No stranger to Tracy Crosswhite's adventures, I was eager to read A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni and once again he does not disappoint. I enjoyed the parallel stores within the A team - there was less harassment by Nolasco (bonus) and the sugar baby subculture is a fresh, new topic in mystery-thriller, perfect for Tracy and pals to unravel. This story has action and a whodunit and is a great complement to the previous books in the series. I would have enjoyed reading a little more about Tracy's relationship with Dan, as has been the case in previous novels. I can't wait to find out what happen next! Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #ASteepPrice by #RobertDugoni

So action packed and exciting! Out of the Tracey Crosswhite series this is definitely my 2nd favorite, only because I believe that My Sisters Grace just can’t be topped. I zoomed through this one and was completely entranced by Kavita and her tragic life. This was one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had in a long time and I truly can’t wait for the next book in this series! There were so many twists and turns and I loved that there were 2 completely different stories going on within one book. Robert Dugoni has another winner on his hands for sure!! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Mr. Dugoni for the ARC and the chance to read another fabulous story!! XO

This was an enjoyable story in this series. I love the characters, Tracy, Faz and Del in particular. Interesting dual storylines. The missing girl storyline was interesting and rather upsetting, not to mention sort of unresolved. Very fast pregnancy and birth, but hope Tracy is back in the next book. Actually, she HAS to be back to work in the next book!

Another great Tracy Crosswhite addition. Starts out while Tracy is in court with Faz and Del heading up the new case. Then Tracy comes in and to help a friend look into a missing person case, we have two going on. Enter the mysterious detective and who do we trust.
Now we have to wait for this to be released and then for #7. Soon I hope.
Thank you netgalley for the advance copy.

Tracy and her colleagues don't disappoint in this latest thriller. I enjoyed the added point of view of the victim, which did not spoil the suspense but added to it.

Thanks to the author for writing another book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. The two main stories told in this book alternate from one chapter to another with Tracy and Kins investigating a murder of an Indian woman and Faz and Del investigating a murder related to a drug gang. Added to the mix is a new A team member, who majorly ruffles Tracy's feathers. Tracy is hiding her pregnancy, Vic is keeping the lid on his wife's new cancer prognosis, and the new team member has secrets of her own. On the home front, Tracy wonders if she wants to go back to work after the birth of her baby.

It took several chapters for me to get used to the switching from Tracy's case to Faz/Del's case but I got used to it. I don't know if more Tracy Crosswhite books are planned for the future but I'd love to read more about her life, down the road. Whether she stays on as a detective or does something else, she's bound to have an active and interesting life and she's a character I've enjoyed following.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Normally, I love Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite books, and I can dive right in. Number six, A Steep Price, was a whole ‘nuther ball of wax for me. I did love it, for the most part, but it took a while for me to get into it. Why?
For one thing, Detective Tracy Crosswhite starts out in court. She’s not even involved in the main case, which is the murder of a woman, a mother who’s fighting to organize her neighbors and her community to fight gangs and drug dealers. That sounded pretty nasty to me, and it didn’t seem very Dugoni-like.

Then Tracy is asked to assist, unofficially, with a missing person case. The detective is a friend, and the missing person is a young woman. This is just the kind of situation that tugs at Tracy’s sense of duty and her heartstrings. She has a very personal reason for wanting to help in the case of a missing female: her sister. She’s the reason Crosswhite quit her teaching job and became a cop. This story line didn’t exactly grab me at first either. It was just strange. The missing woman, an aspiring pediatrician, is Indian. It’s a generational and cultural battle for Kavita Mukherjee and her family. Crosswhite’s involvement in the missing persons case puts her at odds with her superior officer once again, but that doesn’t stop her. There just can’t be a Crosswhite book without a little head-to-head clash with Nolasco. Newcomer Detective Andrea Gonzalez has gotten off on the wrong foot with Tracy when they first meet; Tracy also questions Gonzalez’ place in the squad, but doesn’t mention most of those doubts to Nolasco, whose patience is already wearing thin.

Dugoni handles the shooting and drug-dealing stuff extremely well. Gang boss Little Jimmy and his minions are credible thugs. An innocent woman is shot in broad daylight and no one saw nothin’. Yeah, right. Detectives Vic Fazzio and Del Castigliano are assigned to the case. When Del suffers a back injury, newcomer Gonzalez partners with Faz. They go to question a potential suspect, and...I’ll just say that Mr. Dugoni wrote a great action scene as well as realistic dialogue in the following chapters. I was pretty much loving it at this point.

I was even buying into the disappearance of the student a bit more, although I had a good idea what happened and who was behind it. In both threads, there were some unlikable characters, even among “the good guys.”

However, there were some good guys whom I loved more than ever this time around. Faz and his wife Vera top the list. Vera gets a life-altering medical diagnosis, and Vic becomes distraught. Every time the story rolled around to Faz and Vera, I had to choke back tears. Dugoni’s writing is that real. Millions face this situation, and it felt like the author truly knows what it’s like. I felt that he wrote Tracy and Dan’s happy family situation quite well also. I know he’s been through that one! There is another powerful scene involving Faz on the job late in the book. Now that’s Dugoni! Yes, of course we get a police procedural in the process, but the characters he creates come to life on the pages. As usual, the author has done some great research. We get to learn about sugar dating, and Indian marriage, as well as police procedures. Who would think that all of this could come together in one great package? As long as there are Tracy Crosswhite books to read, I plan to keep reading them.

