Tattletale by Sarah Naughton

This review is in danger of sounding like a string of cliches but sometimes those expressions really are the only ones that completely sum up what I want to say!

This has been one of the most anticipated psychological thrillers of the year and one that I have been desperate to get to while it's been sitting on my TBR pile. The flip side of this is that there is always a slight sense of trepidation before starting the book as it already has so much to live up to! However, Tattletale took this on board and confidently showed me all that warrants the praise it has been receiving. Sarah Naughton wasted no time in showing me that indeed, she is a writer to look out for; she is a talented author and this is one very good book!

The book is organised into Before and Then and Now sections and focuses on Abe. Abe lies in hospital in a coma, brain dead following a huge fall from the top of the stairs. Our narrators are Jody, his girlfriend who is desperate to show the police it can not have been suicide because they were so happy together and Mags, his sister. Mags is a lawyer and has returned from the her job in Vegas to find out what really happened to him. She has returned as she is the next of kin but she has not had a close relationship with her brother and seems oddly detached from such a traumatic situation. We also hear from a few other voices as the novel progresses but I am wary of giving anything away .........Tantalising? Well, that is Naughton's most obvious talent! She is incredibly tantalising.

Naughton knows how to hook you in straight away.

"Blood doesn't look like blood in the dark." 

I love a prologue - even though the opening is "Before" and not strictly a prologue, it opens with Abe's fall. There are no names mentioned at all and the third person narrative voice keeps it delightfully anonymous. And delightfully ambigious - another of Naughton's greatest skills! Yes, don't always expect to know exactly what is going on in this novel. It is full of unreliable narrators, some confusing plot twists and several layers of huge psychological twists and turns but ultimately the reward is huge and absolutely worth every moment of your investment as a reader.

There are several difficult to scenes to read - and even the opening chapters start with quite raw descriptions. It took me a while to root myself in the plot and side with the characters but I did. I think once the story settled into Mags' interaction with the police, Jody and the hospital I found myself really getting into the story and really beginning to enjoy Mags' voice.

Mags is feisty, confident and direct. When she first meets with the police to ascertain what happened to Abe and what is going on with their investigation, her training as a lawyer is obvious. She challenges them and shows her intelligence and her eye for seeing things differently or spotting other clues that might have been missed. I found these scenes of the victim's sister driving the investigation and almost interrogating the police really original and the total opposite from the way characters usually behave in this situation. No, Mags is a victim-not-a-victim and I think this is when I became truly fascinated by her character. I really couldn't wait for her sections and found her completely compelling throughout the entire novel.

"She's saved me from that guilt, and I should be on my knees in gratitude. So why aren't I? Because I'm a self-centred bitch, probably." 

Mags can be blunt, but also insightful. She can be cold and callous but she can also show vulnerability. She's alone and keeps people at arm's length but she can harness some empathy and ultimately will "right" things. She's perhaps not always completely likeable or someone I'd like to spend a lot of time with in the real world, but I really enjoyed spending time with her in the novel. Something about her appealed to me, made her an original character and certainly a memorable one.

Naughton's writing creates very vivid scenes, characters and dramatic moments. Her writing is direct, focused and full of impact. It is also full of evocative description and phrases that are actually fantastic examples of imagery and insight but often so understated it is easy to miss them. They contribute to the overall feel of the book and ensure that the reader knows they are reading something very well written.

"The bed is made, but I'll have to change the sheets - if only to rinse out Jody's tears from the pillow." 

I enjoyed her turn of phrase and her use of colours and observations of the human condition that snuck into the passages. Naughton can clearly write exceptionally well.

Naughton is also able to create very distinctive voices for the different characters from which she writes. She shows confident use of writing in the first, second and third person.

Jody sent a shiver down my spine from the start even though actually, she appears nothing more than harmless and we should feel deep, deep sympathy for her as she waits at Abe's bedside with more devotion than his sister. But warning bells to start to ring.

"....cheesy pop songs but suddenly every word meant something. It's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you. I still feel that Abe. Even now. Even in the hospital, watching you struggle to breathe, watching the machine pump air into your lungs. It's a perfect day because I'm spending it with you." 

Hhhhmmmm. Definitely a character to keep an eye on! I can't really say more about her without giving things away but I think Naughton did a fantastic job of leading us up and down the staircase with this one!

