I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well-developed and the story kept me engaged from start to finish. If you’re a fan of Robert Dugoni, you will definitely enjoy this book. I absolutely recommend this book to others!

I am a huge fan of Robert Dugoni and the Tracy Crosswhite series. I have read all the books in this series and really enjoyed them. However, The Dead Draw is my least favorite. The plot seemed a bit farfetched. This is the first book where I found myself skimming chapters just to get to the end. I did like the ending.

In The Dead Draw, Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool until her interrogation of the taunting and malicious Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case killings. Schmidt also has unnerving ties to the monster who murdered Tracy’s sister, stirring memories of the crime that shaped Tracy’s life. After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, Tracy breaks.

Haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, Tracy heads to her hometown of Cedar Grove to refocus. Just a peaceful getaway with her husband, her daughter, and their nanny at their weekend house. But Tracy’s sleepless nights are only beginning. A legal glitch has allowed Schmidt to go free. And Tracy has every reason to fear that he’s followed her.

The premise sounded so good, but the story was slow in the middle, and there was too much “information” about shooting and techniques and not any real investigation or action.

The best part of the book was the character of Lydia. She was fun to read about, get to know, and be a part of her journey in this story. It would be good to see more of Lydia in future books. Though some of the old characters were in this story (i.e., Faz, Kins, Nolasco), they only played minor parts, and I missed them.

Overall, The Dead Draw was okay but not a favorite of the Crosswhite series. I rate this a 3.5 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4).

Plot 3/5, just seemed a bit farfetched for me after all these years of Tracy's sister being dead and the revenge by the other characters still festering.
Characters 3.5/5, my favorites in this book were Lydia and Mason.
Writing 5/5, Dugoni is able to write a good story and create interesting characters.
Pacing 3.5/5, sometimes too much information about shooting and backstory.

#ADeadDraw #NetGalley @AmazonPub

I can’t believe I didn’t like this. I’ve long been a fan of this series, but this latest entry is my least favorite. Tracy is still not over her sister’s murder 20 years later, & her new nemesis is taking over the revenge from his former cellmate. The one that killed Tracy’s sister. Why? Because he looked up to him? I thought it was a thin motive. This was written like a western, which the author is a fan of. However, the ending of this book was ridiculous. A spoof. I didn’t like that there was no investigation, no team, & not a strong plot/motive. Tracy annoyed me a lot in this particular book. Fan of the author, but not this book.