I’ve been a huge fan of the Tracy Crosswhite mysteries, having read all ten of the previously published books in the series. So I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read A Dead Draw, entry number eleven.

A Dead Draw opens with Tracy losing her cool during the interrogation of Eric Schmidt, who knew the killer of Tracy’s sister (recounted in the first book of the series). Unfortunately, he’s let off on a technicality, and when released, Schmidt goes after Tracy and her family as he feels she’s responsible for the death of her sister’s killer, a man Schmidt idolized.

This is the first Tracy Crosswhite book that just didn’t do it for me. Unlike the others, this wasn’t as much a police procedural thriller as it was uncovering the reason for a psychopath’s idea of revenge. While I can deal with changes of direction in a series, I didn’t feel that this installment was well done. For me, the writing just wasn’t up to snuff, the plot thin and predictable, and there were way too many coincidences that just detracted from my reading experience. I also missed the supporting cast of characters from the prior books, who didn’t have much of a role in A Dead Draw. This was hopefully just a bump in the road, and I do look forward to book twelve (assuming there will be one).

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

Tracy Crosswhite usually has her wits about her, but after participating in an interrogation with Erik Schmidt where he reveals ties to Edmund House she's rattled. When a glitch in Erik's case allow him to go free and her interrogation affect her work, she decides it's time to leave the city and spend some time in Cedar Grove.

Once there, it doesn't stay a peaceful retreat with her family for long, as Tracy is fearful that Schmidt plans to come for her. As Tracy tries to get back into shooting shape she's also trying to figure out what, when, where, and how Schmidt will confront her and how she can come out on the other side of that confrontation.

Thank you to #NetGally and Thomas & Mercer for providing me an advance e-book copy of this story and the opportunity to share my opinion.

Headline: An Utterly Enjoyable Must-read!

Book Review: A Dead Draw, Tracy Crosswhite #11, by Robert Dugoni
Published by Thomas & Mercer, May 27, 2025

★★★★★ (5/5 Stars, Rave!)

Robert Dugoni takes his bestselling police procedural series "back to the future", as his strong female protagonist reaches back in time to the rigorous training that gave her that mental and physical toughness which'd then given her 20-year-old self three consecutive Statewide shooting championships and earned her the sobriquet Tracy "Crossbow" for that unbeatable fast crossdraw on her side arm. In the process, he pulls another pleasant surprise for his readers as he introduces a compelling, new character, a charming 18-year-old autistic-savant quite reminiscent of a young and beloved tragic figure in Book 1.

Dare we call this episode the Revenge of Sarah, "The Kid"!

// "A Dead Draw", Tracy Crosswhite #11, by Robert Dugoni (2025) //

// Enveloped by verdant conifers out in the North Cascades, Seattle PD Detective Tracy Cross, seriously injured, finds herself on a secluded ridge as she awaits the first light of dawn. That would be the very moment she'd engage in a "dead draw", mano a mano, mortal kombat against a foe whom she knows will be much faster, ruthless and lethal... //

The Pacific Northwest. Present Day.

"Load and make ready!" Following a botched shoot/don't shoot field competitive test which belied the innate skills of the former three-time Washington State shooting champion, an unsettled Tracy Crosswhite finds herself back in her hometown, Cedar Grove, north of Seattle, for a badly needed respite. Previously diagnosed with situational PTSD and anxiety, she'd shot and emptied an entire clip on an civilian range target that held a walkie-talkie. "Unload and show clear!", the range master abruptly halts the exercise. But the reasons for her temporary loss of concentration is much more deeply ingrained.

"Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." The forty-something wife, mom, ten-year veteran of the Seattle PD's crack Violent Crimes A-Team, and three-time recipient of the department's highest award, the Medal of Valor, places herself under the tutelage and rigorous mental and physical regimen of her old master, Mason Pettibone, trainer of "Cowboy Action Shooting" champions "Crossbow" (20-year-old Tracy), "The Kid" (sister Sarah) and "Doc", her dad, an MD.