The repetition of the words "From Abe. From Mags" which appears almost like a motif throughout the novel was so effective. These words are the only ones the siblings have exchanged in years and are from their Christmas cards. Simple. Seemingly detached and lacking in any kind of sentimentality, these words actually come to mean something quite powerful. I really liked that.

And the ending! With psychological thrillers we all talk about the twist, the turns, the unexpected rug pulling moment and all that we did not see coming but here, in Tattletale, it's all true! The complexity of the revelations and the deft skill with which Naughton manages the plot is impressive. There was only one word I kept thinking as I read the last quarter of the book and that was "Wow!"

Tattletale is a very original novel. It feels like a fresh interpretation of the psychological thriller genre and I have no doubt in my mind that this book will fly off the shelves and pronounce Naughton to be the next 'one to watch'. I'm certain she has a long, high profile career in front of her as a thriller writer and her fan base is already huge and growing daily. I will definitely be keeping my fingers crossed that this book does as well as it deserves.

Tattletale is published on 23rd March 2017 by Trapeze.

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomainacuk)

Write Away! An Evening of Creative Writing

BIBLIOMANIAC Presents: Write Away!

An evening of creative writing with 

Leigh Russell and Helen Cox

Harpenden Arms (upstairs)

8-10pm

Tuesday 25^th April 2017

£25*

**TICKET PRICE HAS BEEN REDUCED TO £15 FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY**

*ticket price includes 1 free drink & nibbles and 2 hours of a creative writing activities led by two authors 

Tickets available online only at: 

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/write-away-tickets-32879348015

Whether you've been writing for years or whether you've never picked up a pen before, come along for an evening of fun activities that will give you ideas, tips and advice as well as the chance to have a go at writing something in a secure and supportive environment!

Full time writer, Leigh Russell has written over 18 crime thriller novels and sold over 1 million copies of her books. A qualified teacher, she also runs creative writing courses nationally as well as appearing at literary festivals and events. http://www.leighrussell.co.uk

Helen Cox is the author of The Starlight Diner Series and a qualified teacher. She also has extensive experience within the self publishing and digital industry. Helen spends her time writing and teaching, including running creative writing programmes at City Lit which boasts many best selling authors amongst its staff and alumni. 
https://helencoxauthor.wordpress.com

 

Hosted by Bibliomaniac, a read-a-holic, English teacher and student of a plethora of creative writing courses with a stack of notebooks full of the first 500 words of numerous novels. Also runs a blog full of reading recommendations and reviews. Find out more here:

bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com 

Twitter: @katherinesunde3 

Facebook: katherine.sunderland.14 

Instagram: bibliomaniacuk1/

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffmann by Mindy Mejia

Seventeen-year-old Hattie Hoffman is a talented actress, loved by everyone in her Minnesotan hometown. So when she's found stabbed to death on the opening night of her school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of the community.

Local sheriff Del Goodman, a good friend of Hattie's dad, vows to find her killer, but the investigation yields more secrets than answers; it turns out Hattie played as many parts offstage as on. Told from three perspectives: Del's, Hattie's high school English teacher and Hattie herself, The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman tells the story of the real Hattie, and what happened that final year of school when she dreamed of leaving her small town behind . . .

The opening paragraph is told by Hattie and I instantly engaged with the description of a young girl trying to run away. How many of us haven't fantasised about leaving our lives behind at some point, about jumping on that train, aeroplane, coach and heading off into the unknown? It's a great start to a book as automatically it triggers a whole number of questions about why this person wants to leave and what are they running away from?

"Running away sucked. Here I was, standing in the exact place I'd daydreamed about it math class so many times, right in front of the departures board at the Minneapolis airport, and every detail was just like I'd pictured."

There's a couple of key words in here though - the details being as she had pictured. Welcome to the world of Hattie Hoffmann - to the last act of Hattie Hoffmann - to the story of Hattie Hoffmann's final year. Hattie Hoffmann who is the leading role in her school play and is a great actress. Hattie Hoffmann who has played so many different roles in her final act that even she has lost sight of what is true and what imagined scenes she playing out.

"Get off the stage sweetheart.....You can't live your life acting for other people." 

However, by the end of the first paragraph the only words ringing in my ears are:

"I could go anywhere. Do anything. So why did I feel trapped?"

And she has my sympathy. Well, for now anyway.........

