La Hermana Secreta

by Sarah A. Denzil, Nahia Laiz (Narrator), Sol de la Barreda (Narrator)

En los páramos de Yorkshire, la célebre autora Faye Mathis intenta aceptar su demencia prematura. Ha comenzado a escribir sus memorias, plasmando su pasado en papel antes de que su memoria la traicione. Pero la historia de su familia está llena de vacíos, linajes truncados y lazos familiares que terminan todos en nudos.

Cuando una fotografía de Faye —sucia y desaliñada, deambulando sola por los páramos— se vuelve viral, su vida se sume en el caos. Faye está convencida de que ella no es esa persona en la fotografía. Pero ¿cómo puede estar segura?

Faye se propone descubrir la verdadera identidad de la mujer en la

fotografía. Pero cuantas más preguntas hace, más desconcertante se vuelve la verdad. A medida que sus sospechas más oscuras comienzan a confirmarse, Faye se ve obligada a cuestionar todo lo que sabe y todo lo que no sabe.

Porque cada familia tiene secretos, y siempre hay alguien que quiere que permanezcan así.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

Audible Audio

Published February 16, 2026

About the author

Sarah A. Denzil is a Wall Street Journal bestselling suspense writer. She is also known as young adult author Sarah Dalton.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.

She is the author of international bestselling psychological thriller SILENT CHILD, which topped the bestseller lists on Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.

You can read now read AIDEN'S STORY, a short story and sequel to SILENT CHILD. It's completely free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/n7lb74chp3

Find out more at: http://www.sarahdenzil.com/

Join the newsletter for updates: http://eepurl.com/cwAmZD

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil

Check out her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/sarahadenzil/

Email: sarah@sarahdenzil.com

Reviews

[☮Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.
This was a freebie on Audible so I'm glad not to have spent a credit or any cash on it. Very strange transitions between chapters / points of view, music, and sound effects on the audio had me losing patience with it repeatedly. Not very likeable characters or realistic plot. I finished it though! I don't know why!

[Tuesdaybeanreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this one just didn’t do it for me. The premise had potential, family secrets, drama, a mysterious sister? I was intrigued. But the execution fell flat. The pacing was all over the place, and I struggled to connect with the characters. Some of the plot twists felt forced or way too convenient, and the emotional beats didn’t quite land for me. Not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but definitely not something I’d pick up again.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 – A good thriller overall, but with several loose ends. The police characters are especially frustrating — arguably the most useless in the entire book. Also, the sound effects feel random and out of place; if you're going to use them, at least be consistent throughout the chapters.

[Kara Ayres · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could, I’d rated this 2 1/2 out of five stars. Cheap sound effects annoying music and parts of the book made you simply want to scream and not in a good way. If it’s not clear, I read the audiobook version of this. narrators were professional and proficient, but in my opinion not one of Sarah Denzel‘s best works.

[Jo Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟
3 stars for the story which was good if a little bit loose.
2 🌟 for the full cast of narrators
1🌟 for the childlike sound effects. These were really unnecessary and too sporadic to actually add anything.

[Tracey Kiser · Rating 1 out of 5]

Annoying music between chapters and sound effects while listening to Creepy storyline.

[Mike Finn]

'Secret Sister' (2025) is an Audible Original, written by Sarah A. Denzil ('Silent Child', 'The Housemaid', 'The Woman In Coach D') and narrated by Jessica Gunning, Sacha Dhawan, Joanne Froggatt, Nathaniel Curtis, Hopi Grace.

This is a project Audible have put money into. The production standards are high. It's a powerful audiobook.

It opens with a man digging a grave in the dark of the night on a Yorkshire moor for a woman who is not yet dead. Things do not go to plan. Then it shifts to our heroine, Faye Mathis, who is living alone in her house on the moors. Faye is a fifty-year-old, divorced, best-selling author of children's books about a pair of sleuthing teenage twins. She's recently been diagnosed with dementia and believes she will soon no longer be able to function.

It's a great set-up that gets even more intense when it becomes clear that there are some secrets associated with Faye's adoption that may now pose a threat to her.

