THE SISTER
BY LOUISE JENSEN
Published: 7th July 2016
BOOKOUTURE
Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words, the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon 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 in terrible danger?
I can honestly say that I’ve never wanted to slap a character quite so much as Grace! She is one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever read! Despite this, and whilst trying to use only my inner voice to shout at her (I read mainly in the depths of night next to my slumbering husband), I persevered as I found this story quite compelling.
The first two-thirds of the book was well paced, and the plot relayed via ‘then and now’ chapter styling, which ramped up the intrigue. The last third felt a little rushed in comparison, but overall, this was a good debut. Louise Jensen has written several more books since, which are worth checking out too.
*Thanks to Bookouture for providing an eARC via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.
3 / 5
An unlikeable protagonist redeemed by a compelling plot