My Sister's Grave

Tracy Crosswhite, Book 1

By: Robert Dugoni

Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first book in the series that has garnered millions of fans across the globe, from New York Times best-selling author Robert Dugoni. Tracy Crosswhite has spent 20 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. 

©2014 Robert Dugoni (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“Dugoni does a superior job of positioning [the plot elements] for maximum impact, especially in a climactic scene set in an abandoned mine during a blizzard - which is melodramatic but nevertheless effective.” (Publishers Weekly)

“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.” (Library Journal) 

“Yes, a conspiracy is revealed, but it’s an unexpected one, as moving as it is startling...The ending is violent, suspenseful, even touching. A nice surprise for thriller fans.” (Booklist, starred review) 

Story not for me--but that's just my taste

I think the narration was good on this well-written police procedural story. I have no negative things to say in that regard.

What I will say, is that when I purchased this book, I was unaware of the level of violence in the story. The only reason to mention it is to let others know that there are some places a bit harder to listen to than I expected.

I usually appreciate it if I can know that in advance, and better make a decision about a book. This is only my taste. And since I like police procedurals and mysteries, there is always the chance that that there will be more violence than I'm comfortable reading. Often I can pick up on that in advance from what's been said about the story, but I somehow missed it this time.

I think there are many good reviews here, so I only wanted to add this heads up for those who may be seeking good mysteries that are low on violence. This is not in that category. My three stars should really be directed to Audible, who didn't let that be known in advance about the book--not intended to say anything against the author.

Quite good...

To be honest, I didn't really think I was going to like this book, but I've been burning out on epic fantasy and wanted something completely different...
This is a thriller. A murder mystery with, at its heart, a kidnapping and murder thought solved 20 years earlier, but which had forever changed the small town where it had taken place.
And a family, a happy loving family completely devastated by the loss of their talented and daring younger daughter.
I wound up listening to it in one long sitting while in bed with pneumonia and quite enjoyed it. The characters are likable, the plot twists were interesting and unlike many of these books which have endings that dissolve into frantic shoot out scenes, this one stayed suspenseful and readable to the end.

Junk food

Initially I thought it was interesting enough. I wasn't looking for something stupendous - just some simple mystery as a distraction from the heavier stuff I usually read. The writing is simplistic and immature, but I could get past that. The character development was thin, but the characters likable enough. The dialogue was wooden. But I was interested enough to keep going. But in the end, the book was a whole lot of nothing. It was like eating at McDonalds. Now I can enjoy a greasy burger and fries every once in a while. But when I'm done, it often gives me a bad taste in my mouth, and I feel like that was a wasted bunch of calories.

So, if your in the mood for something super simple and kind of junky just to kill some time you could probably enjoy this. But there is much better stuff out there. Try Girl on a Train instead.

Superb police thriller with lots of twists!

My Sister's Grave introduces Tracy Crosswhite, a Seattle police officer whose younger sister went missing 20 years ago. She has been working on the case in her western Washington home town for 10 years. A man had been convicted of first degree murder despite no body having been found. The book opens with the body being found after 20 years. In the interim Crosswhite's dad had committed suicide and her mother was also gone. Crosswhite is convinced that the man had been convicted of first degree murder based on planted evidence and the body supports her suspicion. The novel continues through several twists and turns to a surprising ending.

My Sister's grave is well written and well narrated. The second book in the Tracy Crosswhite series (which I will review soon) was released two months ago (the title is Her Final Breath). The third book in the series, In the Clearing, will be released on May 17, 2016.

This series has real promise. I highly recommend My Sister's Grave.

Silly plot

A couple of things bugged me here. One, from the beginning, Dugoni intersperses chapters where old Cascade County townsfolk are conspiring to cover up the murder. The act of doing this puts the audience ahead of Tracy. So we know more than she does.

About half of this book centers around a court proceeding. I've read better. Think of Lincoln Lawyer by Connelly. The evidence here is too contrived. Actually, the court scene, the mystery, the story behind the old codgers, the revenge, its all flat. There was one point where I felt like I was listening to the ultimate horror cliche. The cliche where a dumb blonde goes into a dark evil place and the audience is yelling "No, No, don't go in there".

The reason this book is not a total disaster is that Dugoni can write a clipping contemporary thriller. His prose is not exceptional along the lines of Cormac McCarthy, but its on par with James Patterson or John Grisham or just a step below. If you don't mind a mind boggling plot, this book might be good enough for you to give it a shot.

Nice mystery

Any additional comments?

