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My Sister's Bones: A Novel of Suspense
My Sister's Bones: A Novel of Suspense
My Sister's Bones: A Novel of Suspense
Audiobook9 hours

My Sister's Bones: A Novel of Suspense

Written by Nuala Ellwood

Narrated by Jane Copland and Mary Jane Wells

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

In the vein of Fiona Barton's The Widow and Renée Knight's Disclaimer, a psychological thriller about a war reporter who returns to her childhood home after her mother's death but becomes convinced that all is not well in the house next door—but is what she’s seeing real or a symptom of the trauma she suffered in Syria?

The One Person You Should Trust Is Lying to You…

Kate has spent fifteen years bringing global injustice home: as a decorated war reporter, she’s always in a place of conflict, writing about ordinary people in unimaginable situations. When her mother dies, Kate returns home from Syria for the funeral. But an incident with a young Syrian boy haunts her dreams, and when Kate sees a boy in the garden of the house next door—a house inhabited by an Iraqi refugee who claims her husband is away and she has no children—Kate becomes convinced that something is very wrong.

As she struggles to separate her memories of Syria from the quiet town in which she grew up—and also to reconcile her memories of a traumatic childhood with her sister’s insistence that all was not as Kate remembers—she begins to wonder what is actually true…and what is just in her mind.

In this gripping, timely debut, Nuala Ellwood brings us an unforgettable damaged character, a haunting , humanizing look at the Syrian conflict, and a deeply harrowing psychological thriller that readers won’t be able to put down.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateJul 11, 2017
ISBN9780062681737
Author

Nuala Ellwood

Nuala Ellwood is the daughter of an award-winning journalist. Inspired by her father’s and other journalists’ experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder, she gained Arts Council Funding for her research into the topic and ultimately made it the main theme of My Sister’s Bones, her debut psychological thriller.

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Reviews for My Sister's Bones

Rating: 4.116379344827586 out of 5 stars
4/5

116 ratings32 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Confusing for a bit but once I understood what was going on it was an awesome roller coaster of a book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book moves fast as things are always changing. It kept me interested and at the same time it also allowed me to feel as if I was living the same things as the characters were. I could smell the ocean breeze and hear the steps. Great story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Weird at first with the jumping around but it all came together and made sinse.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVED this book. Truly Surprised. Please make into a movie.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    very suspenseful in well-written it was on the edge of my seat
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood slowly builds into a suspense-laden mystery with very unexpected twists and turns.

    War correspondent Kate Rafter's return to her childhood home following her mother's death contributes to her increasingly fragile mental state. Her recent experiences in Syria are horrific and the events leading up to her last assignment play a fairly large role in her declining emotional stability. Kate is suffering from extensive post traumatic stress disorder which makes her an increasingly unreliable narrator when she begins seeing and hearing things that cannot be corroborated by anyone else. Much of her story is revealed through her sessions with Dr. Shaw and no one is quite sure what to believe about Kate's recounting of extremely traumatic events that have recently occurred.

    Kate's narration comes to an abrupt and shocking end and the perspective then switches to that of her younger sister, Sally, who is a raging alcoholic. Their relationship is badly fractured but Kate make a valiant effort to get through to her sister on her visit home. Sally consumes copious amounts of wine and spends her days in a drunken stupor as she laments the rift with her daughter, Hannah, whom she has not seen in several years. Her husband, Paul Cheverell is incredibly patient with her but their marriage is definitely breathing its last gasp. After a surprise visitor appears on her doorstep, Sally finally sobers up long enough to remember a desperate request from Kate. Will she then uncover the truth about whether or not Kate's experiences at their childhood home are real or imagined?

