An early October snowstorm isn't the only thing that blindsides K9 handler Ryder Creed and his scent dog, Grace. Suddenly, the trackers become the trapped.

New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon best-selling author, Alex Kava is the recipient of two Nebraska Book Awards, a Florida Book Award, and the Mari Sandoz Award.

It began as an ordinary search.

K9 handler Ryder Creed and his scent dog, Grace, return to Nebraska to join FBI Agent Maggie O'Dell on the same task force that helped rescue his sister Brodie a year ago. But their job is interrupted when a rural postal carrier finds a black plastic bag discarded in a grassy roadside ditch.

What's inside is shocking to even these seasoned investigators.

Trust no one.

Just that morning, a young woman had gone missing. Is her disappearance connected? Did she run away? Or was she taken? And is it only a matter of time before she ends up in a roadside ditch?

Ryder agrees to search for her, but an early snowstorm threatens to replace the warm fall temperatures. His scent dog, Grace has never worked in cold, snowy conditions.

Then everything goes wrong.

The snow blurs the landscape and grinds life to a halt. As Maggie O'Dell searches for answers about the victim, she uncovers a cold-blooded, ruthless killer who has murdered before. By the time Maggie realizes no one has heard from or seen Ryder since before the snow began to fall, she fears he and Grace may have walked into the killer's path.

Listening to Alex Kava for the first time? If you enjoy the following authors, you'll enjoy Alex. For fans of C.J. Box, Paul Doiron, James Rollins, Linda Castillo, James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, Gregg Hurwitz, Iris Johansen, Tess Gerritsen, David Baldacci, David Rosenfelt, Lee Child, and Margaret Mizushima.