Before It’s Too Late

In Driscoll’s fine follow-up to 2016’s Lone Wolf, a killer sends coded messages with clues to the whereabouts of kidnapped women to Meg Jennings of the FBI’s Forensic Canine Unit. When the FBI’s cryptanalysis unit deciphers the first message, Meg and her black Labrador, Hawk, along with other members of their team, find the first victim buried in a grave in Arlington National Cemetery. The coffin contains both the dead woman and the body of a soldier killed in combat. A second clue leads to a second victim, and several things become obvious. First, the killer is fixated on Meg; second, the victims resemble Meg; third, each clue connects the victim with a site tied to the Civil War. When Meg is suspended from the case, she turns for unofficial assistance to her sister, Cara, a word games expert. The tension rises as the killer targets Meg and her family. Driscoll nicely incorporates various Civil War locations and trivia into the mystery, while Meg and Hawk prove themselves a formidable team that readers will want to see more of. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Oct.)