‘You don’t know me, but I’m your sister.’Claire is shocked when she receives a message out of the blue from Sophie, a beautiful young woman who tells Claire that she’s their father’s secret child. Having spent years nursing her sweet little daughter Ella through a life-threatening illness whilst dealing with the emotional fall-out of a devastating marriage breakdown, Claire feels tentatively … feels tentatively excited to meet Sophie. Perhaps she might finally have someone in the family to lean on…
As Claire welcomes her sister into her life, she’s delighted to see just how much Ella loves her new Aunt Sophie. But as the pair spend more time together, Claire begins to wonder where exactly her perfect new sister came from and what kind of person she really is. With their elderly father’s mind rapidly deteriorating, is it possible that he’s hiding something from Claire about Sophie’s sudden appearance in their lives?
When Sophie suggests a family day at the seaside, little Ella is beyond excited. But as Claire takes an important phone call from her demanding ex-husband, leaving Sophie in charge of Ella, something unthinkable happens. And as Claire rushes into the ice-cold sea towards the small, limp figure of her daughter, she realises that Sophie was watching the whole time. But why would Sophie want to hurt Claire’s precious daughter? Was trusting her new sister with Ella the biggest mistake of Claire’s life?
If you enjoyed The Girl on the Train, My Lovely Wife and Lucinda Berry’s The Perfect Child, you’ll love this heart-stopping psychological thriller from bestselling author Sheryl Browne.
What readers are saying about The Perfect Sister:
‘Shocking, brilliant page-turner!!!… A stunning thriller… This book will grip you immediately and by the last twenty percent, shock you, scare you and make your heart beat right out of your chest!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Gripping and hard to put down. I spent an entire day reading it. One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘A wonderful, tense domestic psychological thriller that hits ALL the buttons.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Another fantastic hit from this wonderful author! Unputdownable. So many twists, it has your head reeling in that wonderful, mind-blowing way. Don’t pass this one by, it’s worth every second of your time.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘A brilliantly written, addictive page-turner.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow… Another sure-fire winner from Sheryl Browne. Dark and twisted, full of revenge, it’s a fast-paced thriller that certainly keeps you reading…’ Goodreads reviewer
‘The Perfect Sister is billed as being absolutely unputdownable and I totally agree. I was captivated from the very first page and the tension slowly builds throughout the book. There’s twists and turns along the way to keep you entertained.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘This is one of my favourite authors, she never disappoints… The twist and turns in this book are brilliant. Once you start you can’t stop until the last page.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘A fascinating novel.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘I was drawn in from the first page to this chilling, tense thriller… A true page-turner.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘Had me racing to the end, and kept me fully engaged throughout with lots of twist and gasps thrown in along the way…. I was gripped from the beginning to the end and now consider Sheryl Browne to be a must-read author.’ Goodreads reviewer
‘This book has so many twists, you can’t put it down! No, literally, I consumed this book in one sitting!… The Perfect Sister is a book to watch in 2020.’ Goodreads reviewermore
A psych thriller with lots of twists, this was a quick read because the action moved right along. The author tackles a difficult topic (dementia and the care of a failing parent) with care and sensitivity, even as the illness plays a significant part in the plot. The characters are well-developed and there are more than a few “no way!” moments. The author doesn’t let up until the very last page. I definitely recommend this book. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.
I binge read The Perfect Sister this week, finding myself really intrigued by the set up. I thought the father’s dementia was incredibly well researched and it felt so real. It’s such a difficult subject to tackle so huge kudos to Sheryl. I loved his role in the story and the intrigue he brought to the party. Brilliantly done!
The stories where secrets from the past come back to haunt the main cast are what I seem to be drawn to and really enjoy – this one delivered in abundance. Little Ella was an adorable character too.
The Perfect Sister is brilliant for those seeking a fast read set in a tense family situation. I loved that everyone seemed suspicious. Another fab psychological thriller by Sheryl Browne.
First, I want to thank Sheryl Browne, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
WOW! Another incredible story from Sheryl Browne! This time she is back with some tough issues that pulled on my heart strings in The Perfect Sister.
Unfortunately, this book didn’t grasp my attention quite as fast as others I have read from Sheryl. However, there was a turning point in the story towards the beginning and then I was hooked. Better late than never.
