Publication Date: 20th April from Headline
Source: Review Copy
Two Sisters:
You don’t get to choose your family.
She thought she’d never go back home.
But there’s something in her sister’s voice she just can’t refuse.
And hasn’t it always been that way?
What her sister asks, she does . .
A really stand out psychological thriller here from Michelle Adams – great depth to character and setting, beautifully done, not easily anticipated which is a huge plus and generally I’m a big fan of this one.
The two sisters are oh so very different – Irini, given away by her parents, never grasped the full reason, over the years her intermittent contact with sister Elle brings a whole world of trouble. When we meet Irini she has spent a while trying to escape Elle’s vortex, moving and hiding, again we are not sure why but a single phone call brings her back into Elle’s world and back into that destructive sphere of influence.
I loved My Sister for its eloquent descriptive sense, especially of the relationship between the sisters which is difficult to grasp and even harder to hold onto. Michelle Adams brings a sense of menace to the whole story but mostly to Elle who is definitely a character I will never ever forget. Divisive, out and out scary occasionally, her loyalties questionable but unbending – it is no surprise that Irini cannot stay steady or react logically in her presence. Irini has been formed by that sense of abandonment, that inability to discover why she was discarded. Both Elle and Irini are fascinating, compelling and completely unpredictable, it is gripping gripping stuff.
The plotting is taut and effective – sitting at the heart of it, these two girls, but the multi layered mystery element is completely clever, the resolution when it comes is one of those you go away and think about for ages afterwards. My Sister is about family dysfunction, about parental love and security, about what you do to keep those you love safe. It is a psychological thriller with a whole heap of heart and I was agog at every page. You know how sometimes you actually talk out loud to a book while you are reading it? Ok maybe that’s just me then but “My Sister” and I had many discussions. I could not put it down.
Flipping awesome.
Highly Recommended.
Come to First Monday Crime and see Michelle on the Panel
Happy Reading!
