In Her Tracks

Tracy Crosswhite #8

by Robert Dugoni

An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling series. What family secrets are behind two disappearances? Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite is determined to uncover the truth in the latest installment of New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s heart-stopping series. Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is immediately drawn to her first the abduction of a five-year-old girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime suspects. While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases, Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a broken marriage―and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood. To find two missing persons, Tracy will have to follow more than clues, which are both long cold and unsettlingly fresh. Given her own traumatic past, Tracy must also follow her instincts―to whatever dark and dangerous places they may lead.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

383 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2021

About the author

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 11 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and The Keera Duggan legal thriller series. He has written several stand-alone novels including the historical novels A Killing on the Hill and Hold Strong, as well as the suspense novel The 7th Canon, and Damage Control. He has written the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - one of Newsweek Magazine's Best Books of All-Time and Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award. He has also written the critically acclaimed novel, The World Played Chess; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. His novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a four-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than thirty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Visit his website at www.robertdugoni.com, and follow him on twitter @robertdugoni and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorRobertDugoni

Reviews

[MarilynW · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8) by Robert Dugoni

Tracy Crosswhite is back! Even though her baby is already ten months old, she is just coming back from extended maternity/compassionate leave and Tracy now sees a counselor regularly due to events from book #7. Despite the fact that she should be getting her old position back, she's reluctant to bump another woman out of that job so she takes the opening as the only person on the cold case unit. The hours should be less grueling and will allow her to be home with Dan and the baby in the evening and on weekends. 

Tracy picks three cold cases to work and two of them (missing prostitutes) have a connection with a current missing girl case that her former partner, Kins is working and he asks her help. So basically, Tracy is back in the game, once again raising her stress level by focusing on cases that are similar to that of her long missing, now known dead, sister's case. Dan's worried, her counselor is worried, but Tracy can't give up on these women. 

Quickly, Tracy and Kins have their sights on three brothers who are working hard to stonewall the detectives. Tracy is also investigating the cold case of a missing five year old girl who disappeared from a corn maze five years earlier. I like that Tracy knows she wants to work, knows she has to do this right now, and doesn't let the fact that she is going to miss some firsts with her baby keep her from pursuing the job she loves. She and Dan have a full time, trusted nanny, the baby is with people who love her, at all times, and Tracy can continue to help those who depend on someone who cares. This is another entertaining addition to the Crosswhite series and I'm glad that Tracy is still on the job. 

Pub April 20, 2021

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the latest in Robert Dugoni's excellent Detective Tracy Crosswhite series set in Seattle, Tracy has come to the end of her extended leave from the Violent Crimes Unit at Seattle PD. She is living in the town of Cedar Grove, a protective and loving mother to her little daughter, Daniela, and whilst husband, Daniel is not happy about her returning, she needs to go back, besides they have a nanny to help. She is missing the close knit team, Kinsington 'Kins' Rowe, Vic Fazzio and Delmo Castigliano. There are still recurring issues from the PTSD she had suffered from her last case, but she has found her counselor, Lisa Walsh, helpful in working through her issues and in settling back into police work.

The nasty piece of work that is her boss, Johnny Nolasco, puts her in a difficult position, in her absence, Maria Fernandez has been recruited to Violent Crimes, whom Tracy likes. He says there is no place for her in the team, but as the Detective working cold cases is retiring, she can take over from him. As Tracy mulls over whether this is a direction she wants to go in, she is impressed by what the cold case detective has to say, pushing her into taking up the position. As a mother, the case that catches her eye is the disappearance of a little girl, Elle, at a corn maze. Her father, Bobby Chin was a SPD officer, and was in the middle of a horrendous divorce from his enraged and bitter wife, Jewel. Then she finds herself back in Violent Crimes as she works the case of a missing young woman, Stephanie Cole, a recent arrival to the city, with Kins, a complicated nightmarish horror of a investigation revolving around the Sprague brothers who live together in their dilapidated home.

This is a terrific addition to the series, one of the main highlights for me is seeing Tracy's continuing development as she learns to handle her traumas better and finds herself settling into cold cases so well that she is reluctant to leave when offered the opportunity to do so, although she wants to continue having some current input in Violent Crimes. This is a intensely dark crime read, full of some surprising twists and turns, with two tricky cases for Tracy as she learns to juggle family and professional demands. She is still the same wonderfully determined cop, she will never give up trying to get justice for victims, past and present. This is a wonderful series that I recommend to crime and mystery readers, and this addition can easily be read as a standalone. Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer for an ARC.

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seattle Detective Tracy Crosswhite is back!

Yes, Tracy Crosswhite is back after an extended leave and has been reassigned to the the Cold Case unit. She is drawn to the file of a five-year-old girl who went missing while visiting a corn maze with her father. Her parents who were going through an ugly divorce at the time were the main suspects.

While investigating the missing girl’s case, she is asked to assist on the case of a missing young woman who vanished while jogging. She is reunited with her former partner, Kinsington "Kins" Rowe and the two dive into this case and find both old and new clues.

Another great addition to the Tracy Crosswhite series! It was nice to visit Tracy again and see her interacting with her baby and using her detective skills to solve crimes. This book will work as a stand-alone but starting from the beginning, will showcase the character development and growth of this series.

I found this book to be well written and I enjoyed watching Tracy and Kins investigate the cases. I also loved seeing Tracy as a mother. We get to see her being tough as nails yet tender. Nurturing and intuitive. Brave and beautiful. Intelligent and interesting. Plus, as we are often told, she can outshoot anyone on her team! In this book we see her willing to accept help and face her issues and past traumas in therapy.

This was a great installment, and I can't wait to see what future cases Tracy will work on. I also enjoyed seeing Tracy rub Johnny Nolasco's (her boss) nose in it!!!! Things really ramp up towards the end which had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen.

Riveting, tense and with a sense of danger!


Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series is fast becoming one of my favourite crime series. It perfectly mixes smart police procedural with the personal growth of its main character, Tracy Crosswhite.

