God, I really hope this wasn't the last of the series. It's too good to be over, and there's so much potential for at least one more given where this left off with Kate and Andy's relationship as well as their professional lives. If it is the last one, though, the ending was satisfying and I'll just have to keep rereading these three wonderful books.

I suspect this will be an unpopular opinion, but the mystery in this one was my favorite of all three. I can't even explain to myself why that is, all I know is from the moment they first mentioned the cadets' odd behavior I was more curious than I was in the first two books. Objectively, though, I acknowledge it was the least intense story of the series. It wasn't really a time-sensitive issue — they had to figure out what was going on with the troop as soon as possible, of course, but in the first two books, innocent people were actually dying while they couldn't solve the mystery. It was good for Kate's mental health not to have people dying on her watch for once, though. :)

It also makes sense that this book is narrated from Andy's perspective rather than Kate's, for more than one reason. Firstly, at the end of Pathogen they broke up because Kate said she needed time. The main reason for that, her total lack of self-preservation skills, was something we were told about in the first book and watched escalate exponentially throughout the second one, until she came to the breaking point. Book three begins 47 days after the breakup, because Andy's been counting, and she's so hurt that she won't even bother hiding it. They hadn't talked at all since then, and I found myself worried about Kate like Andy was — what was she doing? Was she taking care of herself or just having a month-long breakdown? We got to know Andy so well in the first two books even without her point of view, because her behavior and her body language were so clear you could tell what she was thinking, but we only saw who she was around Kate, and in this one we get to see what she's like without her.

Besides, the case in this book doesn't exactly need Kate's abilities as much as the previous ones did. Andy is chosen by one of her mentors to take the assignment because of her unique perspective, and also because her superior noticed she's been overworking herself in order not to leave much time for wallowing, and could use something to focus on. It was nice to see just how dedicated Andy is to her job and the amount of work she was willing to put into the case. Also, another benefit of Andy's point of view was seeing how appreciative she is of Kate's skills — she's always watching her girlfriend and swelling with pride.

I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to the romance. Andy was so broken without Kate and worried that she'd never come back, which led to the reunion scenes that were probably my favorites between them in all three books, especially the reconcilliation. It was just so heartfelt and honest and you never, not for one moment, doubt that these women love each other more than anyone.

My one disappointment was the resolution of the mystery, so major spoiler warning for this bit. It was just so... simple. I couldn't believe it really was all about drugs. After human bombs and bioterrorism, I expected something like, I don't know, some sort of technology that connected their minds to explain why they acted that way. Their creepy behavior was so interesting to me, I think I went "wow" out loud in that scene where one has to do a push-up and all the others stop what they're doing and do push-ups too. I was bummed that there was nothing particularly mindblowing about it, and it was even worse because I had such high expectations.

The side characters in this one were probably my favorites too. I missed Jack, who already started disappearing in the second book and barely shows up in this one, but the new ones made up for it. Les was hilarious and sweet with her maternal behavior, and Trokof was a nice surprise with his genuine concerns about the troop. I was worried about the amount of cadets, but thankfully the author didn't feel the need to introduce all 16 of them, so I didn't have too much trouble keeping track of the most important ones she focused on.

All in all, as I said before, I hope this wasn't the last book, but if it was, that ending scene sure was a great way to finish the series.

Major Spoiler warning: If you have not read the first two books in this series featuring Dr. Kate Morrison and Sergeant Andy Wyles stop reading this review and grab a copy of Trigger and Pathogen. Both are terrific reads but events in the first two books impact events in Troop 18.

Troop 18 picks up the story forty-six days after the conclusion to Pathogen. We know how many days it’s been because Andy is keeping track, struggling to cope knowing she can’t be there to protect Kate, unsure if she will ever get the chance to be with the woman she loves.
She is asked to work with a group of RCMP cadets who are unlike any troop the training centre in Regina has dealt with in the past. Andy agrees to set up a boot camp in the interior of British Columbia so she can observe the troop and help her former instructors determine what the sixteen remaining cadets are hiding. What she doesn’t know is that the assigned medic for the team will soon be replaced by the newest member of E-division, Dr. Kate Morrison.

I love this author's fluid writing style. Scenes are easy to visualize and her dialogue brings her characters to life. We learn more about Andy in this novel thanks to moments shared with her parents, her supportive friend Kurtz and even her old instructors from her days in training at Depot. Seeing the vulnerable side to our stoic Sergeant Wyles makes the time she eventually gets to spend with Kate all the more meaningful.

This novel doesn’t have the same thriller feel as Trigger or Pathogen but the pacing is solid and the mystery is as challenging as the sixteen cadets are close-mouthed. The biggest struggle I had was keeping track of the many cadets and their individual quirks and identifiers. There were clues scattered about along with enough suspicious activity to keep me guessing until the end. The mystery is a good one, but in Troop 18, the mystery takes a back seat to the ongoing romance between Andy and Kate.

After leaving her readers in relationship limbo at the end of the second novel in this series, Webb rewards us with a beautifully written scene of reconciliation that is both touching and poignant. I don’t know when I have read a more honest and endearing conversation between two women in love. It’s a beautiful thing and brings this series to what feels like a natural conclusion. There are still crimes to solve and new mysteries to unravel but there is a sense of finality with Troop 18. If this is the last time we see Andy and Kate in action then bravo to Ms. Webb for giving us a series to remember.

4.5 stars

eARC received with thanks from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for review.