BOOK REVIEW
My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni
I downloaded this book onto my Kindle before heading on holiday in March 2024, vastly overestimating how much spare time I would have to read, seemingly forgetting that I fall asleep on airplanes every single time. I still wonder how I thought 20 books would be sufficient holiday reading. Anyway, this meant I had plenty of downloads still to work through over the last month or two. This was one of them. Another one I didn't read the blurb for and I absolutely thought it was a horror based on the title. It wasn't.
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 seeing. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths the dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past - and open the door to deadly danger.
MY REVIEW
After quickly realising that this was not an undead gorefest horror, I switched my expectations and was pleasantly surprised. This is a fast-paced thriller mixed with a courtroom drama. I love courtroom stories. There's also a dual timeline element which always works well for my reading style. The relative turned cop avenging the death of a loved one trope is popular for a reason, maybe we all connect with that feeling at some level. Our main character, Tracy, has been punishing herself over the death of her sister for the last 20 years. Guilt-ridden and slightly obsessive, she knows the case inside out and always had an inkling that something wasn't quite right with the way the man convicted of killing her sister was caught.
When her sister's body is found after all this time, Tracy is determined to see it through this time. Add her resolute attitude to her now lengthy policing experience (along with a SURPRIIIISE, very good-looking childhood man-friend who happens to be a single lawyer) and it isn't long before we hit part two and a hearing that will explore the previous trial along with the new evidence that the body has given. The romance is subtle and doesn't take too much away from the plot. The trial chapters were interesting and pacy, I actually wanted there to be more.
There was also just enough outside-of-court action and suspense to keep the story moving. Throughout the second part, I was willing the bad guys to be caught, given a taste of their own medicine, and for Tracy to finally move forward with her life.
I didn't see the twist until I saw the twist, fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It was a sit-up in bed moment, Kindle in hand "What in the heck is going on HERE?". It got my heart pumping and the last few action-packed chapters were gripping. Up to that point, I was fairly sure that the book would be a solid and dependable 3-star read. The last few chapters really enhanced it for me and I changed my mind. I feel that the story was well done, with enough smoke and mirrors to keep me guessing, and the climax was well thought out, pacy, and hit the nail on the head. Definite 4 stars!
If you love a thriller, a bit of action, and some courtroom drama sprinkled in there to add some seasoning, this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy.
Have you read My Sister's Grave? What did you think?
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