| Title | : | The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 424 |
| Publication | : | First published January 24, 2017 |
After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister’s unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman’s past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she’ll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won’t go down without a deadly fight. Once again, New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni delivers a taut, riveting thriller in the fourth installment of his acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite series.
The Trapped Girl (Tracy Crosswhite, #4) Reviews
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This is the fourth in the excellent Tracy Crosswhite series set in Seattle. This is a wonderful addition to a series that just goes from strength to strength. The teenage Kurt Schill is engaging in illegal crab fishing in the cold waters of the Puget Sound. He is shocked to discover the dead body of a woman which the crabs have fed on in one of his crab pots. This brings in Tracy and her team on this opaque and difficult case. It is hard to identify the woman given the state of the body, and it is facial implant surgery that leads them to Lynn Hoff. This does not get the team far as it then becomes clear this is a false trail and that it is Andrea Strickland, a bookish insurance agent.
We get Andrea's perspective through the details of her journal in the novel. Andrea's disappearance whilst on Mount Rainier with her husband Graham, led to conclusions that she had died. What we have is a woman desperate to escape her life as it is. This fact puts the case under a different police jurisdiction, which Tracy is not going to take lying down. And soon enough developments bring it back to the Seattle team. Graham, the husband, turns out to be a lousy douche bag of a man. The investigation encounters financial shenanigans, intrigue, betrayal and greed. A visit to Portland yields some answers. There are a number of suspects and plenty of twists. There is a dangerous and thrilling finale. Tracy finds herself haunted by elements of the case which bring back the twenty year old murder of her sister.
This is a complicated case that really tests Tracy and her team. There is a fast paced narrative with strong plotlines that come together at the end. What makes this series so strong is the character driven stories. We have new developments in the characters lives. The police team are a strong unit with people you care for. Look forward to the next in the series. Thanks to Thomas and Mercer for an ARC. -
5 Stars for The Trapped Girl the 4th installment of Robert Dugong's amazing Tracy Crosswhite series!
This is my favorite book of the series to date. The mystery was interesting: A young boy goes out to do some illegal crab fishing and snags a bit of a surprise - a body! From there the story takes on quite a few different twists & turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out - something else would happen! I was glued to the book and couldn't read fast enough. This was one of those books where life was "put on hold" because I had to read one more page.
What I enjoyed most about this installment in the series was the character development. The relationship between Tracy & Dan has grown so much since book #1 and it was wonderful to see the leaps they take together in this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing the relationships between Tracy and her team - Kins, Del & Faz. They have essentially become family and it was a big, integral part of this book. I fell in love with them all that much more. Who would think a bunch of tough cops could be so heartwarming?! Dugoni has such an amazing cast of characters in this series!
I have grown to love this series & these characters. Dugoni does an amazing job of weaving an engaging roller coaster plot that keeps you guessing while also really building on the back story of his main characters. We become invested in them in all the right ways! I can't wait to see where the series continues to take us. I know I'll definitely be along for the ride, for the long haul. -
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Robert Dugoni, and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with this review.
In another impressive addition to his latest series, Dugoni places Detective Tracy Crosswhite in her most confounding case to date. After a body is found in a crab pot at the bottom of Puget Sound, Crosswhite and her homicide team are called in. The victim is identified as Lynn Hoff, though there is little backstory or digital presence with which to work. However, after circulating a photo of the victim, a ranger on Mount Rainier recognises Hoff, though knows her as Andrea Strickland, presumed perished when she disappeared off the side of the mountain while ascending with her husband, Graham. Further investigation shows that Hoff was likely an alias that Strickland used in an attempt to go off the grid and flee Graham's controlling ways. This disappearing act does not explain how Strickland ended up in a crab pot, but might offer some suggestions as to who put her there. As Crosswhite learns of a sizeable trust Strickland held and some curious bank transactions that occurred soon after the body was discovered, all eyes point to a spurned husband who discovered the truth. Dugoni adds a parallel narrative in the voice of Strickland, which helps reveal some of the information as Crosswhite discovers the identity ruse, while also fleshing out some of her own impetus for taking such drastic action. As Crosswhite and the team travel to Portland to piece together the lives the Stricklands led, all becomes a little clearer, until a single theory muddies the entire investigation and forces Crosswhite to cede control in an inter-departmental tug-of-war. While Crosswhite faces struggles of her own, based on memories of her past and an uncertain future, the reader learns much about her worries and wonders as she places work as a priority. Unable to sit idly by and ponder the meaning of her life, Crosswhite puts her team on a mission to dig a little deeper, and focus on wrestling control of the case back to Seattle's Finest. However, it will take a huge discovery to allow that to happen. In a thrilling fourth novel in the series, Dugoni shows why he is the master of his genre, pulling readers in until the final sentence.
