Ryder Creed trains dogs to do various police work activities, like hunting for cadavers and sniffing out drugs. He and his canine companions have been garnering national attention as they have helped locate several missing persons and catch would-be drug smugglers red-handed. FBI agent Maggie O’Dell is investigating a possible serial killer who not only kills his victims but also goes to great lengths to torture them. She and Ryder have worked together in the past, but haven’t seen each other in a while. Meanwhile, Amanda has been kicked out of her home and has become a mule for a Columbian drug cartel at the tender age of 14.

"BREAKING CREED is a terrific  novel... I did enjoy the overall story and look forward to the next episode, which is sure to be just as gripping."

All three of these individuals come together when one of Ryder’s dogs, Grace, checks luggage at the airport and signals that Amanda is carrying drugs. It turns out that Amanda has swallowed a series of cocaine-filled latex balloons. Instead of turning the teen in, Ryder takes her to his property where she is kept safe until he can figure out what to do with her. This puts Ryder, as well as Amanda, on a Columbian drug cartel’s hit list.

Maggie comes back into Ryder’s life when, while working on a seemingly unrelated case, she discovers the disturbing news that Ryder is being hunted by a drug cartel. The two at first unwittingly and then a bit unwillingly work together to uncover the truth about the cartel. In the process, sparks fly between them. Will they take up where they left off?

Bestselling author Alex Kava introduces readers to ex-marine turned K9 search-and-rescue dog trainer Ryder Creed, while also featuring fan-favorite Maggie O’Dell, in this first installment of her thrilling new series. BREAKING CREED is a terrific novel, yet the writing could’ve been a bit tighter in spots. Some situations were thrown into the storyline, but no real explanations were given as to why. Although this is slightly disconcerting, I did enjoy the overall story and look forward to the next episode, which is sure to be just as gripping.