Track Her Down

Once again, Melinda Leigh has combined a police procedural with deception, exotic animals, and a little romance in Track Her Down, the next novel in the Bree Taggert series. Bree and her part-time investigator Matt Flynn team up to work a case when a teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death.

The case isn’t as straightforward as it might seem and when the daughter, Claire Mason, is stalked at the park, it seems she may be the next target.

Bree is the sheriff of Randolph County, New York. She’s smart, skilled, confident, honorable, and determined. She has earned the respect of her deputies, has standards and ethics, and puts the community first. She joined law enforcement to help people and that is what she intends to do. She is learning to navigate the politics, media, and paperwork associated with being a sheriff in a county with a limited budget. Matt is a former sheriff’s deputy injured in the line of duty. He was going to start a K-9 training program, but his sister Cady is using the kennels for rescued dogs. Matt is a great investigator and is a master at interviewing suspects. He loves dogs, including his retired K-9, Brody.

The novel did a great job of demanding and keeping my attention from beginning to end. It was hard to put down and is well-crafted. A chilling start in chapter one is followed by a call about an alligator in nearby Grey Lake. Just a typical day in Bree’s life as a rural county sheriff, except alligators aren’t supposed to be in New York and the two dead victims were living a lie. What an engaging and suspenseful novel!

The story captivated me from beginning to its surprising conclusion. The plot has twists and turns that were unexpected and clever. As always, the world-building is well-done and the characterization is excellent. By this time in the series, it feels like I’m visiting old friends. The relationships with friends, family, co-workers, and the community add another dimension to the story. Additional threads in the storyline include emotional connections, support systems, deceptions, control, and much more. I enjoy police procedurals, and the small town and the rural county settings in this novel made for a great backdrop for this novel.

Overall, this book has twists, tension, violence, and was hard to put down. If you are expecting a solid series that will have mysteries, suspense, crime, action, and a little romance, then this is a series that I recommend. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Montlake and Melinda Leigh provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for January 14, 2025.