Book Review: The Sister

Synopsis:

“I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me . . .”

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend, Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words the last time she saw her, and in a quest for answers, opens an old memory box belonging to Charlie.

It soon becomes clear that there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

Grace launches a campaign to find Charlie’s father. Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister, steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and Anna quickly makes herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely, and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie . . . or was there?

Review:

Author Louise Jensen is the bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including her latest, The Sister, in which Jensen explores the bonds of friendship, loyalty, and the paralyzing power of guilt. Grace was befriended by Charlie when they were young girls on Grace’s first day in a new school and the friendship forged that day endured until Charlie’s untimely death. The loss devastated Grace, who has remained haunted by Charlie’s last words: “I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.” Grace has no idea what Charlie did or why she asked for forgiveness.

When Grace and Charlie met, Grace was already burdened with guilt. She had just moved into her grandparents’ home. Charlie was raised by her single mother, Lexie, a would-be songstress who drank too much and left the girls on their own most of the time. Charlie never knew her father, but following her death, Grace uncovers clues to his identity and becomes determined to find him.

Instead, she finds Anna, who claims to be Charlie’s half-sister. Anna informs Grace that her father is also deceased, but she wants to learn about the sister she never knew. For Grace, Anna represents a new best friend with whom she can share her memories of Charlie. When Anna asks to briefly stay with Grace and her boyfriend, Dan, while she secures a new job, Grace readily agrees. But Anna settles in . . . with no intent to leave.

And as Anna becomes firmly entrenched, everything begins to go wrong for Grace. Her belongings go missing, her relationship with Dan becomes strained, problems develop at work, and Grace becomes convinced that she is being stalked. Determined to learn the truth, Grace continues her quest to learn what Charlie did that was so awful she was prompted to ask for Grace’s forgiveness. As Grace uncovers more information, catastrophes continue to befall her. Has she figured out in time that she is in real danger?

Grace lacks self-esteem and confidence, always seeing herself as overweight and unattractive, unable to lose the ten pounds or so that separate her from satisfaction with her appearance. She was already burdened with grief and regret about her father’s death and her mother’s reaction to his loss when Charlie suddenly left town. Although Charlie sent postcards from all the places to which she traveled, Grace missed her terribly. When Charlie finally returned, her death was another cruel blow that rendered Grace unable to function. Dan stood by her, and she has begun piecing her life back together when Lexie asks Grace to help her clean out Charlie’s room. Grace’s discovery sets in motion a series of events that lead Grace closer and closer to the truth . . . but place her in danger.

Anna is sweet and quickly ingratiates herself into Dan and Grace’s life. But from the outset, there is tension between Dan and Anna that Grace does not understand. Grace’s gullibility and vulnerability due to her long history of sadness inform and compel the action in this fast-paced mystery.

Jensen has created an eclectic, but believable cast of characters with Grace at the center of the story. The question is whether the truth, once fully revealed, will serve to set Grace free and allow her to finally find peace and happiness. In Jensen’s capable hands, learning the answer is entertaining, even if the promised shocking plot twist isn’t very shocking at all. Readers will undoubtedly figure it out long before the revelation, but that does not detract from the enjoyment of reading The Sister.