My Sister's Grave

Twenty years ago, 18-year-old Sarah Crosswhite disappeared off the face of the earth following the conclusion of a shooting competition. Sarah had let her older sister, Tracy, win the competition by one shot, which she should not have done. Sarah demanded that Tracy leave with her boyfriend and that she would drive Tracy’s truck home alone, which she should not have done. Sarah chose to take the back road home instead of the interstate, which she had been warned not to do. But she had her reasons for each decision and she thought they were good ones. The next day Tracy’s truck is found abandoned on that backcountry road, inexplicably out of fuel. Besides Sarah, only three other items are missing from the truck, two of which are Tracy’s black Stetson hat and Tracy’s heavy duster coat. The third is Tracy’s engraved belt buckle that had been awarded to her for “winning” the competition, a belt buckle that Tracy had forced into Sarah’s hand just the day before. And despite a lengthy and exhaustive search, not one of these items, not the hat, not the duster, not the belt buckle, not even Sarah, has ever been seen again. When Sarah disappeared, Tracy Crosswhite was a high school chemistry teacher. Three years later, Tracy is divorced from a man who wouldn’t or couldn’t give her time to work out her grief and self-imposed guilt. She is estranged from a mother who blames her for leaving Sarah alone. And her physician father has abandoned her also, having spiraled into the swirling pit of grief, alcoholism and self-termination. Totally alone, but with strength of purpose, Tracy is accepted into the Washington State police academy with the express goal of eventually becoming a Seattle homicide detective. Now, twenty years after Sarah’s disappearance, Tracy has achieved that goal. In fact, she achieved it six years ago. But today, a call comes through to her supervisor about a body being found. Of course, that is not an unusual circumstance for a homicide unit, but this body is different. This body is only skeletal remains, partially unearthed from a shallow grave, and is located in the vicinity of where Sarah disappeared, an area that had been searched several times by both Tracy and the sheriff himself. As Tracy stands behind the cordon, watching the forensics team exhume the skeleton, she senses a shift in the tenor of the investigators. A few minutes later, she is rubbing her fingers over the engraving on her competition belt buckle. Sarah has been found. Now, with a body, Tracy can put one goal behind her and start working on the next – getting Sarah’s case re-opened. And that will be an arduous task since Sarah’s case was considered closed when Edmund House was arrested, tried and convicted of Sarah’s murder. Even without a body, he was convicted after blood and hair were found in his truck and a pair of Sarah’s earrings was found hidden in his workshop. Tracy had her suspicions about that arrest and trial even before she became a police officer. Based on her experience as a detective, she not only suspects, she knows that the entire case against House has holes in it big enough to drive a truck through. Now that she has the belt buckle, the bones and DNA testing at her fingertips, she needs a new trial for House so she can flush the killer out into the open. Before you embark upon this novel, I avidly recommend that you first read Dugoni’s 50-page prequel, “The Academy.” It gives a brief overview of Sarah’s disappearance as it relates to Tracy’s acceptance to the police academy. Then the story shifts to her last weeks there before graduation. The events of those weeks give the reader an explicit demonstration of Tracy’s character, her determination and integrity, and her ability to relate to another’s potential as well as to their reality. These scenes are also quite action-filled. However, if you are a reader who needs your suspense thrillers to be action adventures, shoot-‘em-up-bang-bang from the first chapter, this book will not suit you. If you are a reader who needs your suspense thrillers to contain hot and steamy scenes between the sheets, then this book will not suit you either. This novel is a legal thriller that builds slowly, logically and methodically. It is a novel with characters who have relationships with family, colleagues, neighbors and each other, relationships that are natural, unforced, normal in their progression, and are, while not always happy, apropos to the situation. Dugoni builds the tension slowly, chapter by chapter, with a shadow here, a threat there, and disappearing taillights out in the distance. He uses flashbacks, written from Tracy’s first person POV, to give the reader an intimate knowledge of what the investigation into Sarah’s disappearance and the subsequent trial entailed. Between the flashbacks and the real-time scenes, you feel you know what transpired those twenty years ago and who engineered all those holes in Edmund House’s trial. You feel you know where the tension is leading and the probable outcome of the legal proceedings. You may even be ready to just get on with it, jumping to the last chapter to vindicate your decisions. And then, with five words out of one character’s mouth, you realize that Dugoni has led you right down the proverbial primrose path, tripped you up and dropped you soundly on your gluteus maximus. That slow-building, methodical legal procedural is now that “shoot-‘em-up-bang-bang” action thriller in spades. And you don’t dare choose to, again, be smug enough to think you know who’s going to be alive on the last page. When Amazon offered “My Sister’s Grave” as one of its four Kindle First pre-publication choices for October 2014, I didn’t even bother to read the promotional blurbs for the other three before purchasing this book. Having already read “The Academy,” I was just waiting for this book to be released anyway. Jumping it to the top of my TBR list, I started it the next day and enjoyed every page. Dugoni has given us a well-crafted first entry in his new series, his legal research evident and well laid out, and his progression from topic sentence to action to climax resolution never once requiring a suspension of disbelief. And he left us some hooks for another novel, too.