Tracy has come a long way since the disappearance of her younger sister, Sarah drove her to join the Seattle police department and devote her life to finding Sarah and hunting down killers. Now married with a young daughter, she is returning to work after maternity leave and recovering from PTSD brought on by her last case. However, on her first day back she discovers her position in Violent Crimes has been filled and that she is instead asked to take over the cold cases section. Reluctantly agreeing to give it a try, she picks out cases involving two missing prostitutes and an abducted five year old girl. Not long after starting to look into them, her ex partner Kins asks her to help him with a missing person case when Violent Crimes is short of detectives. A young woman has disappeared from a jogging trail and needs to be found fast if she is still alive.

Although the reader knows what has happened to the young woman, following Tracy and Kins as they work the investigation and put the clues together makes for engrossing reading. Tracy is learning to juggle her life/work balance while working her cold cases at the same time, particularly that of the abducted child which, as a new mother, pulls at her heart strings. The pace of the novel is perfect and there is plenty of tension and some great twists as Tracy and Kins zone in on the abductor of the missing woman. An excellent thriller, best read as part of the series, but could also be read as a stand alone with sufficient background to Tracy's story provided. 4.5★

With many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for a copy to read

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been working my way through the Tracy Crosswhite books in a somewhat random manner. #9 in the series “What She Found” will be publishing in August.

Tracy has just returned from an extended maternity leave and has been reassigned from the Violent Crimes Division to the Cold Cases Division. She’s none too happy with the change, she and her captain do not have a good relationship, but has decided to give it a go. Her own sister had been missing for 20 years and the family has finally found closure when the kidnapper and murderer was arrested. She thinks she would like to bring that kind of closure to other families.

As she is just shuffling through the cases, her close friend from the A team, Kins, asks for her help with a case. A young woman who just moved to Seattle has disappeared seemingly without a trace. Most of the A team is tied up with another pressing case.

Tracy has two cold cases of missing prostitutes that resemble the disappearance of the current victim. With these cases and back to working with her friend Kins, she feels back in the groove very quickly.

Mr. Dugoni has lots of conflicting twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

I really enjoy the more traditional kind of police work that these books highlight. Interviewing witnesses, going over alibis again and again, checking and double checking neighbors statements, home monitoring cameras, making phone calls, etc. There is of course modern DNA forensics which will help to tie cases together in the end but for the most part this is a solid police procedural which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Tracy Crosswhite is a character that is believable, strong and self confident but still very relatable. She is a young mother now so is facing new trials and fears along with her husband and lawyer, Dan.

I’m anxious for the new installment in August but will continue to read the older books as they are just great reads. That’s not to say that there aren’t some very sick psychopaths between these pages, but the blood and gore are kept to a minimum which I always appreciate.

This was a Kindle Unlimited book which I very much enjoyed.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the eighth in the Tracy Crosswhite series. It’s perfect for those that enjoy a straightforward police procedural.
Tracy has just returned to work and is assigned to cold cases as her previous position in Violent Crimes has been taken. She picks two cases to re-investigate- the disappearance of a five year old daughter and the disappearance of two prostitutes. Meanwhile, she gets pulled into a live case of a young woman who disappears while out running.
The reader is aware of who is responsible for the live case, the mystery is in watching how Tracy and her partner, Kins, work it out. But Dugoni still manages to throw some twists and zingers in that totally threw me off. As you would expect in real life, Tracy attempts to balance the workload between the cases. There’s also office politics thrown in the mix to liven things up even more.
While I have read the prior seven books, I believe this would easily work as a standalone. Dugoni gives the reader enough background on Tracy to make a reader feel an immediate connection. He gives us the perfect balance between Tracy’s investigations and her personal life. It’s a fast read and I tore through its pages.
This remains a favorite series of mine and this book is another worthy addition.
My thanks to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCERPT: 'Let's play hide and seek, Daddy.'

'We don't have time for that, Elle. We have to get through.'

'Please, Daddy.'

'I'm sorry, honey. Maybe we can play at home.'

Elle cried. Then she sat down in the dirt.

'Elle, get up, honey. You're getting your costume dirty.'

'No.'

'Honey, you have to stand up.'

'I want to play. Mommy lets me play.'

The counsellor Chin had seen for his court-ordered anger-management classes had warned that kids going through a contentious divorce could become defiant and play one parent off against the other.

'Elle. You need to stand up.'

'No. Graham plays with me.'

Chin felt his heart ripping apart. 'Okay. One quick game. All right?'

Elle got to her feet. 'Yay!'

'But when I say come out, you have to come out. Okay?'

'You count, Daddy. You have to hide your eyes.'

'Okay, but if I say come out, you come out. Right?'

'Turn around when you count.'

Chin turned and counted. It wouldn't be hard to find Elle's colourful butterfly wings among the green corn stalks. 'One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi.'

At six he cheated and turned. He didn't see Elle's wings behind the corn stalks. 'Here I come.' He stepped forward. 'I'm coming.' He searched the aisle, looking under the drooping leaves. He turned the corner to another row. Then a third and a fourth. He checked his watch, felt himself starting to panic.

He shouted, 'Okay, Elle. I give up. Come out.' He turned in a circle, looking, hearing the wind rustle the stalks. 'Don't let the lights go out,' he muttered under his breath. He called again. 'Elle? You have to come out. The game is over.'

His heart raced.

He jogged, turning left and right, down the rows, shouting her name. 'Elle. Come out. Elle? Elle!'

He turned a corner, disorientated.

Another corner.

Elle's colourful butterfly wings lay in the dirt.

'Elle!'

Then the lights went out.

ABOUT 'IN HER TRACKS': Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is immediately drawn to her first file: the abduction of a five-year-old girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime suspects.

While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases, Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a broken marriage—and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood.

To find two missing persons, Tracy will have to follow more than clues, which are both long cold and unsettlingly fresh. Given her own traumatic past, Tracy must also follow her instincts—to whatever dark and dangerous places they may lead.

MY THOUGHTS: Another solid addition to Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series. Tracy is returning to work following her maternity leave and finds that she has been shafted by her longtime arch-nemesis, Nolasco. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and Nolasco may just wind up having to eat humble pie.

Tracy's character continues to develop and motherhood seems to have made her more conscious of the effect her personal traumas have had on her, and the need to learn to cope with them, if not overcome them has her regularly seeing a therapist. She has to learn to balance her caseload with her family life, not always an easy task, especially for someone as dedicated and empathetic as Tracy.

