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Close to Home

Robert Dugoni. Thomas & Mercer, $15.95 trade paper (382p) ISBN 978-1-5420-4501-8

Early in bestseller Dugoni’s nail-biting fifth Tracy Crosswhite mystery (after The Trapped Girl), the Seattle Violent Crimes Section police detective is called to the scene of a hit-and-run accident that left 12-year-old D’Andre Miller, a straight-A student and accomplished basketball player, dead in the street. Because the accused driver turns out to be a U.S. Navy serviceman, the Navy fights for and wins jurisdiction over the prosecution. Nevertheless, Tracy continues her involvement in the case, determined to ease the pain and gain justice for D’Andre’s family. Meanwhile, Del Castigliano, a co-worker of Tracy’s, is pursuing drug dealers responsible for an epidemic of overdoses from bad heroin, despite the reservations of his colleagues, who fear Del is too emotionally involved because his niece was one of the victims. As the two investigations proceed, it becomes clear that they overlap. Dugoni embellishes this clever procedural with well-developed characters and an interesting exploration of Navy criminal justice. [em]Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Sept.) [/em]