In this latest installment in the Tracy Crosswhite series, Tracy is now a new mother. The storyline follows two paths; one in which new mother Tracy is constantly feeling conflicted between wanting to stay home with her beautiful baby and going back to the detective work she loves. Her husband Dan clearly wants her to stay home.

One day, Tracy pops in to catch up with the local police chief who draws her into an investigation that will have her revisiting her sister’s murder 20+ years before in which Tracy has not yet found closure. Her husband Dan is a lawyer whose client has brought a lawsuit against Cedar Grove officials and the potentially shady dealings related to the revival of the town.

Although it dragged at times, especially the legal drama, I found this to be a satisfying mystery with a likable protagonist.

Do you read mysteries? I really enjoy a well plotted mystery and the newest Tracy Crosswhite book by Robert Dugoni doesn't disappoint!

In this seventh book, Tracy, a Seattle violent crimes detective, is back home in Cedar Grove and is asked by the local police chief to look into a suspicious death. Her lawyer husband Dan is representing a local business in a lawsuit against the town. When several previous deaths now appear to have a new connection, Tracy realizes her small-town is harboring a sly killer.

This story was part a mystery with roots deep in the past and part a story with a touch of legal drama. I love the main characters in the series. I like seeing Tracy's thought process as she puts the information together to solve the puzzle. This series also has great supporting characters. The book was well plotted and kept me turning pages. I didn't figure out the killer till close to the end and really enjoyed seeing Tracy and Dan find the truth through all the lies. I highly recommend this book and series. Thank you to the publisher Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for an e copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a free electronic ARC of this modern mystery/police procedural from Netgalley, Robert Dugoni, and Thomas & Mercer publishers. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I have family in this corner of the U.S., and love to visit in spring when the air is butter yellow with pollen and the poppies pop alongside the road. This book made me need a road trip...

Cedar Grove is a small town in Washington state, a town slowly dying after the mines closed years ago. Our protagonist/storyteller, Tracy Crosswhite, her lawyer/husband Dan O'Leary, and their 2-month-old baby Daniella are spending the last two months of Tracy's maternity leave in their hometown of Cedar Grove in the small house Dan grew up in. Remodeling is being done on their home in Redmond, Washington, the city where they currently live and work. Along with this small family is Therese, a young Irish nanny, and this crew intends this detour back home will help Tracy decide whether or not to return to work as a homicide cop with the Redmond cop shop, or become a stay-at-home mom; whether Therese and Daniella make a good pairing; and if the remodeling going on on Main Street Cedar Grove is a good thing, or not. Only a couple of the few shops open for business is being run by the family who founded the business three generations ago - all others seem to be new owners investing a lot in rebuilding business in a town that is dying. What would entice a merchant into investing in a shop and a town where others have failed so obviously? And will Tracey be able to put behind her the deaths of her sister and father years ago and enjoy life in Cedar Grove again?

Tracy Crosswhite and her husband Dan have returned to the small town of Cedar Grove, Washington while their home in Seattle is being remodeled. Tracy is on maternity leave from her job as a homicide detective, training the new nanny for Daniella, and Dan is shuttling between his law office in Seattle and some work for a local businessman feeling hassled by the town. Of course, Tracy can't avoid getting involved in a local murder investigation related to a cold case and this complicates her promises to herself and her husband and makes her question her motivations for work and motherhood.
Dugoni's typical facility for strong character development and plot are on display here, writ large upon the more confined canvas of a small town. The population is familiar. But not stereotypical. The cases are puzzling. But the clues are all there. The writing is clear and compelling and enjoyable.

Tracy Crosswhite #7

Tracy is on maternity leave after giving birth to a baby girl. They have moved back their hometown of Cedar Grove while their home is being renovated. Dan (Tracy's husband) is soon drawn in to representing a local merchant whose business is being jeopardized. Tracy bumps into acting Cheif Inspector Galloway and he asks her investigate the case of the .local police chiefs wife who had died in a house fire. She had been a journalist and had been investigating a cold case that went back to the 90's. But the case is complex and it's not long before Tracy and Dan's investigations cross paths.

