No Man's Land

September 15, 2019
When FBI agent Meg Jennings and her K-9, Hawk, explore the ruins of an old hospital, they think they're just practicing their skills--until the discovery of an elderly woman's body leads to something more serious and sinister. Meg and her firefighter friends are enjoying urban exploring, an activity in which people enter and explore old, deserted, and dangerous sites. Meg, as a member of the Human Scent Evidence Team, thinks the outing will hone Hawk's skills, and Hawk does indeed help find the elderly woman's body. But when more elderly people are found in other deserted locations, Meg, with the help of her colleagues as well as a reporter, will continue to put herself at risk to uncover the truth. The novel's premise and cast of characters could have made this a gripping book. But the author (Storm Rising, 2018, etc.) lacks the talent to bring the characters to life. When sharing background information about sites they're exploring, for example, Driscoll's characters speak in dialogue that sounds more like a brochure ("Bethlehem Steel was once an industry giant...") than the way people really talk. There are many examples of urban exploration ("urbex") lingo for those who might be interested. When the only intriguing parts of a novel are the scenes involving a dog's abilities, it is perhaps time to track down another book.

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October 7, 2019
Perilous adventures inside derelict buildings add texture and excitement to Driscoll’s solid fourth FBI K-9 novel featuring search-and-rescue expert Meg Jennings and her Labrador retriever, Hawk (after 2018’s Lone Wolf). Meg teams with EMT Todd Webb and Washington Post reporter Clay McCord to unmask a serial killer preying on the elderly. Clues lead Meg and Hawk into the world of extreme urban exploration called urbexing. Driscoll’s narrative power is at its best when the K-9 duo chase the killer through claustrophobic locations, though the pacing is undermined at times by heavy exposition. Dialogue strains when Meg’s team tries to connect urbexing with the victims’ illegal annuity policies and Tamil ritual killings. Logic is also an issue, as it’s never clear why the killer goes to such elaborate lengths to take elderly patients into the bowels of deserted buildings when he could kill them in their nursing homes. This will appeal to dog lovers and those who enjoy PG-rated action. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.

October 1, 2019
This is the sort of crime novel that gives readers a little bit of everything: it's a thriller, a procedural, and a detective story?and a good yarn, too, featuring a smart heroine blessedly free of problems with boss, coworkers, alcohol, or the opposite sex. Meg Jennings works for the FBI's Human Scent Evidence Team; we meet her and her partner, a playful but fundamentally serious Labrador named Hawk, as they wander through an abandoned building. The two are learning about "urbexing," defined as exploration of abandoned man-made structures. The whole novel, in fact, is a teaching experience. As Hawk senses a corpse, we watch the masterful pup moving through a "scent cone." As the bodies start to accumulate, and the narrative builds to its tense finale, we learn of the odd financial instrument behind the killings and understand why it's banned in the U.S. All this is brought off in functional, unornamented language, with a fine, forward pulse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)