There are some unexpected twists and turns, and one that wasn't so surprising to me, that I had guessed earlier on. Even though we know what has happened to Stephanie Cole, the young woman who has been abducted, Dugoni has laid a clever trail of red herrings so that the case is not quite as clear cut as it initially seems. This case somewhat overshadows the cold case involving the disappearance of five year old Elle Chin, and I also felt that the resolution to this was dragged out too long. Despite this, Dugoni kept my interest throughout and I enjoyed this addition to the series.

As a bonus, I think that this book could well be read as a stand-alone, so if you are daunted by the thought of starting this series at book #8, don't be.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.4

#InHerTracks #NetGalley

@robertdugoni

#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #mystery #policeprocedural

THE AUTHOR: A writer turned lawyer turned writer.
Robert Dugoni was born in Idaho and raised in Northern California the middle child of a family of ten siblings. Dugoni jokes that he didn't get much of a chance to talk, so he wrote. By the seventh grade he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Dugoni wrote his way to Stanford University, receiving writing awards along the way, and majored in communications/journalism and creative writing while working as a reporter for the Stanford Daily. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and worked briefly as a reporter in the Metro Office and the San Gabriel Valley Office of the Los Angeles Times.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Maureen Carden · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the world of me I can’t figure out why the Tracy Crosswhite books have not been made into an Amazon or Netflix series. In Her Tracks is a prime example of a book that would easily turn into a great mini-series or a season. Everything seems to be made into series down to the point where they are hiring actors from a South Bend Indiana high school for starring roles.
Seattle police detective Trace Crosswhite is finally returning to work with the Violent Crimes detective A team, except she isn’t. Due to the tragic and traumatic case from last year that leads to PTSD, plus her maternity leave, Tracy has been on extended leave. When Tracy returns to work her captain, with whom she has had a long running feud since Academy days, has managed to screw her over once again, giving her the choice of the cold cases squad (made up of her) or retiring.
Tracy gives strong consideration to just retiring, but she knows she has an excellent nanny for baby Daniella and strong support from her attorney husband, Dan. Besides, Tracy cares. She has carried the burden of her missing sister for over twenty years. The horror and pain of the resolution of her sister’s death gives Tracy the wish to give closure to other families.
Tracy is immediately engrossed with the case of a five year old case of a missing little girl. The girl was caught in the middle of a very nasty divorce case, each parent blaming the other for her disappearance from a cornfield maze.
However the first day back, her former co-worker from the A-team, Kins Rowe also recruits Tracy in the new case of a missing runner, a young woman who has just moved to Seattle.
Traci is off and running with the case of the current missing girl and three cold cases. Two of the cold cases are of prostitutes with the circumstances of their disappearance bearing a faint resemblance to the recent missing woman’s case. Tracy also wants to give justice to the high risk victims that are often ignored by the system.
This is mostly Tracy’s book. With the minor exception of Rowe, Crosswhite carries this book by herself, a book of good old fashioned police work; working the scene, working the phone, working the forensics, interviewing the witnesses over and over, and checking their statements.
The Dugoni characters live next door to us, or down the street. They have new babies, pressure between work and home, too many “a few extra pounds”, not enough sleep, traffic horrors; co-workers you just want to kick in the shin, co-workers with whom you have the occasional quiet drink. So similar to us, so not; because their work loads are moments of horror, seeing people at their nightmarish worst.
The forensic work in In Her Tracks fascinates. Tracy once again makes use of Kaylee Wright, the King County CSI man tracker aka sign cutter. (Hint to Mr. Dugoni: Sir, I think Kaylee Wright could someday star in her own book. Not that I am actually making a suggestion to an outstanding author.) Wright was almost able to pinpoint exactly where the missing woman ended up and to give a description of the man who carried her away.
I would never have figured out the various resolutions to the four cases that Traci investigates even though we know who took the jogger; however we have no idea if Tracy will be in time to save her. The ending reminds me of the Shakespeare speech from the Merchant of Venice “The quality of mercy is not strained….”
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and the chance to review the book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Not everyone can be saved, Tracy."

Detective Tracy Crosswhite refuses to believe otherwise. She is relentless when it comes to searching for those individuals lost in the sea of obscurity. Never once did she give up hope in finding her own sister even when the final chapter brought with it the horror of that reality.

Tracy has been on leave after the birth of her daughter, Daniella. She's suffered with PTSD after her last case. Daniel, her husband, is not overly excited about Tracy's return to the Seattle Police Department, but he would never stand in her way.

Upon returning to the Violent Crimes section, Tracy is faced with quite the decision. Maria Fernandez has been covering for Tracy. Captain Johnny Nolasco presents the situation to her and requests that she take up the Cold Cases. Nolasco has it in for Tracy. They have a sticky history together from the past. Not wanting to evict Fernandez, Tracy cuts a deal to work Cold Cases only to return to her prior position eventually.

First up is a five year old case in which a little girl had been abducted from a corn maze on Halloween night. Her father had visiting rights that night. The divorce was a vicious one and the relationship between the parents was now lit aflame with the abduction. Tracy will try to work this one with very little evidence or witnesses after such a long time.

Next up is a current case in which her former partner, Kinsington Rowe, asks for her assistance. Nineteen year old Stephanie Cole, a recent transplant from L.A. to Seattle, has gone missing after a run. Days go by without a word from Stephanie. And that opens the gap wider if Stephanie will ever be found.

Even though this is #8 in the series, it still reads as a standalone. Robert Dugoni sees to it every time. Dugoni is masterful when it comes to injecting believable crimes that would blaze on the front of any city's newspaper or news app. His character of Crosswhite is painfully human with limitations that ring realistically. Her current job situation is similar to everyday people going back to everyday challenges in the work force. But one of many things going for Tracy is her bloodhound genes. You'll never find grass growing under her feet. In Her Tracks is another fine offering from the highly talented Robert Dugoni. Never ever a disappointment when you get onboard. Bravo!

I received a copy of In Her Tracks through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to Robert Dugoni for the opportunity.

[Theresa Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly fast-paced novel. The heroine, Tracy Crosswhite, is solving not one, but two crimes.

I’d read the first book in this series and then didn’t even look to see that this was the eighth one. Though I skipped all those other books (I’ll go back now and read them because I enjoyed this one so much), this novel stood on its own just fine.