We start with Hattie's narrative which is very effective as the opening chapter raises so many questions about her and her present situation. It ends with a cliffhanger - a threat - which made me turn the page only to be met with the news that she is dead. I wondered what sort of story I was going to be reading and was intrigued. I was also intrigued by the fact that one of the narrators of the story was actually dead. This automatically raises the level of tension when we return to the previous year to see events from her point of view as they lead up to her death.

I think Hattie was my favourite voice. In many ways Del, the sheriff is there to provide the reader with extra detail about the investigation and help us join the dots a bit. His voice is one of experience, one who has seen much of the world, old style and established in the community. He has some great lines like "Look what old fashioned police work turned up", and I liked him. Although he was still as real as Hattie, it was her voice that really felt alive and her energetic voice which I found most engaging.

Hattie's summing up of acting is poignant, mature, perceptive and suggestive of so much more of what is hiding behind this perfect student's eyes.

"Sometimes I think acting is a disease, but I can't say for sure because I don't know what it's like to be healthy." 

Mejia captures the voice of a seventeen year old extremely well, that delicate balance between adult and not-an-adult, that balance between thinking they are experienced in the ways of the world and yet still terribly naive.

"Ever since I bought my Motorola this summer she acted like I was carrying Satan in my purse. ......Why couldn't I text my friends and check my forums?"

Hattie's dismissiveness of the fact that the Internet is full of people hiding behind a false identity is subtly ironic and also reflects her youthful arrogance which then starts her journey down a path that changes everything. Online she finds someone, strikes up a conversation with someone, develops a relationship with someone but how well does she really know this person? How much of his real life has he really revealed? And how honest is she about hers? All these questions define Hattie. Who is the real Hattie Hoffmann and does she know what she is doing - is it planned, controlled and thought through or is it confused and wrapped up in fiction? All that is clear is that this relationship that begins on screen that lays the foundations for the tragedy of her final act.

The third narrator, Peter, is an interesting character, one for whom my sympathy transferred backwards and forwards several times. His chapters offer a lot of insight, pertinent observations and thought provoking passages that both help the reader to gain a deeper understanding of Hattie's character but also build tension and suspense. Mejia's ability to write from a male perspective is completely convincing and she captures Peter's obsession, loss of control, actions, thoughts and decision very well.

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffmann is absorbing. It's a page turner but not in a conventional way. There are some shocking twists and turns but really this is a character driven book and what makes you turn the page is the chilling and unnerving fascination with the characters and what has happened between them. Hattie is a complex character. She is truly psychologically complex and quite unforgettable.

This is a novel about a teenager, about falling in love, about getting embroiled in events that soon spiral beyond her control. But don't be deceived, it is not just a novel about '"stupid kids" or high school. This is a novel about a small town, about ambitions, dreams, secrets and ultimately murder. This is a crime story, a police procedural, a murder investigation but also it is a deeply psychological tale about power, manipulation and obsession. It is a great read and it is going to haunt many readers long after it has entertained them. The story refers to Macbeth a lot and maybe there is something Shakespearean about this book. Romeo and Juliet, Lady Macbeth, King Lear...... maybe there are aspects of all these stories hiding in the wings while the last act of Hattie Hoffmann plays out on the stage.

It is an evocative novel and Mejia has achieved something very impressive with her first UK novel. I hope there will be more to come from her as I would love to read more.

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffmann is published by Quercus on 9th March 2017.

Mindy Mejia 



My name is Mindy Mejia and I’m a writer. I write because, ever since I was six years old, my favorite game has been pretend. My life doesn't have symmetry, theme, symbolism, or meditated beauty and I gravitate toward these things like a houseplant to the sun. I love the perfect words; I love how “fierce” and “confounded” and “swagger” look on the page and how my chest expands when I read them. I write because I believe in the reality of my fantasies, the truth in my fabrications. I’ve always had stories sneaking around my head, thrillers like THE DRAGON KEEPER and EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE, and sometimes I inhabit those stories more than my own life. (Best not to mention that last part to my husband, kids, or boss.)

www.MindyMejia.com
@MejiaWrites

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

Grand Prize: Murder! by Vivian Conroy

I like Vivian Conroy's writing. I enjoyed her Lady Alkmene series which are historical cozy crime novels set in the 1920s and this is the second in Conroy's new series, The Country Gift Shop Series, which is as pleasing and charming. Conroy's novels do all that their attractive covers suggest. They are cozy. They are crime stories. They are easy to read, enjoyable and well paced.