"Solve one puzzle at a time. Move up one level at a time." There she gets to meet Pettibone's autistic savant 18-year-old granddaughter, Lydia, shooting moniker "Lightning Strike", an applied physics and computer science major, already a Washington State shooting champion herself — accurate with a gun and as fast as greased lightning. Tracy is introduced to new training techniques to hone up her shooting reflexes, moving, with Lydia's guidance through increasingly challenging levels of FPS (First Person Shooter) video games - Halo Infinite, Call of Duty, Warzone, Valorant. All of which require players to quickly process visual information, aim, and react to moving targets, training reflexes and hand-eye coordination. She savors her time with Lydia, so reminiscent of her baby sister, Sarah.

But then, young Miss "Lightning Strike" gets abducted.

The Showdown at Silver Pines.
Ace marksman and confessed murderer, Erik Schmidt, had been kicked out of the Army's elite sharpshooting AMU team. Court-martialed, dishonorably discharged, he met one Edmund House in prison and became his disciple. House, now deceased, is none other than the psychopath and convicted rapist who'd murdered Tracy's sister, Sarah. Erik Schmidt is out to avenge what he obsessively perceives as the unjust demise of his master.

It is at that elevated area of the North Cascades range where coniferous trees with silvery-blue needles thrive, that Erik Schmidt uses the kidnapped Lydia to lure Tracy to meet at a crest far up in the rugged terrain, up at the crack of dawn...

It's a do or die showdown. The brutal, lethal AMU Grandmaster marksman against "Crossbow" and "Lightning Strike". And the spirit of "The Kid", too...!

"You tell them I'm coming. And hell's coming with me!" -
Tracy Crosswhite, Book 11

The US Army's AMU (Army Marksmanship Unit) teams are widely recognized as exceptional marksmen, the best of the best, established in 1956, with a long history of excellence, consistently dominating shooting competitions at national and international levels, including the Olympics and World Championships.

FPS (First Person Shooter) games require players to quickly process visual information, aim, and react to moving targets, which enhance reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Military and law enforcement also use simulation training (e.g., virtual reality systems like those developed by VirTra), which are more advanced than typical FPS games and incorporate realistic elements like recoil and stress scenarios.

The phrase "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" emphasizes that taking the time to execute a task with precision and care (smoothly) ultimately leads to faster and more efficient outcomes.

"Load and make ready" and "Unload and show clear" are safety terms used by range masters, trainer, even timers and judges, in competitive shooting.

An utterly enjoyable must-read!

Review based on an advance review copy courtesy of Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley.

“‘Revenge can be a powerful motivator.’”


This one felt a little different than other books of this series (that I’ve read). Granted, there is a year break in between reading each one so my memory of them might not be the best.

A Dead Draw felt a little more technical with some of the descriptions of guns and shooting and the legal stuff in the trial. He brought in an autistic character and some commentary on video games. There was also a good deal of Tracy thinking about her sister Sarah.

I probably could have done without some of the gun details, but I didn’t have a problem with the other themes. It made the book feel a little more layered than usual, which isn’t a bad thing.

I liked the old Western vibes in this one— even if I don’t have the same ‘watching Westerns with my dad’ nostalgia Dugoni had— and liked the more atmospheric vibe that got woven into the plot.


The final duel was also pretty epic. I think the cover of this book should have somehow depicted the ghost town or something like that instead of the mansion.

This book doesn’t really connect with the previous ones and could probably be read as a standalone, but as with most series, it always helps to know where the main character has come from. Especially since this one talks so much about Crosswhite’s murdered sister.



This story begins with Crosswhite still working in the cold case department. She is working on a trial for Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case murders of young women. During her interrogation of him she finds out that he was prison mates with Edmund House, the guy who murdered Crosswhite’s sister, Sarah.

