We talk about the real world of conservation dogs and the fictional world of FBI dogs and conservation canines with Jen J. Danna, who writes under the name Sara Driscoll. Deadly Trade is the latest FBI K-9 mystery from author Sara Driscoll. K-9 handler Meg Jennings can never walk away from her job, even amid her Hawaiian Islands honeymoon, where she and her search-and-rescue black Lab encounter a double threat from wildlife poachers and Mother Nature.
We talked about:
- The work of conservation dogs and what they do on the Hawaiian islands
- Why Sara was inspired to write about conservation canines in Deadly Trade
- How to write about dogs as characters in their own right
- The kind of training that Hawk, the FBI canine, and the conservation dogs in the book would go through in real life
- How the dogs influence the success of the mission
- How Hawk picks up on things his handler, Meg, can't
- Why Sara chose to write about endangered birds
- What it's like writing with a co-author
- And as always, we ask for a book recommendation!
Deadly Trade is published on 28th October 2025 and is available from all good bookstores.
Sara Driscoll is the pen name of Jen J. Danna, coauthor of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries and author of the FBI K-9 Mysteries and NYPD Negotiators series. After over 30 years in infectious diseases research, Jen hung up her lab coat to concentrate on her real love—writing “exceptional” thrillers (Publishers Weekly). She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and lives with her husband and four rescued cats outside of Toronto, Ontario.
Learn more about Sara Driscoll on her websites, saradriscollauthor.com and https://jenjdanna.com/.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Away to Me by Patricia McConnell PhD will be published in February 2026 and is available for pre-order now
- You can hear Patricia McConnell talking about the book at 2024's Bark! Fest, which is available as a previous episode of this podcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16149739
- Learn about the work of historical scent detection dogs in an episode with Kim Cooper and Cat Warren https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/17384889
- The Hawaiian crow is the ‘Alalā. Learn about the ‘Alalā project https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/alalaproject/
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.
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