The cover and the series title perhaps suggest something quite twee but although the influence of Miss Marple is clearly an influence for Conroy, there is something a little bit more quirky and humorous rather than saccharine about these books. And they are crime stories so there is blood, there is murder, there is violence and police investigations. There are all the elements a reader wants and needs to make the stories compelling and Conroy ensures that you are engaged with the story and characters so that you want to read on until the end.

Although this is book 2 in the series, it doesn't matter if you haven't read book 1 as Conroy swiftly brings everyone up to date in the first chapter with a succinct summary of all you need to know. But to be honest, these are light and easy reads at around 220 pages so it won't take you long to catch up if you want to start from the beginning!

We return to Glen Cove and to Vicky Simmons and her gift shop. This time, Vicky is awaiting the arrival of Bella Brookes who is a cozy crime author coming for a book signing and to open Glen Cove's One Mile Book Market. There's also going to be a scavenger hunt - which I thought was an inspired idea for any book signing event as well as a rather clever plot device!

I think Conroy had quite a lot of fun writing this novel and she must have enjoyed writing about a cozy crime author and a book event! Bella Brookes is a fantastic, larger than life character who the readers loves to love, cringe at, feel frustrated by and maybe even hate as she has so much self confidence and such a sense of self importance. Her flamboyancy and then her rudeness are well evoked and she makes a for a character who leaps of the page with her vitality and personality. The effect she has on the people around her is amusing and I really enjoyed the description of her arrival at the party. Nor does she fade or whither when accused of being a suspect in the murder.

But she is not the only colourful character - there are many more here in Glen Cove. And as well as the interlopers and visitors, there are also the steady, quiet, reliable and honourable employees at the gift shop, the police department and in Vicky's group of friends. They are a great bunch to spend some time with and it was enjoyable to watch the relationships developing as the second novel continued.

Of course I cannot include spoilers so I cannot reveal any more about the characters and the storyline but I would recommend these books. They should be on every readers book shelf, ready for when you fancy some escapism, light relief or a good thriller that will give you enough clues, hints and revelations without dragging you into anything too violent or stomach churning. Recommend!

Grand Prize: Murder is out in ebook on 15th March 2017.

Vivian Conroy

Vivian Conroy discovered Agatha Christie at 13 and quickly devoured all Poirot and Miss Marple stories. Over time Lord Peter Wimsey and Brother Cadfael joined her favorite sleuths. Even more fun than reading was thinking up her own fog-filled alleys, missing heirs and priceless artifacts. So Vivian created feisty Lady Alkmene and enigmatic reporter Jake Dubois sleuthing in 1920s London and the countryside, first appearing in A PROPOSAL TO DIE FOR (published by Carina UK/Harper Collins). Now she has created the contemporary Country Gift Shop Mysteries published by HQ Stories.

@VivWrites
@HQStories @HQDigitalUK

For my reviews of Vivian Conroy's other titles please use the links below:
Dead To Begin With #1 Country Gift Shop Series
A Proposal To Die For #1 Lady Alkmene Series

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) or sign up to receive future posts via email. Thank you!

The Lauras by Sara Taylor

The Lauras is the new novel from the exceptionally gifted author of The Shore, which was long listed for the Baileys Women’s Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.

"I didn’t realise my mother was a person until I was thirteen years old and she pulled me out of bed, put me in the back of her car, and we left home and my dad with no explanations. I thought that Ma was all that she was and all that she had ever wanted to be. I was wrong."

As Ma and Alex make their way from Virginia to California, each new state prompts stories and secrets of a life before Alex. Together they put to rest unsettled scores, heal old wounds, and search out lost friends. But Alex can't forget the life they've left behind.

To be honest it was the quotes from other authors that made me want to read this book. If Ali Smith and Helen Dunmore are referring to this novel as 'eloquent', 'engrossing', 'extraordinary' and claiming that Taylor is a  'A writer of real gravitas and potency,' (Ali Smith) then this book has to be worth investigating! Having read a lot of thrillers recently I was looking for something which would offer me a bit of a change and this was definitely the right choice! 

I knew from the first line of the first chapter that I was going to enjoy this novel. The storyline was going to be secondary to me, the thing I knew I was going to enjoy was the writing. From the opening, I was caught up by Taylor's stunning prose and elegant writing. 

