The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni

I've just discovered a new author and series that have captured my interest. I appreciate mysteries centering in the Seattle area so jumped at the opportunity to review this book. I'm glad I did.

I liked the plot. It has a number of twists and turns. People are not who I thought they were. Crimes are not what they initially seemed. It could have been quite confusing. The way the plot develops, however, leads us directly through the investigation process and the revealing of facts.

I really liked the characters. Dugoni has crafted the detectives to be people with depth. One of the detectives, for example, has an issue with water. He can't swim and has some real anxiety when he has to interview a person on a boat docked at a marina. I especially appreciated Tracy, lead detective in this mystery. I am sometimes cautious when an author writes with the lead as a person of the opposite sex. Does a male author really understand how a female might think and feel in a situation? But I was pleasantly surprised and felt comfortable with Tracy's character.

I like the setting. Who in the Pacific Northwest is not in awe of Mt. Rainier? I like the mystery. I learned something new about police forces and their territorial thinking. I like the characters. The team of detectives working with Tracy are like family to her. That brought some warmth to this mystery.

I am not positive all the elements of the plot were wrapped up to my satisfaction at the end. Nonetheless, I did really enjoy this mystery and will be looking for more in the series. While it is book four in the series, it is the first I've read and enjoyed it.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Robert Dugoni is a bestselling author, has been nominated twice for the Harper Lee Award for Legal Fiction, was a 2015 International Thriller Writer's finalist and the 2015 winner of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction. Dugoni left his law career in 1999 to write full time, winning the 1999 and 2000 Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference Literary Contests. You can find out more at www.robertdugoni.com.

Thomas & Mercer, 378 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.