Review: In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite #3) by Robert Dugoni

Along with Kate Burkholder, Kim Stone, and Erika Foster, Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite is one of my favorite female detectives. This series began with My Sister's Grave and was followed by Her Final Breath. I remember purchasing the first title for my Kindle at a great price and not expecting too much. (I've been let down by a lot of cheap ebooks. I suppose it's sometimes true that you get what you pay for!) However, Dugoni left me very pleasantly surprised. I loved following Tracy as she hunted for her sister's killer and was so excited when I saw that she would be starring in her own detective series. I've been straying from my usual detective novels lately, but I was surprised to see that I'd fallen so far behind on the Crosswhite books. The fifth installment in the series is going to be released in September, so I figured I needed to get caught up.

Just like the first two novels, In the Clearing was a smooth read. I finished it in a few days and was always trying to find time to sneak away and read just one more chapter. This time, readers accompany Tracy as she tries to solve an old case involving a Native American teenager whose body was found washed up on a river's shore, severely beaten and bruised.  Initially declared a suicide, Tracy is given a case file with contents that make her believe otherwise. The typical investigation ensues and a long-kept secret is finally revealed.

I should probably mention that I try not to solve the mystery about which I'm reading. I prefer to just let the story unfold on its own and I don't spend too much time over-analyzing it. That probably puts me in the minority of mystery fans, but I get very little satisfaction in "figuring out" the mystery early on in a book or movie. My husband is always pausing a movie to tell me his theories on whodunit and why. This drives me nuts because he's usually right and then I can't help but feel like I lost that element of surprise promised by the big reveal. It's not that I couldn't figure the twist out most of the time; I just choose not to (or so I let myself believe).

That being said, In the Clearing did disappoint me a little because I could see the ending coming a mile away. It took a lot of the suspense out of the story and I was bummed that it was so predictable. However, I liked that Dugoni wove in a topical issue of Native American mascots in a sensitive and respectful way. The characters, especially our brave heroine, were real and dynamic. Getting to watch Tracy as her personal life with Dan continues to grow is a treat. So far, this third book in the series was my least favorite. It just doesn't hold a candle to the intensity of the first two, but those were pretty exceptional. I did enjoy the story overall; I just wasn't blown away by it like I was hoping to be.

My Rating: ★★★☆☆