The Good Sister

This genre isn’t always my bag. When reading a thriller or mystery I often tend to worry too much about subtext and clues instead of sinking into the story and just enjoying the ride. I don’t do this purposely or with any real intent, it just happens. Therefore, it’ll take me longer to read and kind of steals my joy of reading. The whole escape aspect of diving into a book. While I still found myself doing that with this book, it still kept me quite engaged throughout.

I hate having spoilers in my reviews and that is extremely hard to do when talking about this type of book. I’ll do my best.

Fern and Rose are so well fleshed out by the author. I really felt I got to know them and even maybe understand them both. Maybe it’s because I feel I actually have people in my life that resemble them both in their personalities. Most likely it’s as simple as the author doing a beautiful job in the realm of character development. Not just with the sisters, but with the other people in their world.

As a die-hard romance fan, I was happy to find a bit or romance in this story. For those who think they don’t like romance, I promise you it’s there for a purpose. The relationship helps to drive this story forward without taking over the plot.

I loved Fern’s love for the library. Her approach to some things is a bit different, but she’s very passionate about her job and her books. The author does such a good job helping the reader to hear Fern’s voice so by the end there is no doubt as to who she is as a person.

Any older sibling knows what it’s like to be in Rose’s shoes. She may be overbearing and controlling at times, but she knows how to get things done. Whether that’s with her sister now as adults and helping her navigate the world, or when they were kids and she was Fern’s protector. It’s easy to sympathize with Rose and feel her frustration.

This story unfolds in such an interesting way; Fern giving us glimpses of the present day while Rose’s diary gives us insights into the past as well as the present. The pieces start to fall together and reveal a picture that may not be wanted or expected.

Although this isn’t my usual genre, I would be interested in reading more by this author. This was a pick from my book club and although I found the description interesting, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own. I’m glad to have been taken out of my usual box for a bit.

If you'd like to see how others in my book club felt about this story, you can find more at All In Good Time.

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I'm sure we can all agree that there is nothing better than a thriller that you can devour in a day, and "The Good Sister" is just that kind of story.

Rose is protective of her twin sister, Fern, especially because Fern struggles with things that might not bother other people.

She must keep a consistent routine and avoid crowds, bright lights, and loud noises to create as much peace for herself as possible. Rose has always been her protector and helps maintain that environment because she knows how dangerous Rose can be if things don't remain consistent.

When Rose finds out she can't get pregnant; Fern realizes that she has the chance to finally pay back her sister because she can give Rose the baby she always wanted. But, lucky for her, she finds a guy very quickly, and this "transaction" soon blossoms into a relationship that Fern didn't bank on. Not only that, but this new situation could disrupt the careful balance between these twin sisters in some shocking ways.

This was a solid mystery with some great twists and solidified Hepworth as a dependable go-to thriller writer when I need to add one to my stack.

One thing Sally Hepworth consistently does in her thrillers is her ability to spectacularly piss you off because she writes a solid rage-triggering book. I haven’t read a book of hers that didn’t make me want to slap the characters to a different continent

Really enjoyed the book and loved the plot twist. Would read again.

Autistic baddies unite ✊

Compelling Family Drama. This one was pretty wild. On the one hand, you've got one twin sister who seems to be Autistic, though that word is never once used. Instead, Hepworth simply claims various "sensory processing disorders" (many of them very similar to this Autistic's own, fwiw) and shows this twin taking things very literally, not reading people very well, etc. IOW, classic signs of Autism - but again, that word is never once used in the text. Which is both cool and irritating. The other twin is a diabetic that feels she must always protect her Autistic sister. Except... let's just say the twins don't always remember the same events the same way. ;) Deeper into the book, a much larger conspiracy develops that really turns the back half of the book to near breakneck speeds. And then those last words... Truly excellent book, even without the use of the one word, and very much recommended.

Thank you to St. Martins Press & Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

By now I should know that Sally Hepworth can deliver a riveting thriller but this book was insane! You’re hooked from the first page with this book. Told from Rose’s journal and Ferns perspective the book intermingles the past and present but they don’t really related until later in the book. In fact it was hard to reconcile the Rose/Fern in the journal with the real life Rose/Fern but it wasn’t confusing; it just added to the uneasy feeling that was growing the longer I read the book.

This is easily a 5 star book. If you’re a fan you will not be disappointed. And if you aren’t a fan, you will be after this book.

4.25

This was a dang good book y'all!

I did spend the majority of the beginning half of the book wondering where exactly the plot was going but didn't mind the journey. There could have been some plotting and pacing things done a little better at the first half in my opinion but still really solid!

The character work was fantastic. Our two sisters were some of the best character work I've ever seen. Especially in a contemporary.

The last quarter of this book was a fucking ride y'all! The twists, the turns, the absolute brilliance of puzzle pieces landing exactly where they needed to. While I won't say where we ended up was a complete surprise to me, the HOW was so fantastically done. Shit just kept hitting the fan and I was just loving every minute of shoes dropping. Such a well-executed second half of the book! I will definitely be looking for more from this author!

cover 4; characters 5; plot 4; pace 4; writing 5; enjoyment 4.