The Sister Book Review

The Sister by Louise Jensen

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Blurb:

Grace hasn't been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie's last words, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie's. Soon it becomes clear there was a lot she didn't know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie's father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie's sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan's home.

But something isn't right. Things disappear, Dan's acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace's mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace is terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie...or was there?

Review by Brittany:

This book was a NetGalley request I made based on the blurb. Psychological thrillers are always a bit intense but very interesting reads for me, and this one sounded like it would fit that idea.

This book jumps between the past and present, explaining how Grace and Charlie became such good friends and chronicling their lives as it leads up to Charlie's death. The present focuses on Grace in the aftermath of Charlie's death and her quest to learn about Charlie's life and meet her father, who Charlie herself never got to meet. I enjoyed the transitions from past to present and the way they kept me in the loop as it went along. The breaks in time also served to reinforce the suspense throughout the novel.

Anna's character was a bit of a trick. From the beginning she made me feel uneasy, the convenience of her being Charlie's sister a little too unreal for me. At the end of the novel, Anna's true identity and relationship to Grace is made clear, and it really didn't turn out the way I thought it would.

Interestingly, I think Dan's character was the most sinister of the book. Without giving away any spoilers, let me just say that I expected better from Dan. His behavior was the most surprising out of all the characters.

I do wish there had been more closure at the end of the book. I feel like there are a lot of threads still hanging for Grace and I have no idea what happened with the plot line of her job. Some things got a bit lost in the climactic ending, and I would have liked for those pieces to come together in some way.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think Jensen created some good, creepy characters. I do think that Jensen can develop her plot lines and character motives more in future novels, but I really liked reading this debut.

Notable quotes:

Strangers become friends, become lovers, become everything - and then become nothing. A full circle.