"I could hear them arguing......... I could feel one doing like the promise of a storm thickening the air........I listened to the rise and fall of their voices for hours some nights, for as long as it took for them to gradually calm."

But this night, when the voices went from "full pitch to silent in a moment", Alex knew something was wrong. Her mother is suddenly at her door, dragging her out of bed, into the car and driving away from the house and Alex's father. 

"That twenty-four hours, starting with the moment we left home, was burned into my memory. ..... I can't forget the grease and the smoke, the flannel on the skin, the fear of realising that my life was taking a ninety-degree turn." 

And off they go. Ma and Alex. On a journey from Virginia to California, to the places Ma had lived as child and as a teenager; places she lived in foster care, run away from and places full of secrets that only now was she ready to share with her daughter. Her mother is going to "write in the details" as if the "stories had finally backed up in her and she had to let them out." 

Told from Alex's point of view this is as much her mother's story as Alex's. Alex's observations and insights about her mother are poignant, often revealing a troubled person and someone who has suffered trauma, but always utterly exquisitely conveyed with beautiful description and imagery. I could not help but become enraptured with both characters and totally absorbed in their journey - both physical and emotionally. Even though Alex is 13 and her mother's daughter, Taylor manages the narrative in such a way that it is effective and works very well. It feels authentic and real.

I felt great empathy for Ma as her past was revealed and the obstacles she has overcome explained. Although she has taken Alex away from their family home, and then often leaves her for hours in small, cheap accommodation while she goes off to work, and although she uproots Alex again and again as their journey requires, she is a character who evokes sympathy and interest. A lot of her past is told to us through Alex as she recounts the stories her mother is now choosing to share about her life but this cleverly seems to create a closeness to both characters rather than any sense of distance or that we are learning things too vicariously. To be honest I was so mesmerised by the prose I was completely carried along anyway and just couldn't help but keep highlighting passages of writing that I found truly striking. 

The Lauras is just as much of a coming of age story about Alex too. This drive across the states with her mother is just as much an emotional journey for Alex as it is her mother and just as much a revelation and learning for her character as it is her mothers. There is so much in this book about fitting in, hiding and disguising yourself, wanting to belong and wanting to shield yourself that there are pages and pages of pertinent, insightful, well written observations and comments about people and the relationships formed between them. And Alex is a dignified, thoughtful, reflective narrator whose expression is remarkable and arresting. Her descriptions of the people she meets - particularly at school - are vivid.

"[They] talked over each other until their voices blended together in a counterpoint of contradiction." 

And then there are the Lauras; Ma's friends and the people who have had pivotal roles in her life or been at her side during significant moments in her childhood, teenage and adult life. 

"Why do all the women in your stories have the same name?" Alex asks as we meet more and more of these Lauras over the course of the novel. Ma's reply is lengthy and detailed, but it is very moving too and more a description of how influential friendships and people can be at particular moments in your life. It reveals even more about the holes in Ma's life, the emptiness, the emotional deprivation and the constant search to recreate something meaningful with people. Taylor uses the Lauras to contemplate the effect of loss and the way in which perhaps our mind seeks out connections it thinks will bring it happiness and security - the way perhaps we seek to make ourselves fulfilled and happy without truly being able to see what is actually happening to us. 

This isn't a sad novel, it is not a heavy going novel. There are some difficult truths acknowledged and there are some passages that are full of raw, realistic and very honest writing about taboo subjects and the ugly nature of relationships and parenting but I did not find it an oppressive read or depressing. I was caught up in the journey with Alex and Ma and I wanted to find out all about them. I was waiting with Alex until her mother gave her the answers she was waiting for and told her the stories she wanted to hear. I was completely transfixed by the relationship between Ma and Alex and the dynamics between them as they traced back a life of hardship and struggle. I devoured the pages and devoured the development of the characters. I hung on Alex's words and was constantly impressed with Taylor's exposition and writing. 

"I didn't have the child's blind trust in the omnipotence of parents anymore. I had eaten the apple and now knew that Ma was just like me, that she probably didn't know what to do right now anymore than I would, that her only advantage was a rapidly narrowing gulf of experience." 

Taylor's prose is without doubt eloquent, captivating and vivid. The Lauras is without doubt a beautifully observed novel with stunning writing and engrossing characters. 

