Although this is the 6th book in the FBI K-9 series, you don't have to read the previous books (but you really should *grin*) as this book doesn't spoil any previous mysteries. It's always a joy to catch up with Meg, Hawk, and crew. Driscoll writes characters that are relatable and react realistically. Overall, be sure to check out this great book and series.

Yep, I’ve done it again - dived into the middle of a series! This series is about the FBI K-9 unit which is what attracted me to the book. But the dogs are usually used in SAR work or specific forensic searches. In this story the dog teams were taking a more active part in an operation involving the mob!

I’m not a fan of gangster or mob stories but heigh ho. The FBI also has a diamond trafficking unit (who knew?) that focuses on conflict or blood diamonds that are used to finance tinpot warlords. They are illegal but still smuggled because the workers get paid peanuts. The FBI becomes aware that conflict diamonds are being traded Philadelphia and they have an undercover agent placed with the mob there. One of the supervisors has the idea of using the dogs to track their agent as he heads to a diamond handover with his mob boss. It got quite complicated so I won’t go into detail. It wasn’t particularly interesting. They catch a couple of mob underlings but nothing to break the case wide open.

Meg Jennings and her dog Hawk are involved. Meg lives with her fire fighter/paramedic partner in a duplex and her sister Cara lives with her partner, Clay McCord an investigative journalist in the other half of the duplex. The FBI has worked with McCord before and, it just so happens, he is also working on a story about diamond smuggling (of course he is) so they compare notes. McCord has done a deep dive into the mob dealings and uncovered all sorts of info so one night he decides to investigate a massive logistics facility as he suspects one of the warehouses is being used to grow marijuana. Things go horribly wrong for McCord and he gets caught.

There was nothing wrong with the story, it was fine, if a bit fanciful but it just didn’t grab me. Some of the dialogue seemed corny/cheesy/preppy it’s hard to describe. The characters, the dialogue the niceness of everybody - it all seemed a bit young! The ending was, as you would expect, very exciting but the rest of the story was not. The characters were, if anything, too ‘nice’ and of course diving into a series at book 8 or 9 didn’t help with getting to know them. The dogs, however, were awesome. I think if it had been a search and rescue story I would have enjoyed it more. But, please read the other more positive reviews. Most people really enjoyed this. Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Another exciting adventure for the K-9 group. Conflict diamonds are the basis for the investigation. Most of the tale takes place in Philadelphia. I probably would have enjoyed the story even more had I been familiar with the area. I look forward to the next one. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

FBI dog handlers Meg and Brian, along with their K9s Hawk and Lacey, are enlisted to track men moving illegal diamonds in this fast paced novel. An undercover FBI SA has been embedded with the villains and the goal is to use the dogs to follow him through downtown Philadelphia and find the various players in the scheme. While I was fascinated with the details of how the dogs worked (especially using an elevator in a multistory office building), I kept thinking this was a bit unrealistic. I did however, like the details about the diamond trade and, of course the characters. Fans of the series will be happy to see Emma again (no spoilers) and of course there's Cara, Clay, and Todd. And most of all Hawk, who is critical when Meg comes under attack. Thanks to nergalley for the ARC. It's a page turner that should be fine as a standalone.

This new story in the FBI K-9 series is another edgy mystery with the K-9 teams that work in scent trailing for the FBI. In this story, the teams are working with Finn, an undercover agent from another branch of the FBI, who is working deep in the Philadelphia Italian Mob. The primary goal to try to uncover the illegal activities of bringing conflict diamonds into this country, those mined by cheap, inhumane labor in south Africa, and bring those involved to justice. Meg and her lab, Hawk, and her partner Brian and his dog, Lacey, work to sniff the bad guys out as they make the drops using clothing provided by Finn. There are some tense, dangerous moments during the drops as well as other times and the teams have to go in some precarious places. Action packed and suspenseful, this story is interesting with many facts about diamonds and information about what the Mob is involved in these days, which is different from years ago. Another winner by the authors!
I received a complimentary ARC from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/11/16/under-pressure-by-sara-driscoll/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I was interested to see where this series would go next. I've been reading the whole <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/171070-fbi-k-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>FBI K-9</strong></em></a> series, mostly through the library or KindleUnlimited.  It's really enjoyable with plenty of police work and seems to make good use of the dogs, keeping them well into the story.  There is a really nice development of the team, along with the personal relationships of the main characters.

