Acknowledgments

With gratitude to the people who unleashed A Dangerous Breed:

• Lisa Erbach Vance of the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, a wonderful agent and first through the door in representing this and all my other works. Taking point takes courage and competence, and Lisa has both in spades.
• Lyssa Keusch at William Morrow, a brilliant editor who hones and polishes every novel for the better, while making it seem like any improvements were my idea. And to the team at Morrow who steer and power the creative machine: our renowned publisher Liate Stehlik, Danielle Bartlett, Pamela Jaffee, Kaitlin Harri, Bob Castillo, Kyle O’Brien, and Mireya Chiriboga.
• Caspian Dennis of the Abner Stein Agency, Van Shaw’s top operative in the UK.

And to those who lent their knowledge and technical expertise. They offered their time and energy to make the story richer, sometimes only to find their hours of conversation distilled into a single line in the final draft. Any mistakes are my own darn fault.

• Patricia Powell, MD, and Dave “Doc” Powell, USN, for specifics on field medicine, pharmaceuticals, oncology, and all things related to the healing sciences.
• Christian Hockman, Bco 1/75 Ranger Regiment, for his military and tactical support.
• John N. Nassikas III, Partner at Arnold & Porter and former federal prosecutor, for the structure and operations of joint task forces and their work with confidential informants.
• Jeannette Wentworth and Betsy Glick of the FBI, for lessons on the science of DNA collection, profiling, and analysis.
• Sheryl Moss of the Office of the Secretary of State, for insights into Washington State’s political processes.
• Los Anarchists Junior Roller Derby in Los Angeles, where our own young jammer skated hard.

And finally, for support both emotional and spiritual:

• Jerrilyn Farmer, and the Saturday Gang—Beverly Graf, Alexandra Jamison, and John McMahon. Fighting the good fight, word by word.
• Rick Martens, charity auction “character name” winner. Rick, for the benefit of anyone reading this first, I won’t spoil whether your fictional counterpart makes it out alive.
• My sincere thanks to every reader who gave this book a try; I hope you enjoyed the tale. And to the booksellers, reviewers, and fans who might have helped that reader find the novel in the first place. Your dedication transforms a solitary pursuit into a warm and welcoming community of friends.
• Amy, Mia, and Madeline, I love you so much. Thank you for your unwavering faith and for making our home a peaceful harbor from any storm, including the occasional tempest inside my head.