    A dark, twisted and incredibly atmospheric tale, My Sister's Bones is an intriguing mystery that is initially somewhat slow-paced but dramatically hurtles to a twist-filled and shocking conclusion. Nuala Ellwood's extensive research and subsequent portrayal of the devastating effects of PTSD are hard-hitting and incredibly realistic. Kate is a sympathetic character whose intentions to expose the damages of war are noble and eventually take a horrific toll on her psyche.It is impossible to predict what direction the storyline is going until the absolutely jaw-dropping plot twist. From that point, the novel moves at a breakneck speed in the aftermath of stunning revelations. An outstanding debut that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It took me several attempts to get into this story and I'm still not quite sure why. I enjoyed the premise, the storytelling, the characters, the settings, and the writing but my initial attempts to read this resulted in my setting it aside after one or two chapters. After setting the book aside for almost a year, I picked it back up and read through to the end. Although the story didn't wow me, it was definitely an intriguing story and one I'd recommend to readers of psychological suspense-thrillers.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This review is from: My Sister's Bones (Hardcover) Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme

    I am reviewing the book My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood. Here are my thoughts:

    ^^ The story line has a similar Gone Girl/Girl on the Train theme, but with that added punch of characters dealing with the psychological fallout of the trauma of reporting in dangerous conflict zones around the world, highlighting the chaos of war and the bravery of all those involved.

    ^^ The book starts with Kate being questioned by the police, for a cri me that we only understand as we read through the book. It alternates this with gradually revealing the events of a week earlier leading up to the reason why Kate is being questioned, making me eager to race through the book for answers. In fact, I read "My Sister's Bones" in under two days and thoroughly enjoyed it.
    ^^ Written in first the person point of view initially and then splits into three parts; the first being the main character, Kate, then her sister Sally, and finally the gripping conclusion is handed back to Kate again as all is revealed.

    ^^ I found splitting the book up in this way (like a three plot structure) was great idea as it provided the ability to really get inside the minds of each character, allowing Sally to provide a few answers brought up from Kate's side of the story, and vice versa.

    ^^ This has to be one of my favourite reads this year, and I will look out for more work from author, Nuala Ellwood.

