The Sister

“I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.”‘
Charlie’s last words to best friend Grace have haunted her since Charlie died four months ago. What can Charlie possibly have done? It can’t be worse than what Grace did…can it?

--- What’s it about? ---

After her best friend dies, Grace feels set adrift. In an attempt to reorient herself, she digs into their shared past, trying to understand who wanted to do her harm when she was a teenager – and whether or not someone wishes her harm now.

Best mate Charlie always wanted to find her dad but her mum refused to discuss the topic. Now, in her revitalised search for Charlie’s dad, Grace discovers a woman claiming to be Charlie’s sister. But is Anna really who she show more says she is? Why does Grace’s boyfriend, Dan, seem to dislike her so much? Is someone really stalking Grace? And what, exactly, happened to Charlie? It’s all a mystery that Grace is determined to solve…

--- What’s it like? ---

Dramatic. Intriguing. A little frustrating in places. From the opening pages – set in a muddy, dark forest which Grace visits on ‘heart-heavy legs’ and where she digs despite the ‘rockets of pain’ in her wrists – the atmosphere is intense. Nothing is easy, normal or commonplace, which Jensen emphasises early on when Grace passes a piano in her lounge: ‘I’ll never play again. It’s still too painful to be reminded of the time I had a normal life. A normal family.’ Then we learn that, ‘There’s nothing quite as corrosive as guilt; it eats away at you from the inside out.’ Throw in a mysterious silent phone call and the revelation that Dan hasn’t come home all night, and the stage is set for some serious drama.

Then we move back in time to when Grace first met Charlie and Dan. When this chapter opens, we find Grace in the middle of a panic attack and insistent that she won’t accepted at her new school when they know what she did. The solution? Don’t tell them, say her grandparents. Simple. Except, of course, it isn’t, and one particular girl seems happy to use Grace’s past against her in a malicious campaign that mars Grace’s teenage years.

Jensen specialises in creating uncertainty. What did Grace do? What did Charlie do? Who wrote those poisonous notes? Is Grace really being followed? What on earth is Dan up to? Throughout we are on edge, waiting to discover the truth about various characters, but one thing that becomes clear very quickly is Anna’s malicious intent. Why Anna wants to hurt Grace is unclear; that she wishes her harm sparkles through almost everything she does, whether that’s criticising Grace’s appearance or attempting to poison her. And yet, somehow, Grace is oblivious. This led to some very frustrating moments where I just wanted to shout “Look! Open your eyes and LOOK at what Anna is doing.”

Dan’s attitude to Anna is puzzling, but is also something Grace should care more about. She’s obsessed by the idea of finding out the “truth” about Charlie, but initially determined to close her eyes to everything else. I did like that as the story progresses she becomes a stronger character, able to make important decisions and move forward in a positive direction. By the end, I no longer wanted to shake her!

--- Final thoughts ---

The difficulty with proclaiming that any novel has ‘a brilliant twist you won’t see coming’ is that people will then be looking out for it – and so they are very likely to see it coming! The twist itself is guessable but this isn’t a problem (it’s not overly obvious) and it’s suitably dramatic, though some of the details strain credulity. The dramatic closing scenes seem designed to atone for the relative innocence of a couple of the much-laboured over secrets the novel ultimately reveals.

Finally, this is a powerful presentation of the effects guilt, loss and grief can have on people. It can be enough to drive you mad… show less

After a traumatic event sends Grace, then 9, to live with her grandparents in a small village in England, she finds a fast friend in the larger than life Charlie. Years later, reeling from Charlies death, and obsessing over the note she left before her disappearance, Grace is desperate to piece together clues as to what happened to her best friend.

"I did something terrible Grace. I hope you can forgive me."