Since I wasn't interested in a historical family drama or a book set in the boxing world and the science fiction selection (which would normally be my first choice) committed the unpardonable (to me) sin of being written in the present tense (why, oh why is that becoming so common?), I chose "My Sister's Grave" as my Kindle First pick this month. It also already had almost uniformly positive reviews which, for an as yet unreleased book, must have come from actual Vine reviewers not the author's friends and family. I have to say that I liked "My Sister's Grave" as much or more than any of the Kindle First books I've read this year. It is a solid mystery written by an accomplished author. Unlike more traditional mysteries, the book focuses on a crime from twenty years ago that has already been "solved" with the main character being the victim's sister. Part police procedural, part amateur detective, part courtroom drama this is very much a modern mystery but not as involved as a Grisham or Connelly. The main characters are interesting and likeable. And I thought the author did a good job portraying a sister relationship and the power of guilt. He did try to create some nuance and question of good guys/bad guys but I thought he was less than successful there. Can't say that I found the end very surprising but it was still an enjoyable read. The book did have some editing fails, but not enough to have me foaming at the mouth or to completely derail the book. Note to the publisher- editing is more than proof reading. Exposition sentences shouldn't end with a preposition when it can easily be rewritten, there shouldn't be long conversational strings with he said/she said/he said/she said. And if a character makes even a passing comment that sounds jarring- take it out! Fortunately, these fails were not that frequent so they didn't ruin the book but were a little distracting. I know that some people are bothered by vulgar language and there is some here. Limited to "the f and s" words being used a couple of dozen times but not out of context or beyond what anyone would expect in a modern thriller.

Please note that while I have reported to Amazon that my review of Robert Dugoni novel 'My Sister's Grave' also appears under his novel 'Her Final Breath', I have been told the books are linked and so I cannot leave separate reviews for each book. As a result, I provide a review of 'My Sister's Grave' first and follow it with a review of 'Her Final Breath'. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you. Review of My Sister's Grave: Headline: A brilliant, police procedural & legal thriller that is deceptively easy to read & one that you'll find hard to put down. When I was at school I remember some teachers of English literature asking me what a book was about and I would say (for example) "It's a story about a murder and the search for the murderer" ... to which they would reply (much to my annoyance), "Yes, Paul, but what is it REALLY about?". Reading this terrific story reminded me of those school days as on one level this is a relatively straightforward story about a police investigation into a cold case and the courtroom drama that follows. However, there is so much more to this story than that. This is a story about relationships, guilt and the search for justice. 'My Sister's Grave' is a very well written book. The setting is very atmospheric; set in winter in a small town in the United States, it focuses on the ramifications following the accidental discovery of the body of Sarah Crosswhite, some twenty years after she had disappeared. Tracy Crosswhite, her older sister, has never got over feeling responsible for the disappearance of Sarah, to whom she was devoted. It affected her life, her marriage and her subsequent choice of career. Now, on hearing the news that her sister's body has been found, Tracy hopes that the police will be able to find the real killer as she is convinced that the man who had been convicted for her murder had been convicted on hearsay and somewhat questionable evidence. The story follows Tracy, now a detective, as she returns to her hometown to follow the investigation and to participate in the court hearing regarding whether or not the original sentence should be quashed. It also explores the ramifications that the discovery has on those residents who, while still alive today, were involved in the original investigation. The story flits between the past and the present but it is not difficult to follow. There are a few red herrings and a number of moments of high drama and tension as the story unfolds, with the courtroom scenes being particularly dramatic. In this respect the story is riveting and once 'hooked' I just could not put it down. But for me, this story is more than just a police procedural and legal thriller. The author has captured a sense of the emotional bond that can exist between siblings (or sisters in this case) and the lasting impact and feelings of guilt that an action for which a person holds themselves responsible, has on their life. It also questions the relationships between the police and the judiciary. It examines how different people react when faced with a possible miscarriage of justice and a need to 'put things right'. And it also raises the issue of whether it is possible to trust oneself to become emotionally attached to another person following the experience of a marriage that had not survived a traumatic event. So while one can really enjoy this story as a relatively straightforward police procedural and legal thriller (and with a hint of romance thrown into the mix), for me it went much further. It has certainly left me wanting to read more of the books in the Tracy Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni. Review of 'Her Final Breath' Headline: A terrific crime thriller that has a gripping plot and great characterisation. 'Her Final Breath' is a brilliant follow-up novel to 'Her Sister's Grave', but it is not essential to have read the first book in the series as there are sufficient references to it in this novel to ensure one understands Tracy's back-story and why she reacts to certain situations in the way she does. The main aspects of this novel that impressed me are (1) its writing - a real page turner of a story that is easy to read and follow; (2) the characterisation - all the characters are totally believable, including the bad guys and (3) the plot - very dramatic and increasingly so as it nears its dramatic climax. One thing to be aware of is that the story contains a lot of characters and a number of possible suspects for the crime ... this should not be a problem if you have a good memory! The plot follows Tracy's efforts to find a serial killer. It has plenty of twists and turns and 'false leads' and some shenanigans by her boss just to add further complexity and tension. In short, this is a terrific story and it has resulted in my buying the next book in the series!

I was intrigued, enraged, heartbroken and revenged. Had to take a quick break midway to compose myself, then jumped right back in.

An exciting well written detective with à personal storyline. A good twist at the end which I did guess but very late on. Likeable characters. Will read more

I’ve always liked Robert Dugoni but hadn’t read this series. Book one is a great start with interesting characters and lots of great action to keep you entertained. I’ll be on to the second book in the series next

Muy buen libro una historia que te engancha y te hace querer seguir leyendo Sin duda recomendado