When Tracy returns from maternity leave, she’s assigned to the cold case unit and decides to investigate a case of a five-year-old who went missing during a contentious divorce. At the same time, she helps an active case of a nineteen-year-old girl who disappeared while going for a jog.

The author doesn’t go into detail about the horrific stuff that happens to women, so it’s up to your imagination how much you want to think about their nightmare. If you don't overthink that, it's a fun read.

[Kat (Books are Comfort Food) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book in the series

The 8th installment of this series finds Tracy at a crossroads when she returns back from maternity leave to find she’s been replaced and is relegated to cold cases. Tracy, never one to shy away from hard work does just that. This book has a great time,one, keeps you interested, some interesting twists and one bigger surprise. I enjoyed the story and the ending and I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series. I look forward to the day Tracy really kicks Nolasco to the curb, on his ass, facing upward.

Although it’s part of a series it can be read as a standalone.

[Bridgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not everyone can be saved, Tracy."

I love Robert Dugoni, I love the Tracy Crosswhite series, and I'm thrilled to see In Her Tracks appears to be getting very good ratings from beta readers. So...it breaks my heart to do this, but I have to say it.

I didn't love this novel.

Compared to most of the other books in this series, this one felt clunky. There were so many story lines...and though they eventually all came together, it wasn't smooth sailing getting there. This was also the first time I haven't really enjoyed Tracy's character. She came across a little too cocky. I didn't find any of the story threads particularly riveting, and because there were so many, most weren't thoroughly fleshed out.

And then there were weird little instances of things that simply didn't make sense. For instance, Tracy was told she'd had a panic attack, yet she'd never heard of one. I'm fairly certain most officers have to undergo some medical training...so for a medaled detective to have never heard of a panic attack seems more than a little implausible to me.

Oh, and I figured everything out really early...from all the threads. So there was that. Meh.

Please don't get me wrong...this isn't a bad story. BUT! I don't feel it stands up to the others in the series. It simply doesn't have the spark or that initial grip that the most of the others did (I also didn't care for book five, Close to Home.)

Anyway, if you enjoy this series, this is still worth reading. And if you haven't...what are you waiting for? It's Robert-freaking-Dugoni.

2.5 stars
Available April 20, 2021

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my review copy.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Robert Dugoni, and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Robert Dugoni is back with another Tracy Crosswhite police procedural procedural, but adds a certain twist to keep the reader guessing. It’s been a tough go for Seattle PD Homicide Detective Crosswhite, but she is not one to let bumps in the road derail her work. Returning from maternity leave, Crosswhite is forced to take a position she does not want, but tosses herself into the work. She discovers an intriguing case that appears to be without strong leads. When Crosswhite is pulled into an active case, she finds her spark again, much to the chagrin of a captain who wants her under his foot. The missing and presumed dead have a voice in Detective Tracy Crosswhite, but she will have to breathe life into their cases before they go cold.

While she loves motherhood, Tracy Crosswhite cannot wait to get back to work. Returning to the Seattle PD’s Homicide Team, Crosswhite hopes to have her position back. However, her wily captain has other ideas, citing that they need to fill the spot while she was on maternity leave. Offering her a position as the cold case detective—one that everyone is sure Crosswhite will decline—it’s a chance for Tracy to decide what she wants next. A pep talk with the retiring detective leaves her willing to give it a shot, if only to scuttle the plans of her nemesis for a while longer.

Crosswhite scours the list of cases and finds one that piques her interest. A little girl went missing when her father took her to a corn maze and was never seen again. Part of a bitter custody battle, the little girl made numerous comments about how her parents fought before the separation. As a beat cop at the time of the disappearance, the father pulls on the heartstrings of Crosswhite, but she must remain objective.

Working on a few of the leads that go nowhere, Crosswhite is pulled into the middle of a fresh investigation with her former partner. A young jogger has gone missing in a local park and no one saw anything. Canvassing the neighbourhood, Crosswhite comes across three brothers who live together but seem to be hiding something. With nothing concrete to assert her claims of guilt, Crosswhite will have to pursue a few options on the sly.

While her missing girl case is going nowhere fast, Detective Crosswhite finds herself fixated on this jogger and how she could have disappeared into thin air. There’s something that is not adding up and those who know Tracy Crosswhite understand that she is not one to let opportunity slip through her fingers. She’ll use all her resources to get to the bottom of it, even if it means putting her future in jeopardy with a captain who wants her head on a platter.

There’s something about this series that has always kept me fully engaged and wondering. Robert Dugoni has crafted a stellar cast and writes so fluidly as to keep the reader on their toes. New ideas emerge with each novel and the series gets better the deeper into the characters Dugoni pulls the reader. I can see this being one series that will not get old any time soon.

Tracy Crosswhite is a stellar detective in her own right, having grown effectively over the last number of novels. Her grit and determination are like no other and she keeps her eye on the prize throughout, hoping to make the most of what is offered to her. Balancing work with motherhood has been tough, but Crosswhite has found a balance, even though it has come at the cost of her preferred job. It will take all she has inside her to solve the cases placed at her feet, while dodging the obstacles of suspects and a captain with an ax to grind. There is mention throughout her cold case investigation about how a missing child can tear a family apart, something Crosswhite knows all too well from her sister’s disappearance. Guilt is nothing new for Detective Tracy Crosswhite, which makes her all the more intriguing as she strives for truth.

Dugoni creates a string of strong secondary characters in this piece that complement Crosswhite when the need arises. Pulled from a variety of sources, those who fill the gaps and keep the reader intrigued offer their own spin on these missing persons cases. Some are straightforward while others prefer to present deceptive fronts, all of whom work well to keep the reader wondering what’s to come. The recurring cast is always welcome, but I also enjoy how Dugoni has created new and one-off characters that keep things exciting for all readers.

There’s something to be said for the novels in this series, as they take police procedurals to a new level. While there are the essential elements found throughout, Robert Dugoni uses his strong writing abilities to create a certain magnetism that pulls the reader into the middle of the case and won’t let go. The narrative pushes along effectively and keeps the reader on their toes until the very end, when the pieces finally come together. It’s a piece that may reveal itself slowly, but once the momentum is started, there’s not tapping on the brakes. Short to mid-length chapters propel the reader forward and keep the story on track, as much is revealed with each page turn. I can only wonder what’s to come and how Dugoni will continue to shape his core set of characters with new and exciting hurdles.

Kudos, Mr. Dugoni, for another winner. Your work is some of the best in the genre and I can only hope you have many more ideas to share soon.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

the setup…
Detective Tracy Crosswhite returns from extended leave to discover she’s been reassigned to the cold case unit. After consideration, she decides to begin with the unsolved abduction of little Elle Chin who disappeared from a corn maze while out with her father five years ago on Halloween. Elle’s parents were in the middle of a nasty divorce at the time and both pointed the finger at each other when their daughter, who was five-years old at the time, vanished without a trace. While Tracy starts her investigation, she’s also asked to help out her old partner with a current missing person search for Stephanie Cole, a young woman who went jogging in a park before she was to attend a Halloween party and hasn’t been seen since.

the heart of the story…
It wasn’t only about the investigations this time as Tracy must make critical career decisions after being unfairly reassigned by her vindictive Captain Nolasco. Even though he narrowly threaded policy in making that move, Tracy still had options, retirement being one of them. I admired her process for deciding what was best for her and her family, which was thoughtful and measured. The Chin case was interesting and puzzling but also a tragic example of how a child can be caught up in the bad behavior of two warring parents in the middle of a divorce. The search for Stephanie Cole was classic police procedural, which I absolutely love and no one does it better than Tracy. It was even more compelling as we get the point of view of those responsible for her disappearance.

the narration…
Emily Sutton-Smith delivers another fine performance and I’ve come to count on her as the voice of the series. It wouldn’t be quite the same experience without her. She’s my Tracy, as well as adeptly managing all other characters.

the bottom line…
I was engaged in this story from the onset and stayed that way until the end. While I thought I knew what had happened to Stephanie, the resolution of the case still had quite a few surprises and caught me a bit flatfooted. The real surprise came with the resolution of the Chin case and the choices Tracy faced in putting it to rest. This series isn’t just about the investigations but wonderful illustrations of the human condition as everyone involved goes through the process, including the perpetrators, victims, their families and those tasked with solving these crimes. There are so many layers in this story that left me considering more than the final outcomes. And, for me, it’s all best served up in the audiobook experience. 4.5 stars

Posted on Blue Mood Café

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Tracks is the 8th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series and is just as good as the previous additions!

In this book, Seattle Police Detective Tracy Crosswhite is coming back from leave and her old position with the A Team in the Violent Crimes Division isn’t available anymore.

Captain Nolasco has replaced her position with another female detective. Tracy can't claim it's discrimination because it's another female detective and Nolasco is a huge a$$hole.
Can we have something bad happen to Captain Nolasco in one of the upcoming books please?!

With her old position up in the air, she's assigned to the Cold Case unit.

While there, she’s looking into an abduction of a five-year-old on Halloween night that was never solved and missing women in North Seattle that were prostitutes.

As she settles in to the position and makes sense of the cold cases, a young woman named Stephanie Cole goes missing in North Seattle. She's disappeared on a jogging trail and Tracy’s former partner Kins wants help on finding Cole.

All the cases were detailed and I loved the conclusion for all of them!

I thought the case of the missing runner was cut and dry but then Robert Dugoni threw a curveball at the reader.
I really loved that plot twist!

If you enjoy detective novels, I think you would enjoy this series. The main character is awesome, and the writing is fantastic.

I’m also a bit biased because it’s set in Seattle where I live, and it feels like I’m on a real live case as Dugoni takes the reader around Seattle and other areas in the Pacific Northwest.
He gets everything right including the cold, rainy weather, and sunset at 4:40ish during winter. Bravo! 😂🤣

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became curious after finishing Robert Dugoni's current Tracy Crosswhite's newest book, about missing persons. It appears that nearly 600,000 people go missing each year. The number is staggering and while some of those missing choose this as their path, countless others have been abducted. Many are children, and while the possibility is that this might be a parental abduction, many others are gone with seemingly not a trace.

This book's theme is a missing child, a child living in a home of much strife and hatred and while the investigation concentrates on the parents, nothing seems to turn up. Tracey , newly appointed to the Missing Persons detail, feels an affinity to this young girl. She and her husband now have a daughter of their own.

While investigating, Tracy finds herself teamed up with her former partner and they start looking for a young women who seems to have vanished from a jogging trail. It's a blending of a cold case and a new case and as the team investigates, clues turn up that lead them to a neighborhood that seems quiet and safe but may be exactly the opposite.

Mr Dugoni kept the action going and for those who enjoy a police procedural, this is one to pick up.
Thank you to Robert Dugoni (I so appreciated your author's note, Thomas and Mercer, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this story due out April 20,2020

****Some interesting data****

Of the 15,207 people currently missing in the US, approximately 60% are male and 40% are female.
The average age of people when they go missing is around 34.
As of January 2019, there are 106 children currently missing who were younger than a year old when they went missing.
Alaska has the most missing persons per capita, with 41.8 people missing per 100,000 population. Massachusetts has the least missing persons per capita, with 1.8 people missing per 100,000 population.
However, California has the most missing persons in total, with 2,133 people missing. Rhode Island has the least, with 20 people missing.
The cities with the most missing people total include Los Angeles (189), Phoenix (170), Houston (165), San Francisco (163), and Detroit (150).
There are 12,459 unidentified persons as of January 2019.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family is the central theme in In Her Tracks, Robert Dugoni’s eighth volume in the popular Tracy Crosswhite series. Tracy, Dan, and their baby daughter Daniela have a wonderful, loving family. Both parents work; Dan is an attorney, while Tracy is a police detective just returning from an extended leave from Seattle Police Department. With the help of an extremely capable person to care for their daughter, their family is a happy, cohesive unit.

Other families featured in this story are not so well put together. On a scale of A-to-F, a couple of them rate at least a D, as in Dysfunctional. Or maybe an F, as in Fatally Flawed.

When Tracy returns to work, she expects to return to her team, the Violent Crimes Unit. Her superior officer, Captain Johnny Nolasco, has another idea. Since there is not an open spot on the team at present and the detective running the cold case unit is retiring, that job has Crosswhite’s name on it – take it or leave it. Since she and Nolasco have a history of, shall we say, bad blood, between them, Tracy considers resigning but doesn’t want to give Nolasco the satisfaction. Besides, she likes her job and cares deeply about her work.

