Book Summary and Reviews of The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line by Richard Yancey

The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line by Richard Yancey

The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line

Teddy Ruzak mystery series #4

by Richard Yancey

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2011, 240 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

In this fourth installment of the Teddy Ruzak mystery series, our earnest detective is faced with an impossible dilemma when a vicious psychopath targets his beloved Gal Friday. Can he save her without sacrificing everything he believes in?

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Less than successful...the ending makes it unclear what direction the next installment will take, but despite the dip in quality, fans will want to see more of Ruzak." - Publishers Weekly

"Readers of the previous three series entries will note that Yancey continues to develop Teddy’s character and his various neuroses and compulsions; readers new to the Ruzak novels will have a great time and be eager for more." - Booklist

"Teddy continues to grow and deepen as he charts a developmental path like no other in the genre. - Kirkus Reviews

This information about The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Ron Head

Best One
In short, Crosses the Line is the best book in the series, but they are all the best in the series. Crosses the Line is a serious book with a very serious plot, but the book is enjoyable and makes the reader think. I hope the author continues the Ruzak series.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Richard Yancey Author Biography

Richard (Rick) Yancey is the author of several novels and a memoir. His books have been published in over twenty languages and have earned numerous accolades and awards from around the world. His young adult novel, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, was named a "Best Book of the Year" by Publishers Weekly and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Since he was quite young, Rick knew he wanted to be a writer. After earning a degree in English from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Rick returned to his native Florida to pursue a career in the arts. While teaching part time and dabbling in the theater, he decided to take a job with the Internal Revenue Service, where he served as a revenue officer for over ten years.

He continued to pursue his lifelong dream of being a full-time ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Richard Yancey's Website

Other books by Richard Yancey at BookBrowse

8 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line, try these:

  • We Solve Murders jacket

    We Solve Murders

    by Richard Osman

    Published 2025

    About this book

    Solving murders. It's a family business.

  • Down the River unto the Sea jacket

    Down the River unto the Sea

    by Walter Mosley

    Published 2019

    About this book

    From trailblazing novelist Walter Mosley: a former NYPD cop once imprisoned for a crime he did not commit must solve two cases: that of a man wrongly condemned to die, and his own.

  • The Blind jacket

    The Blind

    by A.F. Brady

    Published 2018

    About this book

    A razor-sharp debut about a woman who goes so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up…

We have 10 read-alikes for The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!
Book Club Giveaway!
Win L.A. Women

L.A. Women by Ella Berman

Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.

Enter

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Cloak and Dagger Club
    by Jackie McMahon
    Inspired by Agatha Christie's Detection Club, a murder mystery and second-chance romance collide.
  • Book Jacket
    Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
    by David Woo, Margalit Shinar
    Nine linked stories reveal how globalization sparks life-changing consequences across continents.
  • Book Jacket
    Days of Sun and Shadow
    by India Hayford
    A young woman’s coming-of-age story set in the early American frontier, shaped by tragedy, nature, and resilience.
  • Book Jacket
    Chelsea Girls
    by Catherine Lloyd
    A glamorous biographical novel on Mary Quant, whose daring design of the miniskirt revolutionized fashion.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    An Infinite Love Story
    by Chanel Cleeton
    “A tender, romantic drama that soars as high as it’s astronauts.” —Kate Quinn
  • Book Jacket
    Summer of Love
    by Kerri Maher
    Three women reshape their family's Napa Valley winery after the 1967 Summer of Love.
Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

The C is A R

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.