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Robert Dugoni’s ‘A Steep Price’ has beautiful narrative
By JEFF AYERS, Associated Press
“A Steep Price” (Thomas & Mercer), by Robert Dugoni
Two young women who have been friends forever have plans to go to graduate school togeth- er. When one of them comes back from a visit to London
to attend a relative’s wedding, she announces that she’s gotten married. It’s part of an arranged marriage set up by her parents. Her friend becomes upset and promptly disappears. Seattle Detective Tracy Crosswhite takes the case when a colleague thinks there’s more to the story.
While Crosswhite works on the case, she also contemplates her future with the police department. She’s pregnant and hasn’t told anyone. When Crosswhite learns that one of her fellow officers has moved to another group, and a new detective arrives and promptly sets up shop at her desk, Cross- white fears that she’s on the way out. Is it her pregnancy or
something she did? She starts to get paranoid about all the possibilities.
One of her fellow officers fac- es problems of his own. What seems like a simple case involv- ing the murder of a commu- nity activist puts detective Vic Fazzio in the middle of a war zone, and a son is bent on re- venge for what he feels was the poor treatment of his criminal father. The detective responsible for his arrest? Fazzio.
Author Robert Dugoni has multiple stories that weave into a beautiful narrative. What makes “A Steep Price” stand out is the authentic feel of how it feels to work as a police officer in a major city. With relevant and timely issues, including
the treatment of women in the workplace and how some cul- tures believe in the practice of arranged marriage, the result is another outstanding novel from one of the best crime writers in the business.
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