On a mission to resolve loose ends in Charlies life, Grace connects with Anna who claims to be Charlies half sister. They too become fast friends, Anna filling a hole in Graces life that has been left empty for too long. But things get weird (umm hello this is a thriller people). Things go missing, Graces live in boyfriend is acting show more strangely, and her career slowly crumbles in front of her. Grace uncovering more questions than answers but can she figure out Charlies secret before it's too late?
Now if that doesn't peak your interest I don't know what will! This book has all the intensity and intrigue you would expect with such a genre; weaving a tale that takes you down various paths of mounting questions, dead ends, and surprise revelations. I enjoyed that it alternated time periods between "then" and "now" which was the perfect mechanism to dole out bits and pieces of information over the span of the novel. Grace was a well written main character and her grief induced drinking/pill popping added that touch of uncertainty to her reliability which always keeps things interesting. You know you are reading a good thriller when you have approximately 678765 theories running at any given time (which, by the way, they all turned out to be wrong). Working in the mental health field I think I had a unique mindset when coming to terms with the ending. Without giving anything away, I did feel sympathetic to our "villain" to a large extent. Overall, everything from the quaint English town setting, to the intriguing and well paced plot, to the nerve wracking events leading up to the conclusion combined to make one heck of a read! I will most definitely be reading anything Louise Jensen comes up with next! show less

A special thank you to the publisher and net galley for a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Once I started into this thrilling book I didn't want to put it down. There were so many unknowns, so many unanswered questions. My mind was constantly changing direction trying to figure it all out. The twists and turns left me breathless.
Grace lost her best friend after being estranged for six years. But what happened? Why did Charlie leave? Did it have anything to do with another friend's death or the Grace's feeling of being stalked? Charlie's death devastates her as it seems the answers have died with Charlie. All she knows is that Charlie wanted her forgiveness. But for what?
Charlie never knew her father and wanted to show more look for him. After Charlie died, Grace decides to find him and tell him all about the daughter he never knew. A miracle happens, and she has an answer when Anna appears as Charlie's sister who has been raised by their father. Grace is so thrilled, it's like having Charlie back again, she has a best friend again and her desire to have that piece of Charlie that she is blind to everything else. She was dangerously devastated when Charlie died and Anna has given her new hope. Anna moves in with Grace and her boyfriend Dan and life is good. But is it? Strange things are happening and why does Dan seem to hate Anna? (I do have to say that for the most part, I really didn't like Dan very much) Grace can't seem to see what right in front of her. Do you ever really know someone? Someone that's been in your life for most of it, do you even know them?
This book is narrated from Grace's point of view and goes from the past when Charlie and Grace are children to the present. I love this way of narrating a story. When the reader gets to the end of the chapter, we want so badly to find out what it's leading to and I find myself flying through the book and never want to put it down until I know.
This book is a nail biter, had me so involved and hooked. I questioned everything, wanted to slap some sense into Grace occasionally, and found myself alternately sad, angry and a little frightened at times. I found myself obsessively thinking of the book in-between readings trying to figure out all the pieces of the puzzle. There was a lot of mysterious things going on. Where they connected?
While this is a fantastic thriller, it was also quite sad how the events in the past created the story in the present and I couldn't help feeling so sad for the sense of loss experienced by many of the characters.
This book is a solid 4 1/2 for me. Thanks again to net galley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. I just saw that this author has a new release next month, I will anxiously await that one! show less

I couldn't resist delving straight into this book after I saw the cover of a striking pink envelope against a black background. There's just something so very dark and mysterious about it and the dark, mysterious theme continues inside the book. With alternating 'then' and 'now' chapters it's a very quick read as you simply can't put it down!

Charlie and Grace are best friends at school and they decide to bury a memory box and make a promise that the pair of them will open it together when they are older. When Charlie passes away suddenly, the promise is broken as Grace is left to open the memory box on her own. What will Grace find inside the box? With Charlie's unstable Mum, Lexie, blaming Grace for her death I was eager to find out show more what on earth could have happened but that's only half the story.

As Grace struggles to cope after Charlie's death she, and her partner, Dan, set up a campaign to find Charlie's father. Surprisingly quickly, Grace finds Anna who claims to be Charlie's sister. Of course I was naturally suspicious of Anna - she may look like Charlie but she seems to have a hidden agenda. As Anna steps up her game with Grace I wouldn't have been surprised to find a bunny boiling on the stove. Who is she? What does she want? These questions and more kept the pages turning late into the night.

