Cover Image: One Last Kill

One Last Kill

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Member Reviews

Thank you so much to Thomas and Mercer @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

🚨 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🚨
One Last Kill is the 10th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series and it does not disappoint! I have read all of Dugoni’s previous Tracy Crosswhite books and short stories related to this character and I love them all. I always look forward to a new release in this series!

This installment took on a different take as we continued a story line from the 9th book, as well as a story from a short story related to this book. It was from Tracy’s POV and her captain Johnny Nolasco, who have basically been archnemesis to each other for years!

Tracy works in the cold case unit now for the Seattle PD, and a cold case of Nolasco’s from 25 years ago is brought to light by the local newspaper for the PD’s inability to catch the serial killer. It has haunted Tracy’s boss his whole career and now Tracy is brought in with the intention of catch the killer or your butt is in trouble!

This book we experience Tracy and Nolasco working alongside one another with the same goal in mind, and we see them both learn a little bit more about the other one, which I love since they haven’t been able to stand each other prior to this.

Tracy continues to be a strong female leader who doesn’t mind toeing the line to seek justice for those who deserve it. I won’t spoil anything but there are still some story lines left to deal with at the end and it seems we will get more of Tracy in future books, which I very much look forward to!

If you are looking for a great detective series, this book is on Kindle Unlimited with all of the other Tracy Crosswhite books and short stories. Robert Dugoni does a great job creating police procedural stories that are believable, suspenseful and always enjoyable!

🚨 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🚓 Tracy Crosswhite book series
🚓 Police procedural stories
🚓 Cold case stories
🚓 Multiple POVs

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Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC.

The Tracey Crosswhite series is one of the ones that got me back into reading. I've loved every book so far and I loved this one too. I really appreciated that this was was essentially the third in a trilogy within the series (Dugoni explains this more in his author's note at the end). These books always keep me on my toes and every time I think I've figured it out, he throws a twist in I didn't see coming. Can't recommend this series enough, all ten books and three novellas (lol).

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Tracy Crosswhite is opening a 25 year old serial killer case. The killer stopped after 13 victims and could be dead or in jail. She is working with the lead detective on the original case who she has a rocky relationship with. They gradually begin to trust each other as they peruse old and new leads, running into one dead end after another. This book grabbed my attention from the first page, I had a hard time putting it down. It is filled with suspense, dirty politicians and a twist at the end I didn’t see coming. This is a home run for this author. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

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This is the 10th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. She's working cold cases and is ordered to investigate the Route 99 killer, who killed 13 women 25 years earlier. Captain Nolasco, Tracys nemesis and the head of the task force that tried to find the killer 25 years ago, is assigned to work the case with her.

This is a really good police procedural. The pace is perfect for a mystery. I like Tracy and I did grew to like Nolasco too. Their relationship is tense, but they did succeed to put their differences aside for a while and work together to find the killer. I managed to guess the killers identity in advance, but it did not hinder my reading experience. There's some political intrigue and corruption I did not like, but can understand the relevance here.

I do think that What She Found should be read before this installment, for a better reading experience. These two books are tightly connected.

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In this book's Acknowledgments, Robert Dugoni explains how he came to write a trilogy within the ten books of his Tracy Crosswhite series--one piggybacking off the other. This is the third in that set but it can definitely be read as a stand alone novel, as I have done.

Tracy Crosswhite IS the Seattle Police Department's entire Cold Case Unit and the Chief of Police, Marcella Weber, has assigned her a tough case to look into: the Route 99 Killer who murdered 13 women 25 years ago before disappearing. It seems the Seattle Times is planning to publish a special anniversary edition about the murders and Weber wants it to look like the police are currently on top of things, using all the latest tools science has to offer to find the killer and bring the families closure. Johnny Nolasco, current Violent Crimes section captain, will be working with Tracy. He had been the lead task force detective on the original case and is none too thrilled to have his team's methods picked apart and questioned.

This is a cracking good police procedural that keeps the reader guessing till the end with some nice twists along the way. Tracy is smart and tenacious, wanting to get at the truth even if it means her job. I will definitely look forward to reading the other books in this series now.

