Title: The Sister
Author: Louise Jensen
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction
First published: July 7th 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: July 12th 2016
Pages: 307
“We all have to carry the consequences of our own actions, no matter how heavy they are. I know that better than anyone.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I decided to read The Sister after a recommendation and I’m glad it turned out to be just as good as I was promised it was going to be. This debut by Louise Jensen is without doubt a psychological thriller at its best: an intriguing plot that switches back and forth between past and present, unreliable characters and many plot twists that will mess with your mind. The fact that there are so many flashbacks can be a bit confusing and in the beginning it’s hard to get a proper grasp of what is going on, but in the end it only adds to the whole mystery around Grace and Charlie. The story is well written and the character development is excellent. I can’t say I actually liked the characters, but they fitted their role perfectly and felt ‘real’. The main character Grace is a bit naive and I saw part of the big ‘revelation’ coming from a mile away, but most of the plot twists did manage to surprise me. If you are looking for a good psychological thriller and don’t mind flashbacks and unreliable characters, make sure to check out The Sister!
Grace hasn’t been the same since her best friend suddenly left town six years ago, let alone when Charlie suddenly died four months ago. She is still haunted by Charlie’s last words and decides to open an old memory box they had buried when they were teenagers. And it turns out that Grace didn’t know her best friend that well after all… Grace decides to try and fulfill one of Charlie’s last wishes and find her father. Her husband Dan helps her set up some pages that might help locate him, and then suddenly a girl steps forward claiming to be Charlie’s sister. Anna looks a lot like Charlie, and Grace believes she has found something she thought she had lost when Charlie died. But is Anna really who she claims to be? And why is Dan acting so strange? Grace life seems to be turning slowly into a big mess and she cannot deny the feeling that someone is following her. What is really going on?
Even though the flashbacks can get a bit confusing at times, I still ended up really enjoying The Sister. The story is fast-paced, well written and the characters were both unreliable and felt ‘real’, making it quite easy to connect to the story. Not everything in the plot was a surprise and I kind of wish that Grace would have been less trusting, but I guess The Sister does do an excellent job of showing what might happen if you trust the people around you blindly. Without doubt a great psychological thriller!