    Overall: A gripp ing book with everything I love in a story; fully rounded characters facing realistic challenges, an engrossing back story, and a surprising twist at the end that I did not see coming.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Real Housewives meets Days of Our Lives. There's just so much victimization and women self-hating that can be included in a book before it becomes nauseating. Ellwood puts that much in then adds a dollop or two more to make sure we get the point. Women are easily fooled and have no ability to control their desire to self-destruct. I won't be reading anything else by her.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was surprised at how much I enjoyed most of this dark, psychological thriller. I felt that it had more substance than your typical thriller. Then I got to the end and felt very let down by the way this was tied up. Overall, it was a good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I truly liked this story as I rapidly read along. I was sympathetic to Kate's struggle with the Syrian war memories as I can not imagine all the horrors of man's inhumanity toward war she had seen. When a little Syrian boy next door haunts her dreams, and then one night she saw him in the garden below her window, she called 911 but when the police showed up he was gone. I liked that Kate could not the incident go but was determined to find the truth of if she was crazy or not. What is true and what is not?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Well written book. Fast read for me as I got really caught up in what was going to happen. The further I got into the book I knew there was going to be a twist in the plot but it wasn't a huge shock there were subtle things leading up to it. Going to look for more by this author and would recommend this one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a great book for fans of the thriller genre! Exceptionally layered story with fleshed out characters and locations. I really liked how Ellwood played with the unreliable narrator trope.Received for free through Early Reviewer Program.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The main character is a reporter who spends a great deal of time covering war in places like Syria, resulting in PTSD and other psychological wounds. She returns to her hometown and discovers that all is not how it should be with her various family members. There are some interesting twists and insights making this an enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nuala Ellwood's debut novel is My Sister's Bones.Kate Rafter returns home for the first time in many, many years for her mother's funeral. She and her sister Sally had a traumatic upbringing - Kate made her own escape and Sally escaped into a liquor bottle. They have never really reconciled their differences and not much seems to have changed now, even with their mother's death.Ellwood puts her own spin on the 'unreliable narrator' that very often populates psychological suspense novels. Her lead character, Kate, is a seasoned war reporter suffering from PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder. She has seen many horrific events over the course of her fifteen year career. Those memories are intruding on her present, making her question her own actions, thoughts and what she is even seeing. For you see, Kate is sure there is a little boy in the house next door. He's out late at night and Kate is concerned about him. But when she confronts the neighbour, she is told there are no children in the house......I enjoyed the uncertainty of what was going on with Kate, trying to guess what was real and what was her hallucinations. I started out firmly on Kate's side, but found some of her decisions a bit off putting as the story progressed. There is no gray area around Sally - she is definitely a bitter, broken woman - but one I found hard to sympathize with. She is given a voice with part two being her narrative. Sally's husband Paul I found decidedly smarmy (I love this descriptor!) and couldn't understand why Kate would spend so much time with him.I was pulled into the story and certainly wanted to know where Ellwood would take her tale. The last few chapters are quite busy, with actions and answers rapidly appearing. I had my suspicions along the way and was somewhat right in my guesses. But, I have to say that I found the final twist and resolution somewhat tawdry. There were some plot actions at this point that I found a bit far fetched and questioned the veracity of them actually happening.Ellwood's inclusion of PTSD, the horrors of war torn countries and the people trapped in those situations, brings a sobering dose of reality to this fictional tale. Ellwood's research and depiction of the aforementioned is very well done - and thought provoking.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood is a 2017 William Morrow Paperbacks publication. Bleak, atmospheric, somber-Psychological thrillers are not all created equal. They can come in all shapes, sizes and forms and still solidly fall within the specifications applied to this genre, but with various degrees of success. While this book adheres to the standard requirements, the author turns the genre on its ear by producing a multi-layered literary piece told from the first -person perspectives of two sisters, both of whom are dealing with immense loss, psychological demons, and emotional scars, but unable to find comfort in each other. Kate is a journalist who has spent the past several years covering the atrocities in Syria. After her mother’s death, she returns home to put her affairs in order. It soon becomes obvious that being back in her childhood home is bringing back torturous memories, on top of being haunted by the images of war, topped off by her sister, Sally’s, alcoholism. The stress manifests itself with vivid nightmares and hallucinations.Sally’s alcohol issues multiplied after her teenage daughter, Hannah disappears. Now, after the death of her mother, she crawled inside the bottle, not even bothering to hide it or fight it. The only sane person in this shadowy land of illusion is Sally’s husband, Paul. He takes care of both sisters and they work their way through childhood abuses, PTSD, and their broken relationship with each