While this series has been sensational from the get-go, Dugoni always seems to be able to tap into something new that allows series fans to feel refreshed and left wondering what is yet to come. Additionally, Dugoni continues to weave additional backstory out of Tracy Crosswhite while reopening the murder of her sister. Self-reflection is a key aspect to a series character and Dugoni focusses on a few new areas that help personalise Crosswhite a little more. While the narrative itself is strong, it seems that the banter and ongoing development of the story as the chapters progress adds another layer of excitement to the novel. Dugoni keeps the story moving with twists that take things in a number of directions, which keeps the reader guessing. Strong dialogue puts the crime thriller front and centre while allowing the reader to feel they are in the bullpen or the interrogation room throughout the novel. I can only hope that Dugoni will continue with this series, as there seems to be so much more to explore, even as he anchors his key characters with life-altering events. As this series continues to gain momentum, new fans are sure to arise the most they hear about Dugoni's literary magic.
Kudos, Mr. Dugoni for another wonderful novel. I can only hope that you'll keep impressing us with Tracy Crosswhite and her complex cases.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/ -
I received a copy of The Trapped Girl through NetGalley. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to Robert Dugoni for the opportunity.
What fuels the intensity of the flames of undying greed?
Greed.....that gnawing, self-propelled instinct in some people with the "I wanna, no matter what happens" syndrome. You'll find it here. And it leaves some deeply embeddened footprints.
An early morning jump from an illegal point of entry into Puget Sound leaves a young man with a shocking catch in his crab pot. More in the range of the human kind.
Tracy Crosswhite and her Violent Crimes Section of Seattle, Vic Fazzio and Delmo Castigliano, are called in on this one. The body of this young woman has suffered greatly from exposure to these watery elements. This is going to be a rough one to identify and it brings back heavy memories of Tracy's own sister who was murdered.
Police Captain Johnny Nolasco wields an imposing hand on every action delivered by Tracy and her team. He's always been the voice of direction, warranted or not. And there will be a mad tango of foot placement within police jurisdiction here.
We are introduced to Andrea Strickland, an insurance agent, existing within the limited walls of her small cubical. Andrea's voice is found within the pages of her journal. Her husband, Graham, is a Porsche driving lawyer who wants to beat the system and live off the cream skimming the top of the cup. But then, Andrea goes missing after a hike with her husband to climb Liberty Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park. Pretty far from ol' Puget Sound. Right?
Robert Dugoni presents another stellar Tracy Crosswhite mystery. No one does police procedurals like Dugoni. Pay close attention as you ride shotgun in this one. That mad tango foot placement is accompanied by some loud, crashing music. This storyline will take you through a multitude of clicking heels. Just when you think you know, you don't.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and the fourth in the Tracy Crosswhite series. We only ask one thing of you, Dugoni. Keep 'em coming, fast and furious. -
This is my second Robert Dugoni book in a row. Previously I read In the Clearing, (Tracy Crosswhite #3), and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed The Trapped Girl far more.
The Trapped Girl is more tautly written; there is more suspense, more surprises, more of those delicious 'oh, I can't bear to put this down' moments, particularly in the second half of the book. Twists and turns in the plot were well done, and every time I thought I had it all figured out, Dugoni would throw in a new twist and we would be off on another tangent.
If this is how Dugoni's writing improves between books, I await his next offering eagerly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a digital ARC of The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. -
I have been a long time fan of the sassy and bad ass detective Crosswhite. This is the 4th book in the series. I would have to say this is my least favorite book out of the series.
What do you ask keeps me coming back to this particular series? The infamous Tracy Crosswhite herself. I love Tracy and her team!!! She is such a sassy, sexy, and strong detective.
This time around Tracy and her team find a woman's body in a "crab pot"... (interesting right?)..
Well.. let me tell you ladies and gents that Tracy always finds herself involved in a complicated case. Dugoni definitely has some twists and interesting aspects to this novel and as the reader you constantly are guessing who, what, why?!
But, for some reason I can't pinpoint why but I didn't connect to this novel as much. Don't get me wrong I am a strong and avid fan of this series but I enjoyed some of the previous books in the series more.
BUT, can I just say OMG do I love Tracy and Dan! Dan is such a sweetheart and in the previous novel..we were not able to see much of their romantic relationship. What a stand up and romantic man Dan is. <3.
Overall, 3.5 stars rounded down on this one for me. I am looking forward to reading the 5th book to the series :). -
The Trapped Girl is another excellent entry in Robert Dugoni's series featuring Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite. The story opens when a high school boy, illegally trapping crabs out of season, pulls up a trap and finds trapped in it the body of a young woman. Crosswhite and her unit are assigned to the case, but even identifying the victim proves difficult, especially when it turns out that the woman had undergone a series of plastic surgeries in an apparent effort to conceal her identity.