The story is well-told and well-narrated. It gets more and more intense. There's a rich suspect pool of people who may be ready to betray Faye, possibly even kill her. Faye is struggling to understand how much of what's going on is real and how much is a side effect of her dementia-produced paranoia.

At the start of the book, I was pulled along by my curiosity about Faye and her situation. By the time I was halfway through the book, I'd grown to like Faye and to understand how vulnerable she was and how much malice was heading her way. I realised two things. Firstly, the rest of the book was likely to be about very unpleasant things happening to a vulnerable woman. She might survive it all, but she'd go through hell first. Secondly, I had no desire to wade through that, no matter how well done it was. It was too real and too upsetting. 

I like my thrillers to be thrilling. The thrill should be believable enough to keep me engaged, but not so real that thrill turns to upset. This started to feel like I was inflicting trauma on myself in the name of entertainment.

[Julinda Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The suspenseful vibe was easily achieved. I was coaxed along into different speculations of what was actually happening. The narrators brought the characters to life, or death, in engaging portrayals. It was an extremely well done production. So, I'm not sure who gets the most credit, the author or the narrators. I say, both. Well done!

[Stephanie Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and the music between chapters was so annoying. I know that sounds picky, and I don’t MIND music, but it just didn’t match the vibe of the book AT ALL. Like, the chapter would end on something super serious and scary and then UPBEAT ACOUSTIC GUITAR 🎶. 😑

[Romulo Perez-Segnini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A convoluted story with too many similarities to make it reasonable. A famous author that has been diagnosed with early stage of dementia is photographed disheveled one morning. She has no recollection and starts to believe she has a twin sister. She knows she’s adopted but never wanted to learn about her biological family.

Eventually we find out that she does have a twin sister and both of them have evil stepsons. The story abuses the notion of dementia. Sometimes she’s fairly lucid and others she’s completely lost in her thoughts. Anyway, there are other illogical factors that complicate the plot.

The ending is as absurd as most of the narrative but not awful, so three stars seems fair.

[McKenzie Martines · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too long.

also, hate the background noises and effects for the audible originals.

[Diane 🌻 Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story 5/5

Narration 5/5

Musical Interludes 1/5

Loved, loved, loved the story and characters. The story had me on edge quite a few times. All of the characters were fully developed, even those introduced later in the story.

My ONLY complaint is the music. I still don’t understand why it was used before certain chapters and not others. Either use it before all (I’d rather you didn’t) or none. Plus it was not always the same piece of music. I’m so confused 😐 😂

Am I glad I read it? Wholeheartedly!

Would I recommend it? I would highly recommended reading the book vs listening to the audiobook because the music really ruined the experience for me.

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I’ll look forward to book 2.

[Leah Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on Audible. Great twist. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice quick listen.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this thriller! We find out enough about each character as the book goes on that it kept me interested, rather than waiting until the end in one big reveal. Obviously it’s very unrealistic but enjoyable all the same

[April Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book from start to finish!! Some made comments about the sound effects but they were brilliant.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw that Joanne Froggatt narrated this, and that is why I chose it. I loved her in Downton Abbey. This was twisty with lots of surprises, and I enjoyed it. I don’t want to give anything away.

[PugMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story but was not a fan of the sound affects and male narrator.

[Jennifer Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!! This one definitely had the twists, If you thought your family has issued smh nope this one is up there. Nice little Audible thriller.

[navelliaa_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est mon 2eme livre audio de Sarah A. Denzil et tout ce que je peux dire c’est qu’elle est trop forte. La qualité de l’audio est géniale. Et cette histoire purée j’ai adoré ✨

On est sur un thriller angoissant, une femme de 50 ans, autrice à succès avec de l’alzheimer précoce. Un jour, une photo d’elle sur les réseaux sociaux sort, et on l’a voit dans un piteux état. Sauf qu’elle ne s’en rappelle pas. Qu’est-ce qu’elle a fait ?