Meg with Hawk and Brian with Lacey are partners in the Human Scent team, doing primarily search and rescue.  But they can also scent and track criminals from a scene.  Lacey was injured in the last book on such a search.  She is back in on the action.  In <strong>Under Pressure</strong>, the team is scenting an undercover cop embedded into a criminal organization to catch them.  It is really smart strategy but also extremely dangerous if they are seen.

The romance is in the background but still nice developments with Meg and Todd, along with her sister, Cara and Clay, moved into their duplex.  Clay McCord has established himself as part of their team, even though he is a reporter.  He takes too many risks and suffers some consequences here.

I love this series and definitely will keep reading as many as are written.  The combination of a caring group of friends / family , dogs, smart police work and exciting tracking works for me.

WOW! This is a book full of action, suspense and danger. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page until the last. Meg and her K-9 partner Hawk are an awesome team. This is a book you hate to see end but you just have to know what happens next. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Loved it!
I received a complimentary copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Under pressure by Sara Driscoll! I really wanted to read this series for awhile, but never got the chance until I received the advance copy, and I ended up binging on the entire series and loving it!!! This time Meg, Hawk and her team take on the Italian mob to end the smuggling of conflict diamonds! Meg always seems to front and centre when the action happens but this time it is newspaper reporter Clay McCord that is in danger -- I loved how this time he was working on his own and still managed to connect his story to Meg's case! I love the connection the handlers have with their K-9 partners and with the connection between the main couples, Meg and Todd, and Cara and Clay!
The authors put in a little blurb before each chapter explaining terms that we may not be familiar with and how well they fit each chapter! While Under pressure could be read as a stand alone, in order to appreciate the connection the team has with each other I recommend reading the series in order!!!

Meg and K9 Hawk and Brian and K9 Lacey are tasked with helping the Organized Crime division with a difficult and dangerous case involving the Mob and blood diamonds. 
Fast paced, suspenseful and interesting tidbits about diamonds make for an enjoyable read. I really love seeing the relationship between dog and handler and the way dogs' skills are used in a different manner.

Under Pressure
Sara Driscoll
November 30, 2021

Under Pressure is #6 in Owens FBI K-9 Series. It features Meg Jennings and her canine officer Hawk. They are taking a day off to move into their new dual condo. She and her partner Todd will be in one, and her sister, Cara and her partner, Clay will be moving into the other. As Cara too has canine dogs working with her, it will make life easier. That evening after moving all day, Meg gets a mysterious text from her boss, Craig, informing her of an important meeting the next morning. Upon her arrival, she and FBI partner , Brian and his dog, Lacey are being recruited to work a case involving the importation and sale of illegal diamonds. This forms the premise of the plot for Driscoll´s lated book. It is heavy duty in the particulars of jewelry and stones.
I enjoyed her latest adventure with Hawk and company in Owens FBI series. Under Pressure is published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on November 30, 2021. I am appreciative of the opportunity to read and review Sara Driscoll´s latest novel. For readers who have read her canine novels, I am certain you will be entertained by Under Pressure as well. Just getting into the canine adventures? This is a good one to start. Do enjoy!

Meg Jennings and her black lab, Hawk, always brings a smile to my face as I get to greet an impressive, independent old friend once again and live vicariously the choreographed work between handler and K9.
In this well-plotted narrative, Meg and Hawk as well as their handler partner Brian and his K9 are asked to work outside their usual Search and Rescue team when they are requested to work a cross-division collaboration involving a Philadelphia syndicate. They are hoping the dogs will be able to track the players responsible for the buys of conflict diamonds hitting the local market.

Timing is key. But Meg is made and she is attacked shortly thereafter. Then an unofficial member of their team goes missing.

The novel never flags, slows down, no sags in the middle. There are action packed scenes, the dogs are in the thick of it, and the tension ramps up as further discoveries are made and pieces come together.

I love how the authors strike a perfect balance between the lives of the main characters and their service animals with that of the current operation.

The conclusion, gritty and gripping, is satisfying. The novel is an easy one to fly through—you don’t want to put it down!