The victim is finally identified as a woman who went missing several months earlier, and the deeper Crosswhite digs into the woman's past, the more confusing the case becomes. As it unfolds, Tracy discovers that there is also a lot of missing money involved in this case and that there are any number of people who want to get their hands on it. Some of them will go to any lengths to do so, and Tracy Crosswhite may find herself squarely in their sights before all is said and done.
Like the other entries in this series, this one moves along at a rapid pace. In attempting to solve this puzzle, Crosswhite will be forced to endure even more than the usual bureaucratic and jurisdictional interference, and she will be reminded once again of the case involving the murder of her own sister that initially set her on the path to becoming a homicide detective.
As Dugoni tells the story, he intersperses chapters from the viewpoint of the victim that gradually reveal the reasons why she found herself in an impossible predicament. This information is doled out at just the right pace and helps keep the pages turning rapidly to yet another explosive climax. Another very good read from Dugoni. -
The e-galley of The Trapped Girl to be published January 24, 2017, was generously provided by Netgalley, Author, Robert Dugoni and publisher, Thomas & Mercer for my honest review.
The Trapped Girl,
the fourth in the Tracy Crosswhite Series could easily be read as a standalone but you’d miss the subtle development of character by not starting with book one.
The environs of Seattle once again play a central piece of the pie as the body of a woman is pulled up in a crab pot in Puget Sound. Brings new meaning to the word trapped. Detective Crosswhite and her team find themselves involved in a complicated plot to discover the identity of the possibly murdered woman. Dugoni chooses some interesting means to unfold the story of said victim. There are clues throughout if you pay close attention and though I wasn’t as crackerjack with my conclusions as Crosswhite, I played detective quite well.
Though there is a woman gone missing intriguingly on Mount Rainier, I missed what I already saw as a trademark of this series, the cold case. There’s a hint that there could be one in book #5. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
The two things that have kept me reading this series are the locale and Crosswhite herself. I didn’t learn much new about Tracy this go round, but did see growth as she begins to move in new directions after finding a sense of closure in the discovery of her murdered sister’s body and killer after twenty years. The wrap-up was satisfactory and hopeful for my new favorite female detective. -
I need to ponder a bit before rating and reviewing. [Later...OK, I'm done.]
This book is the latest in Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series, and a wonderful addition it is. I had not heard the term "crab pot" and a google image search showed some of them are huge. That was the only search I did, because Dugoni's descriptions of Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound, and other environs put me right in the scene.
Tracy and her crew are working a case involving a body in a crab pot pulled up by an unsuspecting teenager. Clues are there to be found, but I appreciated how Tracy and Kins, with help from Faz, slowly put the pieces together. It was an interesting story with several twists along the way. There are events that cross several law enforcement jurisdictions and things get pretty tense at times.
Development of the characters involved in the crime was very good. Dugoni had me wavering over who could be trusted, who was lying, who had motivation, and who was guilty. The chapters from Andrea's point of view really drew me in. Some focus on Tracy's personal life was an added attraction showing friends are also family, and this contrasted nicely with Andrea's life.
However, for some reason I can't nail down, I didn't connect as strongly with this book as I did with the previous books. Was there not enough good-natured banter between Tracy and Kins? Was Nolasco too subdued? Was the geographical setting too large? Was Tracy written just a bit softer or weaker than before?
I did enjoy this book and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series, due out later this year. -
Seattle Police Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her team are called out to an unusual scene where the victim was accidentally found by a teen out trying to retrieve his crab pot. Unfortunately for him (and the killer), he snags the wrong pot with the body of a woman inside. Before they can begin investigating how she got there, they must first figure out her identity. Little did they know how utterly exasperating that would become.
To describe this as a twisty story would be an understatement and not do it true justice. Every time I went down one path, something else would arise to challenge that decision. I developed several theories, adjusting and tweaking them as the story progressed. I got lucky, though, as I relied on my instincts and ended up being close to right. It was a little different this time because we got the narrative of the Jane Doe, along with Tracy’s, without knowing her outcome since it was from an earlier timeline. That made this a much more vexing mystery.
I’m loving this series with its compelling and complex mysteries and procedurals. One of the best elements is the investigative process that Tracy and her fellow detectives relentlessly follow and respect. They’re really skilled and this case tested them because of the convoluted path it took to resolution. And, we were delivered a very special surprise at the end that’s life changing for Tracy. I listened to the story and continue to love the narrator’s performance, especially her creative choices for distinguishing characters. Her pacing is outstanding and she never exaggerates the drama. This was a tough one that I found difficult to put down.
Posted on
Blue Mood Café -
3.5 stars
In this 4th book in the 'Tracy Crosswhite' series, the detective investigates two mysterious deaths. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.
