I love the Bree Taggert series but this installment I don't know why, it just didn't do it for me. It didn't grab me right away, hook or engage me like usual. It was still super fast paced, interesting storyline with some twists and turns there was just something missing for me hopefully it comes back for me in the next installment.

the setup…
Claire Mason returns home from work late at night and finds an unbelievable scene. Her parents lay murdered in their bed, shot to death. Sheriff Bree Taggert arrives to find the seventeen year old traumatized and alone. What first looks like a burglary gone wrong soon morphs into so much more as she probes into the family’s life.

the heart of the story…
As Bree and her team delve deeper into the lives of Josh and Shelly Mason, they find a treasure trove of secrets and mystery. In the meantime, Bree is also responding to sightings of an alligator and other wildlife not indigenous to the area. And, her list of suspects for both cases are longer than the evidence. The murder investigation is further complicated when the suspected murderer tries to abduct Claire.

the narration…
Christina Traister is the reason I’ll only listen to the series. She’s Bree’s voice in my head and is a skilled storyteller.

the bottom line…
Yes, this was a gnarly and complicated mystery but I always had a sense of misdirection. I honed in on a suspect, refusing to let go and was proven wrong! I like how Bree never digs into a theory without the evidence to support it (like I did). The team she’s assembled at the Sheriff’s Department has strengthened and their professionalism shows. That twist at the end threw me but I should have seen it coming. It’s always a good time here in Grey’s Hollow and I hope there’s no end in sight for this series.

As always, I enjoy a book with a police procedural perspective. I liked reading about our main character Bree Taggert, even though this was my first book in the series I think the author did a nice job of writing in such a way that I didn't feel I was missing anything and I feel I still got to know the main character.

This book follows Bree Taggert was she is trying to solve a murder of a teenage girl's parents. After the murder , the girl is being targeted by someone and Bree and her team are trying to keep her safe and catch the murderer.

This book is fast paced and has lots of wildlife plus a pet cat, which I appreciated. I wasn't expecting where this book went so I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to read this book very quickly because I was sucked into the story from the first page.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a police procedural and a fast paced thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

The Bree Taggert series just keeps getting better and better!
This one was just as addicting as the previous books. I was hooked from the beginning! The narrator, Christina Traister did a wonderful job portraying Bree and many of the other characters. The tones and inflections used were spot on and she kept me engaged till the very end! This story was a nail biter as it was a race to find the sole survivor, Claire Mason. I honestly wasn't sure who I could trust and I was very excited to see how it was resolved in the end. Can't wait to see what happens next in Sheriff Taggert's world.

Well worth the wait for an audio ARC. I really enjoy this series, though I wish the narrator made a male voice that didn't sound brooding and sad.

THAT was an ORDEAL. A wild ride, much enjoyed. I think I have now read everything Melinda Leigh has written.

First time reading Melinda. I didn’t realise that Track Her Down was part of a big series featuring Sheriff Bree Taggart, however this can be read as a total standalone.
Good narration that drew me in from the start. This was a fast paced thriller. The twist was slightly predictable, however the writing was good and this audio kept me entertained the first few days of 2025. I will definitely look up the other books in this particular book series for sure!

How to find a killer when nothing seems to add up? Bree and team figure it out.

I was excited to see a new release in the Bree Taggert series. I am enamored with how the characters Bree, Matt and company are presented. This book picks up after the last one with some of Bree’s team still recovering. In the last book we were introduced to Deputy Zucco who put her NYPD vice skills to use in helping to apprehend a serial killer. We learn a bit more of her background and there seems to be the hint of a budding romance. (I’m rooting for you Renata Zucco).

The story starts with Bree investigating an alligator sighting and then immediately followed by a double homicide. Finding the killer led to going down a lot of rabbit holes that popped up oddities that diverted the case. The cases were so head scratching confusing, that there was not a lot romance or family time in this book as Bree and her short handed team race to find answers.

