My Sister's Grave

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel alternates between Tracy’s present-day investigation and the events of 1993, creating a complex interplay between past and present. How effectively did Dugoni’s dual timeline structure enhance your understanding of the characters and their motivations?

2. What was your overall impression of how the author blended police procedural, legal thriller, and family drama elements? Have you read other detective series that balance personal trauma with professional investigation, like Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series or Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad novels?

3. Tracy’s dogged pursuit of truth drives much of the narrative. Did you find her relentless investigation compelling or frustrating as a reader? Does her single-minded focus make her a more sympathetic character or a more difficult one to connect with?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Tracy’s entire career path is shaped by her guilt over Sarah’s disappearance and her need to protect others. Think about a time when you felt responsible for protecting someone you loved. How did that sense of responsibility influence your choices or behavior?

2. Tracy’s marriage to Ben dissolves because of her inability to move past Sarah’s case, illustrating how grief can consume other aspects of life. How do you balance honoring the memory of someone you’ve lost with maintaining present relationships?

3. What’s your reaction to the moral complexity of the conspiracy to frame Edmund House?

4. The small-town setting of Cedar Grove creates both intimacy and insularity that enables secrets to be kept for decades. Think about close-knit communities you’ve experienced. When do tight social bonds become constraining, and how do they sometimes prevent healing?

5. How does Tracy’s journey with unresolved grief connect with your own experiences of processing loss?

6. Tracy’s final decision to publicly blame her deceased father while protecting the living conspirators reflects her complex understanding of justice and mercy. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where protecting someone required you to bend the truth? How did you reconcile that choice with your values?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does Tracy’s investigation reflect real-world advances in forensic science and the revolution in criminal justice? 

2. Cedar Grove’s economic decline following the mine closure creates a backdrop of desperation that influences the community’s response to Sarah’s disappearance. What parallels do you notice between Cedar Grove’s situation and other communities facing similar economic challenges?

3. What does Sheriff Calloway’s justification for the frame-up reveal about broader tensions in our justice system between legal precision and social needs?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does Dugoni use the championship belt buckle to show how the meaning of memories can shift as new information emerges?

2. What significance does the Cedar Grove mine hold beyond being the location of Sarah’s imprisonment? 

3. The childhood prayer “I am not afraid of the dark” appears throughout the novel in evolving contexts. How does this motif transform from a simple bedtime ritual into Sarah’s final message and Tracy’s declaration of strength?

4. Tracy’s character arc spans from her being a guilt-ridden teacher to her becoming a determined detective who ultimately finds peace through confronting the truth. What key moments or realizations drive her transformation? How does her evolution reflect the novel’s themes about facing the past?

5. Why does Tracy choose to protect the living conspirators by placing all blame on her deceased father? What does this suggest about familial and communal relationships?

6. Dugoni presents the conspiracy to frame House as a solution to grief and community pressure rather than simple corruption. How did this moral complexity affect your feelings about characters like James Crosswhite and Sheriff Calloway? What does the novel suggest about the difference between justice and vengeance?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were adapting My Sister’s Grave for television, which subplot or character relationship would you expand to give the story more depth?

2. Picture yourself as a defense attorney representing someone you believe might be innocent but who has committed other crimes. How would you balance your duty to provide the best defense with your knowledge of your client’s past?

3. Imagine that you’re writing a sequel focusing on Tracy’s continued work as a detective. What type of case would you want to see her investigate next? How might her experience with Sarah’s murder influence her career path?