Schmidt’s taunting gets under Crosswhite’s skin causing her to lose her cool. When he gets off on a technicality and threatens Tracy, she takes her family to Cedar Grove to get away.

But Schmidt won’t let her off that easily. He has some revenge to enact and it has more to do with Cedar Grove than Tracy realizes.

We know that Tracy did shooting competitions when she was younger and that she is an amazing shooter, but her nightmares and demons have affected her ability to react and discern at the speed her job requires. Can she get her ‘mojo’ back before she’s forced to face Schmidt?



Overall I really liked the book and its layered, different feel and atmospheric setting. But I do have one pretty big bone to pick that costs this book one star.

Dan, Tracy’s husband, runs into a suspicious guy at the coffee shop. When he tells her about it at home they wonder if it was Schmidt. Dan has to go to San Francisco for a trial but tells Tracy he wants to stay back with her.

She says no and that “We don’t have any evidence the man in the coffee shop was Erik Schmidt.”

Because all she does is ask Dan to describe the man he met. I’m tempted to put this in all caps but I’ll refrain: Why didn’t she SHOW Dan the MUGSHOT of Schmidt to verify if it was him?!?!?! Okay I had to use some caps, because duh. She HAS a mugshot because she gave it to the local police. Even if she didn’t, it’s called GOOGLE. He was just on trial and would have been in some sort of article or story online. It would be so EASY to make sure if the guy was Schmidt or not.

I was just dumbfounded. Man, I just really wish there was a way to know if the guy that threatened me is now in our very small town that we escaped to- what color was his hair and eyes again? Shoot, it’s so hard to know. Welp, time for you to leave for the airport- I’m sure everything is fine.

Even further, if we were getting out of town to avoid a dangerous guy that is out and about, I would be sure to know what that guy looked like so I would be on the lookout if I saw him near my family. Dan is a smart guy, but not smart enough in this scenario.

And it’s not just Dan. When Calloway goes back to the coffee shop to ask the barista about it, he tells Crosswhite that she “gave us a description.” He didn’t say anything about SHOWING HER THE MUGSHOT because God forbid we confirm an identity on the exact picture of a person. We just don’t have the technology.

At least it ended up not being as big of a plot point that I thought it was going to be, but even still, Dugoni really missed this one.



Part of Crosswhite’s extra training involves FSP games. I personally have not played any of these and I know there is mixed data on the use of violent video games. In the author’s note at the end Dugoni mentions his use of them in the book after talking with a friend in the gaming industry and how “games are not about violence but more about strategic thinking at a very high and very fast level.” I’m not entirely convinced of these benefits and would like to see more research on whether playing these games would actually improve someone’s actual shooting.

Along these lines Dugoni says of this book, “I wanted her to face a lawless situation where she stood isolated, on her own, and had to either kill or be killed, to put her shooting to the ultimate test— take a life or lose her own.”

I actually really liked this premise. It built on Tracy losing her shooting edge and needing to work to get it back using a unique method and encountering a young girl who reminded her of her sister who was arguably a better shooter than herself. It built on the Western duel and lawlessness culture.

It also tapped into Tracy’s motherhood and being part of a family who needs her. Dan gets involved with this one after Tracy doesn’t heed his advice, “During their years of marriage, he had become his wife’s conscience when she needed it most. He was the voice in her ear talking sense. And he would bring her home before she did something that would impact him and Daniella for the rest of their lives.”

He knew that she had gone and put herself in a dire situation without any backup and couldn’t let her put herself in harm’s way so deliberately.


It will be interesting to see where this series goes. Tracy moving into the Cold Case division was a way to stay out of the danger of the field and just use her detective skills after she had Daniella. Will she be able to go back to that situation or will she have to look at a different career path that provides more safety for her family? Is this series going to be wrapping up?