While not a lot of family time we did get a few tidbits:

Cady and Todd expecting a child
Luke taking a girl on a riding date
Luke and Bree discussing their guilt surrounding their mother/sister's death
Adam (Bree’s brother and famous artist) asking Renata Zucco out for coffee
There was a bit “wait, what?!” moment when general-pain-in-Bree’s-backside councilwoman gives Bree a sincere compliment, not once but twice.

In addition to not a lot of the family, Matt’s dog only made a brief appearance. All that being said, the book was one of that I could not put down until I finished. I really like this series and always look forward to reading them. By the way, the narrator is awesome. I often get the read-and-listen Kindle version.

How much longer before the next one? :-)

Thank you to #NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story.

Happy Reading!

Narrators: I didn’t mind most of the narrators in this audiobook except the voice of Matt. His voice I couldn’t get over but I stuck with it because the others were not bad, but his was terrible.

The storyline and the plot were unexpected really, I was totally surprised in a good way. The book was engaging and kept me wanting to keep reading/listening to the entire book.

I didn’t see that ending but I was pleasantly surprised!!

Audiobook narrated by Christina Traister
This is Melinda Leigh’s 9th Taggart book, about a New York Sheriff who has survived childhood trauma, but now is happily employed as the head of a county sheriff’s department. She is romantically involved (not undercover, but no public PDA), with her chief investigator, and former K-9 handler (but still a trainer) Matt Lyon. All of author Leigh’s series stories can easily be read as standalones. Taggart and her deputies are a likeable crew, upstanding, thorough and professional, so the petty jealousies and department conspiracies aren’t present. These are great police procedural and voiced by Christina Traister, the long time narrator of the Taggart tales, you’ll get drawn in from the beginning.

In this installment, Bree and Matt get called out to the brutal homicide of a couple who were discovered in their beds by their teenage daughter, Claire, coming home from a late shift. The couple’s backstory, known as work-from-home lawyers, gets murkier as the Sheriff investigates. Utmost, Bree is trying to prevent any further emotional harm to Claire, a sudden orphan whose parents had no close relatives or friends. More than a few suspects pop up, and Claire still seems to be in danger.

A side story (that eventually gets folded into the main mystery) includes a lot of unexpected wildlife: a cute but dangerous wolf pup, a possible alligator in the wrong part of the country, and a cougar (the feline type, not the arrogant female county supervisor putting her own claws into the mix). Bree has always had a past fear of dogs, but Matt’s love of animals and her has helped her overcome most of her fears, but that doesn’t include non-domesticated varieties.

Anyway, it’s an easy read and great continuation and development of steady characters! 4.5 stars! Bree Taggart #10, “Beyond Her Reach” already has a September release date and a preorder from me. I hope the terrific Christina Traister is already recording it!

Thank you to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

It wasn't a bad book at all, and I wasn't expecting the ending!
You have murder. You have stolen wild animals being sold as pets! You are probably thinking how that's all connected! Yup! I was too! LOL!!

A girl comes home and finds her parents have been unlived! During this whole book you feeling sorry for this chick she telling such a sad story and being chanced by a guy out to get her too!! On the side you got wild animals being found like alligators! Fox/dog puppies!! They trying to check that person too! Little do they know!! It might all be connected!

When the twist starts to come your mouth starts to hang open and you find out who all had a hand in this unliving and that the 2 people unlived aren't the usual victims and neither is their daughter!

After my momma and a few other highly respected females, Detective Eve Dallas is my hero. However, right under Det. Dallas is Sheriff Bre Taggart. This story has everything… the backstory that breaks your heart, a struggling family trying to build a NEW family after the nursery of Bre’s sister, the kids mom, and friend. You have a work relationship turned romance. Our heroine has her own internal struggles that are completely relatable. If you haven’t read all the other books in the series make sure you start their first. This will be a series and an author you keep your eye on. I’m obsessed and as soon as I see one release, I grab it and drop whatever I’m reading to dive back into Bre Taggart.

The narration is fantastic! Christina ‘s is a top-notch narrator!! We go back and forth between different POVs and she is flawless in her performance. This narrator and author are a match-made in heaven!! Keep it up!