THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE by Sara Driscoll

This extremely well-written thriller, and evocative cover, describe the aftermath of a major building’s collapse, when FBI dog handler Meg Jennings is among the first responders. Meg with her clever K9 Hawk, suit up and search the scene so THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE.

Reading about such an incident might be traumatic, and certainly, the experiences of the responders are told without blurring too many details. The scene occurs late in December, with bitter cold in downtown Washington, D.C. Meg meets many desperate, distressed relatives of the missing and the known victims. Her fiancé, Todd Webb, is also working flat out as he is a firefighter and paramedic, which gives us an insight into the work of cutting routes through concrete and rebar, inserting a rescuer into a crawl space and trying to reach someone trapped. Later in the story, we learn from a structural engineer about the construction and flaws of this twelve-story residential building and its two-level underground parking garage. I have a work background which means a lot of the content makes sense to me as I read it, but people who don’t know how high buildings are made will gain substantial understanding.

Now the big question – was a crime involved? The sheer unlikeliness of the collapse means domestic terrorism is suspected. But how to prove anything? While Meg works with the FBI’s Human Scent Response Team, her sister, Cara, is dating a Washington Post reporter, Clay McCord, who is good at gathering information from many areas. He thinks he has a lead.

Continuous tension and emotional distress are evident, making THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE a powerful novel. There’s human contact, and touches of normality, but I was just as apprehensive as the team about more falling debris and a possible bombing campaign. Meg, Todd and the rest never lose sight of the victims and family ties, explaining their dedication. I did spot an issue about the internet that doesn’t ring true, but maybe the author did this deliberately to make it clear that evil deeds will be uncovered, or a shorthand was used to save chapters of detective work.

Sara Driscoll has previously been a writing team and the latest in the FBI K9 series – the eighth book – could easily be read as a standalone but has been penned by Jen J. Danna after the loss of writing partner Ann Vanderlaan. The dogs are as fantastic and talented as ever, in THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE, and that’s all most of us need to know.

A treat for dog lovers, this latest novel in the only mystery series that revolves around a K-9 search-and-rescue unit is gripping, timely, and “wonderfully readable” (Publishers Weekly), with a gutsy heroine and an authentic, harder edge that will appeal to fans of harder-edged mysteries.

There are situations that fill even the most seasoned FBI K-9 handlers with shock and horror. Meg Jennings is preparing for another work day when she gets words of a catastrophic scene in downtown Washington, D.C. Part of a twelve-story condo building has collapsed, and the rest of the structure could soon follow. Every search-and-rescue worker and K-9 team is needed on-site immediately to find survivors—and assess the casualties.

Putting aside her fears for her firefighter fiancé, who’s already inside the unstable building, Meg turns to the task at hand. If anyone is still alive within the rubble, she and Hawk, working alongside other K-9 teams, must find them. Every hour, every moment counts—and a wrong move could trigger a deadly chain reaction for those buried beneath. But beyond the present danger is a deeper threat, as evidence indicates that this wasn’t a random tragedy, but an act of domestic terrorism. And identifying the culprit and motivation, in time to stop another attack, means taking on an enemy with terrifying skills—and nothing left to lose.