My Sister's Grave (Tracy Crosswhite Book 1)

Product Information

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than thirty countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her parents are no longer alive, but the same Sheriff and others involved in the original investigation and manhunt are still around, and she questions them all. The character outlined above is Tracy Crosswhite, now a Seattle homicide detective. While working a case she receives notice that two hunters have found the remains of a body in the hills above her hometown, Cedar Grove. Is this the body of her long missing sister Sarah? Tracy Crosswhite is a very engaging heroine and the main story is fast paced such that it’s almost impossible to put the book down once you get going. Tracy switches careers from a simple chemistry teacher to a homicide detective.

In My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni, Tracy Crosswhite learned too late that there was more to the conviction of the man who murdered her sister, Sarah, than she had been told. Even as a young woman, Tracy did not think the evidence presented and conclusions being drawn at the trial for her sister’s murderer, who had been previously convicted of abducting another girl, made complete sense. Twenty years later, Tracy was working as a homicide detective when her sister’s remains were finally found. New evidence from the grave seemed to prove Edmund House, the man who had been found guilty of Sarah’s murder, had been framed.Lead detective of the original task force, Nolasco dares Tracy to do what he failed to: close the case. Forming an uneasy alliance, Tracy and Nolasco revisit old leads and pursue new evidence only to unearth high-level corruption and cover-ups as dangerous as the elusive killer himself. At the risk of being exposed, such deadly and powerful forces will go to extremes to stay in the shadows. The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Dugoni, Robert. My Sister’s Grave. Thomas & Mercer, November 1, 2014. Kindle. I thought the book was good! There are a lot of twists and turns for sure! And I didn't even pay attention that this is the first book so I'm guessing this is a series! Yay! I like Tracy Crosswhite's character. The lead character is Detective Tracy Crosswhite with the Seattle PD. The first book started 20 years after Tracy's sister Sarah disappeared and was presumed murdered. That was the deciding factor in Tracy joining Seattle PD. Tracy and her sister, Sarah, were inseparable until the night of her disappearance. Gone. Vanished. Out of sight. But the tragedy lingers and takes its toll. The family dynamics change forever. Tracy re-invents herself from chemistry teacher to a Seattle detective leaving the likes of her small town of Cedar Grove in the rearview mirror.

Believing that Edmund, the man convicted of Sarah’s murder, had been framed for the crime, Tracy spent the twenty years since Sarah’s disappearance investigating the case. She had hit a dead end until her sister’s remains were discovered. At that point, Tracy asked Dan O’Leary, a childhood friend who had become a lawyer, to look over her investigation. Dan saw the same inconsistencies that Tracy had discovered and agreed to help Edmund get a hearing for post-conviction relief.The book opens 20 years later when Sarah’s bones are suddenly discovered by a guy with a dog. The problem is, they are found in a shallow grave in an area which Tracy is quite sure was already searched. She watched the SUV drive off, the taillights illuminate as Calloway slowed to make the turn, and the car disappear around the corner.

Every turn that Tracy and Dan make, they find more secrets and someone starts threatening their lives. I mean you have to have that right?

Overall Take

Sarah’s disappearance and presumed death not only changed the course of her family’s life but the character of the whole town. Most of the story is told from Tracy’s point of view but her comparisons of the present day and past characteristics of the town presented a stark contrast that I felt emotionally. That was a crucial aspect as Tracy sought to overturn House’s conviction so the case could be properly investigated. House’s past rape conviction made him an unsympathetic “victim” and that made the situation even more contentious. Tracy’s childhood friend Dan O’Leary is now an attorney who agrees to take it on after he sees the evidence conflicts but the two of them seem to stand alone.