*****
While indulging in a spot of illicit crabbing in Seattle's Puget Sound, teenager Kurt Schill finds a dead woman in a crab pot.
Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her team from the Seattle Police Department's Violent Crimes Section get the case.
Having been noshed on by crabs the woman is unidentifiable by ordinary means. However implants from facial surgery lead the detectives to identify her as Andrea Strickland, a woman who disappeared months before while climbing Mount Rainier with her husband Graham.
Since Mount Rainier is in Pierce County, the missing woman case was investigated by Detective Stan Fields from that region.
Detective Fields thought Andrea Strickland was dead, perhaps pushed off the mountain by her husband. So when Andrea's body turns up in Puget Sound months later, Fields - angry that Andrea might have committed insurance fraud or other hijinks - demands the case back.
Tracy - whose sister was murdered twenty years ago - hates to give up any case, especially if it involves a young woman. And Tracy is especially reluctant to yield the investigation to Detective Fields, a cocky lout who ogles women. So Tracy's pleased when the disappearance of another woman eventually returns the case to the Seattle P.D. As their inquiries proceed Tracy and her team learn that at least one person has acquired a new identity and a lot of money has disappeared.
The story switches back and forth between two points of view: the detectives investigating the crimes......
…...and excerpts from Andrea's journal. In her diary Andrea, who worked for an insurance company, talks a lot about her love of books. Andrea also describes meeting and marrying Graham, a handsome show-offy lawyer who wears designer suits and drives a red Porsche.
Soon after Andrea and Graham marry, the lawyer - who has big ideas - insists that they quit their jobs and open a marijuana dispensary (which is legal in Washington).
This requires a big wad of startup money that Andrea and Graham don't have. As it happens Andrea has a trust fund, but it's strictly for her personal needs and CAN'T be used for a business. So Graham - angry about the trust fund - commits fraud to get a bank loan. And since Graham knows nothing about business, things go downhill from there.
As the story unfolds the plot gets quite complicated because there are a number of potential 'bad guys.' To keep things straight, the detectives repeatedly discuss who might have done what to whom - which includes a number of different scenarios. I found this confusing and hard to follow. I also thought the perp putting the body in a crab pot was a bad idea. If you don't want a body found you should tie it to cement blocks and drop it in deep water (just my opinion). I was also put off by the repeated references to Andrea's obsessive reading, which had a whiff of hyperbole.
On the upside, there are interesting twists in the story and Detective Tracy Crosswhite - as well as her partner Kins and fellow detectives Faz and Del - are likable characters that have a strong bond with each other. At one point - to commemorate a happy occasion for Tracy - Del's wife Vera prepares a delicious meal of lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and homemade cannoli....accompanied by good wine. (Yummy!)
I also like the book's setting, Washington and Mount Rainier, which provides a nice ambiance to the story.
The book's climax is dangerous and exciting, and reveals exactly what happened and why. I predicted some bends in the story but the ending surprised me. Overall this is an enjoyable book that I'd recommend to mystery lovers, especially fans of the Tracy Crosswhite series.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book.
You can follow my reviews at
http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/ -
The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni is as much a “who is it” as it is a whodunit. Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite is called to the scene when a teenager poaching crabs in Puget Sound comes up with an unexpected catch: a body stuffed in a crab pot. Who is the victim? Autopsy results and initial investigation queries reveal that the victim may have been on the run.
But what starts out looking like a straightforward case of marital discord gone extremely wrong proves to have more puzzles and twists than one could ever imagine. As we’ve seen in the previous three Crosswhite books, Tracy is still haunted by her sister’s disappearance many years earlier. Does that mean that cases involving missing and abused women become even more personal to her? Or is she able to put her personal feelings aside and look at the evidence and the suspects objectively?
Once again, Tracy is teamed with Vic Fazzio, Del Castigliano, and Kinsington Rowe, aka Kins. What a team! It’s like Tracy and the Three Musketeers – all for one and one for all – especially when it comes to pleading their case to their captain, Johnny Nolasco, who always seems to be looking to catch his female detective making a misstep. Besides Nolasco, who resents being shown up by a woman, especially Tracy, there are even worse guys to hate in this thriller. Graham Strickland, the husband of the apparent victim, is a greedy, Porsche-driving lawyer who is the prime suspect and one smarmy, cocky fellow. Stan Fields, the Pierce County detective in Washington who is in an ongoing turf war over the Strickland disappearance, comes across as a redneck male chauvinist creep. On the positive side again, there is Tracy’s love interest, Dan. A little romance never hurts, and Dan fills the bill quite nicely.
