My Sister's Grave (Tracy Crosswhite Book 1)

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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. While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases, Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a broken marriage—and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood. When Edmund left Tracy alone in the room, she was able to see where her sister had scratched out words to a prayer that they had said together as children. Tracy knew from the significance of the prayer that Edmund had told Sarah that he had been intending to kidnap Tracy. Sarah left the message for Tracy in the case that Tracy was ever held captive there as well, a message there was a tool hidden that Tracy could use to scratch away at the concrete and perhaps escape. Tracy discovered that her sister had also been chipping away at the concrete that held the metal plate to which she was chained in place. Tracy felt as if her sister was guiding her hand to the spike. Tracy was able to loosen the plate enough that she was later able to pull it free.

I was immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. The characters felt realistic, with their strengths and weaknesses. I liked Tracy's determination to do what she felt was right, her loyalty to her friends and colleagues, and her strength. I really enjoyed the courtroom scenes and testimony. I am a HUGE fan of Robert Dugoni's. The chance to read My Sister's Grave was a real treat. His writing is so good; while I have compared him to Grisham in the past her, I also am going to layer in a comparison to Sandra Brown. His plotting and characters never fail to completely engage me." The charac It’s very readable and straightforward, and I did want to see what was going to happen. When the narrative slowed down, I began skimming (not a good sign), but I was still interested. Then, as the results of Tracy’s investigations came to light, the story took a macabre turn and an ending that was too far-fetched for me.

It's got one of those plots where you really can see some things coming, but they are planted to be that obvious because even the reveals are interesting and contain a few things you would not expect. I liked that. I liked that I was tipped slightly off-kilter a few times. The build up to the finish of this book is gradual, with tension mounting and events rolling out until nothing can stop where it is heading. And it ain't pretty. The characters are really well written, I loved Tracy's loyalty and love for her dead sister, admired her for not giving up on seeking answers. I want her to be my sister, I know at least if I got murdered, my sister would not rest until the truth was out there. I digress slightly into fantasising about not being an only child anymore... You know the term "let sleeping dogs lie?" - yes, well Tracy should have done this. But despite warnings to leave the case alone, Tracy won't rest until she sees the investigation into her sister's death reopened. She doesn't believe the evidence presented and with the help of her friend/lover/blast from the past lawyer, the can of worms is indeed opened up again. He majored in creative writing and communications/journalism in Stanford University while at the same time working as a reporter for Stanford Daily. Later he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and worked shortly as a reporter for Los Angeles Times and Metro Office. The author is a two times winner of the Northwest….. Literary Award and has been nominated for Harper Lee Award and was International Thriller’s Writer’s finalist in 2015 and 2017.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages. I enjoyed Tracy sharing memories of her sister, learning how much they loved each other. Tracy never gave up looking for his sister and was very determined to learn the truth of what happened to her. Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is immediately drawn to her first file: the abduction of a five-year-old girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime suspects. Understandably, the sheriff, prosecutor and House’s original defense lawyer want the case to remain closed. If the evidence is found to have been tampered with, or House’s defense is found to have been inadequate, their careers and reputations could be at stake. Maybe even their freedom. And for what? A very bad man was taken off the streets, a rapist of the worst kind, so why dredge up old memories and open old wounds now? It’s best to leave it all alone. Of course, Tracy can’t. This was such a juxtaposition of formulaic and fresh for me it's hard to put into words. As I mentioned, I've never really felt the true formula of mystery novels until My Sister's Grave. At times I was painfully aware of the equation and it made it impossible to ignore and engross myself. However, despite this I found myself surprised and delighted by the twists and turns of this story.As Tracy took off to dinner with her love, Sarah drove home in the rain never to be seen again. The two sisters had sisters had been great friends and Tracy has never moved on or forgiven herself for allowing her younger sister to drive home alone in the rain. Various people, including the sheriff and Edmund’s previous lawyer, discouraged Tracy from pressing for a hearing for Edmund. George Bovine, the father of a girl who had been abducted and raped by Edmund, tried to convince Dan that even if Edmund was not guilty of killing Sarah, Edmund needed to be in prison to keep other women safe from him. The night before the hearing, someone shot out a window in Dan’s home.