I received an arc of this thriller from the author and publisher via NetGalley, My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

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First, Robert Dugoni is an awesome author. His Tracy Crosswhite series is unique in that she handles cold cases and she's determined to close them. Each book can be read as a stand alone....but....each book is GOOD, so take time to binge them. This is book #10.
Tracy is reopening a series of killings from nearly 30 years ago, the Seattle Route 99 deaths of 13 women. With today's investigative tools and input from the original investigating officers, Tracy feels good about being able to catch this killer. Dugoni skillfully builds Tracy's community of characters to make you feel you know them and trust them. He gives us subtle clues, no obvious killer who was suspected all along. If you figure out the killer before hand, you've got some serious detective skills too.

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The latest of his detective Tracy Crosswhite series, One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni (2023) is a quality police procedural. Former Seattle homicide detective, Tracy Crosswhite is the sole Cold Case police investigator, who is tasked with solving a serial killer’s murders that occurred over twenty-five years ago, between 1993 and 1995. The publicity generated by the local newspaper is used by the Police Chief to burden Tracey and destroy her career, for not being able to finally close the cases. Making matters worse, the former lead detective assigned to assist, has animosity towards Tracy and believes she is out to undermine his former task force. Switching back and forth in time, the narrative reveals a classic investigation with little to go on and no forensic clues. A truly enjoyable police procedural that is a first-class standalone read, making for a four and a half stars read rating. Given there was no previous encounter or knowledge of the other novels, this is a standalone review. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

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One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni, is another in his Tracy Crosswhite series. Tracy has been banished to cold case hell because of her accusations against Chief, Weber. She did not have enough evidence for court but she hadn’t kept her mouth shut and now she was paying for it. The newest cold case file handed to her was the State Route 99 murders from almost 25 years ago. It had started on State Route 99, which was a seedier part of town, with prostitutes but after nine murders had moved into town to respectable women. There seemed to be no reason for that, but it was hard to tell a killer’s motivation. She requested Detective Fazzio but got Captain Johnny Nolasco, who had led the original task force and with whom she had a contentious relationship. She requested the files but immediately looked at the files of Lisa Childress, a reporter who had disappeared about this same time (and had recently been found, although with amnesia) that had been given her by the reporter’s daughter, Anita, when they were searching for her mother. Had it been four cases as the files folder indicated, or one?

Tracy is a complex character. She has married and had a two-year-old and a very understanding husband. She turns her work phone off when she comes home at night and on the weekends, attempting work/life balance, an endeavor in which she is mostly successful. She is clever, dogged in her pursuit of a criminal, and relatively easy to get along with. She knows her co-workers weak points and strives to use them to her advantage, buying the correct sandwich when she wants something, et al. She is honest, and forthright but does have respect for others, if they deserve it. This was a complex crime, 25 years to the solution and involving plenty of police personnel, as evidenced by the 30 or so boxes of evidence and files that made its way to her office. There were stops and starts and Tracy felt the crime would have been solved at the time if not for one cop, whether through laziness or corruption, had failed to follow key leads. Love this series. Excellent characters, good plot. It is just complex enough without falling down the rabbit hole of too much.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of One Last Kill by Thomas & Mercer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #ThomasAndMercer #RobertDugoni #OneLastKill

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4.5 STARS - Robert Dugoni is a must-read author for me. I have read 16 of his books in three out of his four series and have been impressed with every single one. One Last Kill is the tenth book in his Tracy Crosswhite suspense series, and it just keeps getting better and better.

You'd think that ten books in things would get stale, but Dugoni puts a little twist in this book by pairing Tracy with her professional nemesis - Captain Johnny Nolasco. I did not see that coming. And despite seeing less of Tracy's old partners Del and Faz (whose humour I enjoy), I loved the uneasy alliance between Tracy and Nolasco, two strong characters who have a very turbulent history.

The story starts off a bit slow but soon picks up steam with a plot that is tied to an earlier case Tracy worked on. I struggled a bit to remember some of the facts of the last book, but quickly got up to speed as Dugoni adds twists and red herrings to keep Tracy, Nolasco and the reader on their proverbial toes.

This is the third book of a trilogy within the larger Tracy Crosswhite series. I would highly recommend reading this series in order, but for this book specifically I think you'll get much more out of it if you've at least read the previous book (What She Found) because much of this book is connected to its storyline and characters that were introduced in that book.

