the team to find her before she dies. Each time a woman is taken the stakes are increased and the time limit for the team to find and save the victim from death increasingly crucial. Rooting for Meg, Hawk and the team working on the case is a given. The intensity of each search is agonizing and tiring. The Confederate facts at the beginning of each chapter are essential, educational and pertinent to the story. The input from Meg’s sister, journalist McCord and Fireman Webb is indispensable.
I enjoyed this book as much as the first and look forward to what is coming next. Romance is not a big part of this story but it is lurking in the wings and I look forward to finding out what will be happening in this arena for Meg, her sister and some of the others in the book. The dogs are a delight and so very talented…just as are their handlers.
What can I say except – if you like dogs, K-9 stories, action, suspense, puzzles and more then you will enjoy this book…at least I did. As for everything in the book being totally realistic? Perhaps not BUT it definitely does not detract from the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
Oh…perhaps I should also say that though my eyelids were closing and my body fatigued I could not put this book down till I finished it in the wee hours of this morning.
5 Stars
Before It’s Too Late by author Sara Driscoll is the second in the mystery series with FBI agent Meg Jennings and her service dog, Hawk. They become part of a team who are led on a chase against time to save a woman from a serial murderer. Due to an error in the cryptologists interpretation of the coded message, Meg is too late to save the victim by just minutes. It is not long until another coded message from the killer is received and it is addressed specifically for Meg. The codes are always placed with the victims dog which is left behind after the abduction.
Meg’s sister happens to be able to solve the code faster than the FBI cryptanalysts and discovers an eerie pattern in each of the codes. The first word is the name of something very personal to Meg. The same type code is used, but Meg is determined to find the victim before it is too late. The codes also have an added mystery phrase which links to an event during the Civil War, so Meg enlists the help of a reporter who is very knowledgeable about this time in US history.
Meg lives with her sister, Cara who looks a lot like Meg. This is what the victims seem to have in common, they all resemble Meg…will her sister be next? A fast page turner of suspense with wonderful characters!
Meg Jennings is an FBI K-9 handler with her Black Lab–Hawk. They are a part of a team of K-9 handlers. A dog is found wandering with a leash and a note attached addressed to Meg. The note is in code and when deciphered leads them to a dead woman who looks remarkably like Meg. But that is just the start of the game. As the game progresses it gets more and more personal to Meg. Then Meg becomes the target. Can the team find the killer in time?
Love this series!
Loved the plot. Just when I was wondering what could come next, the story took an abrupt twist. Am looking forward to reading more of Riley Sager’s books
I love any book with a dog in it and this one fits the bill. The FBI handler and her dog make a great story and makes you want to read the whole series.
So far 3 books in this series. All worth reading. 4th due out 2021.
I found her books on FBI dog crime mysteries very interesting. The compassion She showed while working with the dogs was heart warming and heartbreaking at times too. I have read all three in the FBI dog crime mysteries and look forward to reading more.
Awesome