Sandie Jones

📖 “Killing Me Softly” by Sandie Jones
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm recommending this one without hesitation. I've read several of the author’s books, and this is my favorite. It’s the only one I've rated five stars.

It starts slow. I’m not sugarcoating it. But the second that hit-and-run goes down? I was locked in and not going anywhere.

Thank you to the author and Macmillan Audio/Minotaur Books for the #GiftedARCs via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I went for the audiobook for the most show more part. Wow, the narrators crushed it. Freya and Charlie alternate getting their say. And both so believable! Who should I trust? I ate up that extra layer of tension.

Freya has a polished, compassionate, do-gooder charity vibe. I thought she was ok through most of the story. Charlie is a hotshot chef on the rise. I never trusted or liked him. Together, they’re the couple everyone hates for being too perfect and always the life of the party. Then, on a wild night, it all blows up, and their life is suddenly in shambles.

After the accident, the vibes shift fast. Their memories don’t line up. Secrets start creeping in. Suddenly, I had no idea who I believed. I love an unreliable narrator, and this one delivers. It’s messy, tense, and just the right amount of squirmy.

Let’s be real. These characters are a hot mess. Not likable for the most part. And somehow, they keep getting more awful. I couldn’t stop watching the trainwreck.

There’s a lot packed in here, and every time I tried to pause the book, it yanked me right back. This is classic ‘just one more chapter’ territory that turns into a way-too-late-at-night thing.

If you like your thrillers twisted, character-driven, and full of trust issues, this one’s calling your name. show less

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones is a 2018 Minotaur Books publication.

Emily believes Adam is ‘the one’. When he brings her home to meet his mother, though, there are immediate signs of trouble. Adam is devoted to his mother, Pammie, above and beyond devoted- often putting Emily in second place. Adam doesn’t seem to have a clue how manipulative his mother is and as Emily’s wedding day approaches the situation has become nearly unbearable….

This is one of those books where all the show more characters irritated me to no end, but I couldn’t seem to stop reading. Pammie was such a villain I had to see what scheme she would come up with next, while also becoming exasperated with Emily, who continues to allow herself to be abused by this woman, while Adam remains completely clueless about his mother’s machinations.

I think the reason this book works is because I believe all of us have, at one point in our lives, encountered someone who found themselves in the type of tug of war Emily landed in. Naturally, this book is exaggerated for effect, but if we didn’t find it to be at least a tiny bit plausible, the setup wouldn’t be compelling enough to keep us furiously turning those pages.

The situation is so tense and terrifying that it kept me so hyper-focused I never saw the twist coming! Of course, in hindsight, I really should have- So, well done- Sandie Jones!

This book fits into the ‘addicting’ category, for me. It’s a fast-paced, ‘gotcha’ type of story, and I enjoyed it overall.

3.5 rounded up show less

What a story. I should have learned from past experience with a Sandie Jones story that what you see is not always what you get, but I got sucked in just like always. You think you’ve figured it out, you know what has happened, is happening and will happen. You think you’ve identified the heroes and the villains and can just coast along until the end. But then you realize these characters are so well developed and nuanced that you really don’t know them as well as you thought. So you show more really don’t understand what’s going on, and you certainly can’t predict the future.

The Half Sister is full of almost-likable people. This is another thing author Sandie Jones does oh so well. You sympathize with them, feel sorry for them, and at times are even bored with them, but then they act in a way that isn’t all that nice and you realize you don’t like them very much. As layers are peeled back and more and more is revealed your loyalty and allegiance shift back and forth.

Kate and Lauren are sisters. Lauren and her mother Rose are close and always have been, or so it seems to Kate. She was closer to her late father, and still misses him terrible. Kate thinks Lauren has the life Kate wants. Sure, her husband Simon is a bit of a jerk but she’s got those three beautiful children. Lauren thinks Kate’s life is the one to envy – successful in business, not tied down with kids, no money problems, living the easy life with her husband Matt. But Kate and Matt have been trying for what seems like forever to have a child. This is their last attempt. Their mother Rose almost fades into the background. Just another widow adjusting to life without her husband. And then Jess shows up claiming Harry was her father and demanding to be accepted into the family. And Lauren has a chance encounter with her old boyfriend Justin. So how could anything be the same from that point on?

I was quite annoyed with most of the characters initially. Everyone seemed to be lying, hiding something, mean-spirited, with a hidden agenda and not caring who they hurt in their attempt to get what they want or feel they deserve. And then I realized that was author Sandie Jones’ whole point – there is so much going on under the surface and behind the scenes that I was soon riveted, couldn’t stop reading.

A Sandie Jones book is not a book you pick up, read a couple of chapters, and put down and walk away for a day or so, and The Half Sister fits the mold. Plan to spend some time because once you start you’re hooked. You’ll be sad and angry and happy and wary and confused. But always unable to put it down, unable to stop turning pages as fast as you can. And satisfied with the ending.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The Half Sister for my hones review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it without hesitation. show less

This psychological thriller takes place in two times periods. The “present” time is 2011, set in California, and the previous time is 1986 in London.

In 2011, Nicole Forbes was living in the San Diego area with her husband Brad and 8-year-old daughter Hannah. A young woman knocked on Nicole's door asking her about her past in London, a past Nicole had kept hidden. That same day, Hannah went missing from school. The school said Hannah had been picked up by “her aunt” but Hannah show more didn’t have an aunt. Nicole panicked, convinced that her secret past had finally caught up with her and Hannah was paying the price.

Back in 1986, Nicole, then 22, was living in London with her family which included a younger sister Cassie, 16. Cassie was obsessed with a popular boy band, “Secret Oktober,” and in particular, with the leading man in the group, Ben Edwards. Cassie would have done anything to get his attention; she was somehow convinced they were meant for each other. But it was Nicole who drew Ben’s attention, with tragic consequences for them all.

The adjectives applied to Jones’ previous works also apply here: twisty, some red herrings to throw you off, and shocking with an explosive conclusion. Fans of Jones should be more than satisfied.

Evaluation: Generally, I wouldn’t recommend a thriller for bookclubs, but this one raises some issues that would be great for generating a spirited discussion, if nothing else, on the nature of evil. show less