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 Sister’s Grave My Sister’s Grave is the first book in Tracy Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni. The book introduces the reader to Seattle based homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite. Two decades earlier, her younger sister, Sarah, who was 18 years, then vanished without a trace after the two had participated in shooting range competition. There’s a romantic thread when Tracy reunites with a childhood friend, and there’s extreme weather to contend with as the winter blizzards close the roads and cut off power and communications.

Most mystery/thriller novels are fairly formulaic but while I know this, I generally don't feel it while I'm reading. I've spent some time in *deep meditation* culling through all the reasons this could be and after communing with some book gods and spirit animals I've come up with my top three: When Sarah disappeared, Tracy Crosswhite was a high school chemistry teacher. Three years later, Tracy is divorced from a man who wouldn’t or couldn’t give her time to work out her grief and self-imposed guilt. She is estranged from a mother who blames her for leaving Sarah alone. And her physician father has abandoned her also, having spiraled into the swirling pit of grief, alcoholism and self-termination.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has agreed to look into the disappearance of investigative reporter Lisa Childress. Solving the cold case is an obsession for Lisa’s daughter, Anita. So is clearing the name of her father, a prime suspect who became a pariah. After twenty-five years, all Anita wants is the truth—no matter where it leads. 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. The evidence dug up with the body confirms what she has believed for twenty years: They convicted the wrong guy on false circumstantial evidence.

Solving a decades-old disappearance sets Tracy Crosswhite on a dangerous collision course with the past in a pulse-pounding novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni. As My Sister’s Grave opens, Tracy is 42 years old and a Homicide Detective. Tracy decided to become a law enforcement officer after her sister Sarah disappeared twenty years previously and was never found. Tracy’s ultimate goal is to find out what happened to Sarah and bring justice to her sister. There is an unexpected break in the very cold case, and Tracy is determined to find out once and for all who is responsible for her sister’s disappearance. Solving the mystery behind the murder isn’t Tracy’s only challenge. The detective is keeping a secret of her own: she’s pregnant. And now her biggest fear seems to be coming true when a new detective arrives to replace her. Meanwhile, Tracy’s colleague Vic Fazzio is about to take a fall after his investigation into the murder of a local community activist turns violent and leaves an invaluable witness dead.

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. 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. Tracy Crosswhite is one of the best protagonists in the realm of crime fiction today, and there is nothing cold about A Cold Trail .” —Associated Press 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".