As usual, Dugoni’s characters do their best to figure things out, but this one proves challenging. Could it be as simple as it appears? Just when I thought I had a handle on who the victim was – well – maybe not. Then I really did know. But what really happened? I thought I had a general idea there too, but nope. Another twist. Once I untangled that one, I actually thought I had it. Wrong! This was one complex story, and it beats all three of the “Girl” books I’ve read so far – combined! I normally avoid those titles, but Mr. Dugoni, you can put “Girl” in the title anytime and I will read it! I wish to thank NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer, and the author for the opportunity to read and review The Trapped Girl. I think it’s probably my favorite book of the entire series so far, and I only hope there will be more to come. Now, the question is, when I go out to dinner tonight, should I order crab?
5 stars -
THE TRAPPED GIRL is the fourth book in the Tracy Crosswhite series by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni. I have read the previous books in the Tracy Crosswhite Series:
My Sister's Grave (#1)
Her Final Breath (#2)
In the Clearing (#3)
(I plan to read the 5th book in the series-Close To Home)
I have always enjoyed reading his books, and this one is no exception…again another winner!
Tracy is a detective in Seattle PD's Violent Crimes Section and she and her team are assigned to investigate an intricate case-a woman's body is recovered from a crab pot in the waters of Puget Sound. Identification is difficult, but Tracy and her team believe they have discovered Andrea Strickland, who disappeared after climbing Liberty Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park with her husband Graham. But there are a lot of unanswered questions?
“After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister’s unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman’s past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she’ll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won’t go down without a deadly fight.”
The novel alternates between first-person POV information on Andrea Strickland and Tracy's investigation. The story has an intriguing plot, and the well-developed characters, with lots of twists and turns to provide a captivating read.
Many thanks to Robert Dugoni, Thomas And Mercer and NetGalley, for providing an ARC. -
4.5 stars!
Another great book in the Tracy Crosswhite series!
The Trapped Girl is a good title for this book because that’s exactly how I felt while reading it. I was trapped from the beginning and had to find out who the woman was that was found in the crab pot!
Tracy and the A Team, the nickname given to her detective crew are working on a case involving a dead body found in a crab pot. In the beginning of the book, the clues are few and far between with the murder case. I appreciate how Tracy and Kins, with help from Faz and Del, slowly put the pieces together on the dead woman’s identity. It was a fascinating murder case with several twists along the way including a missing woman, a manipulative husband and law enforcement jurisdictions that complicate the case. You honestly had no idea on who was lying, who to trust and who was guilty.
I like how Dugoni used POV alternate chapters and flashes back to a year ago. It introduces us to Andrea Strickland. She’s a young woman who's an avid reader (aren't we all!) and gets involved in a new love relationship. She’s had a tough life growing up and it’s about to get worse.
Development of the characters involved with Tracy and the A Team was great! Continuation of Tracy’s personal life was an added attraction along with showing how the detectives become more like family. The writing in the book was a nice balance of showing all of the A Team’s personal lives along with the plot of the murder case.
Dugoni is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-to authors. This is a well-written and solid plot.
In my opinion, the books keep getting better in this series. I’m really looking forward to book #5! -
The Trapped Girl is the fourth book in the addictive Tracy Crosswhite series and a joy to return to when I needed to resuscitate my reading mojo, after getting bogged down with a particularly depressing dystopian thriller during this extraordinarily difficult time as we hunker down for the global pandemic.
Dugoni writes clever and gratifyingly varied mysteries and Tracy makes a delightfully human heroine.
When a young woman’s body is found concealed in a crab pot off Seattle’s coast, Tracy and her team identify her through plastic surgical records as Andrea Strickland, who had already been reported missing during a climbing trip. Flashbacks in Andrea’s voice report her whirlwind romance with a mercurial attorney whose ambitious plans led to her downfall.
We’re on day 4 of New Zealand’s lockdown, plus the weather is filthy so escaping to the heat of a Seattle summer with Tracy and her loveable colleagues was the perfect distraction. There’s just the right amount of scenic detail to be able to visualise Tracy’s steps as she investigates the missing woman’s life. Johnny Nolasco, the Captain we love to despise, is back to meddle with Tracy’s work, and as a wonderful counterpoint, her relationship with the adorable Dan progresses nicely.
This was a satisfying mystery with some clever twists and while I guessed some of it I did not predict how it would turn out at all. I thoroughly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys intelligent thrillers with vivid characters and not excessive violence. 4.5 rounded up for great writing. -
This is my third Robert Dugoni and I enjoyed this more than the other two. The others were decent, but not memorable. This one’s writing is a little zippier. I loved how he describes one gal as swearing like a sailor with Tourette's. And the writing and dialog continues to be sharper than before, more of a Nelson DeMille dark humor tone to it.
The premise is a dead body turning up in a crab pot in Puget Sound. The dead woman is a “ghost”, a person deliberately living off the radar.