I also liked the way Dugoni chose to connect the video game aspect with real life— the idea of just focusing on the level that you are on, not the past level or what’s to come:

“‘One level at a time’… a way to live her life, not to dwell on past mistakes, regrets, or losses, and not to anticipate what could or might be— things that had not yet happened and might not ever occur. She would stay in the present, living each moment fully, handling whatever problem she might encounter, and enjoying every blessing.”



New word alert: I had never heard of the term ‘spaghetti western’ before. If you haven’t either, it’s a subgenre of Western films by Italian filmmakers mostly filmed in Europe in the 60s and 70s. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a popular one.



Recommendation

As with the rest of this series, I do recommend it. Tracy Crosswhite is a great character and I’ve loved seeing her progress not only in her detective career but in her family life.

You may not want to start with this one, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you did.

The main downsides to this book were just the increase in technical content and the mugshot debacle. Some reviewers thought there were too many uncharacteristic things of Tracy and that this book diverted from the typical caliber for this series. I did feel the difference but didn’t feel like it was entirely bad and I actually really liked the ending even if it was a bit dramatic. To me it fit the vibe nicely.

But definitely if you like police procedurals, strong female leads, Westerns, or a person with two big dogs, this book is for you!


[Content Advisory: 4 f-words, 35 s-words; no sexual content]


**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

I am a fan of Robert Dugoni. I have followed his Tracy Crosswhite series from the beginning and like his standalone novels. I was set to enjoy another good Crosswhite book, but this one let me down. It did deliver Dugoni's brand of murdering psychopath, but it also delved too much into material already covered in previous books.

Tracy thinks she has an air-tight case against killer Erik Schmidt, but when a technicality throws the case out, she is determined to uncover new evidence against him. Schmidt is equally determined to seek revenge against Tracy for a wrong he is convinced she committed. Concerned for her family's safety, they flee Seattle for the remote town of Cedar Grove, where she and her husband grew up. Tracy's hope of escaping Schmidt is short-lived, and she prepares for the showdown with him while fighting the ghosts from her past.

This is a gripping and fast-paced psychological thriller. Where it fell short for me was the rehashing of storylines covered in previous books and the depth to which guns and shooting competitions played a role. I am not a gun enthusiast, so my take may be biased. Dugoni did a good job weaving Tracy's need to improve her gun skills into the plot, but I didn't need that much information. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is May 27, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access.

One of my favourite Detective series, I love coming back to this world and its characters as it's like putting on your favourite cardigan.

As is normal I was hooked from the start and ploughed through the first half of the book so quickly. I liked that we got to see competitive shooting in the book as it takes us back to when Tracy was Crossdraw and sort of gives us an insight into what her childhood must have been like and having her train with Lydia who I really liked and hope to see more of in future books.

For me Tracy is one of those detectives that go above and beyond for her cases and fellow detectives who all have each other's back and can always rely on and you can feel that from Robert's writing.

I'm sad that I've now read this and have to wait for the next installment lol.

I've read this entire series by Robert Dugoni over the years, and I have to say I was quite disappointed by this 11th book. The plot was kind of slow to get started, the pacing felt off (Tracy only starts really investigating like 75% into the book), and ended up being heavily about shooting competitions and practice, which I have no interest in. I found the villain of the story to be fairly cartoonish, and wished there had been more significant involvement in the story from Tracy's colleagues, who bring a lot of color to the other books in the series. Lydia and Mason were enjoyable new characters, at least. The chapters told from Dan's perspective also felt awkward, especially the first one -- I'm not sure if the author intended it that way, but the sudden shift to Dan's perspective immediately gave away the secret behind his interactions in the chapter.

All in all, I'm disappointed by the latest book in this series, a series I've always really enjoyed otherwise. I hope the next one goes back to a more classic mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC and the opportunity to provide an unbiased review!

I don’t know how long Robert Dugoni is planning to continue writing Tracy Crosswhite, but I will happily read every single one he wants to write. There is something about this badass woman who takes charge but also shows her vulnerabilities and fallible side that continues to draw me in.

