Slightly disappointed, but still a good read. I really enjoy the Tracy Crosswhite series set in Seattle. And this one, although not my favourite so far, was still a good instalment in that series. Want to see what I thought of it? Want to see when I eventually understood the relevance of the title? Read on!

There are two bits to the story. One is a hit and run against a young child in the city, then another is the growing heroin epidemic going on. I thought both were interesting, and although everything ties together in the end, they felt so separate the whole way through.

The suspect in the hit and run is in the Navy and he has a solid alibi and no obvious connection to the little boy. Tracy investigates this crime with her partner and the others in her squad. I enjoyed getting back in touch with this lot of detectives – they all have good hearts and are a proper work family. Something I like to read throughout a series is how the characters develop and this series is no different. It delivers on the expectation of growth of character and the dynamics between each of the main players.

Unfortunately for Tracy, the case gets moved to the Navy base and they claim jurisdiction, which kind of halts Tracy’s investigation. She carries on working it though and we get a lot of information about the trial and trial process. Lot’s of detail and you can absolutely see how Dugoni has done his research here.

The second thread in the book is the heroin aspect. (Writing this next sentence I just got the title of this book, I literally just said ‘Ahhh’ out loud and got some looks – what an idiot!) It is a bit more close to home for one of the detectives on the team, as his niece has recently died from an overdose and thus he is much more invested in getting to the bottom of the city’s drug problem, than most.

So we have the two cases seemingly unrelated and going off on their own tangents, being investigated by Tracy and Kins, and Del and Faz. I struggled with the separateness of this when I was reading, and although I’m glad I stuck with it as it all comes together in the end, I wish I had had more of a promise of this earlier on, as I could have easily put this one down.

Another side story running along in the background is Tracy and Dan’s inability to conceive and their dilemma over their next steps.

I did enjoy reading this one, not as much as the previous ones, but I will definitely continue on with the series as I love the characters. The book has funny bits and moving bits and I love a good police procedural. This one was perhaps a little heavy on the legal details. But overall a good read.

Recommended to fans of police procedurals, detail heavy plots, great character development and interesting trials.

Happy reading.

Becca