Tracy Crosswhite · #4
The Trapped Girl
In this #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Tracy Crosswhite must first identify the victim to catch the killer.
When a woman's body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD's Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. So who was she running from?
After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister's unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman's past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she'll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won't go down without a deadly fight. Once again, New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni delivers a taut, riveting thriller in the fourth installment of his acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite series.
The series
The rain-slicked streets of Seattle don’t give up their secrets easily—but detective Tracy Crosswhite never stops digging. Beneath the gray skies and murky alleys lies a world of long-buried truths, and in this gripping crime fiction series, one woman’s search for justice becomes a relentless journey through grief, corruption, and the shadows of the past.
Read full series description
Once a high school science teacher, Tracy’s life was upended by the disappearance of her younger sister. That personal loss became a driving force behind her transformation into one of Seattle’s most formidable homicide detectives. Each novel in this darkly atmospheric series peels back layers of the human psyche, exploring not just the mechanics of murder, but the quiet, aching spaces grief leaves behind.
The series opens with a cold case that hits too close to home, but it soon unfolds into something larger: a portrait of a city teeming with political games, twisted loyalties, and moral gray zones. Over the course of the books, readers witness Tracy evolve—not just as a detective, but as a woman struggling with trauma, love, and the high cost of truth.
Written with a precision that mirrors its protagonist’s analytical mind, the series balances the gritty realism of police procedurals with the emotional resonance of psychological thrillers. It doesn’t just ask who did it—it asks why, and what justice really means when the system itself is flawed.
With each installment, the tension builds—not through cheap shocks, but through carefully layered storytelling that lingers long after the final page. From serial killers and courtroom battles to betrayals within the force, every case Tracy takes on is a step deeper into the city’s darkest corners—and her own.
Perfect for fans of suspenseful detective fiction with strong female leads and morally complex mysteries, this series continues to captivate readers and critics alike, earning spots on bestseller lists and year-end accolades. But at its core, it’s one woman’s quiet defiance in the face of loss—and her refusal to let the dead be forgotten.
Step into Seattle’s shadows, and follow a detective who never lets them close in.
#0.2 · 2014The Academy 
#0.5 · 2015Third Watch 
#1 · 2014My Sister's Grave 
#2 · 2015Her Final Breath 
#3 · 2016In the Clearing 
#4 · 2017The Trapped Girl 
#5 · 2017Close to Home 
#6 · 2018A Steep Price 
#7 · 2020A Cold Trail 
#8 · 2021In Her Tracks 
#8.5 · 2021The Last Line 
#9 · 2022What She Found 
#10 · 2023One Last Kill 
#11 · 2025A Dead Draw 
#12 · 2026One Split Second 
#13 · 2027Graves Tell Lies Be the first reviewer
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