Tracy has to face off against a man in this one who gave me creepy chills. Erik Schmidt is probably the “bad guy” I’ve had the strongest reaction to in this series. His entire demeanor and so many of his actions are disturbing in how controlled they are and how rational he sees his own motivations. Even as convoluted and reaching they may seem to me, they made sense to him and the moves they drive him to make are unsettling. I don’t want to say too much, but the ultimate show down is tense and keeps the reader on edge.

I also enjoy seeing Tracy revisit some of her history in this one as well as meet a new character in Lydia, who adds another layer of purpose to her life and plays a pivotal role in this story. Tracy and Dan’s relationship is solid as always, even as they face challenges and diverging opinions on how Tracy should handle things. I love how they always communicate and work to understand each other.

I hope there is more to come with Tracy in the future. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another Detective Tracy Crosswhite tale, A Dead Draw (2025) by Robert Dugoni is on the hunt for a serial killer. Travelling back to her hometown of Cedar Grove, battling nightmares and needing time to recover, Tracey’s holiday is cut short when a legal loophole enables Erik Schmidt, a serial killer to go free. Once again, Tracey is given the task to find Eric and the hunt results in many a twist and building tension before the surprising climax. Somewhat of a prequel, given the delving back into Tracy’s past and the reasons for her police career, it’s nonetheless a good crime mystery with a four star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

I enjoyed the latest book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. This installment finds Tracy revisiting her past and the memories of her sister’s murder, including a return to Cedar Grove where she grew up. Erik Schmidt is released from prison despite evidence to show he killed two women. This legal technicality has caused Tracy sleepless nights, a disastrous attempt to complete a shooting course, and a need to remove herself from Seattle and refocus on her family and get her head back on straight. But Schmidt is out for revenge and has followed Tracy to Cedar Grove.

As part of the story, Tracy meets up with her old shooting instructor, Mason, and his granddaughter, Lydia. Lydia is likely on the autism spectrum and also a highly skilled shooter in her own right. She and Tracy quickly become friends as she teaches Tracy through video games how to improve her shooting skills. I really enjoyed their friendship and interactions, especially as Tracy helped her to navigate the real world.

The story builds to a showdown between Schmidt and Tracy and the author does a good job of anticipating the heightened tension that exists between the two. Since the majority of this story takes place in Cedar Grove, we are given more history of the town and of Tracy’s past, and less interactions with the side characters we’ve grown to love over the years, Kins, Faz, and Del.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review.

This is book #11 in this series and even though I have not read his other books, I was able to read this one and understand it just fine. I felt it did start out slow but it picked up speed about mid-way through. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read all in the Crosswhite series and I have to say this is my least favorite. There is a very thin story line piggybacking off of the first book with her sisters killer. It just seems like Dugoni just threw this one together. Crosswhite seems completely unhinged and the fact that her peers and husband allow her to just chase after a mad man seems so silly to me. I will obviously keep reading the series as I love the characters, but her character alone can’t hold my interest for an entire book. I need the other A team.

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." (Arthur Schopenhauser)

We're back with the latest book in the Tracy Crosswhite Series. Surprisingly, we're at #11. I've enjoyed each and every one of them and anything with the name Robert Dugoni on the cover. It can still be read as a standalone. But A Dead Draw didn't quite belly up to the bar for me. Let's chat.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite carries the guilt of her sister Sarah's death like a second skin. It's been years since Tracy took out Edward House who was responsible. But Robert Dugoni introduces us to Erik Schmidt who had connections to House. Schmidt knows every little detail of Tracy's life.....every detail. Schmidt begins to press upon Tracy day and night.

In fact, Tracy is now off her game. Her latest shooting exercise qualification ended in an overreaction attempt. Tracy needs to fine-tune her skills immediately if not sooner. And Dugoni takes us through guns and games and guns again. Tracy fears that Schmidt will make an attempt on her family. So Tracy transports them to Cedar Grove where she and her husband Dan would feel more safe. But safety isn't in the cards.......