The first case she chooses is the five-year-old case of a missing child. The parents were embroiled in a fierce divorce battle, and each pointed the finger at the other. Just as Tracy begins backtracking on the same ground SPD detectives had covered previously, her former partner Kinsington Rowe asks her for help with a missing woman case. This young woman disappeared while out jogging on a dead-end trail. Before long, this investigation becomes the center of Tracy’s focus, although she continues to review paperwork and interview subjects from the cold case as well.

The new missing young woman case introduces us to yet another very mucked up family. Three brothers live together in the home where they grew up. Franklin, oldest brother is somewhere in his late 40s and is the boss of the other two. The middle brother, Carroll, is a stutterer and doesn’t question much of anything his older brother tells him. Evan is the youngest; his brothers and those who know him call him “slow.” Unlike his brothers, Evan does not hold regular employment, but does jobs like mowing lawns in the neighborhood. My initial sense about this family was, “Ewww!” Dugoni does a terrific job describing the home and creating these personalities. Everything about these guys felt “yucky,” yet I wondered if they were really responsible. There were no other suspects, were there?

On top of these heart-wrenching disappearances, Tracy must somehow put aside her own personal feelings that inevitably creep into her mind, the reminders of her sister’s disappearance years ago and the aftermath of that time. Rather than run from her past, she must find a way to use her experience, her pain and grief to find a way to show compassion and strength for victims and their families.

As I read this story, much of it felt predictable. But...BUT! Robert Dugoni! You had a trick or two up your sleeve, you sneaky guy, you! And kudos for the wonderful forensics/crime scene information. That was fascinating!

As always, Dugoni does not disappoint. As much as I love Tracy, I think it would be really fun to read a book in which Dan is the protagonist. He seems like such a good guy, and I’d like to know him better. Maybe he and Tracy could team up to work on a case? As with many series, it would be really helpful for readers to read the books in order to fully understand the characters, particularly Tracy Crosswhite.

My thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for this ARC copy of In Her Tracks .

4 stars

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracey Crosswhite returns to her job as a Seattle Police Department detective in the Violent Crimes Unit after an extended period of maternity leave only to find her spot has been filled. She is instead sent to work on cold cases. One case catches her attention. Five year old Elle Chin disappeared 5 years ago. She was being used as a pawn in her parents toxic divorce proceedings so naturally the parents, and the mother’s new boyfriend, were put under the microscope but to date no specific evidence has been found. It is a perplexing case but Tracey follows every possible lead.

She also looks at a couple of cases where prostitutes have disappeared. These were put on the cold case pile quite quickly as missing prostitutes are not the first priority of an overburdened police force. But it is not long before her old partner, Kinsington Rowe, seeks her help with the disappearance of a young woman jogger as the other members of his team are busy with others cases. The old partnership clicks smoothly into place and these two swing into action. Tracey also wonders if there are links between the missing prostitutes and the jogger as the three disappearances were all in the same area.

Tracey and Kin’s are soon focussing on a family of 3 brothers still living in their (dead) parents house. Something seems off with this family but again, there is no evidence pointing directly to them. I don’t want to say any more. Robert Dugoni has written another cracking book that I thought is one of the best in the series. I’m not even sure what it is that particularly grabbed me but I really struggled to put this one down. I was quite riveted. As usual he managed to tie up all the threads of the story satisfactorily. If I had a niggle - it would be that the Elle Chin case lost a bit of momentum and then was suddenly solved, very conveniently, by Tracey. Nevertheless the ending was very satisfying. Thanks to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Robert Dugoni for providing a copy to review. My opinions are my own.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big thank you to NetGalley, as well as Thomas & Mercer publishing for this free advance copy in return for an honest review. For his 8th Tracy Crosswhite mystery, the author tackles missing children, Cold Cases, and some truly nasty people involved in kidnapping and abuse. For me this is the first time I have read this popular author and it certainly will not be the last.
The story begins 5 years prior to today when Seattle Police Officer, Bobby Chin takes his five year old daughter, Elle, to a local corn maze and when the lights go out he loses the child. This is every parents fear, that something over which they have no control will rob them of their child.
Dugoni then shifts to present day when detective Tracy Crosswhite reports for duty after having taken time off for the birth of her daughter. Upon her return she discovers that her position among the detectives has been taken and she is forced to basically choose between retirement or working Cold Cases, a difficult decision but one that is made a bit easier after her interaction with the retiring detective working those cases.
Once those basics are worked out, we become immersed in the case of a missing lady jogger, as well as Crosswhite’s decision to try and solve the Elle Chin disappearance. We also get to experience how Crosswhite deals with her work-related separation from her daughter, as well as her psychological issues that came to the fore in a prior book.
Prior events from these past books play a big part in Crosswhite’s handling of matters, and so if you are just jumping into this series you are a bit lost as to all that had transpired in the prior books, but it is not a fatal flaw just one helps us understand the issues she faces while dealing with lost children, cold cases and the missing jogger.
The author moves seamlessly between cases, and does a wonderful job of helping the reader feel the tension that surrounds a missing persons case, the agony of dealing with Cold Cases, and the predators who are involved in the kidnapping and abuse. He even shows how 3 brothers have been affected by their abusive father and how that abuse leads to their current problems as well as one brother abusing his other two siblings.
There are lots of twists and turns in this book and it turns out that not everything is as easily solved as it first appears. Also, all of the abuse and torture appears outside of the book so that there are no really squeamish parts of this book.
A fast and fascinating read, this book should really please all of Dugoni’s fans and, if you have just discovered Dugoni as I have, this book will certainly bring him a host of new readers who will scramble to read the first seven books in this series. Originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com

[Bharath · Rating 5 out of 5]

After initially reading out of turn, I have now covered most of this series, and now only the next one – book 9 remains. A great series with an excellent character in Tracy Crosswhite. In the recent year or two I have run into a few books with two mysteries/plots (this was not usual earlier I think or I have somehow missed them), and this is one of them.

