The Trapped Girl: The Tracy Crosswhite Series, Book 4 by Robert Dugoni

He sneaks down to the waterfront quietly.  He's poaching crabs and doesn't want to get caught.  When he brings up the pot from his honey spot, he realizes the one he has isn't his.  When he sees the hand in it, he knows he definitely doesn't want it...

Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published January 24th.

When Tracy shows up, she notices blue fingernail polish on the hand and suspicions it's a woman.  The interesting part is that when they try to prove who she is the trail quickly goes south.  She's had medical work to change her face.  That gives them a lead because the implants they used are numbered.  They find her doctor and confirm her name.  The only problem is that when the name goes public, they find out she's already dead and has been for some time.  She disappeared on Mt. Rainier and the rangers there said she was most likely in a crevice and wouldn't be recovered.  But did she really die there?  If not, why would she be in a crab cage now?

This is a complex mystery with lots of investigation and lots of danger, too.  The killer is willing to do anything he has to get the trust fund of the supposedly dead woman.  When the police find out about the trust find, they also find it was moved the day after the crab pot discovery.  A dead woman can't transfer money.  Who's dead, who's alive and who is telling the truth?

There was an interesting twist in the story.  It was easy for me to believe her husband was the killer because he wanted to use her trust fund money.  But it was someone totally unknown and unrelated.  Someone very dangerous who intended to leave no witnesses.

It's a story that caught my interest because it happened in the Seattle area (I grew up in Western Washington) and the body was in a crab pot.  I wasn't sure if the woman was alive or dead.  But even if she was alive, the killer didn't intend to leave her that way.

You won't be bored.  I read this book in one day.  I'll also be watching for more in this series.  It's a good one.

Her Final Breath: The Tracy Crosswhite Series Book 2 by Robert Dugoni

Tracy gets assigned a case where the murder victim has been tied up.  It was an odd way to commit murder.  Even more odd was the fact that the bed was made.  Who makes the bed after murder?

Thomas and Mercer and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 15th.

When Tracy and her team get to working on the case, there's a lot to check out because the victim was an exotic dancer.  There is no end to the potential killer list.  As more dancers die, she realizes that the person who is killing them must frequent the clubs.  She identifies several men who have frequented the clubs and even had "dates" with the women but they aren't the current killer.  The lawyer in the midst is upset he's even suspected.  But they are leaving no stone unturned.

Tracy's problem is that there is one man in the department that wants to see her go down.  He's hated her for a long time and he views this as a way to make her fail.  He even leaks info the media.  When you have a supervisor trying to sabotage you, it's hard to win.  When she ties a murder from long ago to the current series, it gets worse.  It was his case.

The tale gets even more confusing when you realize it's not just one killer.  One is murdering the victims but another is coming after Tracy.

This is very suspenseful story with lots of action and it made me hold my breath in a couple of places.  You'll keep turning pages to see how it turns out.  Nobody gets out without a few scars...  

Murder One by Robert Dugoni

She was beautiful and he was falling in love with her.  Then his lady lawyer friend gets arrested for Murder One...


Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster, will be publishing this book in June.  They provided me an ebook for review (thank you).  Check with your local bookstore for a copy.


I was not aware of this author or his series of books with the character of David Sloane, but I'm glad I've found him now.  This is fascinating read.  It reads well as a stand alone story, you need not buy the whole series (unless you want to).


David Sloane is a widower and has taken some time off to heal his grief over the loss of his wife by visiting Mexico.  Now he's home and going back to work. He literally bumps into Barclay Reid as he's leaving an evening event related to work and he finds himself attracted to her.


My favorite part of this story is the search for evidence to provide a reasonable doubt about the facts provided by the investigators and prosecutor; and the word play and fancy positioning of said facts to remove the effectiveness of the point the other attorney is trying to make.  If you've ever testified in court, you'll recognize some of these tactics.  I find the mind games played in court intriguing.  It's not always who had the most facts and made the best case; it's how it was presented and what the jury read in your words.


This story has a very ironic ending.  I was hoping for justice and thought maybe it been hoodwinked on the way to the trial, but justice does prevail.  Just in a different way.


This was a very good read with lots of police procedural and pithy attorney wordplay.  Why not get a copy and take a trip to court, too?  It's well worth your time.