other.The imagery is Aleppo is haunting, reminding us that journalists are out there in the crossfire, and can suffer the same ill effects of war as soldiers, and even lose their lives on occasion. What happens to Kate in Syria easily explains her PTSD, and how she ends up in the shape she does. The subject matter is heart wrenching, harsh, and cruel- so if scenes of psychological and physical abuse, or the depictions of war- be aware of these possible triggers- most of which occur in the first half of the book. Sally holds deep resentments toward Kate, who she believes was her mother’s favorite child, and while Kate wishes to help her, Sally resist to the point where Kate feels helpless and hopeless, especially under the circumstances. While all this is very interesting and is an absorbing character study, there are some odd occurrences thrown in that makes us question our narrator. The author planted seeds of doubt, making me wonder just what is real and what is deceptive. I was very caught up in the story, but the deeper I tread, the more I began to wonder where on earth all this was leading. Wasn’t this supposed to be a thriller? As a matter of fact, yes, it is, and I’m glad I was patient, because when the twist came, it hit me hard, right in the gut, and I could have kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. Once the bottom drops out, it’s a harrowing, white knuckled fight that held me enthralled and made me a little jumpy, while totally screwing with my head. At the end of the day, I was mentally exhausted and stunned emotionally by this moody, melancholy, but exceptional novel. I am impressed with the author’s style, the way she layered the events so I was kept off guard, using a powerful prose to slowly entice me into her web.This is a novel with much more going for it than most standard thrillers. This book examines thorny issues, made me think, forced me to work at solving the puzzle, and packed an emotional wallop that left me shell shocked. While the story is very dark, and rarely offers a moment of reprieve, the ending did show much improvement and even a ray of hope for those who live to tell the tale. This is one of the very best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. So, if you are a fan of this genre, I highly recommend it!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My Sister's Bones is a dark and disturbing novel set in the present day chaotic, violent Hell-hole of war torn Aleppo, and the scenic predictable, mundane coastline of Britain's Herne Bay in Kent.Kate Rafter has returned home prematurely from her latest assignment as a female foreign war correspondent after the recent death of her mother, and thrust back into the fractured relationship with her resentful alcoholic sister Sally.In the opening scene we meet Kate as she is being detained and questioned by, who appears to be, a police psychologist after displaying some very erratic behaviour and making accusations about a neighbour. She is being tormented by voices, visions and flashbacks and it is apparent that Kate is suffering from PTSD after several assignments reporting and witnessing violence, and the unrelenting devastation of war.It is during these flashbacks, and heartbreaking revelations of a childhood tragedy, parental violence, and abuse that we find out eventually how much is real or imagined as she struggles to, keep hidden but at the same time, face the demons coming at her from all angles.  It is also a fascinating examination of how memories are formed, of how reliable they may be after years have passed, and of how individuals remember events very differently, and how using different coping mechanisms for survival have affected them.  I loved the author's in-depth perceptiveness and understanding of the human condition and of how life's experiences can mould a persons character and personality.However, as much as I loved 'My Sisters Bones' I didn't feel the domestic crime element of the mysterious neighbour added value or substance to the storyline, even so Nuala Ellwood has written a superior, powerful thought provoking mystery thriller that, for me, only just fell short of a 5 star rating.Highly recommended for fans of twisty-turny, creepy psychological thrillers with unreliable female protagonists, and untrustworthy supporting characters such as in, 'The Girl On The Train', 'Gone Girl', and 'The Widow'.I am very excited about this author's debut and looking forward to reading her next novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book knocked my socks off. It was one of those thrillers that leaves the reader wanting more. It was crafty, brillinat and mezmorizing. I found myself fully engaged and I also could not believe that I reads it in one day! It was that hard to put down because it was paced so well. I feel like this is what makes me so excited to read debut authors...they have fresh, new stories and are just starting out! This is a perfect raed for the summer...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received a free uncorrected proof of My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood from Library Thing in exchange for an honest review. What a wild ride! A psychological thriller interweaving a woman’s traumatic childhood, her dysfunctional family relations, and her traumatic experiences as an award-winning journalist covering the human consequences of war. Kate grew up in Herne Bay, a quiet town in Kent. Her father was a violent man who drank and regularly beat her mother; when Kate intervened she was beaten herself. Her younger sister Sally, in Kate’s mind, was a bystander who chose not to see what was going on. When she was old enough to leave home, Kate escaped to London and for 15 years worked as a prize-winning war correspondent in high risk areas where she wrote of the suffering of innocent civilians. Her last assignment was harrowing- she became emotionally involved with a small Syrian boy, who was blown up by a bomb. Kate blames herself for not saving him. She has nightmares, hears voices, and becomes addicted to sleeping pills and powerful anti-psychotic drugs. She won’t admit she is suffering from PTSD and needs treatment. The story opens with Kate returned home to Herne Bay for her mother’s funeral. She is being questioned by a police psychologist. A complaint has been lodged, and the police must determine whether Kate is a danger to herself and others and needs to be committed. As the story unfolds, we jump back and forth in time- back to Kate’s childhood and dysfunctional family, her traumatic experience in Syria, a devastating experience with her married lover; and a mystery- a possible crime in the present. All this is told from the point of view of a woman under the influence of alcohol and powerful drugs- we don’t know what is real, what is imaginary; she doesn’t know either.The twisty road to the powerful and emotional conclusion of the novel when the strands of Kate’s life and that of her sister Sally come together, earns this novel a four-star rating. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    OMG! What an addictive and captivating story! I absolutely LOVED My Sister's Bones. It was chock full of twists and turns that let me on the edge of my seat. Could not put this book down for anything!! A definite must-read for fans of suspense-thrillers!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    MY SISTER'S BONES is a gloomy, dark psychological thriller set in both Herne Bay in the UK and Aleppo, Syria. The author does a brilliant job writing a politically relevant story; it's incredibly well-researched. The story itself, however, is not political. At heart, it's a run of the mill psychological thriller that solidly incorporates Syria, the ramifications of domestic violence, and mental illnesses.Kate has been covering the Syrian conflict as a field journalist in Aleppo, and comes back to her hometown of Herne Bay suffering from PTSD. Her mother has just passed away and her sister is an alcoholic. While staying at her mother's old house and battling her own psychological demons, she notices that something is off about the house next door -- but could it just be her PTSD-induced hallucinations and paranoia?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was an excellent thriller with lots of unexpected twists and turns. There are two sisters coming from the same background. Sally becomes an alcoholic and Kate has a career as a journalist. When their mother passes, Kate returns to put some of her family affairs in order. Kate has seen many horrible things in her career as a journalist in Syria. As she begins suspecting/seeing things she and others begin to question her sanity. Her sister seems to be past hope as her daughter has disappeared and Sally continues to drink herself into oblivion. There are many unexpected events that bring their paths together and make this a wonderful read. Reader received a complimentary copy from Library Thing Early reviewers.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow did this one pack a wallop! It's been a very long time since a book made me gasp out loud and this one did. This is really a very compelling page turner. I was so surprised to learn this was a debut book for the author. Hopefully she has many more to come. Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood was a wonderful book. The subject matter is difficult, several times I cried. But it was tightly written, had very compelling characters, and an ending I was not prepared for. Her descriptions of PTSD were spot on, and she deftly navigated the unreliable narrator plot device. I wonderful novel and I strongly recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate, a journalist who specializes in international "hot spots," returns from assignment in Syria to deal with her late mother's estate. (She missed the funeral.) But the horrors of war have taken their toll -- especially the death of a young boy in Aleppo of whom she had become quite fond. Now she keeps thinking she sees a dark-haired boy in her garden. Is he real? A hallucination, like so many others she is experiencing? Is the cry for help she hears real, or just one of the voices she hears in her head? The story starts out alternating between scenes set in a police station interrogation by a psychiatrist, and chapters detailing the week's events which led up to Kate's encounter with the police. This device works well; it's easy to immediately tell which scenes are which by the chapter headings.This was a good, suspenseful book. I wouldn't have guessed that it was the author's debut novel. It was well-written and compelling. I stayed up into the wee hours reading, until I just had to go get some sleep, and picked it up again immediately after work to finish. (I haven't done that in a while.) In the end, I thought it got a wee bit sensational, and I think perhaps the author tried to take on too many things in one book. But overall, a very good read.I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book came to me as an early review, and I am happy it did. The characters were all unlikeable, making you understand many of their vices that were apparent from the beginning. At first I didn't understand what was going on and it bothered me a bit...however, I kind of had to go with it...glad I did. A lot of times in a book, I find myself wanting a deeper character and I kind of in my head start making a deeper character only to find out that is who they are in the end. This book had that, I figured the majority out but the tale was a good read. I loved the way the author wrote the story and I LOVE an English read! I gave this book a 4 star, I liked it a lot, it isn't a suspense filled read but a book I found myself sticking with everyday, dragging it along in my handbag for a boring soccer practice or a long wait, I don't know how else to describe this book....it was my comfort item for awhile....and I love having that book I know I can escape to but when it's gone I know my characters are going to be okay. I loved the wrap up but the characters alone where just normal people with messed up stuff in their lives. I suppose that is just what I like. I am going to miss Kate and her self medication every night, but I won't grieve for these characters....which I love because it makes it so much easier to fall into another book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a suspense novel that had me on the edge of my seat. It is about two sisters, Kate and Sally that are both damaged and dependent on alcohol and drugs. Kate is a cutting edge war reporter that has seen