Tracy joins the police force back from maternity leave. Nolasco assigns her to cold cases, saying there is no position in the major crimes division she was earlier a part of. She is reluctant at first, but later accepts. She takes up a case of 5 years back when a young girl Elle Chin went missing. She was out to a corn maze with Bobby Chin, her dad (in the police force at the time) and disappears. Bobby’s estranged wife Jewel accuses him while he feels she and her boyfriend Graham might have had a hand. There is also the case of Stephanie Cole, who works as a receptionist, and has gone missing recently. While Stephanie’s car was found, the evidence suggests she was probably abducted/taken/or killed elsewhere. Tracy’s previous partner Kins gets her involved in this case as well to assist.

Both the cases are intriguing and the procedural work in piecing together the possible sequence of events from the evidence available makes for exciting reading. The resolution of the Stephanie Cole case felt cleaner than that of Elle Chin, but both are good – unique in their own way. I liked also how the story weaved in Tracy’s personal circumstances and priorities without ever digressing from the plot.

Robert Dugoni is now one of my favourite authors and I have loved most of his books.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni is the eighth instalment in the Tracy Crosswhite series. However, it reads well as a standalone, filling the reader in on her past as the story develops. Tracy is a detective with the Seattle police department and has been put in charge of cold cases, an assignment she does not welcome gladly. When asked by her former partner to help with the disappearance of a young female jogger, she takes on that job as well. The woman was last seen on a forest trail. Tracy is also investigating the disappearance of a child who has not been seen for five years. Her parents were involved in a messy divorce and both are considered suspects. This police procedural deals with two completely different cases, which makes In Her Tracks a challenging and suspenseful read. The series portrays the ups and downs of police work, highlighting the dedication of detectives working difficult cases while trying to maintain a private life. Hopefully there will be more instalments by Robert Dugoni. Highly recommended. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has moved to the Cold Case Unit after returning from extended leave to find her Captain has filled her position at Violent Crimes with someone else. Sifting through the binders of cold cases, one case captures her interest. Five-year-old Elle Chin disappeared from a corn maze one night while with her father. Both parents were investigated. Both blame each other. The police have no leads. Tracy decides to take a run at this case to see if she can find out what happened to Elle.

Meanwhile, Tracy's former partner Detective Kinsington Rowe asks for her help on a missing persons case. Stephanie Cole went jogging two days ago and hasn't been seen since. Her car was found near a local park, but there is no sign of what happened to her.

This is the 8th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I was immediately drawn to the Elle Chin case. The parents were in a contentious divorce which left their daughter way down on the list of things they should be worried about. I wasn't sure what happened to the little girl, but this story kept my attention. The investigation into the missing jogger was a little different. We were told who was behind the abduction and had to see how Tracy and Kins would figure out this mystery. I was pleasantly surprised by the twist in this story that I didn't see coming.

Overall, a very good entry into the series. My rating: 4.5 Stars.

[Rainz ❤️rainnbooks❤️(on a break) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Net Galley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

In Her Tracks is book # 8 in the Tracy Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni. This surely can be read as a stand-alone, but I would strongly advise you to read them to understand the relationships between Tracy and her team of detectives and also the why of the antagonism between Tracy and her chief Captain Nolasco.

Tracy has been assigned to the cold case division after returning from maternity leave and very soon 2 cases seem to grab her attention. Simultaneously, her partner Kins requests help in tracing a girl who is reported missing by her mother. The investigation gets going brilliantly as Tracy and Kins follow leads and Tracy also reinvestigates the cold case of 5 yr old girl and 2 prostitutes missing from the area where the current incident also occurs.

It is Robert Dugoni, and surely there’s the thrilling ride to finish keeping the readers on their toes bringing in unexpected twists and turns, and finally to a horrifying climax amidst a lovely residential area.

I have been a long-time fan of Tracy Crosswhite and each of her cases from book 1 to 7 has been engrossing at best. Book #8 somehow fell short and that could be partly due to my over-expectations. After having read all the books and 2 novellas in the series, I had quite high hopes for this one too, NO, don’t get me wrong, this is a really good police procedural but just not exceptional. The WOW factor was mellowed down in this book probably reflecting the change in Tracy after becoming a mother and suffering from PTSD following the incidents in her last case. Kins in one of his conversations describes Tracy as a pistol but that particular firebrand intensity was lost in this story.

Once again, I loved the bonding between Tracy and Kins and honestly look forward to more from this series.

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Meduim.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the eigth book in the series Tracy Crosswhite returns to work after an extended leave but not to the Violent Crimes unit. Thanks to the mechanations of Captain Johnny Nolasco she finds herself assigned to Cold Cases. She is drawn to three cases. Two involve missing prostitutes. The third involves the disappearance of five year old Elle Chin. As the mother of a ten month old girl this one hits close to home. Nolasco may have arranged it so that Tracy can't return to Violent Crimes but that doesn't stop her former partner, Kinsington "Kins" Rowe, from getting her to help him with an active case. A young woman, Stephanie Cole, vanished while jogging.

Elle's parent were going through a bitter divorce and both were considered suspects. Tracy interviews them, neighbors, associates but doesn't learn much that wasn't already known. The majority of the story revolves around the missing prostitutes and jogger. I sometimes found myself wondering where this case was going how it would end up. What happened to Elle?

Tracy has evolved over the course of the series. She has gotten married, has a daughter, and is seeing a counselor, Lisa Walsh, to deal with PTSD. In many ways family is a central theme in this story. Tracy has a wonderful and supportive husband, a healthy and beautiful daughter, and a highly capable nanny that allows Tracy to return to work. The other families in this story are not so wonderful. Like Elle Chin's. Stephanie Cole came to Seattle to escape her family. Like the old Columbo television series we know what happened to Stephanie and who is responsible. The victim of another family with major issues. Tracy has to balance things. Her personal life from her work. Not let the similarites between cases take her back to her own past.

There was a little bit of a surprise that I did not see coming. I always enjoy when the author throws a curveball in the story. With regards to Nolasco it was nice to see that in the end Tracy may just have had the last laugh. Robert Dugoni does explain what happened to Elle Chin at the end of the story. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series. Will Tracy remain with Cold Cases or will she return to Violent Crimes? Maybe both? Officially assigned to Cold Cases but help out Violent Crimes on ocassion. Can't imagine a Tracy Crosswhite story without Kins, Faz and Del.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only other book I read by Robert Dugoni was “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell” which I loved. I received the ARC to read this book from the publisher and NetGalley and I thank them very much because I loved this one too! Unfortunately for me this is book eight in the Tracy Crosswhite detective series, however, it was not difficult to understand what was going on. In fact, I was all in from the very start.

Veteran Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite returns from a lengthy maternity leave to find her position has been given to another female detective. She is forced to take the position of the retiring cold case detective which she is not convinced she wants. She quickly becomes ensconced in two cold cases and one current case with her former partner. Although the story bounces back and forth between her investigations into the three cases it flows beautifully. I was just floating along for the very enjoyable ride while Detective Crosswhite put two and two together and wrapped up everything in a nice neat bow. She did this while juggling a husband, new baby and jealous back-stabbing supervisor. The shocking ending had a twist I totally did not see coming.

I’m so excited to find a new mystery/thriller series to read and will most definitely be starting to read this series with book one. Dugoni is a master at his craft. I gave this 4.25 stars rounded down to four. #NetGalley #InHerTracks

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting Tracy Crosswhite mystery/thriller by Robert Dugoni. This is number 8 for the series. I've read several of these and have enjoyed every one I've picked up. Tracy Crosswhite is a great character as a police detective in the Violent Crimes division of the Seattle Police Department.

After returning to the department from an extended leave to find her position in Violent Crimes has been assigned to someone else. Tracy is offered a position handling cold cases. She chooses to focus on a case where a 5-year-old disappeared several years ago, and two cases where prostitutes disappeared in the same general area. She also gets pulled into a new case for Violent Crimes where a girl who was out running has disappeared.

The investigation and the results it turns up are gripping and horrible. Tracy is in her element and her skills and instincts are outstanding as she chases down evidence and tries to find what happened in all of these cases. I love this series!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer through Netgalley for an advance copy.

[Priskah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,0 ✨✨✨

(Audiobook)

[Adrian Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Dugoni book and another 5 star review!

I love Dugoni as an author and the Tracy Crosswhite series is one that goes from strength to strength.

Tracy returns to work after a long break with a mixture of maternity leave and compassionate leave.
Her position in the A team has been filled by another woman and her spiteful boss offers her an opening in cold cases, as the one detective on that department is retiring.

She reluctantly agrees and immediately starts investigating the cases of a missing child and seperately 2 prostitutes also missing.

When one of the A team, Kins, receives a new case on his lap, a female jogger gone missing from a park, with all of the rest of his team tied up on other cases, he asks Tracy to give him a dig out.
Its not long before Tracy sees similarities between the missing jogger and her legacy case of the two prostitutes. If she solves one it should solve the other too. She also has her missing child case to follow up on too.

I flew through this one. The book feels short, which is a great thing. I didnt realize I was so far into the book I was so engrossed.
We know the perpetrator for the missing women from near the start so its a matter of if Tracy can figure it out.

Theres a perfect balance of police work and Tracys personal life in this one and the personal stuff is important to this story arc and the story arc of the series overall.

Its another brilliant read from Robert Dugoni. Will work as a stand alone but there are back reference throughout.

Hugely entertaining. An easy 5 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Tracy Crosswhite is back on the job after an extended maternity/medical leave. Captain Johnny Nolasco assigns her to the Cold Case Unit hoping that Tracy will wither there. [He really does NOT like her.] But Tracy seems to find action wherever she ends up. First there is the puzzling abduction of 5-year-old Elle from a corn maze that occurred five years ago. Seattle Police Department officer Bobby Chin had custody of her at the time. He and Elle’s mother Jewel were in the midst of a bitter divorce and promptly blamed each other for Elle’s disappearance. There are few leads for Tracy to pursue here, but she does not let that deter her.

The next cold case that catches Tracy’s interest is the disappearance of two prostitutes that occurred several months ago. Their last known locations happen to coincide with the recent disappearance of nineteen-year-old Stephanie Cole. Kinsington ‘Kins’ Rowe requests Tracy’s help with this active missing person case as all three cases appear to be connected. Suspicion quickly falls on the three very creepy Sprague brothers. But, is it warranted?

Enjoy this latest offering in the excellent Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series!

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Tracks is the eighth book in the consistently excellent Tracy Crosswhite series set in Seattle, about a homicide detective who is determined to find justice for missing women after spending twenty years looking for her younger sister. I’ve read all of them in order and definitely feel I get more out of them from knowing the characters, but you do get all the backstory you need and each one is a separate mystery. Tracy is a fantastic heroine - dogged and thorough, empathetic and considerate, but still cheeky and irreverent especially with her awful boss Nolasco.

Tracy has returned to work after her maternity and medical leave to discover that her job on the A team has been filled in an attempt by Nolasco to get her to quit by moving her into the one-detective Cold Case unit. Initially concerned that the role will bring back her past trauma due to the difficulties of closing cases everyone’s given up on and her own family tragedy, Tracy is intrigued to read the file of a five year old who disappeared on a Hallowe’en outing with her police officer father. The parents seemed more concerned with scoring points off each other in a bitter divorce and a body was never found. Meanwhile her former partner Kins asks for help looking for a young woman who has gone missing on a run after work in a suburb where two previous sex workers have also vanished.

“You’re human, Tracy, which means you’re not perfect. You’re going to fail, through no fault of your own. That’s part of being human, being imperfect. The question is, can you live with being imperfect? Can you live with failure?”
This quote sums Tracy up beautifully - she can take a challenge like this and make it drive her, rather than destroy her - but she works for her victims, not to prove anything to anyone. She’s one of my favourite detectives in all of crime fiction.

This one was slightly unusual because we know from the start who the guilty party is on one of the cases, so the suspense comes from whether or not they will be caught in time to save their victim. While initially I thought this would make things too predictable, Dugoni has tricks up his sleeve that meant I was still wrong-footed, while managing to wrap up all the plotlines very satisfactorily. I also enjoyed the scenes of Tracy & Dan’s domestic life: I love that instead of throwing a tantrum or second guessing herself because she missed her baby’s first steps, she’s philosophical about the compromises that working mothers have to make and can focus on the most important things. The ending means we can look forward to more cold case puzzles - one of my current favourite types of detective stories alongside Locked Room mysteries (and wouldn’t I love to see Tracy tackle one of those!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. In Her Tracks is published on April 20th.