Tag:

Police Procedural

Review

One Split Second

by Jeff Ayers

After losing her reelection bid, Sheriff Jenny Almond makes a solo trip to meet Anthony Alvarez, who has called her with a cryptic message. What she finds upon arrival changes everything—a gunshot rings out, a shadowy figure emerges from the darkness, and in a split-second decision, she pulls the trigger. Alvarez is dead, and Almond is facing the unthinkable: a first-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting an unarmed man. Desperate for answers, Almond turns to her trusted friend, Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite. With Tracy’s attorney-husband Dan stepping in as her legal defense, Tracy launches her own parallel investigation into what really happened that night. The trail leads somewhere unexpected—back more than four decades to a chilling cold case in which Alvarez was the prime suspect in a teenage girl’s disappearance, a wound that never fully healed for the surrounding community. Dugoni masterfully illustrates how a single moment can irrevocably alter the course of lives, weaving together past and present with the kind of propulsive, assured storytelling that has made his Tracy Crosswhite series a standout in modern crime fiction. Whether the action is unfolding in a courtroom or out in the field, Dugoni keeps the tension taut and the pages turning. Long-time fans will find this latest installment deeply satisfying, and those coming to the series fresh will quickly understand why Dugoni has earned his place among the genre’s elite.— Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Secrets We Hide

by Jeff Ayers

Slaughter returns with another gripping thriller following this series’s debut We Are All Guilty Here, and secrets once again prove fatal. Private investigator Allison Vickery, a former cop, is on the verge of vanishing with cash in hand and fake IDs ready for herself and her teenage daughter, Mandy, when gunshots shatter the quiet of their neighborhood. Sheriff Emmy Clifton arrives to find Allison dead. Clifton’s sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, sweeps the upstairs only to be shot herself and discover Mandy barely conscious with a head wound. All signs point to Allison’s allegedly abusive ex, but as Clifton digs deeper, a more complicated picture emerges. Mandy was secretly involved with an older man, a relationship she kept hidden even from her closest friends. In a town where nearly everyone is guarding something and buried secrets are practically a local tradition, Clifton must untangle a web of lies to find the truth about what happened to mother and daughter. Slaughter is masterful at keeping readers glued to the page, blending psychologically rich characters with dark, timely subject matter and a plot loaded with misdirection. Fans will be eager to follow Emmy Clifton and Jude Archer into whatever danger awaits them next.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

You’ll Be Sorry

by Jeff Ayers

Amanda Grady returns to the small town of Shereford, the place she fled as a teenager, and takes on the role of police chief following her father’s death. At the same time, Raquel and Theo Collins arrive as newlyweds after a whirlwind romance, both aware that secrets from their past could threaten their future. Hoping for a clean start, they purchase a home long believed to be cursed, a house connected to the mysterious disappearance of the Dixon family 30 years earlier. The entire family vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a dog. When Raquel and Theo discover a stray dog on their property that may be the same one from that decades-old case, the town begins to take notice. Some believe that the couple may hold the key to finally uncovering what happened all those years ago. As pressure mounts, Amanda is pulled into an investigation her father was never able to solve. What she uncovers is both unsettling and deeply personal, revealing truths about the Dixon family’s fate while also raising troubling questions about the Collinses. Gardner skillfully builds suspense, revealing clues piece by piece until the shocking truth comes to light. Blending elements of horror, mystery, and psychological tension, this novel is gripping and memorable.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Fighting Edge

by Jeff Ayers

Deputy Mattie Walker and her K-9 partner, Robo, start the day with a grim discovery: a young mother murdered, her two-year-old daughter found alive in another room. The question lingers as to whether the child witnessed the attack. Not long after, Mattie pulls over a speeder, and Robo alerts to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. After the driver is arrested, a boy left behind refuses to speak, raising Mattie’s suspicions that he may be entangled in something far more dangerous, possibly even human trafficking. Meanwhile, Mattie’s husband, veterinarian Cole, stumbles upon a questionable dog kennel that may connect to her cases, deepening the mystery. As the investigation unfolds, the couple, still healing from past trauma, find their personal lives increasingly strained by the dangers surrounding them. Mizushima delivers another strong installment, skillfully balancing suspense with heartfelt character development. The small-town cast continues to deepen, with each character given moments to stand out. The unusual perspective of police work alongside a K-9 partner adds an extra layer of authenticity and intrigue. This series only gets better with each book, making it a must-read for fans of crime fiction and police procedurals. New readers can jump in easily but will likely want to track down the earlier entries once they finish.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Kill to Keep

by Jeff Ayers

In her latest mystery, Taylor delivers a thrilling and atmospheric whodunit set against the backdrop of a traveling carnival on the eve of its grand opening. When Sheriff Bet Rivers and her boyfriend, Rob Collier, stumble upon a dead man during a stroll through the fairgrounds, the investigation quickly grows complicated. There was the sound of a gunshot, but the man bears no visible bullet wound. Even more puzzling, none of the carnival workers seems to recognize the victim, leaving Rivers with a nameless corpse and a growing list of suspects. As she fights for answers, the sheriff uncovers a world of deception, with workers operating under assumed names and a community built on secrets. The deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that some of those hiding in the shadows will go to extreme lengths to stay hidden, including committing another murder. Taylor masterfully balances a richly drawn cast of characters with the cozy, small-town charm that makes this series so appealing. The mystery unfolds at a satisfying pace before building to a climax that is both breathtakingly tense and deeply rewarding. Best of all, newcomers to the series need not worry. This installment works beautifully as a standalone, making it an ideal entry point into the world of Sheriff Bet Rivers.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Exit Wound