I appreciate the opportunity to have read A Steep Price in return for a fair, honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author.

4 stars

Tracy Crosswhite is pregnant and finishing up her testimony in court when she is called in to consult on a missing persons case by Detective Katie Pryor. She agrees with her friend that this case does not feel right. The missing young woman, Kavita Mukherjee, is not the typical missing person. Kavita is attending medical school and is estranged from her family due to not wanting an arranged marriage. When her body is found, her case becomes a murder investigation.

Kavita's murder is not the only issue Tracy is dealing with in this book. She has not yet disclosed her pregnancy at work and she is not happy with the woman, Detective Andrea Gonzalez, who has joined their team and has made herself a little too comfortable using Tracey's desk and computer.

Plus, Tracy's colleague, Vic Fazzio is dealing with her concern over his wife's recent diagnosis and his investigation into the murder of a local activist. His investigation gets him in deep and on the wrong side of a local gang. He gets paired with Detective Gonzalez one day and when there is a shooting they have differing accounts of the situation.

There are two story-lines happening in this book, but I did not find that either took away from the other. Not all the detectives could work the same case, so it makes sense that they would be working on separate cases. I enjoyed both story-lines and was invested in learning what the resolution would be for both. This book is a great addition to the Tracy Crosswhite series. I believe that it works well as a standalone but highly encourage those who have not read this series to go back to the beginning as the Author has created a cast of interesting characters and you will see character development over the course of the series.

This is a well written police procedural that does not disappoint. In this book the Author takes on arranged marriages, pregnancy, the decision to return to work after birth, escorts, gangs, secrets, and medical issues to name a few.

This book proved to be a fast read for me. Again, this book was well written, captivating and left me wanting to read more. I find Dugoini's books to be intelligent, believable and captivating. His story-lines are interesting and deal with real issues. Tracy Crosswhite is a strong female character with a strong work ethic and good head of her shoulders.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Robert Dugoni is one of my favorite authors and recently showed what a versatile author he is with the touching feel-good drama novel The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell after writing amazing legal thrillers in the David Sloane series as well as police/crime mysteries in the Tracy Crosswhite series.
The first four books in the Crosswhite series were very exciting reads with Tracy Crosswhite as a badass female protagonist taking care of business while fighting her police captain with a thorn in her side. My objections to book five (Close to Home) were primarily that Dugoni had turned Crosswhite into a soft, emotional, and vulnerable character with more focus on her domestic life than on her police work. Although that may give Crosswhite a more likable and human touch, it also made her character - and thus both the book and the series - must less interesting as a police mystery as it put much more emphasis on Crosswhite's detective colleagues, who are much less developed and complex characters than Crosswhite was initially.
Summing up, let me repeat my suggestion from my review of book five: Dugoni should wrap up the series with Crosswhite as the main protagonist and pass on the torch to someone else in the department in a spin-off series, and just have Crosswhite drop by in cameo appearance once in a while. In my view, however, none of the known characters in the series so far can carry a spin-off series, so Dugoni needs to think carefully about a final (?!) book 7 where a newbie detective can be introduced, knocking our socks off and having us begging for more. Instead of hoping that Dugoni will stop the series before all main characters spend more time crying emotional tears about terminal illnesses, substance abuse or newborn babies. I know that I am no longer willing enthused by that thought...

This is the 6th installment in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I LOVE this series, but am disappointed in this one. There are two parallel stories taking place, and jumping from one to the other nearly every chapter disrupted the flow. This reader did not find it suspenseful. Being a police procedural novel, the crimes have already been committed, but getting to the whodunit should build some tension! I’d recommend reading this series from the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer for a review copy.

I have enjoyed the Tracy Crosswhite series and this one continues in Dugoni's excellent tradition. A fairly typical police procedural, what stands out for this series is both a strong female lead, without all the either superwoman or sex object hoopla as well as a strong message about the role of women in society. This novel brought up the traditional arranged marriage, using the Indian culture as the example, although it could just as easily have been other cultures. The issue of arranged marriage plus the issue of sugar daddy dating added the extra element to the typical police procedural that I have come to both expect and enjoy from the series.

Looking forward to more.