The story alternates between Tracy’s murder investigation and the background of Andrea Strickland, a “cubicle worker” who marries a man she barely knows. A man who appears more and more manic as the marriage progresses. Both parts of the story are interesting narratives. Additional murders follow and Dugoni does a good job of showing the confusion and mess created when they occur in different jurisdictions.
I thought I had this one figured out but Dugoni threw me for a loop. The ending was a little unbelievable, but it was still a good tale. The real strength of the book is the character development. I felt a real bond with Tracy and her team.
My thanks to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book. -
A fine addition to the Tracy Crosswhite series. Robert Dugoni hasn't let me down yet. I finished the book about an hour ago and it's still on my brain, working out all the twists and turns it took. Just when I thought I had it figured out as I read, it went in a completely new direction. Bravo! I look forward to our next journey with Tracy Crosswhite.
A teenager doing some illegal crab fishing has come across something very disturbing: a body caught in a crab pot. Not exactly what he expected when he hauled the heavy trap from the water. The body is a woman, and she hasn't been down there long, likely only a few days. Her being found so quickly is just down to fate... Her murderer probably intended for her never to be seen again. They soon believe the body is a woman that disappeared several months ago while climbing a mountain with her husband... but she clearly didn't fall to her death.
We see some chapters from the perspective of Andrea, the woman who was thought to have perished on the mountain. A bit of an introvert and a voracious reader, she'd fairly recently married a man after only a short time of dating. He pressures her into starting a new business with him and to put a large amount of money into it. Though her late parents left her a trust, they've specified how it is to be used and starting a new business isn't one of them. He seems to resent that fact, and gets more manipulative and angry as the story goes on.
Haunted by memories of her sister who died much too young, Tracy has a special attachment to this case. She balances work with her thriving relationship with her boyfriend Dan, and I loved the little glimpses we got into their happy life. The rest of the book is filled with twists, turns, suspense, police procedure, and fantastic character development. I'm quite attached to them all... even Rex and Sherlock. Highly recommended.
I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased. -
This a taut, suspenseful murder mystery, set in Seattle, Washington. It is book 4 in the series, but I thought it worked ok as a stand alone. The book opens with the discovery of a woman's body in Puget Sound, by a man doing some out of season crabbing. The book switches back and forth between the police investigation and the thoughts of a missing woman at the center of this mystery. Tracy Crosswhite is the detective in charge of the case. She does not get along very well with her boss, Captain Nolasco. She has issues explained in one of the previous books in the series.
There are many twists and turns in the case, with the thoughts of of the missing woman leading the reader in one direction and the police investigation in another. I did not suspect the killer until near the end.
Some quotes--
Seattle PD bureaucracy: "After a $1.6 million investment, SPD had the facial recognition software and staff trained to use it, but the Seattle City Council had only approved its use to go through booking mug shots. DOL [Dept of Licenses]had the most comprehensive database of photographs of Washington residents, but the powers that be would not allow SPD to use that database to hunt down criminals because an ACLU lawyer had argued it could invade John Q. Citizen's privacy rights."
Weather "The hottest summer I ever spent was a winter in Phoenix."
This is a solid police procedural and I rate it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ebook. -
In the endless sea of oysters stocked with "girl"-titled books, this one's a pearl. In fact, despite my vow to eschew any and all with that word in the title for at least the next three years, I couldn't wait to dive into it. So what turned the tide? Well, it was a can't-miss combination: Favorite author, favorite series, and the chance to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for that invitation, BTW.
This is the fourth in the author's Tracy Crosswhite series, and like the others, it's a winner. I polished it off over the course of two days - not an easy feat when you've got a part-time job and a husband who could burn water if given half a chance (put another way, unless we eat out, dinner is on me).
Crosswhite, for those who don't already know, works at the Seattle Police Department's Violent Crimes Section and partners with Kinsington Rowe, aka Kins. She's in a serious relationship with Dan, an attorney, but psychological baggage carried over from her sister's death and the end of her first marriage keep her on the skittish side of any kind of formal hook-up. All that baggage also creeps into her work, as happens in this book.
It begins with the discovery of a female body in a crab pot - accidentally pulled out of the water by a kid trying to circumvent crabbing laws by placing and retrieving his pots under the cover of near-darkness. Identifying the victim, however, proves challenging; clearly, someone - perhaps the victim herself - has gone to great lengths to conceal who she is. Eventually, though, evidence points to a woman who went missing while mountain-climbing with her husband (a rather unsavory character who remains a person of interest in her disappearance but hasn't been charged as yet).
