Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Still Waters by Sara Driscoll is an entertaining story. Sara Driscoll is the pseudonym for authors Jen J. Danna and Ann Vanderlaan. This story combines training, competition, and murder.
The FBI K-9 team gets approval for a water-search training weekend in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. This training is combined with a three-part search and rescue timed competition. The first morning the handler and their canine partner are on a boat with a pilot, diver, and trainer. Hidden at the bottom of the lake is a small container of human remains. The dogs are supposed to bark when smelling it and the diver goes down and retrieves the bait.
It is not just a competition but an R and R for the team. The Human Scent Evidence Team is represented by Meg Jennings and her black Lab dog Hawk, along with Brian Foster and his German Shepherd dog Lacey. They are accompanied by Lieutenant Todd Webb, Meg’s boyfriend that works for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Ryan, Brian’s spouse, and Josh and Luke, Todd’s brothers.
The evening of the first day, Meg went for a walk with Hawk. Upon returning she sees a fellow dog handler, Rita Pratt, from the Laramie Sherriff Department, abusing her dog. Because Pratt fears Meg will report her, she quickly files an unfounded complaint against Meg that could cost her job and have Hawk removed from her care. To make matters worse, the next day Hawk scents more human remains. But this time when the diver goes down into the water, he finds the body of Pratt. Because of the run-in, Meg becomes the prime murder suspect. The FBI investigator also has tunnel vision and seems to only look at Meg as the guilty party. Now Meg needs her wits, Hawk’s skills, and all her friends to help prove her innocence.
This story is action packed from page one. It has suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. A bonus is learning more about the bond between the dog and handler and the different approaches Search and Rescue must use given the different terrains.
Elise Cooper: It was very sad to hear about the death of your partner Ann Vanderlaan?
Sara Driscoll: At the beginning of June, we were contracted for two more books, eight and nine in the series. It was in the middle of June Ann had received word that she had cancer. We all thought she had three to six months. Because it was breast cancer that metastasized, she died in two weeks. It was four weeks start to finish. I hope Ann has taught me everything I need to know.
EC: How about the idea for this story?
SD: It sort of came to me. It is based on a classic Agatha Christie in an English manor. My problem was putting all the canines into an English manor. Our version of doing this, trapping them in the wilderness. Ann came up with the idea of having law enforcement competitive trials. All search and rescue (SAR) need continuing training and education. We built the competition into the training, with all different types of dogs.
EC: Water rescue is different than land rescue?
SD: Yes, very much. A dog in the water will tire. There is less air flow, and the dogs are low to the water. On a boat the handler can read the dog’s indications.
EC: Handlers and dogs have a deep bond?
SD: They love each other with a great amount of trust. They see themselves as partners. Unlike in some professions they do not leave the dog in the kennel overnight. They are together just like a pet, living together.
EC: How would you describe the handler, Rita Pratt?
SD: Meg understands why Pratt has such a hard exterior, since both were just a few women who came up the ranks. Yet, Meg does not understand how Pratt treats her dog, abuse-like. She is arrogant, an instigator, petty, cruel, aggressive, and a troublemaker. There is evidence in the past she is a back stabber who double crosses.
EC: Why that setting?
SD: The setting of the Superior National Forest, and Lake Insula in Minneapolis is real. It is at the very Northern edge of Minnesota that borders Canada. This area is remote with only a few places to drive in. There is a wooded area with tons of lakes and rivers. It was set in the fall.
EC: How would you describe Meg’s boyfriend, Todd?
SD: Very pragmatic, straight forward, grounded, and practical. As a firefighter he will always come to people’s rescue. He is Meg’s rock because he is calm, caring, and protective.
EC: The FBI investigator, Agent Brogan has tunnel vision?
SD: He is up and coming, a young agent trying to make his mark. He comes off as an arrogant hot shot. He is over eager and is very focused on solving the murder to get a notch on the belt. Brogan has blinders on, not looking at all the details, while just looking at the bare facts.
EC: Is it true there is a remembrance necklace?
SD: Yes. In the first book, Meg has worn this glass pendant with the ashes of Deuce, killed in the line of duty. My girlfriend lost her child as a teenager. She sent some of his cremation ashes that they make into a pendant with different colors of glass.
EC: Next books?
SD: Ann suggested the title, That Others May Live. This is a search and rescue motto. The plot has a building collapse. It will be out in November 2023.
The third book in the NYPD negotiator series is titled Lockdown. The plot has a hostage negotiation following a school shooting, where the shooter takes a class hostage.
EC: THANK YOU!!
