My Sister's Bones: 'Rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read' Guardian
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By Nuala Ellwood
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1 review
‘RIVALS THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN AS A COMPULSIVE READ’ The Guardian
The compelling thriller about the secrets even those closest to us keep, which readers are calling ‘SHOCKING’ ‘RIVETING’ and ‘HAUNTING’.
If you can’t trust your sister, then who can you trust?
Kate Rafter has spent her life running from her past. But when her mother dies, she’s forced to return to Herne Bay – a place her sister Sally never left.
But something isn’t right in the old family home. On her first night Kate is woken by terrifying screams. And then she sees a shadowy figure in the garden . . .
Who is crying for help?
What does it have to do with Kate’s past?
And why does no one – not even her sister – believe her?
‘A twisty psychological thriller. I raced through it in one sitting!’ Lucy Atkins, author of The Other Child
‘Wow . . . creeps slowly up your spine, grips you round the throat and doesn’t let you go! ’ Amazon reviewer
‘My Sister’s Bones is a tense, atmospheric, deliciously dark story’ Amanda Jennings, author of In Her Wake
‘Well-written . . . an elegant, punchy thriller with a dark heart’ Observer Thriller of the Month
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My Sister's Bones is a dark and disturbing novel set in the present day chaotic, violent Hell-hole of war torn Aleppo, and the scenic predictable, mundane coastline of Britain's Herne Bay in Kent.
Kate Rafter has returned home prematurely from her latest assignment as a female foreign war correspondent after the recent death of her mother, and thrust back into the fractured relationship with her resentful alcoholic sister Sally.
In the opening scene we meet Kate as she is being detained and questioned by, who appears to be, a police psychologist after displaying some very erratic behaviour and making accusations about a neighbour. She is being tormented by voices, visions and flashbacks and it is apparent that Kate is suffering from PTSD after several assignments reporting and witnessing violence, and the unrelenting devastation of war.
It is during these flashbacks, and heartbreaking revelations of a childhood tragedy, parental violence, and abuse that we find out eventually how much is real or imagined as she struggles to, keep hidden but at the same time, face the demons coming at her from all angles. It is also a fascinating examination of how memories are formed, of how reliable they may be after years have passed, and of how individuals remember events very differently, and how using different coping mechanisms for survival have affected them. I loved the author's in-depth perceptiveness and understanding of the human condition and of how life's experiences can mould a persons character and personality.
However, as much as I loved 'My Sisters Bones' I didn't feel the domestic crime element of the mysterious neighbour added value or substance to the storyline, even so Nuala Ellwood has written a superior, powerful thought provoking mystery thriller that, for me, only just fell short of a 5 star rating.
Highly recommended for fans of twisty-turny, creepy psychological thrillers with unreliable female protagonists, and untrustworthy supporting characters such as in, 'The Girl On The Train', 'Gone Girl', and 'The Widow'.
I am very excited about this author's debut and looking forward to reading her next novel.