If you're looking for an author who can keep you glued to the page, who can write a realistic legal/police procedural, wonderful characterizations and give you lots of good twists, you need to start reading Robert Dugoni pronto.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘One Last Kill’ the tenth in the Detective Tracy Crosswhite series written by Robert Dugoni, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite of Seattle Police Department’s old Case Unit has been assigned to reopen the investigation into the Route 99 Serial Killer dating from the mid-1990s, forming an uneasy partnership with Captain Johnny Nolasco who was in charge at that time. As Tracy reads through boxes of evidence pertaining to the murders of women that occurred between the years 1993 and 1995, an item that was previously missing gives her a different understanding of the case.

‘One Last Kill’ is a rollercoaster of a thriller that’s kept my heart racing as Tracy Crosswhite and Nolasco chase false leads whilst battling again Captain Marcella Weber who bears an animosity against Tracy. This is a fantastic read that’s a great addition to the series and has had me hooked from page one, through all the shocks and surprises, action, suspense and intrigue, as the twists and turns lead to dead ends and red herrings are thrown in to confuse. This is an exciting thriller with a superb conclusion that I have no hesitation in recommending.

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Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of “One Last Kill” in exchange for my honest opinion. I liked how this book picked up from where the last one left off as I really enjoyed those characters. I love Tracy Crosswhite as a protagonist and am a big fan of this series, but something just seemed to be lacking in this story. The power Weber has over Tracy and many of her decisions as Chief of Police do not seem realistic. The fact that this was a 25 year cold case that was reopened because of an anniversary and then suddenly has momentum because Tracy is looking into it just didn’t sit right with me. It was a sold 3 stars, but not as strong as other books in the series.

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Tracy Crosswhite is handed a cold case that will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The Seattle Times is going to be reexaming this serial killer's spree. Why after all this time is it still unsolved? This killer strangled 13 women. He was known as the Route 99 Killer, and after those kills he went dormant. Not only did Police Chief Marlcella Weber hand the case to Tracy, but her partner on this will be none other than her nemesis, Capt. Johnny Nolasco, who was the original lead. Unfortunately, two of my favorite characters don't appear as much as I would have liked, Faz and Del.

The duo begin investigating finding that evidence has gone missing, some possible leads were not followed up. Tracy finds a lead, could this person be responsible? The man is arrested and another murder happens. The police are not looking very smart. The mystery is told in two time periods, the 1990s when the original crimes were committed and the present day. It was interesting having Tracy and Nolasco work together and seeing how that relationship dynamic changes.

Robert Dugoni has written another excellent Tracy Crosswhite mystery. This is book 10 in the series and can be read as a standalone. I recommend the entire series, getting to see how Tracy evolves.

I look forward to reading more Tracy Crosswhite cold cases. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for an ARC. The review is my own.

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It's always a pleasure to read books by Mr. Dugoni and One Last Kill will not disappoint readers who enjoy a good police procedural crime mystery full of action and with many dead ends that hint at a culprit but not the one in fact responsible for all the murders. It's one of those books that once you start reading you just want to know how it'll end. Great descriptions of people's behavior and humor as well as of places and automobiles. Great entertainment!
I thank Mr. Dugoni, his publisher, and NetGalley for the copy of this book.

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One Last Kill is the 10th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series.

In this installment Tracy is forced to work with her nemesis, fellow officer Nolasco. The two have had a history of not getting along throughout the series.

I liked how the two were able to put their differences aside and work together to solve this cold case. We also get to see a side to Nolasco that we haven't really seen before. I also enjoyed the consistent relationship between Tracy and her husband and daughter. In so many police procedural books the main character has little to no social life. This is a refreshing change from the norm.

A solid addition to the series. I will be waiting for the next one.

Thanks to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc.

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I've read all the Tracy books and usually enjoy them, albeit less so once she moved to cold cases. They're typically subtle on the political bend of people. Dugoni doesn't need to introduce talk of wokeness and defunding police, but he leans on it more in this latest. This is the only standard police procedural series that I read that's gone that way, and I hate it. We can have differences in opinion on police funding versus all other community funding, but if you use the term woke like it's an insult the chasm is too wide.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

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I love Tracy Crosswhite and I have enjoyed every book in this series. Although it helps to have read previous books in the series, you can read this as a stand-alone book since Dugoni does a great job explaining some of the past connections.