There's so much going on in this book that my eyes were racing down the pages so I could unearth the whole story as quickly as possible. There are twists and turns that had me guessing right up to the very end and I had tears in my eyes as I relived Charlie's last moments.

The Sister is an exceptional debut; just when I thought I had something worked out another twist popped up to shout 'aha you're wrong'. It's an addictive page-turner that begs time and again for just one more chapter until the whole book has been devoured and thoroughly enjoyed.

I received this ebook from the publisher, Bookouture, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

The Sister is one of those books that, despite being good I also want to slap some sense into some of the characters. Let's start with Grace, she's been in a funk since her best friend Charlie died. And, then she suddenly discovers that Charlie had a sister called Anna. But, at the same time, everything in her life starts to go wrong. It was kind of frustrating to read about how Grace life starts to fall apart and she still doesn't seem to grasp that the person most likely behind it all is living with her and Dan. I mean even Dan doesn't like Anna, actually, he is quite hostile towards her. And, one wonders why Grace boyfriend seems to have a grudge against Anna? There comes a moment when I want to slap Dan to towards the end. Then, we show more have person number three that I want to slap, Lexie, Charlie's mother. But, despite my hostility towards these three characters is the book very good and thrilling to read.

I did suspect the ending, something Charlie said in the beginning of the book, made the little gray cells work harder, so I was not surprised, rather more pleased that my suspicion turned out to be right.

I seem to be a bit harsh when it comes to this book. But, I did find it engrossing to read, sure the characters made me wanna scream now and then, but nevertheless, the book was pretty good. There isn't really a-who-is-behind-it-all-kind of a book, more why-is-the-person-doing-this kind of book. The ending was satisfying and I'm looking forward to reading more from Louise Jensen.

I want to thank Bookouture for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Since Grace's childhood best friend, Charlie, has died, life has been a struggle for Grace. It's been affecting her relationship with her boyfriend, Dan, and with Charlie's Mum, Lexie. Unable to move on, Grace is determined to fulfill Charlie's wish to find the father who abandoned her and to find out what exactly Charlie was referring to when she said she had done something terrible and was sorry.
First of all, I was thoroughly impressed by the writing. Absolutely brilliant for a debut novel. It had a great sense of menace that was building up progressively. The story moves along at a steady pace as little bits of information are revealed in chapters of 'Then' and 'Now'. As these tended to end on mini-cliffhangers, I was easily show more persuaded by the lure of 'just one more'. But it was also slightly frustrating, as I would just get into the flow of what happened 'Then' and - Bam! - I was hurled forward to 'Now' again.
Grace managed to redeem herself by the end of the book, but up till then, there were lots of moments where I just wanted to shake her out of her naïveté and tell her to open her eyes and face reality. And who on earth would invite somebody they've only just met to move in?
I was pleasantly surprised by some of the revelations as I had been sure I had it all figured out. Definitely a very intriguing story line that was nicely executed. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Many thanks to Bookouture for my ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

Grace, Grace's boyfriend Dan, and Charlie have been friends since childhood. But one day Charlie leaves without saying goodbye. For years she sends Grace postcards from all over the world. Then one day she reappears in Grace's life, but before they get a chance to talk, Charlie dies. Grace is left with her mysterious last words “I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.” She has no idea what Charlie did, but she's determined to find out and she's also determined to find Charlie's father, something Charlie wanted so desperately to do. Grace and Dan turn to social media to search for him or to find someone who knows him. A girl claiming to be Charlie's half-sister responds and meets up with Grace to talk. That's when show more things start to fall apart for Grace.

This is an excellent debut novel. It's well-crafted. There is the right amount of twists and turns, and they're good. It alternates between then and now and flows well. The characters are three-dimensional, what happens in their lives and how certain situations changed them is believable. I really enjoyed it! show less