Her Final Breath (2015)

Back in Seattle, Tracy Crosswhite's investigation into the death of stripper Nicole Hansen is derailed by her boss, Johnny Nolasco, deciding it was a cold case. When additional strippers start dying in the same heinous manner, involving self-strangulation with a noose and Rophynol, Tracy is named to head the task force to find the serial killer, nicknamed Cowboy. Lots of suspects, and Nolasco is systematically undermining the investigation while Tracy finds a ten-year old case, with obvious similarities, which Nolasco "solved." Cowboy is elusive, calculating, and carries a major grudge, but makes one small mistake, helping Tracy bring him to justice. The one nit is the dizzying, improbable acceleration of the plot from Tracy being benched to the ending. ( )

I'm really loving this series. I enjoyed the first book quite a bit and this one even more. I was torn between 4 and 5 stars but couldn't justify the fifth because of some of the same issues as the first - repeated info, words, and phrases - so I'd go 4.5.

For the second time in two books, I wasn't able to pick out the bad guy. Dugoni is really good at surprising me!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Even so, I ended up getting it from the Kindle Unlimited program so I could listen to the audio book in addition to the ebook. The narration isn't great but I didn't have a lot of eyeball reading time and didn't want to stop reading. ( )

2 and 1/2

Copy for Review from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. I did not enjoy this book as much as the first ("My Sister's Grave"). I kept hoping it was going to get exciting. It didn't.

Tracy Crosswhite is a strong female protagonist. She is hunting a serial killer and seems to have a stalker. Sounds interesting, isn't it?

That's why I asked for a copy.

But for some reason I couldn't get into the characters or the story. Maybe, it was too lengthy with lots of unnecessary details. [And I like details and police procedurals very much!]

I'll give the author another chance, I am reading the (freebie) Kindle Short Reads: "The Academy: A Short Story". ( )

This is the second installment in the detective Tracy Crosswhite series. In this novel, exotic dancers are being strangled by a noose around their neck which tightens when their limbs strain against the hog-tied position they have been put in. Tracy also is the recipient of a noose when she is out at the shooting range. While investigating the death of the dancers, Tracy revisits a murder that happened nine years ago with similar characteristics. The problem? Her captain was the lead detective on the case. He has issues with Tracy and wants to see her taken down. Therefore, he does whatever he can to impede Tracy’s progress. Meanwhile, Tracy is also being pursued by the person who left the noose.
Tracy and old high school friend-now attorney-Dan’s relationship also moves forward in this novel. It is nice to see her with a supportive lover.
Tracy‘s partnership with the other detectives on the case is also solid. I loved how this novel delved into forensic evidence, dogged police work, and various suspects. I had my suspicions of the murderer early on, but I wasn’t able to put together the entire case against him. This was a great novel, but I did enjoy the first book in the series more. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

#HerFinalBreath #TracyCrosswhite #RobertDugoni ( )

Pretty good book, based in Seattle where detective Tracy Crosswhite is assigned the "Cowboy" murders. Not as interesting as in the first book and the narrator gave at least one of the characters a New York accent; not all cops are from New York, so the flavor of Seattle never came through. There's also some drippy intra-cop politics and Tracy is left with a dweeb of a boss. Maybe next time, he'll get his comeuppance! The title isn't evident until the final part of the book. ( )