I don't think that I've ever rated a Dugoni book at 3 Stars. The writing is still stellar, but the theme behind it is getting long in the tooth. Dugoni leans on past situations (Tracy's sister's death) and stirs the pot continuously. Many authors tend to reach back in time and resurrect past actions for convenience. Dugoni should be light years ahead of it, and yet, here we are.

This fear and imbalance runs throughout the book. Tracy makes decisions that go against her once solid nature. The change is so noticeable. Yes, we can weaken favorite characters at some point, but the effect can be long lasting now. It's my hope that Dugoni will up the ante in the next or maybe shelf Tracy for a while. Either way, I'll still be tuned in. It's Dugoni.....

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to the talented Robert Dugoni for the opportunity.

Robert Dugoni’s new book in the Tracy Crosswhite series, A Dead Draw, is absolutely spellbinding from beginning to end.

From the arrest of Eric Schmidt from the cold case files for the murders of Julia Hoch and Bridget Traugott and then his being released by a judge because of a technicality in the collection of evidence, all the way to the end of the book and Tracy’s final confrontation with Eric, which you’ll have to read the book to find out about, you’ll be engrossed in the story.

You’ll be alternately surprised, shocked, amazed, confused and enraged. This book takes the reader back to the past when Tracy was a young competitive sharpshooter and Edmond House killed her sister Sarah. Later on there’s Homicide Detective Tracy who ends up killing House.

Schmidt, a sharpshooter when he was younger, who met and admired House in prison, wants to avenge House’s death so he comes after Tracy. First he cuts the brakes of her Seattle Police Department partner Kins, causing an accident and multiple injuries to the man.

Tracy and her husband Dan decide to leave the city for awhile taking their toddler daughter Daniella and nanny Therese as well as dogs Rex and Sherlock to the town they grew up in, Cedar Grove, where they’d kept a vacation home that had belonged to Dan’s parents.

She starts taking refresher shooting lessons from her old teacher Mason Pettibone and his granddaughter Lydia.

Soon Tracy learns that Schmidt, disguised as a new resident of Cedar Grove, William Kenmore, is stalking her. Then she learns that the real William Kenmore and his wife and two daughters all died on the same day, June 12, 1865. She begins to do some research into who he really was and why Schmidt is using the name.

Eventually Schmidt kidnaps Lydia and challenges Tracy to a duel. If she doesn’t show up, he says he’ll kill Lydia.

Robert Dugoni has written one of his best novels and you’ll want to read it to find out what happens.

I have read the entire Tracy Crosswhite series and this is one of the best books, in my opinion. If you’ve followed the entire series, I think we see a lot of character development in Tracy, but also in characters such as her husband, her nanny, and I like how this particular story really tied into Tracy’s past.

Tracy found herself in a really hard situation in this book and I found myself wondering at times if this would be the end for Tracy and if this is where the series ends. I won’t drop any spoilers, but this book is a must read!

I had a lot of fun binge-reading the first nine Tracy Crosswhite books back in 2022, and I always look forward to another installment. With its focus on cold cases in most sequels, this detective series has quickly turned into one of my favorites... And while this element is less present in this newest sequel, A Dead Draw still has plenty to offer. This is a sequel that will hit very close to home indeed for our main character, and especially the second half is impossible to put down.

Part of the reason this series is working so well has a lot to do with the fact that it has a great cast of likeable characters that you will easily grow attached to. There is a lot of room for personal development as well as the individual cases Tracy and the rest of the team investigate, and this is why I would personally suggest reading the books in order. It will help avoid spoilers, and you won't miss out on character development and background this way. Our main character Tracy Crosswhite has had quite a journey during this series, and you might not understand her behavior in A Dead Draw if you aren't aware of everything that has happened in the previous books.

