She rescues the lost. Can she save the ones she loves most?
Jessica "Jess" Cooper has carved out a life built on grit, faith, and her brilliant German shepherd Luke. A former homicide detective turned private investigator and K-9 search and rescue expert, Jess consults with Virginia sheriffs and teaches SAR seminars across the state. She knows how people behave when they are lost, how fear drives them deeper into danger, and how the right dog and the right instincts can mean the difference between life and death.
But this winter is different.
A four-year-old boy found face-up in a farm pond. An elderly woman with dementia hiding in the woods with a shotgun. A murdered hiker whose grieving boyfriend turns out to be her killer. A man on a mountain trail who makes every instinct in Jess scream danger. And a mysterious young schoolteacher in tiny Clear Springs, Virginia, whose connection to a long-buried family secret threatens to unravel relationships Jess thought were unshakeable.
Then a school bus carrying children disappears into a raging mountain snowstorm. The driver is found dead. The kidnappers have vanished. And the clock is ticking.
While Jess and Luke launch a desperate nighttime search through snow and ice, her husband Scott, an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit profiler, follows a terrifying thread connecting a troubled student's violent drawings to a radical eco-terrorist network planning coordinated attacks across the country.
But Scott's investigation leads him straight into betrayal. He is shot and left for dead on a frozen mountainside. He has no phone, no way to let Jess know he needs help. His only hope is an emergency beacon he's never used and a search dog who never gives up.
Winter Flight is the fifth book in Linda J. White's celebrated K-9 Search and Rescue series, delivering heart-pounding suspense alongside deep themes of grace, forgiveness, long-held shame brought into the light, and the fierce love of a woman determined to bring everyone home alive.
Readers who will find:
A strong, relatable female protagonist who is brave, vulnerable, and deeply realA German shepherd hero whose loyalty and instincts drive the story forwardHeart-stopping search and rescue action grounded in authentic SAR methodologyAn FBI thriller subplot involving domestic terrorism and political intrigueAuthentic Christian faith woven naturally through every page, never preachyA loving marriage tested by danger, secrets, and the pressures of two high-stakes careersSmall-town Virginia atmosphere rich with mountain beauty and communityThemes of redemption, hidden shame, found family, and answered prayerA perfectly balanced blend of suspense, warmth, and hopeFans of DiAnn Mills, Lynette Eason, and Irene Hannon will feel right at home.
Whether you are discovering Jess and Luke for the first time or have followed them through every search, Winter Flight delivers the suspense, the heart, and the hope that readers have come to love from Linda J. White. Pick it up and find out if even the coldest night can lead to the warmest dawn.
Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Matthew 24:20-21