SISTER
by Rosamund Lupton
This is my second monthly Sunday Bookworm, where I am endeavouring to review books that I have read and enjoyed, and hopefully start some discussions about them - so if you would like to take part, please either leave your comments about this book, or see the end of this post for how to take part in future reviews, and even have your own comments included in the post...
This book was introduced to my via an organised Book Club that I attended for a short while, in fact it was the second of the books that they read since I joined - the first going down universally like a lead balloon amongst all the members - so it was with mixed feelings and some apprehension that I picked it up.
One of my main aims in joining the Book Club was to discover some new authors whose books I could collect and devour, as well as generally broadening my literary mind... I wouldn't exactly call this particular book mind-broadening - but I have added Rosamund Lupton to my list of authors to follow - which I think is a good indicator that I did enjoy this book!
Essentially you might think that the book is a "whodunnit". In a nutshell, it charts the story of a woman setting out to find out who has killed her sister, and also why. But to leave it at such a short abbreviated summary is doing it a great dis-service. It is so much more than that.
I didn't know at all what to expect when I picked the book up - having been very disappointed with my previous Book Club read - and I started the book with the rather negative idea that I really wouldn't enjoy it. And, probably only due to that very state of mind, at first it seemed that my fears were going to be realised.
But wait...
The characters were clearly portrayed, and true to life, and there was definitely a plot brewing! The writing style is easy to read without being dumbed down, and there is a certain appeal to "ordinary people" rather then the sometimes trumped up characters you tend to find in some modern books.
My attitude to the book was being turned - so I rather imagine that if I hadn't started it with a sour mind I probably would have enjoyed it right from the start!
The story soon gathers momentum, and you are introduced to various characters along the way, and you soon become drawn into the twists and turns of the plot. By two thirds of the way through the book you will probably have drawn, and then redrawn, your conclusions about what is going on and "whodunnit" and as the book draws into it's final chapters you really do believe that you have it nailed.
But wait...
The conclusion to the book is very unexpected. I had the perpetrator well and truly wrong! But then this is half the fun of the read. It plays the "whodunnit" card in a new and inventive way, and I defy you not to be hooked! And the bit I love the most - a very sharp twist right at the very end... but you're going to have to read it for yourself, as I'm not giving any more away.
This is a very engaging first novel, and introduces us to an author who promises to play with our minds as much as entertain us with her story lines. Suffice to say, I shall definitely be looking out for more Rosamund Lupton books!
To find out more about this author, and her two novels to date, please visit
Next month's Sunday Bookworm with be posted on
Sunday 21st August
when I will be reviewing
Behind The Scenes At The Museum
by Kate Atkinson
If you have read this book and would like your comments or views included in my review (good or bad, I will accept all-comers) then please email me at: anna@thelimegarden.co.uk
...with the subject line "Sunday Bookworm" - I very much look forward to hearing your thoughts!
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