Under Pressure is a K-9 suspense and wow what a story!
FBI handler Meg Jennings along with her K-9 partner Hawk, as well as Brian Foster along with his K-9 partner Lacey find themselves in a case. Involving blood diamonds/uncut gems and the Philadelphia mob.
I was pulled into the story and hooked.
Action packed, intrigue, and felt like I was there with them.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Don't mess with the Philadelphia Mob. The mob is front and center in Under Pressure, the sixth book in Sara Driscoll's FBI K-9 series. The FBI is quite interested in thee mob's participation in the smuggling of conflict diamonds. The FBI's Forensic Canine Unit is called in to help track down the mob members making the diamond drops. Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner Hawk are helping to track the criminals and consequently come face-to-face with lots of danger. This storyline is full of action and suspense. I liked all the tense scenes full of action in this story. This is definitely a page-turner.

family, FBI fast-pace, friendship, rescue-animals, K-9, diamonds, crime-fiction, thriller, organized crime, action, adaptability*****

What an exhausting read! There's something happening every minute and the suspense gets really tight. I have not read any others of the series, but I will now! The central characters are FBI, their related families and their working family, including their Search and Rescue K-9s. The central character, Meg, has parents in a nearby state who run an animal rescue (which is where she got her current partner after her police K-9 was killed). This adventure is all about the illegal diamond trade and organized crime in Philadelphia. The breather at the beginning of each chapter is a lesson in the terms of diamond assessment. Then back into the fray as the regular special agents utilize the associated K-9s and handlers to get proof and make arrests. Add in that one of the group (not FBI) is an investigative journalist for the Washington Post and you begin to see some possibilities. A real thrill ride this! Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I reviewed this book for the Winter issue of Mystery Scene Magazine it will publish on 11-15 check there for my thoughts.

"Under Pressure" is a K9 suspense. This book is the sixth in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book didn't spoil any previous mysteries.

The main characters were likable, interesting, and reacted realistically to events. The suspense came from the danger involved with taking on a powerful crime syndicate and the potential for them to discover how the FBI was busting their deals. Tracking the deals also turned out to be more challenging than they expected. I kind of wondered why Hawk, who had a personal reason to remember the scent of a certain violent criminal, seemed oblivious (and useless) when his owner later tried to track that man by sight.

There was some bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful novel.

As expected, I loved this book! It was well written, well plotted, gripping, and tense. The character growth was impressive and I enjoyed the atmosphere. I always enjoy these mysteries and this one was no exception.

Another amazing book in this series. I love the writing and the characters, including the dogs. The character progression in the series just keeps getting better.

In Under Pressure, Book 9 of Sara Driscoll's FBI K-9 series (Kensington 2021), FBI K-9 handler Meg Jennings and her working dog Hawk are called in to help crack a case that deals with conflict diamonds. In an effort to stop the trade of these immoral diamonds in the US, the FBI wants to catch the buyers as well as the sellers, easiest done at a sale while it’s happening. They have an inside man but it would endanger him to try to contact him for details of the meet so they get the clever idea of having Hawk and another K9 Lacy follow his scent to the meet and then arrest the buyer. When it doesn't work as planned, the criminals now have an inkling that something isn't right which makes the case much harder to solve.

This story, like the entire series, is fast moving with interesting characters and a focus on working dogs. Each chapter starts with a factoid about the diamond industry, a little cutesy but interesting. While I enjoy the storyline and the characters, one part that started bothering me maybe last book and continues into this one is that Meg  has become a tad smug about her talents, willing to judge other agents or make decisions that shouldn't be hers to make, even order agents around when she doesn't really have that authority. That's why the book lost a point and for me, became a bit tiresome to read--not so much that I didn't finish it. I love Hawk.

Recommended for those who enjoy stories about working dogs.

Under Pressure is the latest suspense in the FBI K-9 novels featuring Meg and K-9 superstar Hawk. These books always feel like you open them up and step right into the story, a quick escape from reality with a captivating case. Meg and Hawk are called in along with partner’s Brian and his K-9, Lacey to take on the mob in a diamond smuggling case. Not their usual cup of tea, Lacey and Meg prove they can track the diamond carriers across crowded Philadelphia streets. The case draws danger around Meg and the situation escalates as Meg once again escapes danger by the hair of Hawk’s teeth. Suspenseful and fast paced, the pages turn fast for a captivating read that will enhance your knowledge about those shiny, valuable stones. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.