Series: Ryder Creed K9 Mystery Series # 5
Format: E-Book, 332 pages
Release Date: August 8, 2019
Publisher:
Prairie Wind Publishing
Source: Library
Genre: Thriller / Mystery Award-winning author, Alex Kava pulls readers into the middle of
the storm and has them gasping for air even as they turn the next
page.
—A STORM IS COMING—
In Alabama: A deadly outbreak of tornadoes sends K9 handlers, Ryder
Creed and Jason Seaver with their scent dogs, Grace and Scout to search
for survivors. As storms intensify and Ryder and Jason race against time
to save victims, they end up racing to save themselves.
—NOT EVERYONE’S STORM IS THE SAME—
In Chicago: Francine “Frankie” Russo is irritated when her young
co-worker calls at 5:00 am for a video-chat and catches her in only a
towel. She’s so annoyed with Tyler Gates that she’s barely paying
attention when two men confront him on the street. In a matter of
seconds, Frankie witnesses Tyler’s murder. Then the killers pick up the
phone. And suddenly, they know what Frankie looks like, who she is,
where she works and lives. She knows absolutely nothing about them. But
one thing’s for certain—they’re coming for her next.
—WHEN THE STORM HITS—
Frankie calls the only people she knows can help: her childhood friend,
Hannah Washington and Hannah’s business partner, Ryder Creed. Hannah
tells her to “come on home,” and she arranges a meeting for Frankie to
meet with FBI agent Maggie O’Dell.
Meanwhile in the Florida
Panhandle: Creed’s sister, Brodie is dealing with her own storm. She’s
realizing that after sixteen years of captivity, surviving was only the
first step.
With the killers hot on her trail, Frankie races to
meet Maggie. But she has no idea that she’s driving straight into the
grasp of another killer—a monster storm system. She and Maggie will need
Ryder and Jason’s help, but no one is safe from the devastation. And by
the time the sky clears, none of them will ever be the same.
WHO WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SURVIVE?
Desperate Creed is the Fifth installment in author Alex Kava's Ryder Creed series. The story picks up 5 months after Ryder found his sister Brodie alive after 16 years of missing and presumed dead. The story's key characters are:
Ryder Creed is an ex-marine now running K9 Crimescents along with his partner Hannah Washington. They train mostly unwanted dogs such as sniffer dogs for anything from drugs to
cadavers to sniffing out bird flu and life threatening ailments. Grace is a little Jack Russell terrier who often times steals the show.
Brodie Creed is the younger sister of Ryder. When she was 11, she was kidnapped and held captive by Iris Malone for 16 years. Brodie was kept chained like a dog. She was malnourished, drugged, dehydrated, and her mind and body was in survival mode. She suffers from PTSD and continues to have nightmares about her experiences, but seems to be settling in with Hannah's children and her cat. Ryder & Hannah have tried to make her feel as safe as possible by having Brodie move in with him. I also believe it's going to be a long time before Brodie forgives herself for what happened 16 years ago that lead to her disappearance and captivity.
Jason Seaver is a dog trainer and handler who Ryder took a chance on. Jason lost his arm in Afghanistan and was down and out and ready to give up to drugs and isolation until Ryder gave him a second chance and a wonderful dog named Scout to train. Jason has since been given an experimental arm thanks to DARPA. Hannah's kids are in love with Jason and Brodie seems to be happier when he's around.
FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is a specialist in serial killers who has become a regular secondary character in this series. The FBI is creating a new special unit to assist local law enforcement in solving violent crimes, and who better to lead the unit than the woman who specializes in serial killers? Maggie and Ryder's relationship is frustrating. Maggie has the keys to making this relationship work, but she's not a commitment kind of woman. Maggie has to deal with lots of stuff in this story including being trapped underground while two raging tornado's are bearing down on her.
Frankie Russo is an advertising executive who ends up going on the run after her co-worker is murdered in cold blood while she's on the phone with him. At the start of this story, Frankie gets a call from her co-worker Tyler who claims he found devastating information on an ingredient known as Glyphosate. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant but apparently a manufacturer has added it to certain food items.
Frankie finds that she is being tracked where ever she goes by a villain named August Braxton. Frankie's only hope is to reach out to her friend Hannah who suggests that Frankie meet up with Maggie and trust that the FBI agent can prevent her from being another victim. Unfortunately, tornado's have reigned destruction in a large area referred to as Dixie Alley.
Also in Alabama, Ryder, Grace, Jason, & Scout are helping any way they can in searching for survivors, as well as the deceased after a tornado touched down near Montgomery. From finding a baby miles away from a crash scene, to dealing with hot weather which causes Grace's feet to burn, to being caught in a tornado, to finding out that Maggie and Frankie are trapped and someone is trying to make sure that there are no survivors to find, the action doesn't stop.
One
of the reasons why I continue to read this series is the research the author does on various subjects. She has indicated that she loves to feature different elements to her story including bird flu which ended up affecting Ryder and Maggie. This
time she takes on Dixie Alley. Dixie Alley is a nickname sometimes given to areas of the southern
United States (eastern Texas and Arkansas across Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and far western Kentucky to upstate South
Carolina and western North Carolina; the area reaches as far north as
southeast Missouri) that are particularly vulnerable to strong or violent
tornadoes.
This is different from the better known Tornado Alley (Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska) which has a
higher frequency of strong, long-track tornadoes that move at higher
speeds. The descriptions of the tornadoes was amazing. If you've seen the movie Twister, put yourself in the scene where two characters are caught in a tornado. The destruction left afterwards can be heartbreaking. Living in Florida, we get our fair share of Hurricanes. More than our fair share. We also get the occasional Tornado.
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