CETC

The 240 acre Canine Enforcement Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia. Does it look like an army barracks? It used to be a U.S. Cavalry remount station.

The White Towel

A Belgian Malimois learns to sniff out a smuggled passenger hiding in the trunk of a car at the CETC. The dog's reward: a white towel rolled and taped at the ends

Rotunda at UVA

The famous rotunda at the University of Virginia, designed by Thomas Jefferson. This is the view from the lawn.

Alderman Library

Alderman Library at the University of Virginia. There are very few campuses as beautiful as UVA.

Reference Desk

The Alderman Library reference desk, where Nick enlisted the help of graduate student Carlyn Shaw.

Big Dog

Could Alena's guard dogs really be as big as the story describes? Take a look at this one. A similar English mastiff purportedly weighed in at 294 lbs!

Chinese Crested

Ruckus is the only purebred dog Alena Savard owns--a Chinese Crested, which commonly wins the award for the world's ugliest dog. It's easy to see why!

Bailee

This is the author's dog, half cocker spaniel and half human. Bailee has been specially trained to sleep all day and do nothing useful.

Just for Fun

The author's tongue-in-cheek cover proposal for Less than Dead, which the publisher politely declined.