Needless to say, there's far more to the story. Quite a bit more, in fact; the intriguing plot, and the well-developed characters, seem a tad more complex than in previous books, with a few surprises (a couple of them whoppers). Failure to nail down what really happened and find the killer reminds Tracy of her own sister's murder, prompting her to keep plugging away when the going gets especially tough.
For those who already love this series, there's a downside; this latest installment isn't scheduled for release till January 24, 2017. But for anyone else, here's a suggestion: Although reading the first three books isn't a requirement for enjoyment of this one, why not spend the time reading the first three? In order of appearance, they are My Sister's Grave, Her Final Breath and In the Clearing. You'll be glad you did! -
Great, captivating story.
Good exciting plot and characters. Their backgrounds clearly written, you know them well. Story is about missing Andrea Strickland, Tracy is assigned to find out what happened. She has a half a million trust fund, abusive controlling husband and she is a reader. During the investigation her girlfriend goes missing too. Many twists and squabbles between the two police departments.
Can't wait for the next book in this series, congratulations Tracy. -
"The Trapped Girl" is fourth in author, Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series. The story gets off to a cracking start when a crab fisherman stumbles upon a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound off Seattle. Trouble is, it wasn’t filled with crabs, but a woman’s body. Tracy and her colleagues at the Seattle Police Department’s Violent Crimes Section are handed the case but have a troubling start when they find it difficult to identify the victim. It appears from her autopsy that she has gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. When evidence comes to light that the unidentified woman could be a person who had disappeared some months earlier, Tracy is haunted by the memory of her own sister’s unsolved murder. One by one the clues are uncovered, but as they are, the mystery seems to deepen. And there’s a shock – and grave danger – for Tracy when the real culprit is eventually identified.
Despite the promising start and an exciting dénouement in "The Trapped Girl", I could not describe this book as a thriller, more a plodding whodunit. I acknowledge and respect Robert Dugoni as a NYT bestselling author but the description on Amazon’s website, “a taut, riveting thriller” just doesn’t cut it for me. There were just too many parts of the narrative sandwiched between the opening and closing parts of the story that had me drifting off to other things jockeying for position in my mind. "The Trapped Girl" is worth a read, but more for lovers of murder/mystery novels. -
A young man poaching finds a woman’s body in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound and Detective Tracy Crosswhite is asked to investigate the case. They cannot identify the woman and as they follow the leads it appears it may be a woman that faked her own death to escape an unhappy marriage. This death brings up Tracy’s own sister’s death. Now there have been contradictory clues as to who this woman may really be. Great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
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I have just recently found Robert Dugoni's Tracy Whitecross series. The Trapped Girl is a great addition to the series which is shaping up to be on par with C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series.
A teenager finds a body in his illegally placed crabbing pot in Puget Sound. Identification of the women's body lead Whitecross and her Seattle homicide squad on search for the true identity of the woman, with lots of twists and turns. This is a well crafted, tightly woven plot. One of the best things about the book is the clues are all there for you to solve the crime with Whitecross.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to review this book.
This review was originally posted on The Pfaeffle Journal -
Never a dull moment
Fast paced and thought provoking. If you think you have it figured out think again. Well developed plot great characters. -
4.5 stars
The Trapped Girl is the fourth in a series by Robert Dugoni about a detective with Seattle’s Violent Crimes Section named Tracy Crosswhite. I have not read the first three but easily picked up the story line and thoroughly enjoyed this installment. As the story opens, a teenage boy illegally crabbing pulls up his crab trap and finds a woman’s dead body. The woman was shot before she was dumped in the Puget Sound so Tracy Crosswhite’s unit is summoned and subsequently commences the process of attempting to solve the murder. During the autopsy, the medical examiner determines that the victim had undergone substantial facial reconstructive surgery in an effort to conceal her identity. Initially, the victim is identified as Lynn Hoff, but quickly the team realizes that it may in fact be Andrea Strickland, an insurance agent who went missing on Mt. Ranier months previously while hiking with her husband. As Tracy continues her investigation, she discovers that the many facts and clues conflict and that something more complicated has occurred. She and her team must piece together every detail to ascertain what truly happened and who the mystery woman is.
The story is fast-paced and includes numerous twists and turns – most of which I did not see coming (I love that!). The plot takes Tracy from Mt. Ranier to Oregon in her quest to solve the identity of the dead woman and how she met her demise. The various settings made the tale so interesting. The Trapped Girl is a complicated and well-written story with a fabulous resolution that made sense and was believable (believability is something that is lacking in many thrillers today).
Learning about the various hikes on Mt. Ranier and other fun facts about the mountain was one of the highlights of the book for me. Another was the manner in which Dugoni chose to tell his tale. He alternates between Andrea’s journal entries and a standard third person voice for the rest of the novel. The result is outstanding. Dugoni also perfectly balances writing about the mystery plot line and Tracy’s personal life which makes the book such a great read. I am sure striking that balance is hard as an author, but when it does occur the story is so much better than when too little or too much focus is on the detective’s own life.
