Close to Home (Tracy Crosswhite, #5) in 2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2

Jun 19, 2022 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, group-read, audiobook, 3500-2022, 2022-audiobook-challenge, 2022-beat-the-backlist-challenge

the setup…
D’Andre Miller is a 12-year old boy who is already showing promise as a basketball player. He has a plan for his life that is suddenly cut short when he’s viciously mowed down by a hit-and-run driver running a red light and who never even attempted to brake. Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her partner are called in because brass believes this is more than a typical traffic accident and the optics are concerning. Meanwhile, the 17-year old niece of Detective Del Castigliano, another memb the setup…
D’Andre Miller is a 12-year old boy who is already showing promise as a basketball player. He has a plan for his life that is suddenly cut short when he’s viciously mowed down by a hit-and-run driver running a red light and who never even attempted to brake. Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her partner are called in because brass believes this is more than a typical traffic accident and the optics are concerning. Meanwhile, the 17-year old niece of Detective Del Castigliano, another member of Tracy’s unit, recently died from a drug overdose after weeks of seeming to overcome her addiction following rehab. Del is determined to find those responsible and make them accountable for her death. While he and Tracy work their cases independently, they’ll soon find themselves at the same crossroad.

the heart of the story…
This was a puzzler as Tracy and her team quickly find the car and identify the owner, an enlisted Navy soldier assigned to the naval base in Bremerton. He reported the car stolen but they have evidence he was in Seattle the night of the accident. But the Navy has asserted jurisdiction, the suspect is unwavering in his bizarre assertion that it wasn’t him and won’t accept a plea. Things go even more sideways when crucial evidence turns up missing. It was pretty clear to me something was rotten in the Navy and this was clearly about more than the accident. I went down to the wire trying to figure out the who and why and had to just follow the investigation.

the narration…
Again, listening to the story just heightened my reading experience as the narrator continues to deliver an outstanding performance on every level. She’s definitely become my voice for the characters and storytelling.

the bottom line…
There’s a lot going on in this one, both the cases and personally for Tracy and Del. Through his niece’s death, we get to experience the heartbreak and futility of the opioid crisis on families. Tracy is struggling with fertility issues and the impact on her relationship with Dan, her husband. These secondary storylines just made everything more interesting and brought some balance to the strange investigations. Things seemed peculiar throughout and I enjoyed learning more about how local jurisdictions interact with the military justice system. It wasn’t riveting stuff but it was highly intriguing, so much so I had a hard time putting this one down. And, that epilogue just left me in a really great place!

Posted on Blue Mood Café ...more

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Jun 25, 2022 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense, kindle-unlimited, 2022

Young D'Andre Miller was killed while crossing the street on his way home from a basketball game. A camera in the area showed a black Subaru Outback never slowed down before hitting him. Detective Tracy Crosswhite and her team are put on the case. They quickly find the vehicle and learn that it was reported stolen earlier that morning. The owner of the car, enlisted Navy Sailor Laszlo Trejo, claims he was home at the time of the accident; but evidence shows he may be lying. Meanwhile, Detective ...more

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Jun 24, 2022 Sandra Hoover rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-suspense, mystery-thriller

Another good one in this series! I enjoy Tracy & Dan - their issues both individually and as a couple. Great plot line with enough twists to keep it interesting. Moving on to the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

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Aug 24, 2022 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aug-22, wom-22, 3500-2022

I loved this 5th book in Robert Dugoni's "Tracy Crosswhite" series! ...more

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Jul 07, 2022 Sharon Kallenberger Marzola rated it it was amazing

Shelves: love-hero, love-heroine, audio-whispersync, buddy-read, police-procedural, mystery, emotional, great-support-characters

Robert Dugoni continues to give his readers nail-biting stories in the Tracy Crosswhite series. Close to Home is the fifth full-length novel in the series. I found each book is packed with action. In this episode, Tracy and her team are called to the scene of a hit-and-run that tragically kills 12-year-old D’Andre Miller. The initial forensics at the location points to D’Andre as the intended target, but why?

While Tracy and Kins are working on the vehicular homicide, Del Castigliano is dealing Robert Dugoni continues to give his readers nail-biting stories in the Tracy Crosswhite series. Close to Home is the fifth full-length novel in the series. I found each book is packed with action. In this episode, Tracy and her team are called to the scene of a hit-and-run that tragically kills 12-year-old D’Andre Miller. The initial forensics at the location points to D’Andre as the intended target, but why?

While Tracy and Kins are working on the vehicular homicide, Del Castigliano is dealing with the death of his niece from a drug overdose. He is determined to track down the dealer and bring him to justice. If you read any of the previous books, you know Del can be a bit of a hot head, which concerns Tracy.

I love that Robert Dugoni created a series with a genuine lead female character. Tracy is compelling, flawed, and working on her issues in her personal life. After reading four novels and two novellas in the series, I feel like I am following an actual person. In this case, Tracy’s investigation pulls her into the world of military justice. The legal battles and courtroom drama take place by Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) lawyers. We look at the legal proceedings when a military member is involved in a crime. Leah Battles, a new character, is the perfect adversary for Tracy. Even when the jurisdiction switches to the military, Tracy will not back down on her quest for justice.

The support Del receives from the team is well done. They can’t blame Del’s need to find justice for his niece and his family. Faz works closely with his partner and understands Del. He keeps Del focused on the case and helps him deal with his anger and frustration.

Close to Home is emotional on many levels. The author made the events and the families of the victims’ reactions honest. It allowed me to put myself in both mothers’ shoes. Justice isn’t always fast, especially for minorities. There is a lot of frustration when the military takes jurisdiction by the local police and the community. Their frustration is felt on every page.

Dugoni does an excellent job illustrating the struggles of an addict to stay clean. His depiction of the impact of their addiction on their families is also well done and heartbreaking.

If you are reading for the police procedurals, Close to Home can be read as a standalone. However, the character development will fall flat if you don’t start at the beginning of the series. There is a lot of background information in the first four books.

Finally, the narrator, Emily Sutton-Smith, continues to shine with her performance. She pulls the listener into the story and doesn't let go. This series is a KU book/audio combination, which is great for a binge reader. A must-read series!
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Mar 18, 2020 Charlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: follow-this-series, mystery, crime, rated-not-reviewed, adult-themes, law-enforcement, suspense, public-library, series-by-author, health

I don't know why it took me so long to really get into this book; but once I did, I was hooked on the interwoven stories. If you've read Tracy Crosswhite books before, this is the fifth in the series, which should definitely be read in order.

Set in the Seattle area, I felt the dreary rain and the ferry crossings! A Navy component in this one. Some scrambling for who had jurisdiction. ...more

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Feb 10, 2018 Jo Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-unlimited, myst-detective, military-man-or-woman, epilogue, romantic-elements, police-procedural, crime-mystery, 2018-read

This book deftly handles current issues including the heroine epidemic and police interaction with the African-American community. I was especially engrossed with the Naval courtroom proceedings.
Two new characters are introduced -whom I loved right off the bat - and I'm really excited to have these two amazing women as part of the regular cast!!
Dan and Tracy - crazy about these two!!! After everything Tracy has been through in her life it's so gratifying to see her experience happiness in her p ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Charlene rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller

I've really enjoyed this series so far. Dugoni is clearly a talented writer, and one who does his homework. I had no idea of the effects that legalized marijuana has had on the drug trade. A sad story, to say the least. As usual, Tracy and her partners are great - I loved getting to know Del a bit better. Also looking forward to seeing more of Leah Battles - a very interesting character. And what can I say about Dan...what a sweetheart! He strikes me as one of those "hidden gems" who get overloo ...more

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