I'm so glad I requested this book on a whim and I feel so massively rewarded from Taylor's writing. It is excellent literary fiction.  I shall definitely be reading her first book The Shore, and looking out for anything else she writes in the future.

If you like Ali Smith, Helen Dunmore and Margaret Atwood then you will enjoy this!

The Lauras is available in Hardback and as an ebook and will be published in paperback on 6th April 2017 by Windmill Books.

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) or sign up to receive future posts via email. Thanks!

The Sister by Louise Jensen

The opening is so mysterious as we meet our protagonists in a forest, in the dark, in the wet and squelching through mud with a shovel and "heartbreak heavy legs." The final lines of this short enticing section finishing with the intriguing sentence:

"The dampness of the leaves and earth seep through my trousers, as the past seeps through to my present."

Shiver.

Meet Grace. Meet Charlie. Best friends since childhood. Different enough but similar still that the bond between them is deep and strong. But Charlie has died and Grace is devastated. She wears a half heart necklace "forever on a chain around my neck" which is "desperate to be whole again." She has a  boyfriend Dan who loves her but Grace's heart seems broken by the death of her friend and she's clearly struggling to move forward. Digging up an old memory box that the friends buried years before, Grace finds a letter and realises that perhaps she never really knew her friend after all.

"Can you ever really know someone? Properly know someone?"

The book is divided into two narratives, "Now" and "Then" and I liked that they weren't always alternating told and that the we often stayed with one of them for a few chapters before switching. This increased the tension and kept the reader glued to the page, desperate to return to the past and find out what happened in the lead up to Charlie's death and desperate to stay in the present and find out what was happening to Grace.

Grace's life is unravelling. She has a traumatic past for which she carries blame and guilt and now with the death of her best friend she seems rudderless, drifting dangerously into a haze of depression. Her relationship with Dan is under pressure as "Grief has pulled us apart like repelling magnets," with a "gulf between us that we just can't bridge." So finding a letter from Charlie, Grace is given purpose by wanting to know just what her words meant and then also deciding to track down Charlie's father as was Charlie's last wish.

The story is narrated by Grace and the reader cannot help but form a deep attachment with her. When she recounts scenes from her childhood, scenes from when she first started at a new school, tried to make new friends, tried to process what she had been through, it's impossible not to feel empathy for her. The detail and emotive manner of Jensen's writing made me feel like I was always at Grace's side, always with her at every moment however sad, happy, special, confusing or upsetting. In fact, this book is one of those stories where your are screaming at the page as you watch the drama unfold in front of your eyes, desperate to leap in and help Grace realise what is going on around her and desperate to give some of the other characters a piece of your mind.

By screaming I obviously mean with your inner voice.. ... well, I hope it was an inner voice although I'm pretty sure the way I was leaning forward into my kindle as if I might dive through into the screen because I was so gripped by the story and the way I sighed rather too loudly when the train reached my stop, was probably a little unnerving for my fellow commuters.....

But don't you just love a book that makes that happen to you?

I do.

The story rattles along with Grace's attempts to find Charlie's father and to work out what Charlie's letter meant but as she does, other things start going wrong around her. Is she being followed? Why is Charlie's mum so angry with her? And then as we head back into the past, what happened to the friendship group Grace and Charlie were part of at school? Why did the group of four girls disintegrate? What did happen to Grace's family and why does she think she is responsible for the death of her father? Why is she blamed for the death of Charlie?

Jensen does such a fabulous job of making us wonder whether Grace is to be trusted - her grief, her projection of what she wants to be true, the realisation that she is strongly medicated and therefore how reliable she really is challenge us and confuse us. We want to be on Grace's side but Jensen is toying with us, dropping small hints and clues that nothing is as it seems. But we want to believe Grace and we want her to uncover the truth.

Then Anna arrives. Charlie's long lost sister. Grace wastes no time in welcoming Anna into her house her life, her heart even, so desperate is she to get something of Charlie back in her like. But Anna, oh yes, Anna. Wow! Fantastic!

Anna is delightfully terrible. I loved that she gave the appearance of someone vulnerable, gentle, kind and innocent yet you knew she was none of those things. You just can't prove it. And you just can't get Grace to see it! I'm currently hooked on the BBC drama "The Replacement" and this relationship between Anna and Grace really reminded me of the central relationship in the programme. It was at this point that I felt Jensen really upped her game and demonstrated her skill as a thriller writer who can create characters that are vivid and compelling and a storyline that is tightly controlled and full of twists.