C’est hyper addictif parce que chaque chapitre nous fait douter, chaque chapitre nous fait réfléchir et chaque POV est intrigant. Donc, ça se lit (s’écoute) vite car on a besoin de savoir.

La protagoniste principale est ultra attachante je trouve. Elle m’a fait beaucoup de peine, notamment dans sa relation avec l’Alzheimer par rapport à sa fille.

Bref, c’est un thriller addictif, bien écrit et intéressant.

[BossyLadi · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf
I have no idea what I was just reading. I gave up.

premise: one storyline is about a writer getting dementia. another storyline is about that writer researching her adoption.

we also have a mysterious, evil sister? no clue why.

we also have someone called a grave digger. no clue why.

i think the mystery/suspense involves the sister and the grave digger but I'm well into the book and have no idea what/ why/ how.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio book was ok. The added theatre sounds like doors shutting, typing sounds, etc to illustrate what was happening in the book were ANNOYING!! I’m trying to read (listen) to a book, not watch a movie. Story was confusing, but enjoyable.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook. Decent thriller, great start, goes slack about 2.5 hours from the end, but rather nice roundoff. The highlight was the narrations: all great and Jessica Gunning the cherry on top.
I travel a lot for work, so this was an entertaining road companion.

[Clare Crawshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, A bit confusing with so much character changes but still good, very disappointing last chapter though which is why it hit 4 and not 5 stars

[Lucy Platt · Rating 4 out of 5]

great story, loved the twists

[Diane Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous twisty book that leaves you wondering even until the very end. Sarah A. Denzil outside herself with this book.

[Roksolana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started on a promising note about a mysterious adoption story. But it continued messing up the storylines and the plot, making it extremely predictable. Also, the fact that characters are not put off by murdering other people is surprising.

[Paul McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A triangle of intrigues, linked by blood. A story with a few twists, enough mystery to keep you reading. At times I wondered about the characters actions but overall a good read.

[Janice Branning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off as a great story, but as it went on, it dragged. I had to listen to the ending several times to catch on to the story because the characters I think were under developed. As Faye was dealing with her early dementia she decided that she wanted to find out her family history because she was adopted. After a picture of her was discovered in the newspaper, disheveled and dirty; she started to think that maybe she was a twin; because even with the dementia she was sure it was not her. After finding her mother who is in a nursing home and suffering from dementia, she starts to feel that she is getting the answers she needs. Once she finds her mother, she discovered she has a sister, but this sister is not her twin with her mother having dementia; she doesn’t know if her mother had two babies that she gave away for adoption. Of course, with many thrillers, we find out there is a twin. And, of course it can’t just end there. There must be some deep family secret, there’s always a good adoption and a bad adoption story. And this story had both good and bad adoptions.
I’m not quite sure if this would make a good book club read because I listened to it on Audible; and sometimes bookclubs only like to read books in readable form.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery at its best: Unraveling family secrets
I was thoroughly impressed with “Secret Sister” by the brilliant Sarah A. Denzil. Expertly narrated by a talented cast including Jessicca Gunning, Sacha Dhawan, Joanne Frogatt, Nathaniel Curtis and Hopi Grace, this gripping mystery is packed with unexpected twists and turns that had me completely absorbed. I stumbled upon this gem in the Audible Plus section and was thrilled to enjoy it at no extra cost – it's been a winning streak with these free books lately. The plot is one of the most unique I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, and I highly recommend grabbing this thriller. We follow celebrated author Faye Mathis, who’s struggling to come to terms with her early-onset dementia. As she writes her memoir, she uncovers gaps in her family history and becomes determined to uncover the truth that is increasingly complex. Faye is confronted with her darkest suspicions and questions everything; a captivating tale of family secrets and the devastating consequences of revealing them. For those who are fans of intricate British mysteries, “Secret Sister” is a must-have. Never a dull of a lull! Add all this to the fact that it was an Audible Plus selection, I wanted to scream it from the rooftop, Epic, I say! EPIC! EPIC! EPIC! Well worth a cherished credit and highly recommended.

💥✍️👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏✍️💥