Robert Dugoni

Keera Duggan was building a reputation as a Seattle prosecutor until her relationship with her boss went sour. Now, she's working for Duggan and Associates, a firm founded by her father and also staffed with two of her sisters. Her father is a noted attorney in town and an alcoholic who has messed up all of his kids.

When the firm gets a call from Vince LaRussa, who is accused of murdering his wheelchair-bound wife, her older sister encourages her to take the case to build up the firm's failing reputation. Keera's eager in part because she'll be facing her old lover in court, and she knows his strengths and his weaknesses.

As a former chess prodigy Keera is used to sizing up her opponents. It is her client who seems the most obscure to her. She's having trouble getting to know and understand him. And when she starts getting anonymous emails from someone calling themself Jack Worthing providing information about her client's past her doubts are raised about his innocence.

As she's preparing for the trial, following her mysterious emailer's directions, trying to build a theory that incorporates all the on-scene evidence, and playing a chess match with a person who plays under Black Knight, Keera is also dealing with her own problems with alcohol.

With twists and turns and courtroom hijinks, this was an excellent thriller filled with intriguing people.… (more)

I've been slowly savoring Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite mysteries. While some readers will binge when they discover such a good series, I stretch out the time between each book to make the series last. I like knowing that I have a "sure thing" or two waiting for me on my to-be-read pile. Close to Home was next up on my list.

Speaking of series, this is a perfect one for those who like the characters' personal lives to be important parts of the story. Tracy is now married, and while this city girl tries to adapt to country quiet, she and her husband make an important decision. Tracy's partner, Del, recently lost a beloved niece to a drug overdose, and his investigation leads him to Celia McDaniel, a woman whose son also died of an overdose. Military lawyer Leah Battles plays a significant part, and I hope to see her in future books.

The mystery in Close to Home is a strong one, and like all good crime fiction, readers' knowledge can grow a lot on the way to finding out whodunit. There's plenty to learn about the military legal system as well as the healthcare industry's shift in focus to pain management rather than treating underlying ailments. And how about the legalization of marijuana? When I found out how the drug cartels adapted to that, I realized that I hadn't been paying enough attention to the world outside my door. There are even more kernels of knowledge in the pages of Close to Home, some of which made me smile. (Navy camouflage being called "blueberries", and the general opinion of them, for example.)

Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series is for readers who love to be immersed in both the story and the characters-- especially when the main character is a bonafide member of the Harry Bosch School of Policing (Everybody counts or nobody counts). If you're not already a dedicated reader, I'd advise you to begin at the beginning with My Sister's Grave. This is an excellent series that you won't want to miss.… (more)

"It is in those quiet moments that each of us has the ability to make our lives extraordinary".
Sam Hill, while growing up in a devoutly Catholic household and attending Catholic school, struggles with faith. He was different- ocular albinism meant he had red eyes. He was dubbed "devil boy" or Sam Hell. He was bullied his whole life. As an adult, he was able to become a successful optometrist. He still suffered from low self-esteem due to his past. Through acceptance he can finally learn to forgive and achieve peace.… (more)