Book Review: A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  Last year I began reading Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series. What I found was a thrilling detective series that presented the reader with a strong female lead. The two-decades-old mystery surrounding her sister's disappearance kept Tracy Crosswhite on edge and constantly looking for Sarah any chance she could. Leaving a promising career as a teacher and her fiancee, Tracy joined the Seattle police force. As she began to head up the ranks of law enforcement she finally reached detective. Soon after her sister was found, although not the way she had hoped. After five exciting novels, I finally reach the latest story. And I have to say this was the best of the series by far.

   A Steep Price is Robert Dugoni's sixth full-length novel featuring Tracy Crosswhite (there are also two short novels). It is published by Thomas & Mercer Publishers, an Amazon imprint. In this tense and shock-filled novel, we are introduced to a married and pregnant Tracy Crosswhite. She is currently testifying at a murder trial and has been away from her team of detectives. Tracy continues to go through the motions of trial life and looks forward to its end. Her partners Del Castigliano and Vic Fazzio are working a case involving the murder of an activist that may be tied to the son of a criminal Fazzio put away a decade before. Meanwhile the hiring of a new female detective sets Tracy even more on edge. The new detective, Andrea Gonzalez, is sitting at Tracy's desk and using her computer while Crosswhite is at trial. It appears that her replacement has just been hired for when she is on maternity leave. Tracy thinks that it would greatly please Tracy's boss, Johnny Nolasco, to finally have her out of his department and replace her permanently. 

  Then Detective Katie Pryor contacts Tracy about a missing persons case involving a college student. The woman, Kavita Mukherjee, was last seen alive by her best friend and roommate, Aditi Dasgupta. Kavita is a bright woman and promising med student, which makes her disappearance even more mysterious. As Tracy begins to dig into Mukherjee's vanishing act, Del and Faz are centered in a case that is growing increasingly more risky. When Faz and Gonzalez attempt a suspect apprehension, the suspect ends up dead. This puts Faz and Gonzalez under investigation as to why an unarmed man was shot by one of there own. But it is Gonzalez that shot the man, and she is not admitting to this. Will Tracy find Kavita? Can Faz prove his innocence? No matter the outcome, there will be a steep price to pay.

  A Steep Price was the best of the series thus far. It was loaded with everything an excellent crime thriller should have. I was invested in the main protagonists and it was great to see them return. Tracy and her husband Dan have been through a lot in the past five novels. And Dugoni gave them reason to celebrate with the impending birth of their child. Vic Fazzio is dealing with plenty emotional baggage at work and at home. Del Castilgliano is still grieving after a death in his family. But as each book has shown us this group sticks together and watches out for one another. I particularly loved the friendship that Del and Faz had together. It showed how deep a friendship can go, and how that bond could one day save a life. 

  The two mysteries presented were very different from one another, which added variety to the novel. I was constantly surprised by the clues that continued to pour in, giving each case extra layers. The dual finale set this book on fire and escalated into a blaze that tested Tracy's team. And as a gift to fans, Dugoni carefully took every arc from the five previous books and deftly wrapped up each neatly in the book's epilogue.

  I read a Steep Price in part with the narration of actress, Emily Sutton-Smith. She has read every novel and one short story, which made returning to Tracy Crosswhite easy. Her sense of urgency and dramatic delivery of the narrative was excellent. And once again her Vic Fazzio had me laughing. It was great to have her read another one of Dugoni's books. 

  A Steep Price was a five star read for me. I have a fondness for these characters and I felt that Dugoni wrapped this series up nicely. It was at times heartbreaking and always thrilling. This novel was packed with excellent storytelling and character development that I loved. I highly recommend this series to any fans of crime thrillers. You will not be disappointed. 



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