Author: Rosamund Lupton
Paperback: 318 pages
Publisher: Broadway/Crown
Published date: 2011
FTC: requested or won from Shelf Awareness or Read It Forward (can't remember)
I'm normally pretty good about documenting where I get my books from. I either requested or won this one but it hasn't been sitting on my shelf for very long. I do remember that I wanted to read it because I love books about family relationships - especially sisters. I am fortunate to have had an awesome family life and am blessed with having a sister and a brother. Now we may not always understand or get each other and there's been many a fight and even bloody nose mixed in there growing up -- but it's an amazing thing to be able to count on somebody to hop on the next plane and be by your side if you ever needed them.
Sister sounded like an interesting combination of a book about family relationships...and a murder mystery. What a perfect moody read for Autumn and the R.I.P. experience.
Back of the book:
When Beatrice gets a frantic call that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she immediately boards the first flight home to London. As she learns about the circumstances surrounding Tess's disappearance, Bee will risk everything to find out what really happened to her beloved younger sister. A suspenseful, thrilling story and a beautiful portrayal of the love between siblings with a knockout twist, Sister is a masterful debut.
My thoughts:
I love a back of the book synopsis that doesn't give away much. If you are like me, that's all I needed to know to pick it up and delve right in. If you want slightly more spoilers (of course not BIG spoilers) keep on reading -- dump out that coffee, brew up a cup of English breakfast tea and read on.
The first thing you must know is that this is Rosamund Lupton's first novel - she writes for television and film. That means that this book is beautifully visual. I love that the main part of the story takes place in London in winter and in and around Hyde Park (think a mini Central Park.) Even though Las Vegas was in the eighties, I still felt the winter chill of London and wanted to cuddle up in a blanket and read. I can still envision Tess's apartment and her little garden out back.
I also found the non-linear way she wrote the story to be perfect. Beatrice is alternately telling her story to Tess in letter form which makes it very personal and telling her story to a lawyer to prepare for an upcoming trial. I loved the letter parts to Tess - it made the sister relationship even more powerful and heartfelt. For never actually meeting Tess, I felt as if I knew her. Every so often the story telling part to the lawyer felt a little drawn out (get on with the story so I can know who did it!), it actually helped the suspense part of the mystery and also slowed me down to savor Ms. Lupton's writing and world building.
Then there's the story. I don't want to give too much away, but I loved the tenacity of Beatrice who knew there was something wrong and didn't let anyone stop her from finding the truth. It was a great twist on the traditional detective story. Then there's Tess's story, which for an oddly beautiful art student, involves adultery, a stalker, pregnancy, gene therapy, cystic fibrosis...actually pretty fascinating.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this story - it was a mystery, a detective story, and most of all a story about relationships and family. I am looking forward to picking up Ms. Lupton's second novel Afterwards.
Other covers:
What cover do you like best? I think I like this one the best.
This one is kind of boring to me:
Also Reviewed By:
Tell Me A Story
S. Krishna's Books
Kirkus Reviews
