My Sister's Grave

Author: Robert Dugoni
Genre: Suspense
Type: e-book
Source: NetGalley
Series: #1 in the Tracy Crosswhite series
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
First Published: November 1, 2014
First Line: "Her tactical instructor at the police academy liked to taunt them all during early morning drills.”

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.

My Review: This was the first book that I've read by author Robert Dugoni and all I can say is 'WHY didn't I know about this author sooner??'  This was an amazing read.  Crime fiction at its best! I read a lot so when an author can keep me in suspense and then create a twist that I didn't see coming which leaves me totally shocked?!  Awesome sauce! You surprised me, Mr Dugoni.  Good on ya.

Right out of the gate Dugoni gives his readers enough suspense to keep them hooked.  My Sister's Grave is a great combination of crime fiction, legal thriller, police procedural all with well drawn out characters and a delightfully twisted ending!  It's a home run in my book.

This was also a well written novel.  The plot is detailed without being confusing or convoluted so that the reader can keep track of what's going on and the tension building is perfect.  It gradually sucks you further into the plot until you won't be able to put the book down until you find out what happens.  Not a lot got done around my house as I got further into the book - especially the last quarter.  Just sayin'.

The characters were believable and had substance which I enjoyed.  You have Sheriff Roy Calloway who is 'tough as a two dollar steak', Dan O'Leary Tracy's childhood friend who is now a lawyer who helps Tracy and softens her demeanor making her more relatable.  The cast is rounded out by Tracy's boss from the Seattle police department who is a piece of work and has it in for her.  Each of the characters played an important part in the plot or character development.  Dugoni also managed to relay the feel and connections of small town living which I appreciated.

Tracy was a good main character.  She has just the right amount of persistence in regards to her sister's murder and she's a strong woman who has believable faults and has lived through a lot.  She's a believable protagonist and she's easy to root for.  You understand her need to find out what happened to her sister so many years ago and you can feel her loss.  She deals with the stress of finding the person who killed her sister, keep her job as a Seattle police detective and try to heal the pain that her sister's death caused her small home town in northern Washington state. The book also had some touching and emotional scenes involving Tracy's bond with her sister, Sarah which gave the book a more personal feel than I was expecting.

Overall, I adored this book and I'm giving it my very rare 5 star rating.  I highly recommend this exceptional crime/suspense novel that I found riveting.  I was so eager to read more from Dugoni that I've already read the second book in this series.

Highly recommended.

My Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer publishing for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.