A Cold Trail

Not every police investigation gets solved and the killer might still be at large. When the marks, signs that are left behind by someone or something can no longer be found or followed it’s said the trail went cold. When Tracy Crosswhite decides to return to Cedar Grove it’s a harsh reminder of the death of her sister ,Sarah that for a long time remained cold and unsolved. Now living a different life with a husband and a child, will she stop her time off and investigate the murder of young woman and a police officer’s wife and local reporter urged by the local police chief.

While her husband is representing a local merchant, whose business has been closed and jeopardized by the town’s revitalization laws. The young woman was a journalist who was investigating the murder of Heather Johansen more than 20 years in the past. Ur with a 2-month-old child and must decide to allow the nanny to take over her care .

Tracy pushes on and questions people involved in the investigations of the three murders but when she questions Eric Johansen you get a feeling that he’s hold back, using lack of remembering and claiming she should refer to Roy’s reports. Then they thinkable happens and someone breaks into her house, her daughter and nanny in danger and the playing field changes. Therese is sent home to her family, Dan away at his other office on the revitalization case and others and she faces a decision as to whether to put herself in more danger or let it go. The path behind her house was where the person went back and forth but will the police figure out anything about the person. Every step of the way she faces roadblocks but the author shares in vivid flashbacks Heather, Mathew and Kimberley’s final moments. Who followed Heather walking on a lonely dark road? Who set fire to Kimberley’s house? Who shot Mathew? Kimberley was the police chief’s wife. Heather was the murder victim killed in 1993. Heather last scene on a dark country toad .

Heather was pregnant and the father might have been Findlay Armstrong who was the police chief that Calloway was covering for.

With another detective to assist her and his wife helping with her child and cooking, Tracy was able to cover more ground, revisit crime scenes , Faz fee detective friend was able to help her assess things while Dan dealt with the osiers he had to file for the case involving the businesses in Cedar Grove. But eventually the three murders and his case will intersect and the pieces with form a frame whose outer border will help to create a picture of a dangerous killer hiding in plain sight.

The trial was enlightening and what Dan uncovered starling as the truth behind Cedar Grove LLC will shock readers and the buyers and who they are will wreak of fraud , greed and much more. When Dan uncovers the link and how person was involved that tied in the murders Heather, Kimberley and evening Mathews a desperate killer comes at Tracy and Finlay head on, but will she get the help I time before another life is lost?

Power, greed, control, deception, anger, jealousy and acceptance are part of rationale behind a killer’s justification for revenge and retribution. Author Robert Dugoni takes us inside the world of corporate greed, politics, power and the ignorance of some, the complacency of others as a small town that wanted their economy to boost, more businesses to flourish , a newspaper to gain more businesses to pay for ads and a judge that heard it all but never with an ending and young attorney like Dan. Sadness, closure, a murder over twenty years ago, a reporter’s death covered up to look like arson, a young girl afraid to face her mistake a lawyer who knew too much. Will the ending resolve what an unsolved murder is closure for A Cold Trail?

Strong characters, backstories that are well documented and research into how revitalization comes about and the legalities, this is an informative, interesting and highly charged murder mystery that takes you deep inside the minds of each of the characters. After Sarah disappeared Tracy went on a binge or roll to find her killer. When Heather’s case comes face with face with a reminder of where her sister was found on a dark country road, a spark hit her, and she went into high gear. How can she right another wrong? Is Finlay the reason for her death? Who drove her that night from the party and why didn’t she go into the hospital? So many questions unanswered and then she revisits the deaths of Mathews and Kimberly. Once again author Robert Dugoni raises the bar with this outstanding five-star novel.

Tracy Crosswhite and Dan O’Leary where will home finally be?