Tracy Crosswhite is back an this series just gets better and better. I love Tracy and Dan. They are good, honest and a hard working couple. Dan supports his wife in whatever she wants to do. Tracy does ot know if she wants to return to work or be a stay at home mum. The plotline is interesting with many twists, but I never saw the final twist coming. The book held my attention ton throughout I like the authors writing style. He makes his characters feel real. I loved this book. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley. Thomas & Mercer and the author Robert Dugoni for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.





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I knew I was going out on a limb when I decided to read this seventh in a series book without ever having read any of the previous six. That being said, I did enjoy this one. To me it does fine as a stand-alone. The character development is there, the characters are well fleshed out, and past events are described with enough detail to make you feel you haven't missed anything. Of course with any series there is a progression to the characters that you benefit from starting at the beginning with but like I said I did just fine with it and don't feel like it affected my enjoyment of the story.
Tracy Crosswhite her husband Dan and their new daughter Daniella move back to her childhood hometown while their house is being renovated. Although on maternity leave Tracy is soon caught up in a twenty year old mystery that a new death has brought to the surface. Dan in the meantime has been hired as a lawyer to represent a client in a case that involves looking into the workings of a downtown revitalization project in which shop owners may have been swindled out of their properties by the town leaders.
The author does a masterful job at developing the two plots simultaneously and bringing it all together with an exciting reveal and conclusion. The writing is concise, quick and easy and I liked the pacing of the book as I never felt like needing to "just get on with it" when it came to building the suspense. Although there is the aha moment all the clues are there throughout the story that make you say "of course" when the mystery is solved.
What I didn't like was enjoying it so much that I feel like I need to go and start from the beginning of the series now... *Wink*

As I have mentioned in earlier reviews of Robert Dugoni’s books, I first “met” Seattle Homicide Detective Tracy Crosswhite in My Sister’s Grave and I loved her, so I then eagerly read Her Final Breath. Following along in short order (he definitely can crank out books at a fast clip) were In the Clearing, The Trapped Girl, Close to Home and A Steep Price (all of which I reviewed on littorallibrarian.org). I enjoyed them all, particularly the way Dugoni makes his characters REAL, somehow writing a female perspective incredibly well. So I was pleased to receive a copy of #7 in the Tracy Crosswhite series, A Cold Trail, from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite has returned to her hometown of Cedar Grove, where she grew up and where she returned a few years ago to see her sister’s killer put behind bars. She and her husband Dan, and their new daughter, Daniella, are staying temporarily in Dan’s house, and getting reacquainted with The town and the people.

Cedar Grove has declined, and the powers that be in the city have been working to revitalize the downtown…and not all the local businesses are happy with the “progress.” Dan and Tracy are both drawn into working, despite their plan to lay low: Dan is representing a local merchant who is not thrilled with the revitalization, and Tracy is roped into investigating the brutal death of a police officer’s wife and local reporter who had been investigating a murder. As their cases crisscross, events from Tracy’s past and a decades-old conspiracy get tangled up, and as usual, she generates some excitement getting things straightened out. It’s another solid entry in Dugoni’s terrific series. Four stars.

I love this series! Tracy Crosswhite feels like a neighbor someone I know because I have watched her evolve in this series. I think Robert Dugoni hit this one out of the park. We have the awesome procedural, mystery, suspense, thriller wrapped in family, marriage and emotions running the gambit. The blurb tells you about the book, but the writing makes you feel. Thank you Robert Dugoni, Thomas and Mercy, NetGalley for the opportunity to read book 7 in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I freely volunteer to share my thoughts an opinions, unasked for :)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Robert Dugoni for the opportunity to read the latest installment in his Tracy Crosswhite series - another 5 star chapter in this wonderful series! You could easily read this as a stand alone but it's of course much better to be able to understand all the back stories of the characters.

Seattle Homicide Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her attorney husband, Dan, are back in the town they grew up, living in Dan's parents' old home and taking a break to relax and spend time with their newborn daughter. But it doesn't take long before Tracy is pulled back into investigating the murder of a police officer's wife, a journalist who was looking into a cold case murder. Dan, meanwhile, is taking on the case of a local businessman who is trying to be forced into selling his business to the town. But is all this stirring up things that might threaten their own family?

These are such good characters and Dugoni's writing keeps you glued to the pages and involved in the story. The setting of rural upper Washington in the winter helped set the scene of this cold case perfectly. As always, highly recommended.

#7 in series #9 overall.
Start this series you won't be disappointed!
I really like that we got to see a bit more of Dan in this story. Tracy is still a bad-ass but I like that the stories crossed paths and we got a little bit of both.
It's one of those books that you want to know how it's going to end but don't want it to end!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really hope we get another one!

Description.
The last time homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite was in Cedar Grove, it was to see her sister’s killer put behind bars. Now she’s returned for a respite and the chance to put her life back in order for herself, her attorney husband, Dan, and their new daughter. But tragic memories soon prove impossible to escape.

Dan is drawn into representing a local merchant whose business is jeopardized by the town’s revitalization. And Tracy is urged by the local PD to put her own skills to work on a new case: the brutal murder of a police officer’s wife and local reporter who was investigating a cold-case slaying of a young woman. As Tracy’s and Dan’s cases crisscross, Tracy’s trail becomes dangerous. It’s stirring up her own haunted past and a decades-old conspiracy in Cedar Grove that has erupted in murder. Getting to the truth is all that matters. But what’s Tracy willing to risk as a killer gets closer to her and threatens everyone she loves?

First book I read in this series and won't surely be the last.
It's a well plotted and gripping mystery that kept me hooked till the last page.
I liked the setting, the solid mystery, and the interesting cast of characters.
Can't wait to read the next instalment in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Tracy and Dan are back in their hometown of Cedar Grove, Washington, after the birth of their daughter. While Dan is working from home and commuting to Seattle when necessary, Tracy is going stir crazy looking at the snow covered town. So when the local police chief asks for her help she has no hesitation in jumping in. The case, or cases, she looks into start to weave together into conspiracy and cover up going back twenty six years, and Tracy, having known the people involved all her life, finds that secrets don't come to light without consequences, putting her, and her young daughter, into the path of a killer.

Another wonderful book in the Tracy Crosswhite series, Robert Dugoni has another winner on his hands here. Wonderful characters, realistic settings, and a plot you can't put down, this book has it all. I highly recommend this series to all lovers of crime, mysteries, and police procedurals.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite and her husband authors Dan Crosswhite have returned to their vacation home in their home town while there current home is being renovated. After the murder of Tracy’s sister and another young women their image of Cedar Grove is no long a positive one. When tragedy strikes Tracy realizes she can not let the past be the past. With the town undergoing a revitalization project Dan decided while they are there he will help represent who’s business the town is trying to force to close. While they are each working on their own cases Dan and Tracy’s paths become crossed in an unexpected way but them both in danger.

This is my first Dugoni book and IT WAS GOOD!! This book is very well written and I connected to the characters right away. This is truly a thriller that had me flipping the pages!

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercher for my copy of A scope Trail! Out 2/4/2020

Tracy returns to Cedar Grove while her and Dan's house is being remodeled and expanded to fit their expanding family. While there, and on maternity leave, she is asked to look into a series of possibly related murders. So many things struck me as odd in this book: 1) there is no way I had enough energy when my child was 2 months old to do all that investigating. Does a nanny make that much of a difference? 2) the nanny offered the baby food at 2 months. I know things change from generation to generation, but 2 month old babies can't eat food. 3) Tracy was supposedly breastfeeding but was eating a seriously garlicy spaghetti sauce. That is a no-no since the garlic with negatively impact the taste of the breast milk. But, these little issues didn't impact my overall enjoyment of the story (just things I wish someone had pointed out to Mr. Dugoni). I still craved spaghetti by the end of it and still wondered how Tracy could do everything. I also enjoyed how Tracy and Dan's relationship continues to evolve. Mr. Dugoni does a terrific job of delving into the characters in his books. And finally, I had my hopes on who the villian was and was very excited to be right. I can't explain why or I would give the ending away. But it was good and I was glad!