In One Last Kill, Tracy teams up with Nolasco, captain of the SPD and someone who hates Tracy with a passion. Their chief partners them up on a cold case, the Route 99 serial killer murders from the 90's. I really liked their banter and extreme dislike for each other, it was funny and made their characters even more likable. However, they are both professionals and find a way to work together and play off of each other's strengths while working. An easy book to get hooked into and plow your way through until the end.

This is a great series and one I will continue reading and enjoying until it ends.

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My first book by this author but it won’t be the last. Very well written.! Although this is a series, the book grabbed by interest from the first chapter. The story included past unsolved crimes which Tracy Crosswhite solved. A great read.

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I love this series and will keep coming back as long as Dugoni keeps putting out solid books like this one. I would not recommend reading this as a standalone. A large part of this book is the relationship between Homicide (Cold Case) Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her supervisor, Captain Johnny Nolasco. The tension between these two has built over the previous 9 books to the point that they have come to a silent truce. But the Chief puts them together to hunt a serial killer who has become active again since Nolasco led the task force to find him years before and failed. Tensions and Nolasco's ego run high in this highly entertaining thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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In this tenth addition to the series Detective Tracy Crosswhite is still working alone on cold cases when her chief, Marcella Webb learns that a local paper is about to run a series of articles on a 25 year old series of unsolved murders. The killer known as the Route 99 serial killer, the murderer killed thirteen women between 1993 and 1995 when the murders suddenly stopped. The task force at the time, headed by Johnny Nolasco, the current Violent Crimes Section captain had focussed on five suspects but hadn’t found enough hard evidence to convict any of them.

Now, with the media breathing down her neck, Tracy is being asked to review all the evidence and has been assigned Nolasco to assist her, a man who is antagonistic towards her and jealous of her success rate in solving murders. The first nine victims were prostitutes picked up along route 99, before the killer inexplicably changed to killing four middle class women, so Tracy decides to focus on looking for links between those four.

This is a well plotted police procedural with alternating time lines of the previous investigation 25 years ago alongside Tracy’s re-investigation. It’s easy to understand Nolasco’s frustration in not solving the case earlier and his annoyance about being re-assigned to the cold case investigation. It’s interesting to watch him and Tracy develop a respect for each other and work together, often contriving to manipulate Marcella Webb into letting them do what they want. The suspense rises as they get closer to finding the links between the victims and homing in on the killer, although Tracy will once again be unhappy that justice is not served to all but corrupted by the powerful.

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One Last Kill is the tenth book in the Tracy Crosswhite series by best-selling award-winning American author, Robert Dugoni. When Seattle PD’s corrupt Chief of Police, Marcella Weber sets Cold Case detective Tracy Crosswhite the task of solving a twenty-five-year-old serial killer case, Tracy knows it’s a political move: if she solves it, her Captain, Johnny Nolasco will get the credit; if she fails, it will underline the need for the city to inject more funds into the Police Department.

Back in 1993, Johnny Nolasco headed a task force trying to solve the Route 99 killings: thirteen women who were strangled, had a symbol carved into their backs, then dumped. The first nine were of lower socio-economic status; the last four were middleclass wives and mothers who worked for the City. When the killer stopped, in 1995, the task force was no closer to finding the perpetrator.

And while Vic Fazzio was part of that task force, Tracy is forced to work with her least favourite colleague, Johnny Nolasco, who is immediately resentful of having his performance questioned, and is less than forthcoming with what he knows.

And publicising Tracy’s role the way Chief Weber has? Several people believe that will push the killer to having another go, to prove his superiority. As well as asking the advice of an FBI profiler, Tracy’s lateral thinking leads her to seek out the insights of another serial killer. And whether the initial victims were practice runs, she can’t know, but concentrating on what the final four have in common makes the most sense.

Then one of the original suspects is detained for attempting to strangle a hooker. Will his DNA, after twenty-five years, confirm that he is the killer?

In this instalment, Tracy’s close work with her nemesis reveals that perhaps Nolasco is human under his reptile skin. Hungry for favourable publicity, their Chief of Police jumps the gun against Tracy’s better instincts, to their later cost. There are red herrings and distractions that keep most readers guessing up to the final reveal, a reveal that might need the donning of disbelief suspenders. The resolution, though, not at all neatly tied up in a bow, is realistic. Addictive crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer.

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