ARC REVIEW: One Last Kill – by Robert Dugoni

Title: One Last Kill
(Tracy Crosswhite #10)
Author: Robert Dugoni
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Detective
First published: October 3rd 2023
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Finished reading: September 17th 2023
Pages: 351

“They were both under siege, like two infantry soldiers in a foxhole during a prolonged fight. They could either dislike one another or direct their dislike to a mutual enemy and hope for strength in numbers.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

REVIEW

I had a lot of fun binge-reading the first nine Tracy Crosswhite books last year, and I’ve been looking forward to another installment. It’s a detective series that has turned into one of my favorites, and I love the focus that most sequels seem to be having on cold cases… One Last Kill is no exception to that rule, and offers us another cold case AND another successful detective thriller sequel. Oh yes, there is no doubt that this series is still going strong even ten books in!

Part of the reason this series works so well has a lot to with the fact that it has a great cast of likeable characters that you will easily grow attached to. The books focus a lot on personal development as well as the cases Tracy Crosswhite and the rest investigate, and this is why I would suggest reading the books in order. It will help avoid spoilers and you won’t miss out on character development and background that way. And it will definitely help explain the full impact of Tracy having to work with Nolasco!

Like I said before, the case in One Last Kill is once again a cold case. Tracy Crosswhite is asked to reopen the case with the 25-year anniversary coming up, and it is a serial killer case this time around. I can’t say that I was too happy with some of the new developments; especifically concerning Weber and Tracy having to work with Nolasco again. Especially the second is such a despicable character, and I wasn’t looking forward to spending time with him again… He did improve in the second half, but I still can’t say that I’m a fan. He is definitely one of the reasons it took me longer than usual to actually finish this sequel.

The case itself is intriguing, but then again I do love a good serial killer thriller. There are lots of red herrings and twists to keep you busy along the way, and the cold case turns out to be a lot more complicated than expected. I did guess some of the big twists early (including the true identity of the killer), but as a whole I was still very much entertained by One Last Kill. This has a lot to do with the fact that I always enjoy spending time with Tracy, and I was very happy to see my favorite Italian duo playing a small role as well.

There is something about the writing that makes it very easy to keep turning those pages, and especially the second half was extremely engaging. This particular sequel once again focuses on one case, but it is a complicated case that both references to events from the previous book and gives us new connections. Tracy heading the cold case unit took the series in a new direction, but I’m definitely enjoying the change so far.

One Last Kill provided another satisfying dose of detective thriller, and I’m already looking forward to the next dose. The Tracy Crosswhite books in general have a great cast of characters, solid writing, a cold case angle and a healthy dose of solid police work as well as suspense… It’s a series I can recommend if you enjoy the genre.