I highly recommend this wonderful mystery. Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
Poor Kurt Schill. All the kid wanted was to make a little money by setting a few crab pots in Puget Sound. After sneaking out one night to retrieve them, he thinks he may have hit the jackpot. One in particular has him struggling & when he finally gets it out of the water……is that a hand?
All together now….eeeewwww. Tracy & Kins feel the same way when they’re sent to collect the woman’s body. The autopsy provides clues that lead to her being identified as Lynn Hoff but there is surprisingly little else to be found.
Alternate chapters flash back to a year ago & introduce us to Andrea Strickland. She’s a young, bookish woman in a new relationship that progresses as she tells her story. She’s had a tough life & it’s about to get tougher.
In the present Tracy & her team have little to go on & what they do find doesn’t seem to fit. Just when they make some headway, another precinct swoops in & steals their case. Tracy is less than impressed for 2 reasons. First, she doesn’t feel like her boss (& old nemesis) Johnny Nolasco fought hard enough to keep it. Second, the lead detective from the other precinct is a middle aged burnout more interested in “investigating” any women in his vicinity than actually doing his job.
Boy, is this a snarly one. Just when you think you know where it’s going, another twist gets thrown out & the story heads off in a new direction. It’s an intricate plot where there are few winners & Tracy has to resort to some creative detecting to get the job done. It’s the kind of book where it’s important you don’t know too much ahead of time to fully appreciate the twists so that’s all I’ll say about the story. Except…thank God she’s maintained her sharpshooting skills.
Andrea’s story is compelling & chapters narrated in her voice become addictive reading. As events spiral out of control it’s easy to sympathize with this intelligent woman who yearns for a life very different from the one she has with her husband. All I’ll say about him is you’ll find his picture in the dictionary under “git”.
This is book #4 & one of the things I really enjoy about this series is the cast of characters that surround the MC. The other detectives are so well defined as individuals & it’s a pleasure to read a police procedural where the members of a team actually like each other instead of spending all their time looking for a back to stab. There are also developments in Tracy’s personal life that hint at more changes in the future.
It’s a smart, fast paced & well plotted story that will keep you on your toes while reuniting fans with characters that have become old friends. Can’t wait for book #5. -
Clever and surprising, this fourth instalment in the Tracy Crosswhite series continues to keep the tension high and the reader hooked. We got to see a bit of the detective's softer side in this one and it was good to see her have some happy moments, especially as it meant that there was a lot of self reflection about the bad stuff she's been though.
The best bit for me was that Dugoni changed the format again, each book so far involving a very different style of investigation. It ensures the whole things stays fresh and fun, never falling into the tick box style of some series.
Many thanks to Robert Dugoni, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. -
This is the thrilling fourth novel in the Tracy Crosswhite series. Tracy is a detective in Seattle PD's Violent Crimes Section and is facing her most complex case yet when a woman's body is recovered from a crab pot in the waters of Puget Sound. Identification initially proves difficult, but some clues lead Tracy and her team to believe they have discovered Andrea Strickland, who disappeared after climbing Liberty Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park with her husband Graham, a sleazy lawyer. But things just don't add up.
The story alternates between providing the reader with first-person POV background on Andrea Strickland and Tracy's investigation. Twists and turns galore combined with taut writing, enjoyable dialogue, and solid characterization - not only of the main players but the entire team behind Tracy - made this another compelling read in this series. I've been addicted to this since
My Sister's Grave, the first in the series, and am already looking forward to the release of
Close to Home later this year.
I received an ARC via NetGalley. I purchased the audiobook which was once again narrated superbly by Emily Sutton-Smith. -
This is a well-plotted Seattle-set mystery, fourth in the Tracey Crosswhite series. It opens with a great crab-catching scene. Dugoni has said he wanted to write a mystery with Mount Rainier as a setting and this book delivers. He also weaves in a ripped-from-the-headlines subplot about the business of selling marijuana--a business that turns out to be surprisingly competitive.
Most of all, Dugoni creates great empathy, with just the right curl of suspicion, about the title character of the book.
Okay, publishers, enough already with the diminutive of 'girl' in book titles. Authors are writing about capable, interesting, and experienced women. -
This is the 4th offering in the popular Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series and it is filled with twists and turns. It all begins when a teenage crab poacher’s pot snags another crab pot containing a dead body. The Seattle Police Department’s team has difficulty confirming the identity of the woman, but it seems related to a missing persons case in another jurisdiction. The detective in charge of that case is a misogynistic jerk determined to retain the case. Tracy does not let that stop her, she is undeterred in following every lead—no matter where it takes her. Enjoy!
