My review
Real sisters are more important than blood sisters, aren’t they???
3 people : 3 girls growing up to 2 women with an accident in their midst ; misstep or murder?? Why was a kid with learner’s license allowed to drive a car?? Where are kids’ mothers?? What really happened on that day?? The answers to all these questions is hidden in the pages of this book.
This is the basic plot line told in alternate voices of two sisters, Allison and Kitty, in two different time lines; one is the present 2016-2017 and the other is the past 2001 and the days preceeding to that fateful day. One accident spoils the lives of three families and they deal with the aftermath for years to come, the secrets, the horrors hidden in a damaged brain, the truth.
Two real sisters, but what really binds them : blood or past memories?? Guilt?? There is both love and envy…
Allison, a straight A student heading for college, post accident, suddenly drops out and turns to art. She teaches an evening class in the college on stained glass making and joins an open prison as an art teacher for three days a week. She meets Clive and life appears smooth for her. But she is a cutter. Is cutting herself and going to jail to teach a class, a penance for her crime??
Kitty, her younger half sister, locked in her own brain, where impulses from the brain do not reach the body. She is stuck to a wheelchair with hidden memories, in a care home where nobody understands her. She cannot talk but her brain does not stop talking. She knows she must remember something but what?? Will she remember the past, remember the blood pact made with her friend and be loyal??
Every character introduced in the book has his/her own secret… Mother, Lilian’s relationship with Alison’s dad, Kitty’s hate and fear of her own dad David, Alison’s boyfriend-of-sorts Clive with his strange absences, prison inmates, Martin, Stefan, Kurt and how they connect to Alison in prison, Kitty’s attraction to Johnny, and best friend Vanessa who shares her secret.
This is Jane Corry’s second book. Her pace of writing is initially difficult to follow but the subsequent pages make it easy. She soon connects the dots to all the questions and the end is a grand finale. The plot builds up slowly rising in fervor. It is labeled as a psychological thriller, but I did not get that, there was no rush of adrenaline, it comes across more as a mystery. It didn’t take me on a journey. I lost my connection to the characters, instead of being a part of story, I felt like a viewer of the story.
Jane Corry’s first book, ‘My Husband’s Wife’ was fabulous.. This is a little offbeat in its reading. I would definitely read more of her books as the story line is always good but with a little lesser expectations. There is a quote from the book that I liked especially;
Love is close to hate when it comes to sisters, you’re as close as two humans can be, you come from the same womb, the same background, even if you are poles apart mentally. That’s why it hurts so much when your sister is unkind to you…
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books and this is my honest and unbiased opinion
My rating : 4 stars
About the Author
Jane Corry is a former magazine journalist who spent three years working as the writer-in-residence of a high security prison for men. She had never been inside a jail before and this often hair-raising experience helped inspire her debut psychological thriller, the Sunday Times bestseller My Husband’s Wife.
Jane is a regular life story judge for the Koestler Awards given to prisoners for art and writing. Until recently, Jane was a tutor in creative writing at Oxford University, and she now runs writing workshops in her local area of Devon and speaks at literary festivals all over the world. She has three grown up children and writes the ‘Diary of a First-Time Grandmother’ column for the Daily Telegraph.
Book Blurb
Two women. Two versions of the truth.
Kitty lives in a care home. She can’t speak properly, and she has no memory of the accident that put her here. At least that’s the story she’s sticking to.Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. When a job in a prison comes up she decides to take it – this is her chance to finally make things right.
But someone is watching Kitty and Alison.Someone who wants revenge for what happened that sunny morning in May.
Product Details
Publication date : 29th June 2017
Publisher : Penguin
Language : English
Available on Amazon
Secrets & twists between sisters
23 Responses
This sounds like a great book. Also a very good review. I’m adding it to my TBR. Thanks! 😛
Hi Jay… First comment from you on my blog… Hehehe… Yes it was good jay but it’s not a psychological thriller but quite different from normal u will finish in 3 to 4 hrs
good to know. I’d heard of the author before but didn’t realize which books she wrote thanks for the share
Hehehe hope to see ur words on my blog someday again 😉😉
‘Love is close to hate when it comes to sisters’ – hahah, definitely! As a triplet I have nothing more to add 😂 but love usually wins, right?
I agree.. My sister is my lifeline. Whatever happens in the outside world, I am always happy being with her. I am glad u are part of a team of sisters..
Ooo I really like the sound of this, though it’s a shame it didn’t pull you in and connect you to the characters in the way you’d hope a psych thriller would. Thanks for sharing this, will have to check out this author. Great review =]
Caz
Thank u so much for reading and commenting.. Much appreciated… The book is good just a little more would have been nice but that’s purely me.. Lots of twists.. U would enjoy… Not a real psychological thriller but close enough
Nice review. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Solomon for reading and commenting.. Much appreciated… I kinda rambled on, on one of your posts
You are much welcome, Shalini. I appreciate your support for visiting my posts.
I really love your dedication..I’m just wondering if you got more than 24 hrs a day..you read wp posts and comment and then just like that you finish a book and give reviews as well..all the very best to you..
Loved the story line..I want to read a different story like this..I liked how each character has some secret..loved the quote as well..i have a secret as well..if i tell you that I’m afraid you might unfollow me.😊😊
My principle has been to live and let live jeni, I am rarely shocked as to each his own.. I havnt lived ur life in ur shoes so how do i judge u? as far as unfollowing is concerned, I rarely do that too..
Thank you for ur kind words.. I read to escape and to go into a different world. I am known to grab a corner of the operation theatre and read in between surgeries… Hehehe So I manage on my off days.. When I am working I am working my phones are shut off…
It’s totally ur choice to tell me your secret.. Sometimes it’s better to tell a stranger than a known friend.. Be happy stay happy
let me see if you still follow me..I don’t read books😎 I have read only two books ..I’m planning to read..
I’m known to grab a corner of the operation theatre and read in between the surgeries..you write lines like these..and say you can’t write..I’m waiting to read a written piece from you..And will let you once I develop the habit of reading books😊😊
That’s your secret, you don’t read books?? Hehehe… That’s absolutely fine… We all can’t be readers… The world would become boring… You write from your heart… Not many can do.. I can write a bit but not like you guys… Most of you are amazing.. Your words stringed together are melody.. Mine are just getting stringed together..
That’s a great compliment I have received.. I wish you create your melodies soon..my first poem which I wrote is ‘first love’ on my blog..I just wrote a line and then It took another hour for me to write the next line to go along with it..but after that , I have written poems in 2 minutes…so the toughest step is to take the first step..take it with confidence.. you can pull it off well as you have so much dedication..good luck..
Awww jeni thank you so much.. I string words when my heart speaks… Whether it’s a melody or a discordant beat is upto the heart which is listening…
Thank you for your encouragement… Its simply superb and heart warming
You got it..that’s it 👍 write from the heart..that’s what I do..pour out all the love in the piece of paper..and pleasure is all mine, always.
Thank u girl… Be happy always
That sentence from the book, “love is close to hate” is chilling. Great review.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting.. Its a good read