too much and is suffering from PTSD. Sally is taking after her father by drinking herself into oblivion. When Kate believes something sinister is going on in the house next door to her, no one believes her and she begins to wonder if she really is losing it mentally. The book begins with Kate being interrogated at a police station, so right away you are turning pages to find out what could possibly have happened that was so bad for Kate to be arrested.The second part of the book shifts to Sally's perspective. Tense, well written and a real page turner. This is highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy as part of the Librarything Early Reviewers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wow. This book was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish! I was not expecting it to be that poignant, but Nuala Ellwood is a very talented writer. I found myself wondering how I would fare in Kate's place and the answer, honestly, is not half as well as this amazing, strong woman. The twists and turns in this book kept me questioning almost the entire time, which is a plus as I feel a lot of psychological thrillers these days follow the same formula. I will admit to liking Kate much more than her sister Sally, but perhaps that is what the author intended and if so, then it worked on me.I will definitely be recommending this book to anyone looking for a book that has psychological suspense, and I look forward to reading more books by this author. Thanks to Library Thing for allowing me to read and review this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Less is more. That is the thought that recurs as one reads the new psychological suspense thriller from Nuala Ellwood, MY SISTER’S BONES. There is no doubt that Nuala Ellwood is a talented writer. She has been inspired by her award-winning journalist father’s and other’s experiences to research PTSD, which forms a central theme of her novel.The main character Kate returns from Syria because of the death of her mother to the small town and the home where she grew up. Kate’s childhood was riddled with fear and loathing due to her abusive alcoholic father though her relationship with her mother was always a warm and loving place of support and strength. For a time, so was her relationship with her younger sister Sally until that suddenly changed after the death of their baby brother David who drowned on a sunny day while Kate was swimming with him in the sea.This moment forms another theme around which the novel swirls, and another point around which Kate’s PTSD unravels.Kate’s character is strong and despite descriptions of her outbursts of violence, she remains likeable. You root for her. She is brave; she contains depth and goodness. But Kate has a secret, and soon it is revealed that there are others who hold a secret about her. What is it? We can guess. Most will. Will we be right?Kate’s brother and his death merge with the death of a young Syrian boy who haunts her. Could she have saved him? Indeed Syria and the death of the boy is the crux of Kate’s PTSD.When she returns home, she continually hears a boy crying, screaming. She sees him at night in her mother’s garden. She becomes obsessed that she must rescue him.Now it is not only Kate who wonders what is true. It is us as we are drawn into this journey. After an incident that lands Kate in a 40 hour interrogation to see if she is mentally fit, Kate returns to Syria, and the book shifts suddenly to Sally, the younger sister.The shift is abrupt as the narration remains in the first person. Startling.But what is more startling is the weakness of the character drawn.When Kate visits Sally whom she rarely sees, she describes her as a hopeless debilitated drunk, one whose smell is so bad it permeates the room and can barely be overcome. Not a civil word passes between these two. Sally reveals nothing but hatred for her mother and a sort of hero worship of their father. It is one thing to have siblings growing up in the same household and each hold different memories, but this household was so extreme, it is nearly impossible to fathom Sally’s point of view, and this discrepancy is never satisfactorily explained. Sally is an unbearable drunkard. Why does her husband put up with her? Their relationship lacks all credibility.Sally as a young teen bears a child. She can barely cope; she leaves the child in a beer garden as she stumbles off to the bar. Eventually, a young teenager, Hannah disappears—leaving with a group of friends never to return.As the last quarter or so of the book churns, we find out what’s happened to Hannah, the mystery of the phantom boy is revealed, and the reason husband Paul put up with Sally all those years drops like a bomb.And thus, the bottom falls out.Less is more, and more is incredulity.Which is such a shame because Kate and her story is enough. Dive deep and take us on that journey. Why was she so angry, even as a child? Because of the abuse trauma she experienced towards herself and her mother? Sally says in her turn as narrator that she was always afraid of Kate. Why did she have no sympathy or empathy what-so-ever? Indeed, Sally emotionally embraced and protected the abuser. This is a pattern of abusive households, but it is merely glanced by here. Why did Sally speak so lovingly in her mind of Kate when Kate was gone? Sally as narrator did not present at all as a debilitated drunk. If she could be so eloquent and speak so wisely, why could she not tear down the barrier that loomed so huge and so devastatingly between these sisters? Finally, the title. I must say, the title had me building an entire scenario that was proven totally false. Was that the purpose? I know it is often the publisher who chooses the title. In this case, I found it lacking and without meaning or symbolism to this story.The book is a page turner and it is full of suspense. It is beautifully written and it will haunt you. I will definitely look forward to more from Ms. Ellwood.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a good psychological thriller. The story revolves around a dysfunctional family and perceptions of reality. There is good character development and a pretty believable storyline. I thought the "reveal" was a bit out of left field but, other than that, it was a good read