Another solid Tracy read, story-wise. I like seeing Dugoni address working mothers/gender differentials of working parents as well. Can't wait for the next in the series already.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I admit to being a fan of this series and I do, regrettably, think this is best appreciated if you've read at least one of the preceding books if only so that you can see how Tracey's life has changed (and improved over time). An ace homicide detective who has dealt with family tragedy (the death of her sister) and difficulties at her job, she's now a new mom who is coping with- wait for it- renovations. Don't worry, that's not the point but they are enough to make her move back to Cedar Grove, with all its bad juju, along with her husband Dan and their daughter Daniella. She agrees to take on a cold case involving the last sheriff's wife and then, well, as these things go, it all gets busy. Dan's an attorney and he too finds himself in a rats nest. Enough said but know that the threads pull together, that these two make a good pair, and hopefully it won't be long before the next in the series. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A couple of years ago, Robert Dugoni became one of my favorite authors, in particular, because of his Tracy Crosswhite series which the present book is part of. That being said the previous volume seemed weaker than the previous one, Tracy not being as resolute and focused as in the earlier volumes, transitioning from hard-boiled detective to a confused person who seems to be unaware when stepping into danger.
Some of that is still plaguing the present book but it seems like a stronger story and more alert Tracy, who in this book is back in her hometown and gets pulled into investigating two possibly related murders that happened more than a decade apart. This time with the assistance of several characters that fans of the series will recognize.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to more tales of Tracy Crosswhite, hopefully soon back in Seattle with some big city crime.

A Cold Trail
Book # 7 in the Tracy Crosswhite series
by Robert Dugoni
Thomas & Mercer

First let me say Robert Dugoni is one of my favorite authors hands down, and I have had the pleasure of enjoying many of his other books.

We all have been waiting for the next book in the Tracy Crosswhite series and you will not be disappointed.
Tracy returns to Dedar Grove for personal family matters. She gets involved in a case with the local PD ....The murder of one of there own. Things end up coming a little to close to home, in this book that will open old wounds. This is book #7 and it will keep you glued to your seat till the very last page, and leave you wanting more, desperate for book #8.. Thank You Robert Dugoni for your great imagination and wonderful writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for there ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Beverly E\ladyedan

As with all the Robert Dugoni novels that I have read, A COLD TRAIL engages its audience from page one as he takes us back to the Pacific Northwest and into the life of Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite. Tracy has temporarily returned to her home town of Cedar Grove along with her infant daughter and husband Dan (a lawyer who is also a Cedar Grove alum currently involved in litigation against the town mayor and a group of investors whose methods, he suspects, are not quite on the up and up ).

Asked by the acting police chief to look into the arson murder of the current chiefs wife Tracy suddenly finds herself immersed in three different unsolved cases (one going back over twenty five years) and all seemingly connected.

Liberally peppered with equal parts of love, greed, gossip, revenge, and jealousy the narrative is addictive proving Dugoni is a superior stylist and a master spinner of strong, artfully designed plots and excellent dialogue. His writing is descriptive in its sense of place and filled with memorable observations and indelible characters locking readers in who-dunnit guessing game in which ghosts of the past continue to affect the present resulting in an unexpected conclusion.

Another excellent installment in one of my favorite series. Tracy is now a new mom, living temporarily back in Cedar Grove while she and Dan remodel their home during her maternity leave. Now, I'd read about Tracy being a stay-at-home mom because she'd probably be great at potty training but, being one of the best female cops in fiction, she has to get involved in a case. A cold one. A young girl who was murdered around the same time as Tracy's sister disappeared. Dan is also working in Cedar Grove and his case involves a lot of the same suspects as Tracy's. But how do they tie together? Dugoni makes a courtroom scene as suspenseful as a police chase and the action doesn't let up. Some recurring characters get center stage here, although I missed Tracy's usual team (only one of them makes an appearance here). I already need to know what happens next.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer!