A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni

Item: A Killing on the Hill
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted May 19, 2024 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Review / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Killing on the Hill

by Robert Dugoni

Published by Thomas & Mercer on April 9, 2024
Setting: Seattle, Washington
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 352
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Publisher
Goodreads
Bookhype
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

A gripping new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

The Great Depression. High-level corruption. And a murder that’s about to become Seattle’s hottest mystery. It’s the kind of story that can make a reporter’s career. If he lives to write about it.

Seattle, 1933. The city is in the grips of the Great Depression, Prohibition, and vice. Cutting his teeth on a small-time beat, hungry and ambitious young reporter William “Shoe” Shumacher gets a tip that could change his career. There’s been a murder at a social club on Profanity Hill—an underworld magnet for vice crimes only a privileged few can afford. The story is going to be front-page news, and Shoe is the first reporter on the scene.

The victim, Frankie Ray, is a former prizefighter. His accused killer? Club owner and mobster George Miller, who claims he pulled the trigger in self-defense. Soon the whole town’s talking, and Shoe’s first homicide is fast becoming the Trial of the Century. The more Shoe digs, the more he’s convinced nothing is as it seems. Not with a tangle of conflicting stories, an unlikely motive, and witnesses like Miller’s girlfriend, a glamour girl whose pretty lips are sealed. For now.

In a city steeped in old west debauchery, Shoe’s following every lead to a very dangerous place—one that could bring him glory and fame or end his life.

A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni is a wonderful, witty, and well-plotted mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Will a young reporter outsmart the underworld of Seattle in the 1930s?

Mr. Dugoni sets up this story in Seattle during the Depression. There are many seedy characters, and most have no honor, choosing instead to make a buck whenever possible. Yet, he finds a few still bound to decency and integrity. I enjoy Mr. Dugoni’s descriptions and how he sets up the young Mr. Shumacher to choose his morals.

William Shumacher

Our Point of view is that of William Shumacher, a recent transplant from Kansas City who works as a reporter for the Daily Star. He doesn’t know much about Seattle but is willing to work hard and secure his position with the local newspaper. Somehow, William’s mother knows the editor of the Daily Star and got him a job. Yet, to keep it, he has to be better than the others and work hard to find the stories that his editor wants.

I like William. He does a few things that aren’t exactly smart, and he seriously can’t see when someone is tailing him. Yet, he is honest and is learning fast. I hope that he can live up to his expectations. He deserves a wife who loves him, a family, and a home.

The Mystery

The whole thing starts with a boxer getting shot at a club on the hill. However, since this is set during the Depression, you wouldn’t expect to see a dinner club, complete with lots of food and alcohol, or with gambling and an entertainment stage. This is where the murder took place, and it seems that everyone in Seattle knew about the place, and the cops also knew, but none of them closed it down. Mr. Dugoni shows a side of Seattle that most wouldn’t think of in the current city.

Shu, as the police refer to William, is tipped off at the beginning, and then the police let him get close to them as they are investigating the murder. He is smart enough not to print anything that the cops don’t want to be public knowledge. Still, he is also intelligent enough to know that something else is going on besides what the prosecution and the defense are saying at the trial. William has become famous for covering the “Trial of the Century” for the Daily Star. So, when he goes poking around at other aspects, certain characters take notice and begin to discourage him, but it only makes him dig deeper.

The plot twists are plentiful, and Mr. Dugoni notes in his author section that he based the original murder on a true crime in Seattle. I was taken by a red herring that turned out to be honorable; however, I did catch on to some of the subplots. The whole story is very well played.

Five Stars

My rating for A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni is five stars. I highly recommend this book. All of Mr. Dugoni’s books that I have read are brilliant. So, you can’t go wrong.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni.

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon, Books A Million, and Barnes and Noble affiliate, meaning that if you click on a link that takes you to one of those retailers and purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. Mainly, this helps with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.

About Robert Dugoni

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of The Tracy Crosswhite series, My Sister’s Grave, Her Final Breath, In the Clearing, and The Trapped Girl. The Crosswhite Series has sold more than 2,000,000 books and My Sister’s Grave has been option for television series development. He is also the author of the best-selling David Sloane series, The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, Bodily Harm Murder One and The Conviction, and the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, a 2017 finalist for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for best novel, The Cyanide Canary, A Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and several short stories. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction, and the Friends of Mystery, Spotted Owl Award for the best novel in the Pacific Northwest. He is a two time finalist for the International Thriller Writers award and the Mystery Writers of America Award for best novel. His David Sloane novels have twice been nominated for the Harper Lee Award for legal fiction. His books are sold world-wide in more than 25 countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages including French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: