A Steep Price

A fresh and engaging book, which can easily act as a stand-alone, although I do recommend the others in the series for readers wanting to fill in some of the backstory. This book opens with two other members of the violent crimes unit, Vic Fazzio and Del Castigliano who respond to a nail-biting homicide in a high crime neighborhood with the footprints of cartel dealings.

The book is constructed with dual story lines; the second where Detective Tracy Crosswhite, Seattle Violent Crimes Unit, who has been sitting in a homicide trial in King County Superior Court, now has to deal with a missing person found in an abandoned well. For me, the Fazzio and Castigliano team carry the book, which may have been the author’s intention but I was expecting a little more of Tracy since it is her series. It was also hard to keep track of who was who with so many names and subplots. Nevertheless, it still carries the same Dugoni tune. Masterfully written, richly nuanced and entirely compelling.

Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I couldn’t put this book down. And the people, I felt like I was spying on their intimate moments …good cops with good wives, friends standing up for each other, a look into the brotherhood of police.
Lots of techno that can be used on phones that really impressed me and the way forensic evidence was examined and investigated was impressive. Two good mysteries in one great read.
Tracy, as a pregnant cop trying to keep it quiet, finds Gonzalez, new cop, at her computer at work. This sets the stage for distrust, paranoia, or pregnancy hormones gone wild. Tracy has a friend, Katie Pryor, on missing persons looking into the disappearance of Kayvita. Kavitah or Vita is gone and something seems off. The use of apps on her phone really made me aware I need to study my phone!
Meanwhile Del and Faz are teamed and looking into the shooting of a mom in front of her children in South Park. Drugs, violence and gangs are involved. And video surveillance is used to track down some evidence.
You meet Vera, wife of Faz and see their homelife and the friendship between Del and Faz…all put in jeopardy as Gonzalez goes onto a crime scene and shoots a suspect.
You learn about American raised children of Indian parents as Vita and her best friend Adita struggle to please parents and live their own lives.The pressure the girls are under to marry and give up dreams of being doctors/lawyers leads to dangerous solutions.
Two deeply involved cases are presented, one with Faz and the other with Tracy. Both are extremely interesting and good solid police procedure is followed along with new technology. Evidence is collected, tension mounts but you never forget that the police are real, with babies on the way, wives to love, and friends to look out for. Uplifting read even with the heartaches in the cases…very realistic….need to read more in the series!!

I always enjoy Dugoni’s novels about Tracy Crosswhite including this one.

I can’t say enough good things about A Steep Price and the whole Tracy Crossweight series. These books are well written, fast paced, action packed, with plenty of twists and surprises. There is even some romance. Truly something for everyone.

Terrific book again. Not too much Nolasco thankfully. We do meet a new character. There’s a bit of suspense, some tearful moments.
Very hard to put down, bit of bleary eyed late night reading. Love this group of characters and look forward to reading about them with each new installment.

OMGoodness I could Not stop reading!

Such differing topics in one cohesive story, wow! Leave it to Tracy and pals to make it all work. Pulse pounding one minute, cringing the next and then cheering.

Great mystery

Another Excellent Tracy Crosswhite Mystery/Thriller

The novel opens with Del Castigliano and Vic Fazzio, two detectives on Tracy Crosswhite’s Violent Crime Team responding to a murder in South Park, a part of Seattle where a Mexican drug gang operates. Tracy is tied up testifying in a trial. As the trial goes to the jury, Tracy’s boss, Captain Nolasco, wants Tracy to work the South Park murder because it is becoming high profile. Tracy is contacted by a detective that she has mentored, Katie Pryor, who now is in the Missing Persons Unit. She has a missing young woman about which Katie has a very bad feeling and wants Tracy to look into the case. A twist in the novel’s start is a new detective was hired who, rumor has it, may be replacing Tracy as it is becoming obvious that Tracy is pregnant. Lastly, personal and health issues have befallen both Del and Vic so that they cannot be focused 100% on their police work. From this start the two main storylines, the murder and the missing person cases, develop a very captivating novel that proceeds with twists and turns set in a conflicted environment. I was quickly captured and could not stop reading.

The continued character development of the main characters continued for Tracy and her team detectives with her pregnancy and Del’s and Vic’s personal and medical issues provide much insight into their lives and relationships. All of this B-storylines are well-woven into the main story lines, and for someone who has read most of the previous novels really enrichened the reading of this novel. While I have read four of the five previous novels so I am familiar with these characters, I did not see any instances that knowledge of these prior novels was required to understand the storylines in this novel.

There was some swearing but not at an amount that should offend as most were mildly vulgar terms, and all such usage was consistent with the character and situation. There were a few scenes with adult content, but nowhere near objectionable levels.

What I particularly liked about this novel was that there were two main storylines with many B-storylines woven into the storylines. To me, this is quite realistic for a police department to have multiple cases running with court appearances and all setting on top of personal lives. There were several aspects that I thought were not realistic. All but one was answered by the end of the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It captured my attention and I found myself reading well past midnight several times. Even if this would be your first Terry Crosswhite novel, I strongly recommend that you can start with this one. After reading this novel, I have started to read the one novel of this series that I have not read. I rate it with five stars.

I have received a free kindle advanced reader’s copy, an uncorrected proof, of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this novel early.

Yea! Another Tracy Crosswhite book! What fun! Well, now she has an issue…she’s pregnant! I don’t know how to take that news because I don’t want her to stay home and be a Mom….sorry Tracy, you’re too much fun to read about! So hopefully #7 (and there had better be a #7….PLEASE?) will find Tracy finished with maternity leave and out investigating and catching bad guys again. This outing, #6, was a lot about Faz…and I love him too. In fact, that’s one thing that makes these novels so addictive – the characters are so real! I won’t describe what happens except to say it was another great plot and the ending ties up all the loose ends. Dugoni doesn’t leave loose ends – he respects his readers too much for that. I recommend this series but you have to start with the short story Tracy Crosswhite #0.5. It explains a lot! then move on to #1.

Another fabulous Tracy Crosswhite Mystery that will keep you guessing; these characters are memorable and the storyline had puzzles to challenge the detective in all readers.