As I stated earlier there were some difficult issues dealt with in this book such as infidelity, father with dementia, being his caregiver until it was time for him to go into a nursing home, and a daughter with hemophilia (she was my favorite character who made me smile)
Sheryl did an incredible job putting a lot of heart and compassion into a lot of her characters. You could tell that many of the storylines hit home and close to her heart. However, at times I would think some of the Father Daughter scenes would be hard to write as they were hard for me to read emotionally.
Claire is an incredibly strong character in this book for everything she has going on her plate! I wanted on so many occasions to jump into the book and just hug her.
Of course, there is a twisted storyline about a secret sister named Sophie. The mystery is who is she really and what secrets are her Dad hiding from her? What drove me batty is you don’t find out til the very end of the book!! But it was so worth the wait!!
Favorite Quotes:
‘Don’t forget your helmet, Jimmy,’ she called after him. ‘Wouldn’t want you damaging your one brain cell, would we?’
Was it her fault she’d had nobody interested enough in her to show her the basics in the kitchen? Her gran’s idea of haute cuisine was to pour curry sauce on her chips.
My Review:
Secrets, lies, betrayals, infidelity, mistrust, cons, revenge plots, chilling mind games, and a ton of prickly and complicated family drama were heavily featured in this twisty brain itching tale. The characters were untrustworthy, more than a bit frustrating, and not all that likable, but I pitied the poor husband, too bad he couldn’t seem to get his tongue to work and I periodically wanted to give him a swat to the back of the head to knock it loose.
My own wild theories were mostly, well, partly correct. I would doubt the veracity of anyone claiming that had it all figured out, as there is just no possible way to have unraveled or predicted all those deviously tangled and perplexing plotlines without psychic abilities. This was my first visit into the devilishly clever mind of Sheryl Browne and I enjoyed her wily written and intriguing tale while feverishly bumping around in her oddly compelling characters’ zigzagging reasoning. More, please!
Thank you to Netgallery for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
I am giving this book 3.5 stars (down from a 4). I was really enjoying this book, it was fast moving, had gripping characters. Some that I liked, some that I hated. I am not even upset that I figured out all but the last twist in the book. Yet the last @10% of the book was a bit disappointing, hense dropping from my original 4 star rating. Overall, a pretty good read and will likely check out a few more of Ms. Browne’s books.
Claire has a lot on her plate. Her father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and he’s very difficult to look after. Her young daughter, Ella, is a hemophiliac and bears watching all the time. Her husband is not happy, and he spends a lot of time in the local bar. Claire suspects he’s cheating on her and has a friend follow him one night. What the friend sends her is a picture of her husband kissing a very pretty woman.
Shortly before she throws her husband out, she receives an email from a woman purporting to be her half sister. She knows things that she shouldn’t unless what she says is true. Actually, Claire is kind of happy to find a sister she never knew she had …. she’s always been short of friends and now that hubby isn’t there all the time, this gives her someone she can bond with, talk to.
But is the sister who she claims to be? Yes, she is sympathetic to Claire’s problems, but how helpful is it to keep telling her that she needs to keep her daughter away from her father because he might be dangerous? And now she’s bonding with Ella …. and Claire isn’t too crazy about that, either.
But why would Sophie want to hurt Claire’s precious daughter? Was trusting her new sister with Ella the biggest mistake of Claire’s life?
Although I knew early on most of what was going on, there were still some surprises waiting for me at the unexpected ending. This is a well written psychological thriller. It’s nicely paced from beginning to end.
Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this domestic psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning until the surprising end. Claire and Luke are married and have a 4-year-old daughter, Ella. Claire’s widowed father Bernard, who has dementia/Alzheimer, lives with them and she is his caregiver. Luke is out to the bar with his friends one night and meets Anna and the trouble begins. Claire receives a text from a woman named Sophie who claims to be her half-sister. This books takes on a lot of twists and turns and is told from different POVs. I did enjoy this book but I found the characters to be all very unlikeable. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Browne for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fast paced read! Once I got into it I found it to hard to put down.
Lots of twists and turns and surprises!
My first read by this Author and won’t be my last.
One secret, one lie, one vague memory and one chance meeting all adds up to a page turner.
That one secret spirals out of control and what a mess you have !!
Claire is looking after her father who has Alzheimers , she doesnt trust or believe in her husband Luke anymore and to top it off she meets her half sister.
Everyone has their own truth; who can you believe?
Twists and turns will keep the lights on.
Dont want to give anything away, pick up this book for a great read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a page turning read.