Saturday, August 10, 2019

Review - We Were Sisters

Title:  We Were Sisters  
Author:  Wendy Clarke
Genre:   Psychological Thriller
Publisher:  Bookouture
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   320
Date of Publication:  August 8, 2019
My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

I turn to where I left my baby in his pushchair and pull up short. With a racing heart, I look around wildly, fear gripping my stomach. I only looked away for a moment. The pushchair and my baby are gone.

Kelly is taking her twin daughters to their first day of school, ushering them into the classroom, her heartbreaking to think they might not need her anymore when she turns around and sees that her newborn baby is gone.

As a desperate search ensues, baby Noah is quickly found – parked in front of a different classroom. But when Kelly reaches forward to comfort him, she finds something tucked beside his blanket. A locket that belonged to her sister Freya. A locket Kelly hasn’t seen since the day Freya died.

And then Kelly’s perfectly-ordered life begins to unravel…

We Were Sisters is a heart-pounding suspense thriller that will grip you until the very last page. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to stop reading this incredible book. 
MY THOUGHTS:

Kelly is walking her twin daughters to their first day of school. It is not a pleasant experience. For one thing Kelly has OCD so the walk is wrought with problems - such as counting to a certain number while a light changes from red to green. Meanwhile, one twin is over-exuberant about her first day, while the other twin is terrified, thus leaving Kelly's nerves extra raw. Along for the walk is Kelly's baby Noah.

Kelly parks Noah's pram near the door to hand over her daughters to their teacher. After only turning her back for a moment, she realizes Noah is gone. She flies into a panic, but then notices his pram a few classrooms down. When she reaches in to comfort Noah, she grasps a locket. The locket belonged to her sister Freya. How could this be? Freya died years ago and Kelly has never seen the locket since.

With Kelly already being frazzled, Noah's pram apparently being moved, and the locket being discovered makes matters far worse for her. However, despite having a good relationship with her husband, Kelly feels she can share her fears and concerns with him. Instead she tries to focus on caring for the baby all while helping the girls adjust to school.

This story goes back and forth from past to present. Kelly had a very unhappy childhood, and was always seeking the love and approval of her parents. Meanwhile, her mother seemed always looking for something, or someone, and thus Kelly had various foster siblings when she was a child. Kelly really hoped that Freya, when she came into her home, would be her real sister. Why then, after leaving home many years before, does Kelly suddenly find Freya's locket in Noah's pram?

Things become rather sinister in this story. What happened with the locket was only the start of rather terrifying things for Kelly and her family. This was indeed a thrilling book, one that I read in one sitting. I was eager to know what the mystery was with Freya and also wanted to know the depths of Kelly's emotional problems and whether or not they would impact her role as a wife or a mother.

Wendy Clarke did a fantastic job holding my attention from the very first page. I loved the mix of family drama and mystery. The inclusion of mental illness was handled gingerly and respectfully..The conclusion was thrilling, thus rounding out a very well-written story.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From a young age, I’ve loved writing stories, but it wasn’t until the small primary school I was teaching in closed down, that I started writing seriously. While considering my future, I enrolled on an online writing course. It was the first time I’d written since school, and I hadn’t expected to fall in love with it again so quickly. I soon found out writing is a drug. After the course finished, I was left feeling bereft and my tutor suggested I try sending my stories to women’s magazines. I was lucky enough to have my first sale in a matter of months and, since then, have had over three hundred stories published as well as serials.   It’s not surprising that my thoughts then turned to novels. The idea of writing my debut psychological thriller came to me on a holiday in the Lake District. Settings and characters have always come first with me, but the plot quickly followed.   I am thrilled that my publisher Bookouture took a chance on me and, because of them, my dream to become a published novelist has come true.

My motto is – It’s never too late!

6 comments:

  1. Looks like a very interesting book.

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  2. Great review...and that cover😍😍I need it

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  3. Great review Robin, this is the first time I've seen and heard about this book and it looks and sounds absolutely amazingly fantastic and right up my alley as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.

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