Her Final Breath

Thriller Award–finalist Dugoni’s fast-paced sequel to 2014’s My Sister’s Grave finds Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite still struggling to come to grips with the murder of her sister and the retrial of her killer. In addition, a serial killer with a penchant for sadistic bondage is killing area strippers at an alarming rate, and a besotted stalker who believes the detective is his soul mate is getting dangerously close. With a boss who’s bent on seeing her fail as the head of the task force assigned to find the killer, Crosswhite believes the killings may be connected to a murder almost a decade earlier—except that the man convicted of that killing is still incarcerated. With the help of boyfriend attorney Dan O’Leary, she begins investigating the old case, but people in high places will do anything to stop her. Despite the somewhat predictable ending, the well-developed characters make this an entertaining albeit not exactly memorable read. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Sept.)