Beatrice has always lived the safest life, the one far away from exhilarating ledges and heart-pounding tightropes, so when her sister turns up missing she is uncomfortably reminded of Tess’s ability to throw caution to the wind and live a life with no safety nets and no restraint. Of course Beatrice, her mother, and her safe-as-houses fiancé think Tess has just gone off on one but somehow, it doesn’t seem right… Not with her baby due in three more weeks.

Then it turns out that the baby died in childbirth, and every puzzle piece turns jagged and sharp. Will Beatrice unravel the mystery, and will she be able to figure out what happened to Tess?

Beatrice’s perception of herself will be challenged by the ordeal to come, and she will find herself and her life irrevocably changed. But will she be able to keep herself safe? And are the ties she forms to people from Tess’s past enough to keep her sane when the world turns topsy-turvy?

Sister was recommended to me by Amazon months and months ago, when I first read Emma Donoghue’s Room and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, but for some reason I never bought it. On a spur of the moment during a Kindle-related spending spree, I decided to get it, and I’ve been living a life of regret ever since… Because I could have known about Rosamund Lupton’s wonderful talent months ago.

Her ability to draw a character you feel drawn to is nothing short of astounding; reliable, boring old Beatrice is not a guise I’d usually don, and most authors would struggle to make me identify with her on any level. Lupton, however, seems to do so without any perceived effort on either her part or mine. Beatrice becomes a comfortable narrator, and as she is shaped by her experiences so you, too, gain a piercing insight into the heart and mind of a grief-stricken sister.

Better yet; the classic whodunnit nature, which Lupton overhauls with an expert eye for atmosphere and a light touch with drama that lends it an impressive sense of realism, is remade in light of her extraordinary talent with words. The dénouement will leave you staggering, and Lupton places each puzzle piece in its place with the careless grace of long practice and innate ability.

Don’t let this one get away. Give it a chance, and you’ll be hooked from the first word to the last!

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