A Dead Draw does have quite a different feel than the previous sequels, as it doesn't really have that strong of a focus on the cold case/detective element. Tracy is actually on a break and not in official capacity in this book, so there is less focus on the official investigation than usual. Instead, it focuses a lot on Tracy's past, her time as a competitive shooter and a new threat that is hanging over her and her family. This shift in focus and the detailed descriptions of the shooting training did slow down the pace considerably in the first half, and I can see why some people are put off by this.

I personally wasn't as bothered by this shift in focus, as I liked learning a bit more about that part of Tracy's past and Lydia is such a great character. What did bother me was the fact that Tracy and Dan made quite a few questionable decisions; not only did I feel that they weren't in line with their usual behavior but they were often simply stupid. For example: why on earth didn't Tracy show Schmidt's mug shot to Dan to confirm he is in town?! Or let their nanny in on the possible dangers?! There were also some twists you could see from a mile away, although I can't deny that the ending itself was very satisfying indeed.

While different that the previous books, A Dead Draw still turned out to be a very engaging thriller despite the slow start. Especially the second half was highly suspenseful and there is no doubt that the story ended with a bang (literally!). The cast of characters makes this whole series worth the time, and I already can't wait what the author has in store for Tracy in the next book.

In “A Dead Draw ” (Tracy Crosswhite) by Robert Dugoni we are brought back into the life of detective Ttracy Crosswhite. This time it is personnel when an old case comes for her friends and threatens her family.

Little does she know that this will be be biggest threat she has ever faced.

All the best characters are back plus some new ones. So enjoy!

I received an ARC of this book, but this is my honest review

A Dead Draw is the eleventh book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. This can be a stand-alone read, but the series is good, you will want to read them all.

Det. Tracy Crosswhite is haunted by the death of her sister. While at a Shoot/No Shoot qualification, she fails when she has a hallucination. She takes her family back to Cedar Grove to reset and find herself again, a killer focused on revenge sets his sites on Tracy while putting everyone she cares about in danger. Tracy goes back to her roots and meets Lydia who may be able to help an old dog learn new tricks. Lydia is on the spectrum and uses video games to help Tracy with her shooting skills. Time is running out as the killer is getting closer and people are in danger.

I loved this book and the addition of Lydia. This was a wonderful addition to the storyline of Tracy as she deals with the ghosts of the past. It is a strong and interesting storyline, but it is also fast paced which makes the reader turn the pages until the surprising conclusion.

A Dead Draw is the 11th in the Tracy Crosswhite series. It took a little longer to draw me in, but once it did, I was hooked.
A defining moment in Tracy’s life was when her sister was murdered. Many of the prior books have touched on this event. Once again, that murder figured into the plot and what’s happening in Tracy’s life. The book begins when Tracy has a psychotic event during a shooting competition. But rather than mention it to anyone, even her husband, she chooses to hide it and bluff her way.
Through a technicality, a killer is allowed to go free rather than stand trial for the murder of two women. Even though Tracy is on leave, she continues to search for a way to bring the man to justice. It’s not giving anything away to say the man plans to come after Tracy.
Dugoni does a good job providing enough background that the book can work as a stand-alone. He also works hard to explain the killer and what has made him into a psychopath. I felt like parts of the book were formulaic - a cat and mouse game between Tracy and the killer. Still, Dugoni does a good job of keeping the tension high. And his writing is very clear, making it easy to envision each scene. There was a new character introduced, Lydia, a woman on the spectrum and I wanted to see if she would play into the ending. I felt Dugoni did a wonderful job making her realistic and relatable. Make sure to read the Author’s Note.
My thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book.

Another great novel in the Tracy Crosswhite series! A Dead Draw continues the ongoing story with demons Tracy has fought in the past but is easily read as a standalone. She stumbles on a key challenge but this makes her more determined than ever to accelerate her skills. This brings her a surprising opportunity that leads to an astonishing ending. A great, quick read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this ARC.