A Steep Price

Thriller Award–finalist Dugoni’s engrossing sixth Tracy Crosswhite mystery (after 2017’s Close to Home) finds Tracy and the other members of the Seattle PD violent crimes division investigating the murder of Monique Rodgers, a mother and an activist against gangs and drugs gunned down in a neighborhood playground. Meanwhile, Tracy looks into the disappearance of Indian American Kavita Mukherjee, who was applying for medical school. Kavita is somewhat estranged from her parents because they want her to agree to an arranged marriage she wants no part of. The case dredges up painful memories for Tracy of her sister’s abduction more than 20 years earlier. The stakes rise when another team member, Vic Fazzio, is framed for a key witness’s murder in the Rodgers case. Complicating things further, Tracy is pregnant and fearful that a new hire, Andrea Gonzalez, is being groomed to take her place. Fully developed characters and a fast-moving plot that builds to a shocker of an ending distinguish this crime novel. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (June)