On the surface A Steep Price is a fine police procedural about Detective Tracy Crosswhite’s team working two entirely different cases. Tracy’s case is at the request of t Detective Katie Pryor, Missing Persons Squad, and involves the disappearance of a beautiful East Indian woman, Kavita Mukherjee. Tracy is hung up testifying in court, so Det. Kin Rowe is soon roped into the investigation. When Tracy finds Kavita's body, Tracy is determined to retain this case despite jurisdictional issues.
At the same time Detectives Del Castigliano and Vic Fazzio are working the murder of a community activist who was trying to chase drugs and gangs from her neighborhood.
On a deeper level I think this book is also an examination of the how the opposing emotions of love and hate can come to have the same tragic result.
Adding to the tension there is also a newcomer to the squad who seems posed to take Tracy’s place permanently for when Tracy announces her pregnancy and also to permanently hang Del out to dry.
Tracy goes slam dunk against a totally different culture in her investigation of the young woman. Dugoni tries very hard, and I think successfully, to present these cultural differences in a balanced way.
Dugoni presents a different, but no less compelling, set of cultural mores with our American underclass based not just on race but of living in housing projects, of being intimidated by criminals, and mostly by lack of economic opportunity.
The investigations ring true. Dugoni always writes believable and interesting story lines.
Tracy and her team are like high end athletic shoes, top of the line, reliable and sometimes amusing, always the smart choice. Most secondary characters are like Louboutin stilettos, sharp and uncomfortable (I’m just guessing here).
The yin and yang of the two investigations keep the readers involved and interested.
This is mostly a police procedural. But Dugoni also doesn’t hesitate to dive into the yin and yang of the detective’s personal lives too. With great sensitivity he tackles both possible death and life in work and home.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Steep Price is the 6th and latest Tracy Crosswhite story by Robert Dugoni. A Steep Price is a stand alone story, but I think anyone who reads it is going to want to learn more about the characters and will go back to the beginning. Easier to start at the beginning so there are no spoilers! As usual I hated to see the story end as it feels like Tracy is a personal friend. I was given an early copy to review.

STEEP PRICE by Robert Dugino. June 26
Detectives Del and Vic working another murder in South Park. Woman activist against drugs and crime killed in broad daylight. Tracy facing challenges of a new detective at work, and being pregnant, is it a replacement, she wonders. And Vic is about to take the fall for a murder. Robert’s books are always good, full of action, how they are solved, with glimpses into their personal lives. Readers won’t be disappointed in this, from beginning to the end it will keep you turning pages. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

Tracy Crosswhite is back!

Tracy is called to consult on a missing persons case that is not your typical disappearance. She's also facing challenges at work as a new detective is hired. Tracy is keeping a secret. She's pregnant (!!!!) and hopes that this new detective is not her replacement. Her colleague Vic is about to take the fall for a community activist's murder whose investigation leaves a community torn apart and a witness dead.

I love this series. The characters all steal the show, and after 5 books, you are so connected to all of them. Dugoni has developed them all so well, and you read each page hoping and praying that nothing bad happens to them. The investigations that Tracy and her colleagues conduct are also so well written, and my hat is off to Dugoni for not making this the only star of the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

As a long time fan of the Tracy Crosswhite series, I knew that I had to request this sixth installment on NetGalley.

This book continues to develop the characters that we have all come to love. Faz and Del get pulled into a shooting, where the victim seems to have been targeted because of her outspoken feelings about the drug situation in South Park Seattle. They quickly find themselves falling into a case that’s even bigger than they could have imagined in the first place. While this is going on, Faz is dealing with his own personal situation with his wife, Vera. The more these characters are developed throughout the series, the more that I love them.

Tracy gets a call about a missing persons case. As she begins investigating, it turns into a homicide case. The victim is an Indian woman in her early 20s, preparing for medical school to hopefully become a pediatrician. The cultural differences between Americans and Indians are outlined in great detail in this novel. It was interesting to read about those differences and to see how families are affected by the strict cultural expectations.

I love this novel. Every book in the series keeps me turning pages and dying to find out what happens next. As is typical for Dugoni, the end has some nice surprises. I definitely recommend!

Pretty reliably good mystery with the standard troubled police, twisted bad guys and innocent victims. I like the setting and the characters do have some depth even though it is about a crime.
Good writer, fun- ish read.

I absolutely adore this series. It's like humanity evolving in all ways. This absolutely can be read as a stand alone. Do not let #6 deter you. Tracy is pregnant, A twist in life all itself. Your right there with her every step of that way as she takes on a missing person and murder. This book also lets Castigluano and Fazzio step forward. Can I please go on record as saying "it's time Cpt. Nolasco gets what is coming. Thank you another great read. Thank you Thomas & Mercer , Netgalley.

My first reaction was to be saddened that Tracy Crosswhite did not feature more prominently in this investigation--she was too busy testifying in court, but nevertheless found myself riveted at the plot of this one. It begins with the murder of an African American activist and then the plot thickens as a woman disappears. It is this second case where Crosswhite offers support and, perhaps not coincidentally, the most riveting.

This is the sixth in the Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite series and I have enjoyed all of them.

While Tracy, who hasn’t yet announced her pregnancy, is called out to assist in a missing persons case, her colleague, Vic Fazzio, is caught up in an officer involved shooting and things aren’t looking good for him. A new detective has been assigned to the team, causing some consternation for Tracy and the others. Is she really there to replace Tracy?

The two cases unfold simultaneously as the book alternates between the two stories. All of the familiar characters from the earlier novels are here, and we continue to learn about their personal lives.

There are some twists and turns that result in another Dugoni page turner that I didn’t want to put down. A Steep Price can be read as a standalone, but if you enjoy a good police procedural and this is your first Tracy Crosswhite novel, you will want to go back and read the earlier ones as well.