I'm just wondering it the phrase "clear ______'s name" is a cliche. I wouldn't mind it in a novel, but I need to use it in a query letter, as I've already used "prove _________'s innocence" in the previous sentence, so I can't repeat that. Is the clearing-name thing too cliche, or would it be okay? Can anyone think of viable alternatives?
I think that's fine. Better to use that (cliche) phrase then try to find a long-winded pseudo-original way to say it.
"He yanked himself free and fled to the kitchen where something huddled against the flooded windowpanes. It sighed and wept and tapped continually, and suddenly he was outside, staring in, the rain beating, the wind chilling him, and all the candle darkness inside lost."
