16. A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni

#6 Tracy Crosswhite

listened on Audible

410 pgs.

2018
Adult Police Procedural
Finished 4/10/2025
Goodreads rating: 4.38
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Seattle

My comments: Although depressing, this mystery was super interesting and kept me on my toes, looking forward to returning each time I had to stop reading.  There are two (interesting) cases going on at once, Tracy is pregnant, and we get much more acquainted with Fazio and his wife Vera, who has just discovered she has breast cancer. 

Goodreads synopsis:  Called in to consult after a young woman disappears, Tracy Crosswhite has the uneasy feeling that this is no ordinary missing-persons case. When the body turns up in an abandoned well, Tracy’s suspicions are confirmed. Estranged from her family, the victim had balked at an arranged marriage and had planned to attend graduate school. But someone cut her dreams short.

Solving the mystery behind the murder isn’t Tracy’s only challenge. The detective is keeping a secret of her she’s pregnant. And now her biggest fear seems to be coming true when a new detective arrives to replace her. Meanwhile, Tracy’s colleague Vic Fazzio is about to take a fall after his investigation into the murder of a local community activist turns violent and leaves an invaluable witness dead.

Two careers are on the line. And when more deadly secrets emerge, jobs might not be the only things at risk.