SISTER OF MINE

4 stars out of 5   


Love-hate relationship? Sisters Penny and Hattie Grayson have taken it to a whole 'nother level. Now that I think about it, that's kind of the way I feel about this book. At one sitting, I loved it; at the next, not so much. The only thing my split brain could come together on is that I really didn't like either [twisted] sister.

That's not to say, though, that it's not a good book; in fact, I finished it easily in two days, actually carving out time to read more when I should have been doing other things. 

The two girls - Penny is the elder - have been bonded by shared secrets ever since childhood and their father's decision to walk out and their mother's subsequent (and untimely) death. Much later, that bond is fueled when a fire destroys Penny's home (and in it her abusive husband). Now, the sisters move into their old family home, trying to make a new life for themselves and escape the rumors, innuendos and hatred of former friends and neighbors over something their gone-missing father did.

Their uneasy truce continues until the day Penny meets a handsome, intriguing new teacher and introduces him to Hattie. Ever the outgoing, charming sister, Hattie charms him away from Penny, who rationalizes that she "owes" it to Hattie to give up her claim on the guy - to the point of supporting their marriage and agreeing to live together in the same house (a quote from the book offers one explanation for that: "Let no man put asunder. Let no man pull us under.")

From the first page, of course, it was clear that all's well wouldn't end well - the only question was when, and how, would it all start to unravel, and which sister would be the one to call, a la Shakespeare's Macduff, hold enough? Tension builds as the sisters continue to bicker - each afraid the other might spill the secret beans - and they grudgingly agree to a somewhat unique approach to motherhood. In the end, faced with a son whose behavior  appears to be fueled by his mother's and aunt's actions, everything comes to a head (amid a few surprises).

For my part, I was left with a few questions, not the least of which is what did their father do all those years ago to become a social pariah? Was their mother's death really an accident? And why did it take the local cop so many years to figure out the incongruity at the scene of the fire that killed Penny's husband?

All in all, though, this is a well-written book that those who enjoy psychological thrillers should enjoy, and the length makes it an easy read that's great for the beach or a doctor's waiting room. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

Sister of Mine by Laurie Petrou (Crooked Lane Books, August 2018); 304 pp.