When I started reading The Sister I was engaged and enjoying it. I loved the complexity of Grace's character as she tried to juggle her job, her relationship, her grief and her memories of the past. I liked the hints, the clues, the half revelations about the characters which was so effective in making me read on and is what makes the first half so suspenseful. This was a psychological thriller; it ticked all the boxes for the kind of read I enjoy and Jensen was successfully following the form of this genre. I was happily reading along. I was turning the pages. I was intrigued and invested in the story. But I wasn't blown away.

And then I was.

Completely. And utterly. Blown away.

I could not read the last third fast enough. My body was tense, my hands twitching, my eyes racing to read on as my head keep asking more questions, trying to keep up with everything Jensen was revealing, everything that was spiralling out of control and everything that each of the characters had to say. And answers - I wanted answers! Every time I thought I had one, Jensen would throw something else in there to complicate things, add a twist, a turn, a shock which just opened up more questions, more tension, more panic- and made the connections that I was trying to link together more tangled.

I really enjoyed The Sister. It is a great debut novel and I am delighted that I also have The Gift - Jensen's second novel, downloaded on my kindle too. I know it won't be long before I abandon my TBR pile and slot it in as I'm sure it will be as excellent as this one!

A really fantastic, gripping, multilayered book about friendship, love, mistakes, secrets and lies. Absolutely well worth a read!

Just remember:

"We all have different sides, I think. The things we share. The things we keep hidden. The good, the bad. The truth, the lies."

The Sister was published as an ebook in July 2016 and in paperback August 2017.

Louise Jensen is very active on social media and I follow her (ok, ok, so I stalk her) on Twitter and via her blog, Fabricating Fiction. She is a great author to follow as her blog posts often have author interviews, insights into her writing process, her latest flash fiction stories and lots lots more. It's definitely one of my favourite blogs - it has a lovely, distinctive design too!

You can follow her blog here fabricating fiction and follow her on Twitter @Fab_fiction

LOUISE JENSEN

Louise Jensen is a No. 1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her debut novel 'The Sister,' was published in July 2016 and reached No. 1 in the UK where it stayed for over 5 weeks, and it also hit No. 1 on the Canadian Amazon chart, No.1 in Apple's iBooks and is listed as a USA Today Bestseller. It was the 6th biggest selling book on Amazon in 2016.

'The Gift' Louise's second book, was published in December and within a week of release gave Louise her second No. 1 in 2016 both in the UK, where it stayed for over a 5 weeks, was No. 1 in  Canada and is also a USA Today Bestseller. 

To date Louise has sold over 700,00 books and her novels have been sold for translation in fifteen territories. Louise was nominated for the Goodreads Debut Author of 2016 Award.

Louise also writes flash fiction, and features and articles for both magazines and online publications. Louise specialises in writing about mindfulness, chronic pain and mental health.

louisejensen.co.uk

MORE ABOUT LOUISE JENSEN:

When I was little I was obsessed by Enid Blyton. Her characters were so real to me they became my friends. I often huddled under my covers, stifling my yawns and straining my eyes, as I read 'just one more page' by torchlight. 
Mr Townsend, my primary school English teacher always encouraged my love of literature, and it wasn’t long before I’d read everything my school had to offer. The first book I created was six pages long, had stick-man illustrations and was sellotaped together. I was immensely proud of it. Writing was a huge part of my life, until one day it wasn’t.
I can’t remember ever making a conscious decision to stop writing but it became easier to act on the advice I was given - ‘grow up and get a proper job’ - and my dreams were tightly packed away, gathering dust for the next twenty years.
My thirties were a car crash. Literally. I sustained injuries which when coupled with a pre-existing condition forced me to radically change my lifestyle. I felt utterly lost and utterly alone. Always an avid reader I began to devour books at an alarming rate. ‘You’ll have read every book in here soon,’ my local librarian said. ‘You’ll have to write your own.’
And there was a flicker, a shift, a rising of hope. I grasped that nugget of possibility and I wrote. I wrote when I was happy. I wrote when I was sad. I wrote when I was scared and in-between writing, I read, read and read some more.  Words have the power to lift, to heal. They have illuminated my world, which for a time became very dark.
As Anne Frank said ‘I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.’


For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk).