Although definitely not the best in this series, I always like a story with a dog in it. The problem here is there's too little dog and too many humans. The beginning of the book which concentrated on the actual searches and rescues kept my interest, but the 2nd half wasn't up to par.

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.

my thoughts
5 stars
i want more of this series ,since the first book ive been hooked on it, and i still fell in love with the characters over time i read one of this books , so far ive read all the books that are out so far and i still love them , can't wait for the next one. With that said thanks Netgalley for letting me read one of my all time favorite series

Book three in the FBI K-9 series. This time, Meg and Hawk are sent to Virginia Beach to help after hurricane Clay has come through. Driscoll does a great job painting the chaos of a hurricane battered coast town. I felt like I was really there. But soon, the plot veers as Meg finds a victim of a sex trafficking ring.

Driscoll does a great job with her characters. I love that Meg is a mentally healthy female protagonist with a strong family support system. Quite the rarity these days.

The story is straight forward. There’s plenty of action. I liked that the ending didn’t involve some crazy “let’s put the heroine at risk” kind of requirement. That just gets old so I applaud Driscoll for not falling into that trap. At times, the book can get a little didactic as it tries to instruct the reader about various subjects. But it didn’t bother me, as I felt I was learning something and understood why the authors were doing it. But if that sort of thing bothers you, beware.

In addition to Hawk’s involvement in the search and rescues, it turns out that like most labs, he’s a natural as a therapy dog. I enjoy this series and hope book four is in the works.

My thanks to netgalley and Kensington Books for an advance copy of the book.

Another brilliant installment in the K9 FBI series. This one has the harrowing subject of underage sex trafficking at its core, which can be hard to read about, but was dealt with in a sensitive manner. Meg and Hawk are a great team, and I love their cameraderie when they are working together. Called in to help search and rescue after a hurricane, the book takes an unexpected turn. I really enjoyed this one, and will be eagerly awaiting the next one!

As someone involved with working dogs, I really enjoyed Storm Rising. Driscoll's portrayal of search and rescue canines and handlers is fairly accurate, and she does very well at describing different elements of the job. She also effectively portrays the emotional toll of this type of work as well as the canine-handler bond. Great work!

Storm Rising is a page turner - there is plenty of action, suspense, drama, and a dash of romance. The plot moves quickly without being too fast, and the mystery and the protagonist's involvement in it is nicely resolved at the end. A perfect weekend read for any mystery or working canine lover!

Thank you to Kensington Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for review.

Storm Rising – Sara Driscoll

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Jennings is a retired cop, and now a member of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team, along with her beloved canine, Hawk, a black lab. She is preparing for deployment to Virginia Beach to search for survivors after a deadly hurricane ravaged the eastern seaboard, causing devastating flooding in it’s wake. Her firefighter/paramedic boyfriend Todd Webb will also be making the journey to assist local departments there.

As the searches commence, it quickly becomes apparent that survivors are few and far between. Traveling between assignments, Meg & Webb happen upon a submerged van in a river. When they stop to investigate, they find two young girls, both deceased, and both restrained so they couldn’t escape. A missing restraint gives them hope that there are survivors, and Hawk catches a scent, leading Meg to Mary and Emma.

As they work on getting the girls to safety, a harrowing story emerges, and the FBI assembles a team - including Meg & Hawk - to catch the men that were holding the girl’s captive. As the investigation heats up, it becomes readily apparent that this human trafficking group is bigger than they ever expected. Can Meg, Hawk and the rest of the team take them down??

An engrossing, exciting, action-packed read! I loved the characters, the story, and especially Hawk the dog!! I am looking forward to reading the rest of the Meg Jennings’ series!!

When I started reading this book I didn’t know what to expect but once I got a few chapters in, I couldn’t put it down. Awesome book!

FBI Search and Rescuer Meg Jennings and her partner Hawk are back and facing one of their biggest foes – Mother Nature. Meg, other members of her search and rescue team and her firefighter friend Todd Webb are sent to North Carolina to help in the aftermath of a monster hurricane that has decimated whole communities. Its gut wrenching, hard work for both handlers and dogs. But then a chance sighting pits Meg, Hawk and Webb against a far more sinister foe. One that, with the help of journalist Clay McCord and new ally Walter Van Cleave the SAC from the local FBI field office, Meg and Hawk are determined to see brought to justice for their sakes as well as all the people who have fallen victim to their evil influence. Storm Rising gives us a glimpse into what handlers and especially their dogs go through when dealing with searches that are more likely to be recovery rather than rescue. And we see how the indomitability of the human spirit can overcome some pretty gruesome experiences. Meg, Hawk and their family are making a difference. #StormRising #NetGalley

In Sara Driscoll's Storm Rising (Penguin Random House 2018), Meg Jennings and her working dog, Hawk, partners on the FBI's Human Scent Evidence Team, are sent on search and rescue after a hurricane devastates Virginia Beach Virginia and surrounding areas. One of the rescues is a teenager who has been forced into the sex trade, now free only because the van her pimp was driving crashed during the storm, almost drowning all of the girls. But not him--he escapes, leaving his 'property' to certain death. Though several do die, Meg and Hawk rescue one of the girls and her friend and through Hawk, becomes the one person these youngsters feel they can trust. With their help, Meg and the FBI team hope to cut off the head of this sex trade food chain. But they must move fast because several girls are still out there and if the ringleaders find out the Feds are on to them, they will flee.

The story is filled with authentic information and protocols about the part K9s play in search and rescue. I came away feeling like I understood the process much better than before reading the story. Here's an example:

"Do not enter a structure you feel is unstable. X-code any structure you search. If you need assistance from another team or from first responders, call it in, and I’ll make sure they get to you. Now, get out there. Sunset is 20:18 tonight"

Driscoll is a talented storyteller, on a par with Mizushima's working dog stories, with a more modulated pace and a set of characters who are able to maintain a positive frame of mind and a tight circle of committed family and friends despite the work they must do and the hours they must keep.

I love dog stories and picked this from Netgalley because one of the co-stars is a dog. Driscoll does a great job characterizing Hawk and treating him with all the respect that members of the canine species deserve. Here are a few of my favorite Hawk lines:

"...his entire back end undulating with his enthusiastic tail wags."

"Hawk stood up and stretched after his nap, and then wandered over to her. “Hi, buddy. How’s my boy?” She stroked a hand down his glossy black"

"Hawk crossed his front paws and laid his head down on them with a gusty, patient sigh."

The ending is satisfying, making me eager to read the rest of this series. This is highly recommended for readers who like stories about working dogs, about natural disasters, and female protagonists.

--to be posted on my blog, WordDreams 11/30/18

FBI Agent Meg with her rescue dog Hawk, being called into the hurricane areas of Virginia and Carolinas. Her boyfriend Todd is along being a firefighter and paramedic as they look for survivors. Coming across bodies of young girls, which leads them to look further for more girls,who might be trapped. Finding there was a sex trafficking going on, leads them to the investigation, for the leaders, and to bring it down. I like the close knit family aspect as they work together. The plot is tense, they were determined to get the job done.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Kensington for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

Meg, Hawk and their family and friends are back in this mystery. Meg & Hawk are sent to help search and rescue victims of a hurricane. While there a rescue involves victims of trafficking.
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At first this one seemed pretty straight forward, a hurricane coming, people not leaving, the powers that be need to make sure everyone is all right in the aftermath, search and rescue dogs being a vital part of things. Easy, right? Sure, until a van is found with dead girls, young girls, chained into it. The first and only thought is sex trafficking, but also, what about those that got away.

The discovering of the van lead Meg and Hawk on a wild goose chase, one where they are able to save a couple girls, then get sucked into the investigation due to a connection to one of the girls. As the investigation digs deeper the ring of bad guys is expanded, going in place none of them thought. I did love how a couple of the bad guys were arrested at the end, right in the middle of their work place, a big interruption.

The ending had me smiling, loved how one of the girls is getting a new start, she couldn't be in a better spot!

This was a good plot. I didn't know this was the third book of this installment. I'm definitely going to have to get the first two books of k9-series. I love all the characters and theirs relationship with the dogs especially Meg and Hawk they have this unique bond. It has it's tense moments but overall a good read.

4 stars

FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her scent/search & rescue dog Hawk are called out to a hurricane search & rescue for the Carolinas and Virginia. Pleased that she will be traveling with her boyfriend Todd Webb a firefighter and paramedic. Her sister Cara lives with Meg and her boyfriend is reporter Clay McCord. Clay happens to be in the area reporting on the storm as well.

Meg and Hawk begin the heartbreaking yet rewarding (sometimes), task of looking for survivors and those who did not make it. The people are those who ignored the evacuation orders, for they didn’t want to leave their homes open to the looters that unfortunately follow every disaster.

They make several rescues and then when driving to a new area, Todd notices a van overturned in the river. Inside, they find two bodies of very young girls dressed totally inappropriately. It is clear that they are being sold in the sex trade. There are a couple of places where it looks like some of the girls might have gotten away.

Hawk and Meg follow the scents and find one young girl under some bleachers. Wary at first, they convince her to let them take her to the hospital. She has a compound fracture of her leg which is why she couldn’t go any farther. She had another girl with her named Emma. Hawk and Meg set out to find Emma. Her trail leads through the Great Dismal Swamp – perfect name for the place, by the way. They locate her being attacked by an alligator.

Meg hooks up with SAC Walter “Van” Van Cleave and together they convince Emma that she can trust them – especially Hawk. Emma has formed quite an attachment to Hawk.

What follows is an investigation in which Meg, Hawk, Todd, Van and Clay join together to nab a sex-trafficking ring. Some of the leaders are very high level. But the raids go off beautifully.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. I like very much the relationship between Meg and her partner Hawk. He is a wonderful dog who has an absolutely great and compassionate handler. The book is filled with tense moments and action as the search for the girls and later the apprehension of the bad guys is carried out.

I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books/Kensington for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Kept moving and went from the background plot to another intense one. Love all the characters and their dogs—each unique

This 3rd book in the FBI K9 series by Sara Driscoll is every bit as good as good as the first two books in the series, even though it's uniquely different. Timely after real life hurricane Florence just devastated North Carolina, Storm Rising has Meg and her search and rescue dog Hawk helping after a hurricane hits eastern Virginia. A chance sighting of a submerged van leads to Meg and Hawk assisting the local FBI office with breaking up a widespread sex trafficking ring. A feisty swamp alligator isn't the worst creature Meg and Hawk will come across. The trust and teamwork between Meg,her firefighter beau Webb, and reporter Clay McCord help Meg find and stop the surprising ringleader.