ABOUT THE BOOK:
Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House — a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder — is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.
When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past — and open the door to deadly danger.
READ AN EXCERPT:
MY REVIEW:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni is a 2014 Thomas & Mercer publication
This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for a long time, but finally made it to the top of the heap. This is a pleasure read for me and I am so glad I finally got to enjoy it.
This is a unique thriller that kept me guessing all the way to the horrifying conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat and in complete shock.
Twenty years ago, Tracy Crosswhite’s world caved in when her younger sister disappeared. Although there was a conviction in the case, her sister’s body was never found… until now.
In the years since her sister disappeared, Tracy quits her teaching job, moved to Seattle, and became a homicide detective, while working on her sister’s case whenever possible. Tracy never bought into the theory that the man accused of killing her sister was guilty. Now that Sarah’s body has been found, Tracy hires her childhood friend, Dan, to help her prove the wrong man was convicted. But, the local sheriff pulls out all the stops to make sure a new trial never takes place. Was there a conspiracy? Who really killed Sarah and how will Tracy manage to prove it?
It took only a couple of chapters to hook me into this story. Tracy is a person riddled with guilt over what happened to her sister, but is tenacious to the point of obsession in her determination to see justice done. I was enthralled by the small town secrets, manipulations, and the legal wrangling which was top notch, and something I really miss in crime novels these days. The twists are subtle and I fell headlong into the clever trap set for me. I was a little miffed, I suppose, by being fooled so handily, but also by the faulty reasoning of some people. I can’t say more than that, but it was a sticky situation and perhaps a moral dilemma that could provoke some heated debate. I know what side of the fence, I would come down on because the truth does have a way of coming to light no matter how deeply it’s buried.
I think this book dabbled in many sub-genres of crime fiction adding a dab of legal thriller, a smidgen of psychological thriller, a slice of whodunit mystery and a sprinkle of suspense, blending them all together to create a top notch thriller. The dialog is smart and believable, and I appreciated the portrayal of a lead female character as being both smart and sensitive, and thankfully level headed and grounded. I’m not sure how she felt about the whole sordid mess once all was said and done, and I wonder if she feels the same way I do, but I do think she will be able to live her life fully now that she knows the whole truth about Sarah and what really happened to her.
I have continued to ruminate over this story and think about how everything played out which means it made an impression on me and has stuck with me for a while, and that’s always a good sign the author has done a good job in keeping me engaged, even after the book is finished.
Overall, this is an emotional story, a very smart thriller, through provoking and very original. I will most definitely be back for more Robert Dugoni novels!!
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Grave-Tracy-Crosswhite-Book-ebook/dp/B00K2EOONI/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-sisters-grave-robert-dugoni/1119586402
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Internationally Bestselling Author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series : My Sister's Grave (2014), Her Final Breath (2015), In the Clearing (2015), The Trapped Girl (2016), Close to Home and A Steep Price (2017).
Dugoni's critically acclaimed literary novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (2018) has drawn comparison's to novelist John Irving's work and garnered Dugoni a Golden Microphone for his narration. Connect with him on Facebook @AuthorRobertDugoni, on Twitter @robertdugoni, and on Instagram, robertdugoni, author
Other novels include the David Sloane series: The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, Bodily Harm, Murder One and The Conviction.
Dugoni is the winner of the 2015 Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction, has twice been a finalist for the Harper Lee Award for Legal Fiction, twice been a finalist for the Silver Falchion award for his mysteries, was a 2015 and 2017 International Thriller Writer's finalist for thriller of the year, and a 2017 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Finalist for his stand alone novel, The Seventh Canon. His books are sold world-wide in more than 30 countries and have been translated into dozens of languages including French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Dugoni's first in the Tracy Crosswhite series, My Sister's Grave (Nov. 2014), became a months-long #1 Amazon Bestseller in the United States, France, Italy, Germany and in the UK, as well as a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best Seller and won the 2014 Nancy Pearl Award for fiction. Library Journal gave it a Starred Review and said it "Combines the best of a police procedural with a legal thriller, and the end result is outstanding...Dugoni continues to deliver emotional and gut-wrenching, character-driven suspense stories that will resonate with any fan of the thriller genre."
The sequel, Her Final Breath, also became an Amazon top 10 bestseller, as did In the Clearing. The Trapped Girl was a #1 Amazon and #1 Wall Street Journal best-seller that Kirkus and Booklist are calling his best book to date. Close to Home debuted at #2 on the Wall Street Journal Best Seller list.
For more on Robert Dugoni and his novels, visit his website at www.robertdugoni.com