Having seen this repeatedly recommended for me, I finally succumbed to the Kindle Unlimited with Narration of this book.

The narration is clear without distraction. The voices are distinct. But interestingly, the narration was not the one aspect that carried this book. Nor was it the characters. (I’m not sure exactly what was lacking, but I did not get emotionally involved or connected with any of the characters.)

It was the mystery. The dogged determination of a sister who spends 20 years digging into what happened to her little sister, fascinated me.

So much detail into the mystery helped me follow the trial and the people completely and drew me into a world where I just had to know.

I recommend this as a great weekend listen and challenge the next readers to guess the truth before the end comes.

Slow Start, but A Gripping Book w/Surprising End

This book is, first of all, very well-written for its genre. The author pays attention to every detail, as a good mystery book must do.. I had trouble getting interested in the first few chapters, but from then on I couldn't put the book down. The last part of the book is very much a surprise. I definitely recommend this author for mystery lovers.

For comparison, I believe it is more interesting and better written than The Girl on the Train.

great book

Any additional comments?

This is a great book and read by someone with a nice voice. I don't know why other reviews don't like it, as they aren't saying much as to why. It's a thriller! Nice to have on during commutes. I found myself staying in the car and wanting to hear the rest of the chapter.

Corny, not much thrill

I so wanted to like this book. I love mysteries, thrillers, police dramas, who dunnits, but they need to have good characters and good writing.

The romantic relationship in this book was just plain corny. It was also unnecessary to the plot, in my opinion.

The sibling relationship was very good, and the plot was o.k. I did not guess the outcome until pretty close to the end. But the writing was mediocre.

The narrator was below par.

Sigh.

A sister never gives up

What did you love best about My Sister's Grave?

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.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

There were a few dull moments, but for the most part I was entertained throughout the book. I liked that there were several twists that could have led to various outcomes. I went back and forth on who I thought the murderer was a few times, so it wasn't completely clear-cut.

What three words best describe Emily Sutton-Smith’s voice?

Very good narrator. (Another book that could really use both male and female readers, but all in all it wasn't a bad listen.$

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes! There is a chant that the sisters said with each other and it is first revealed in flash-backs. It is an important part of the plot toward the end of the book, and it reinforced how much the sisters cared for each other.

Any additional comments?

This is the first book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I have download the second book, although I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I am looking forward to see how Tracy gets on with her life.

Loved the narration

The story was pretty standard I thought, nothing unique, a little slow in places, but overall not bad, worth a listen if this is your kinda thing. He narration was really good. She did a lot of voices throughout and made them all different!

A bit predictable but still a good listen.

Fine for car journeys while doing something else. works well as an audio book. Movie ending.

Easy listening

I listen to quite a lot of audiobooks as I do a lot of driving. I have to say, this is the first book in ages that the narrator hasn't spoiled my enjoyment of the story.
It was a fairly predictable plot, but sometimes that works well. I found a few parts rather slow - mainly because you knew what was coming up.
I thought the romance was unnecessary. Why do authors think that a story has to have a love plot? It would have been far better if she was just helped out by an honourable old mate than by someone who was obviously trying to get her into bed.

Enjoyable

I found this book a good balance of the current investigation and the historical events. The characters are rich and vibrant and I quickly fell in love with the sister who died. That was cleverly written and made me care about the investigation. Well written, well read. Highly recommend.

Good plot but a little sentimental.

Let me start by saying that overall this is an entertaining book. The story is interesting and it keeps up a fairly good pace. It is a little laboured in places & you are going to get sick of hearing the line 'I'm not afraid of the dark'! Like I said though, overall it's an entertaining book.

A pleasant surprise

I stumbled upon this book by chance and so glad I did. great engrossing story with several likeable characters. Will definitely be checking out more.

a good read

What did you like most about My Sister's Grave?

a different type of whodunnit. well read and very listenable. Generally entertaining.

What other book might you compare My Sister's Grave to, and why?

the accused

What about Emily Sutton-Smith’s performance did you like?

she knew how to read it! clear voice- thats all that is needed

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no but happy to do it in very few stages

Any additional comments?

i will look for other books from this author

A good read

Enjoyed listening to it....on audio. Characters were well thought of and assembled. Good narration. Good tone of voice used

easy listening

I loved the descriptive nature the author uses throughout this story. I could easily picture every scene which made the story line so much more intense. Great stuff

Excellent story with some holes ..

Good car book .. Light and fluffy to a degree .. But well written and narrated

A few unanswered questions at the end .. But I will definitely look out for this author/reader again ..