The Good Sister: Family Drama, Mystery, & Romance

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
Genres: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 309
Goodreads

Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister.

There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be...dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern's mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

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Full disclosure: I listened to this a couple weeks ago and my memory is kind of foggy on some of the details – so this will be a shorter review.

Oh my goodness! This book is part family drama, part mystery, part romance – and I loved every bit of it!

FAMILY DRAMA

The story follows two sisters, Fern and Rose. Their relationship is toxic and so frustrating to read. Especially because neither realizes how toxic their relationship is. Fern relies heavily on Rose, and Rose quickly steps in whenever Fern needs guidance. That sounds…alright…on the surface but the relationship really gives some #FreeBrittany vibes. Fern is quite capable of functioning on her own and Rose isn’t such a kind and doting sister as she portrays to be. As you read Fern’s POV and Rose’s diary entries (that go into details of their childhood), you really begin to question what’s true and how much Rose really loves her sister.

MYSTERY

There’s a secret both sisters hold from their childhood – but I’m going to be frank here, I didn’t really pay attention to it. It plays a role in the story, sure, but I found it to be pretty…meh. On the other hand, the mystery and secrets between the sisters in present day were much more interesting to me. That is what hooked me in because I wanted those secrets to come to the surface so bad! Those secrets mostly have to do with the…

ROMANCE

I found this book to be heavy in the romance which is surprising for a thriller/mystery! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fern meets a man at the library named Rocco, but she calls him Wally. And boy, their relationship is just the cutest thing ever. I was rooting for them. I wanted a happily ever after. I needed it. It’s this romance and desire for them to make it that really brought the story together. It highlights the toxicity between the sisters and just how far Rose will go for what she wants. It’s because of Wally coming into Fern’s life that Rose’s perfect image really starts to deteriorate. So, basically, the romance has a double purpose and I loved it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. The mystery is predictable, but I was interested in how it would end up playing out. The characters are great – even if you will like one sister more than the other (coughtferncough). And the romance ties it all together in a perfect thriller you can finish in one sitting (I did).