Detective Tracy Crosswhite has agreed to look into the disappearance of investigative reporter Lisa Childress. Solving the cold case is an obsession for Lisa’s daughter, Anita. So is clearing the name of her father, a prime suspect who became a pariah. After twenty-five years, all Anita wants is the truth—no matter where it leads.
For Tracy, that means reopening the potentially explosive investigations Lisa was following on the dark night she vanished: an exposé of likely mayoral graft; the shocking rumours of a reserved city councilman’s criminal sex life; a drug task force scandal compromising the Seattle PD; and an elusive serial killer who disappeared just as mysteriously as Lisa.
As all the pieces come together, it becomes clear that Tracy is in the midst of a case that will push her loyalties and her resilience to the limit. What she uncovers will come with a greater price than anyone feared.
It has been two years since I read the last novel in the Tracy Crosswhite series and What She Found was a much-anticipated addition to my 2023 reading list.
With a baby to raise, Tracy took a step back from Active Crime Cases and was moved to Cold Cases. As she reviews the files for her next case, a young woman approaches her to investigate her mother’s disappearance.
Lisa Childress was on the autism spectrum but with a brilliantly sharp mind. She was an investigative reporter for the Seattle Newspaper and was working on a story that could possibly implicate some influential people in high places. Due to the sensitive nature of the case, she had not shared details with anyone, not even her editor.
Late one night, she went to meet an informant but never returned. After her husband reported her missing, her car was discovered at a bus station with blood inside but no indication of her whereabouts.
Now, twenty-five years later, Anita, her daughter, is desperate to find out what happened and contacts Tracy to take up the case. Despite pushback from her superiors Tracy agrees to look over what little evidence she has in hopes to help Anita find closure.
In retracing the steps of the original investigation, Tracy follows up with the old detectives who handled the case but realises she is being stonewalled. This story is deeply connected to Tracy’s personal history. For years she searched for answers to her sister’s disappearance. Listening to Anita’s story, she knows Anita and her family deserve answers. With a nose eager to sniff out clues in the unlikeliest of places, Tracy is not one to give up easily.
Cold cases are hard and time-consuming, especially when there is no DNA evidence. Once again Robert Dugoni pushes Tracy to challenge herself and she goes above and beyond her call of duty. Even though she is no longer working homicide, Tracy must extract information from her former partners Del and Faz who were investigating related events at the time of Lisa’s disappearance.
This book ties in with the short story The Last Line. This takes the reader twenty-five years back in time when Del Castigliano joined Seattle PD and was handed his first case by his supervisor Moss Gunderson. The events of that case are connected with Lisa’s disappearance and bring varying points of views from different people in different timelines, adding another layer of intrigue to it.
“When people can no longer trust you, when they no longer see you as honorable, what are you left with? Not a lot. Sometimes, in those circumstances, it’s harder to live with yourself than it is to live with what you did.”
Dugoni casts a wide net to catch his reader off-guard and hooks you with a compelling storyline that is impossible to let go. In What She Found, the author puts more focus on his characters, especially shedding light on some of the more familiar recurring names in the series.
No doubt the biggest draw, as always, is Tracy Crosswhite. She has come a long way from the rookie detective to one who is unafraid to step on egos and take risks. At the same time, she values her relationships, both personal and professional and will do everything to protect them.
Another masterful suspense thriller, What She Found elevates the standard for crime procedural writing with a female protagonist who will surely become your hero.
The Last Line (Tracy Crosswhite 08.5) by Robert Dugoni. Published in 2021 by Amazon Original Stories, an imprint of Amazon Publishing.
What She Found (Tracy Crosswhite 09) by Robert Dugoni. Published in 2022 by Thomas & Mercer, an imprint of Amazon Publishing.
Book 21 & 22 of 2023.
Aquamarine Flavours Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.
Available on Amazon (links above)*.
*Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link which means, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.
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