One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer)

A standard cold case detective story for fans of light reading.

The inquiry into Seattle's Route 99 serial killer has been restarted by Tracy Crosswhite. The police ceased hunting after thirteen victims, and the lack of a lead led to public outcry. Almost three decades after his first murder, Tracy is now anticipated to provide the families of the victims with closure and restore the Seattle PD's reputation. even if it means collaborating with Captain Johnny Nolasco, her archenemy.

Tracy and Nolasco, who have formed an uncomfortable alliance, follow up on previous leads and look into new evidence only to discover high-level corruption and cover-ups that are just as dangerous as the assassin himself. Such terrible and powerful forces will try anything to avoid being seen in order to remain hidden.

The story twist itself wasn't bad, however it would not have come as a huge surprise to those who had read a fair number of mystery thrillers and whodunnits. Tracy and Nolasco are typical detectives, she is described as highly capable and Nolasco is portrayed as an old-school cop, distrustful of women on the force.

Although I am aware that this book and his entire series are well-loved and admired, this did not do much for me personally. I did not enjoy reading this book because of the incessant browbeating, the truly repeated and pointless conflict and misunderstanding, and the overall tendency for the plot to go sideways rather than straight.

It is sort of like watching a television series within the series.

2/5