by Jeff Ayers

Book of the Week April 16, 2026

Maldonado delivers a blistering finale to detective Veranda Cruz’s long pursuit of bringing justice to bear against the Villalobos crime family, closing the series with relentless tension and high-stakes action. Veranda believes that capturing Adelmo Salazar will finally end the nightmare, but his escape from custody turns that hope into something far more dangerous, leaving her barely alive and firmly in the crosshairs. Salazar answers to the ruthless Hector Villalobos and his son, Adolfo, both of whom are determined to eliminate Veranda at any cost. As she and her team scramble to track down Salazar and dismantle the Villalobos empire, they remain unaware that a full-scale war is already underway—one they are ill-prepared to survive, let alone win. Every lead they chase and every apparent breakthrough only reveal how far behind they truly are, with their enemies always several moves ahead. With the first three installments (Blood’s Echo, Phoenix Burning, and Death Blow) now back in circulation, readers can fully appreciate the scope of this explosive conclusion. While newcomers can jump in without prior knowledge, longtime fans will find this payoff especially satisfying. Maldonado raises the stakes to their highest point yet, crafting a finale in which cartel warfare and crime fiction collide in a gripping, pulse-pounding showdown.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

A Taste for Murder

by Chris Kahn

A tremendously well-balanced, traditional novel—in the best sense of the word—that is sure to appeal to a wide range of crime-fiction readers. Joe Mottram is on leave from the London police and forced into a sabbatical on the island of Capri. Delightful, no? No. Matt is accompanied by his teen daughter, Angelica (for whom everything is just too much of a bother, except for boys). A fatal accident killed his wife a year ago, and father and daughter have a rocky relationship. And while they are staying at an idyllic resort, they could be staying at a Motel 6 for all the attention they pay each other. Until there is a murder, of course, and Joe jumps in to help young police inspector Lorra Lorrancio discover the killer. A Taste for Murder is rich in plot, but it is even richer in detail. As the story slowly unfurls, so too does the grief, beauty, and menace. Matt Baker is a British television screenwriter known for creating the ITV drama Hotel Portofin. Here’s hoping this novel is the start of a series.—Brian Kenney

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Restless Bones

by Danise Hoover

Readers of crime novels are used to main characters being flawed though essentially working on the side of right. Shawnee, or Shaw, Connolly is no exception. A crack crime-scene expert especially known for her skill with fingerprints, she is faced with multiple heart-wrenching crimes. A long-missing young woman is found in her car in a lake, creating a daunting but not impossible fingerprinting task; an elderly woman is found outside her home, dead of exposure with her house wiped clean. Shaw is also facing her younger son being bullied, returning romantic feelings for her ex, and recovery from the physical and emotional trauma of finding and convicting her sister’s killer. This killer provides the main conflict, offering to reveal burial sites of other victims, but only if Shaw is involved. She reluctantly complies, but struggles with a search through stark landscapes in harsh weather. Shaw is a woman with much to commend her as a character. We will all look forward to the next book.—Danise Hoover

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

All We Hide

by Brian Kenney

Book of the Week February 26, 2026

Brilliant. Groundbreaking. Emotionally intense. These adjectives, and more, just begin to touch on Gigl’s latest novel, which can be read as a cold-case murder, a domestic tragedy, or the disappearance of a young trans woman. Lieutenant Lauren Kelly, herself trans, has been relegated to working in the Homicide Unit at the Cold Case Unit in the District Attorney’s office. She knows she’s expected to wait out her time till retirement, while ignoring the harassment she regularly undergoes. But Lauren isn’t one to remain silent, and working in the DA’s office opens her to several ongoing narratives that take her deeper into her family history, from her Mom, who disappeared when she was a young child, to her father, now struggling with Alzheimer’s. A stand-alone, this book is an excellent choice for a reading group that would appreciate its rapid pace and treatment of many of the characters.—Brian Kenney

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Shadow Step

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week February 19, 2026

In ballroom dancing, a shadow step involves a pair of dancers facing the same direction, one of them standing behind and slightly to the left. In Blackpool, detective (and ballroom aficionado) Declan Miller’s third outing (after The Last Dance and The Wrong Hands), Afghan-war veteran Barry Cheshire and his wobbly dachshund, Ruby,  find themselves in this position when they are menaced in a local park by a teenaged drug dealer and his two very large XL Bully dogs. Cheshire accidentally pushes the knife-wielding lad into the lake, unwittingly setting off a chain of escalating disastrous events that include murder and kidnapping. While Miller works to connect the dots between the crimes, he continues to mourn his late wife (he frequently chats with her ghost), parent as best he can his drug-addicted stepdaughter, attend his weekly dance classes, and torment his police colleagues with his cheeky and sometimes tactless humor. This series is lighter in tone (although there’s still some grim violence) than Billingham’s DI Tom Thorne mysteries, and there is enough backstory to inform newcomers. Quirky humor, strongly developed characters, and plenty of exciting twists make this a refreshing read for fans of British crime fiction.—Willy Williams

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail