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My Sister and Other Liars
Sam is seventeen, starving herself and longing for oblivion. Her sister, Jena, is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. Between them, they share secrets too terrible to recall.
Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope that she could piece together Jena's fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. But digging into the past unearthed long-hidden lies and betrayals, and left Sam feeling helpless and alone in a world designed to deceive her.
Now, in a last bid to save her from self-imposed shutdown, Sam's therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dangerous one. Because Sam has not only been lying to her she's been hiding dark secrets from herself.
Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope that she could piece together Jena's fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. But digging into the past unearthed long-hidden lies and betrayals, and left Sam feeling helpless and alone in a world designed to deceive her.
Now, in a last bid to save her from self-imposed shutdown, Sam's therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dangerous one. Because Sam has not only been lying to her she's been hiding dark secrets from herself.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2017
508 people are currently reading
1452 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Dugdall
25 books292 followersRuth Dugdall was born in 1971. She holds a BA honours degree in English Literature (Warwick University) and an MA in Social Work (University of East Anglia). She qualified as a probation officer in 1996 and has worked in prison with offenders guilty of serious crimes, including stalking, rape and murder. This has informed her crime writing. Since she started writing, Ruth has won awards in several writing competitions, and has had short stories published in the Winchester Writers' Conference and the Eva Wiggins Award anthologies.
Ruth is also the news presenter on Felixstowe tv: "probably the smallest tv station in the world".
Ruth is also the news presenter on Felixstowe tv: "probably the smallest tv station in the world".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
July 7, 2017
My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...
4.5 Stars!!
I've read a few books by Ruth Dugdall and have enjoyed them. One of my favorites was "Humber Boy B". So after reading the description for "My Sister and Other Liars", I was quick to hit that request button.
In eighteen months many things can change. This is especially true for seventeen-year-old Sam. Eighteen months ago, Sam was searching for ways to help her twenty-nine-year old sister regain her memories after a vicious attack. Now Sam is struggling to care about anything...
The first line of the book pulled me right in.
"My body is eating itself, my brain too, apparently"
This is one of the things Sam is learning in her eating disorder group. Her body is searching for sustenance anywhere and causing serious damage. But that's not scary to someone with a severe eating disorder, it actually offers comfort. Because the thing they most want to do......is disappear. Sam is in a group with four other girls but feels very alone. She hasn't seen any family or friends for eighteen months.
On her sixteenth birthday, Sam's dad gave her a vintage camera. A present that Sam loved! It belonged to him when he was a boy. He gave it to her sister Jena as a gift, years ago and now he was giving it to Sam, which understandably upset her sister.
"You can't give Sam that camera! It's not right, Dad. you promised you wouldn't. How can you do that to me?"
Sam had always been jealous of the shared passion for photography her sister and father had. But her father said Jena had lost interest so he was giving the camera to Sam. Her sister stormed out and not long after was attacked by an unknown assailant and left for dead. Jena had no memory of what happened or who attacked her, so the police had little to go on. Sam was going to do whatever she needed to do to help her sister remember.
Now eighteen months later, Sam is still hospitalized on the Ana (Anorexia) Unit. She's been there the longest out of the five girls. February 1st is an important date. A board meeting to discuss Sam's progress. She could be released if she's well enough. While Sam wants to be free to go home, she's not able to give up this control. A new psychiatrist wants to help her and uses some unorthodox ways to get Sam talking. It's hard for Sam to talk about what happened. Control and secrets are things Sam understands well. But the memories keep intruding, and no amount of starvation is going to keep them away.
Can Sam finally open up about everything that happened?
We learn how the other girls ended up on the unit. It was horrifying when these girls would praise each other for how low their BMI was. Congratulating each other for having a feeding tube!
"Lucky, she says. Now you don't even have to eat."
It made me sad but it was very enlightening. I thought I knew a lot about eating disorders but I feel like I have an even better understanding now. The author has obviously done her research.
While a lot of the book deals with Sam's illness, the mystery surrounding what exactly happened the year before is also slowly revealed.
This was an incredibly gripping read with many twists and turns. So many questions. Where are Sam's friends and family? Why is she refusing to let anyone visit? Where is Jena..... and who was responsible for her attack?
As well as ....what was Sam's part in all of this? What will happen when everyone's secrets are finally revealed?
I recommend you read the book and find out!
Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
4.5 Stars!!
I've read a few books by Ruth Dugdall and have enjoyed them. One of my favorites was "Humber Boy B". So after reading the description for "My Sister and Other Liars", I was quick to hit that request button.
In eighteen months many things can change. This is especially true for seventeen-year-old Sam. Eighteen months ago, Sam was searching for ways to help her twenty-nine-year old sister regain her memories after a vicious attack. Now Sam is struggling to care about anything...
The first line of the book pulled me right in.
"My body is eating itself, my brain too, apparently"
This is one of the things Sam is learning in her eating disorder group. Her body is searching for sustenance anywhere and causing serious damage. But that's not scary to someone with a severe eating disorder, it actually offers comfort. Because the thing they most want to do......is disappear. Sam is in a group with four other girls but feels very alone. She hasn't seen any family or friends for eighteen months.
On her sixteenth birthday, Sam's dad gave her a vintage camera. A present that Sam loved! It belonged to him when he was a boy. He gave it to her sister Jena as a gift, years ago and now he was giving it to Sam, which understandably upset her sister.
"You can't give Sam that camera! It's not right, Dad. you promised you wouldn't. How can you do that to me?"
Sam had always been jealous of the shared passion for photography her sister and father had. But her father said Jena had lost interest so he was giving the camera to Sam. Her sister stormed out and not long after was attacked by an unknown assailant and left for dead. Jena had no memory of what happened or who attacked her, so the police had little to go on. Sam was going to do whatever she needed to do to help her sister remember.
Now eighteen months later, Sam is still hospitalized on the Ana (Anorexia) Unit. She's been there the longest out of the five girls. February 1st is an important date. A board meeting to discuss Sam's progress. She could be released if she's well enough. While Sam wants to be free to go home, she's not able to give up this control. A new psychiatrist wants to help her and uses some unorthodox ways to get Sam talking. It's hard for Sam to talk about what happened. Control and secrets are things Sam understands well. But the memories keep intruding, and no amount of starvation is going to keep them away.
Can Sam finally open up about everything that happened?
We learn how the other girls ended up on the unit. It was horrifying when these girls would praise each other for how low their BMI was. Congratulating each other for having a feeding tube!
"Lucky, she says. Now you don't even have to eat."
It made me sad but it was very enlightening. I thought I knew a lot about eating disorders but I feel like I have an even better understanding now. The author has obviously done her research.
While a lot of the book deals with Sam's illness, the mystery surrounding what exactly happened the year before is also slowly revealed.
This was an incredibly gripping read with many twists and turns. So many questions. Where are Sam's friends and family? Why is she refusing to let anyone visit? Where is Jena..... and who was responsible for her attack?
As well as ....what was Sam's part in all of this? What will happen when everyone's secrets are finally revealed?
I recommend you read the book and find out!
Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
June 3, 2017
*4 stars*
Fantastic writing, enticing plot, and a twisty ride.
Just a few quick thoughts...
This story focuses on a young girl spiraling down into the frightening throes of anorexia after a mysterious attack on her sister leaves her sickened and desperate for answers.
Sam's struggle with anorexia was handled very well: authentic, not prettied up for the sake of the reader's comfort, nor was it over-played or dramatic.
Loads of mystery was present, revealing the truth in slow patches and through tiny scratches of a cryptic surface.
For the most part, I was glued to this story. However, most of the twists were pretty evident and the ending started to lose me a bit as it began to feel a tad exaggerated.
Still, a fantastic read!
Fantastic writing, enticing plot, and a twisty ride.
Just a few quick thoughts...
This story focuses on a young girl spiraling down into the frightening throes of anorexia after a mysterious attack on her sister leaves her sickened and desperate for answers.
Sam's struggle with anorexia was handled very well: authentic, not prettied up for the sake of the reader's comfort, nor was it over-played or dramatic.
Loads of mystery was present, revealing the truth in slow patches and through tiny scratches of a cryptic surface.
For the most part, I was glued to this story. However, most of the twists were pretty evident and the ending started to lose me a bit as it began to feel a tad exaggerated.
Still, a fantastic read!
May 22, 2017
Anorexia – destructive control over one’s body. In life, when someone feels helpless and desperate, the drug of choice may be starvation. Drastically limiting what they eat may be the only sense of control they feel. And perhaps silence the demons.
"Empty body, blank mind”
Jena leaves home following a disagreement with her family. When her sister Sam finds her, Jena is bleeding heavily with her head smashed against a rock. Sam takes it upon herself to find out who is responsible for this attack on her sister. Losing touch with reality during the search, Sam slowly descends into full-blown anorexia, punishing herself through starvation. The guilt of the family fight with her sister has totally consumed her.
"The smell made my stomach growl with anticipation. It still didn't understand that I was in charge."
The book is told from Sam's perspective in a facility specializing in eating disorders. She begins opening up about the tragedy that led to her sister’s attack with her therapist, Clive. Gradually unlocking the secrets of that day. Told as flashbacks during her sessions, it’s clear and easy to follow along. You’re able to flow back and forth between the timelines seamlessly, without losing your place.
As the story unfolds, you are pulled in ever deeper, and this book becomes hard to put down. Little pieces of the puzzle are cleverly spread along the way to draw you in, but nothing is revealed until the end. You are kept guessing throughout and pointing the blame at everyone! I recommend this one!
"You must remember to forget"
Thank you to NetGalley, Ruth Dugdall and Thomas & Mercer.
"Empty body, blank mind”
Jena leaves home following a disagreement with her family. When her sister Sam finds her, Jena is bleeding heavily with her head smashed against a rock. Sam takes it upon herself to find out who is responsible for this attack on her sister. Losing touch with reality during the search, Sam slowly descends into full-blown anorexia, punishing herself through starvation. The guilt of the family fight with her sister has totally consumed her.
"The smell made my stomach growl with anticipation. It still didn't understand that I was in charge."
The book is told from Sam's perspective in a facility specializing in eating disorders. She begins opening up about the tragedy that led to her sister’s attack with her therapist, Clive. Gradually unlocking the secrets of that day. Told as flashbacks during her sessions, it’s clear and easy to follow along. You’re able to flow back and forth between the timelines seamlessly, without losing your place.
As the story unfolds, you are pulled in ever deeper, and this book becomes hard to put down. Little pieces of the puzzle are cleverly spread along the way to draw you in, but nothing is revealed until the end. You are kept guessing throughout and pointing the blame at everyone! I recommend this one!
"You must remember to forget"
Thank you to NetGalley, Ruth Dugdall and Thomas & Mercer.
August 11, 2017
This is a very dark and disturbing psychological thriller.
I loved this book. I found it to be a slow burn in the first 40 percent of the book but even though it was slow, it was very interesting. I still had a lot of interest in the story. Then it really picked up and it then turned out to be a page turner. I loved the jaw dropping twists toward the ending.
The ending to me was a five star ending.
Sam is only sixteen years old and has anorexia. She is in a mental hospital. She just wants to die. She is there because of what happened to her sister in her past. Her sister has a very dark and sinister past. Sam is burying her secrets and is keeping everything bottled up inside. She doesn't want to remember what she did or what happened to her sister. To get released out of the hospital she has to tell a doctor everything that happened in her and her sister's past.
I learned so much about anorexia. I found it to be very interesting. Everything that these girls went through was so sad and how they were starving themselves. Sam's story was very traumatic. I always thought that anorexia happened because people just wanted to be skinny but there are other reason's why people are anorexic.
I thought the characters were done very well. My heart really went out for Jen and Sam.
I highly recommend this book to those that like a dark mystery and thriller.
I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher and Ruth Dugdall for the copy of this book for an honest review.
May 5, 2017
DAMNNNNN... Holy guacamole what a thrilling ride!!!
I am proud to say that I am a new fan of Ruth Dugdall! What a fabulous read :).
My Sister and Other Liars is a unique and dark psychological thriller. This tells the story of our main character Sam who is hospitalized with anorexia. We slowlyyy.. but ever so gripping are thrown into this pack of disturbing events that led Sam to be institutionalized 18 months earlier.
Honestly, this one I wasn't quite expecting to be so dark. But, boy was I ever thrown off by that final twist!! Let me just say ladies and gents please pick up this lovely little gem and you will definitely not be disappointed! Highly recommended for my psychological thriller lovers! :) Go on.... you know you want to ;)
4.5 stars ✨
I am proud to say that I am a new fan of Ruth Dugdall! What a fabulous read :).
My Sister and Other Liars is a unique and dark psychological thriller. This tells the story of our main character Sam who is hospitalized with anorexia. We slowlyyy.. but ever so gripping are thrown into this pack of disturbing events that led Sam to be institutionalized 18 months earlier.
Honestly, this one I wasn't quite expecting to be so dark. But, boy was I ever thrown off by that final twist!! Let me just say ladies and gents please pick up this lovely little gem and you will definitely not be disappointed! Highly recommended for my psychological thriller lovers! :) Go on.... you know you want to ;)
4.5 stars ✨
May 31, 2017
I have now read several books by this author and the connection between them seems to be the tone, which is very dark. This one partially takes place in a unit for anorexics, that in itself is difficult to read, but the reason for Sam being there is heartbreaking. We know she is there for something she did as well as her anorexia, which was used as a defense, but we don't find out exactly what until the story unfolds. She tells her story to the psychiatrist who is trying to help her get released, and I liked trying to follow the clues in her story to where they lead.
Not too much into psychological novels these days but do enjoy the novelty of this author and her plotlines. Tightly plotted and we'll written, I love all the twists and turns, never quite sure where this is going, but enjoy trying to guess. A foray into the dark side of tortured young people, but at the end there is a glimpse of hope.
ARC from Netgalley.
Not too much into psychological novels these days but do enjoy the novelty of this author and her plotlines. Tightly plotted and we'll written, I love all the twists and turns, never quite sure where this is going, but enjoy trying to guess. A foray into the dark side of tortured young people, but at the end there is a glimpse of hope.
ARC from Netgalley.
May 31, 2017
Predictable psychological thriller.
Ending was obvious from the start, but getting to end was not enjoyable. Don't like stories that goes back and forth. Title of the book and reviews I read made me download this book free, it was a waste of my time.
Ending was obvious from the start, but getting to end was not enjoyable. Don't like stories that goes back and forth. Title of the book and reviews I read made me download this book free, it was a waste of my time.
June 7, 2017
MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is a standalone dark psychological thriller by talented author Ruth Dugdall. I have read several books by this author and each time was very impressed with her amazing writing skills, that I jumped at this one when it became available on NetGalley. Another winner!
This is the story of two sisters, Sam and Jena. Seventeen-year-old, Sam is in a mental hospital undergoing treatment for anorexia. She won’t eat or see her family, and is starving herself. But why? Jena is Sam’s older sister, a woman in her twenties. Jena was viciously attacked, some eighteen months ago. This overwhelmed the whole family, and Sam needs to find out the truth.
“Anorexics lie, everyone knows that. Her need to control everything, even in the way you blame yourself”
“Jena’s brain was badly damaged after the fall. She may never retrieve what she has lost.”
Slowly the reader gets to learn about the events that led Sam to be institutionalized. Sam recounts the horrific events that led her to being institutionalized 18 months previously.
Sam’s therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dark and dangerous one. Sam has not only been lying to her doctors: she’s been hiding dark secrets from herself. But now Sam must uncover the lies from the past and discover the truth!
My Sister and Other Liars is not an easy book to read, as it deals with dark horrific events that led to Sam being institutionalized. The story is believable as are the characters and the book is riddled with twists, turns and red herrings. I was thrown by that final twist…and did not see it coming!
Don’t miss out on this special little jewel…you will definitely not be disappointed! Highly recommended for my psychological thriller lovers! Highly recommend!
I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
This is the story of two sisters, Sam and Jena. Seventeen-year-old, Sam is in a mental hospital undergoing treatment for anorexia. She won’t eat or see her family, and is starving herself. But why? Jena is Sam’s older sister, a woman in her twenties. Jena was viciously attacked, some eighteen months ago. This overwhelmed the whole family, and Sam needs to find out the truth.
“Anorexics lie, everyone knows that. Her need to control everything, even in the way you blame yourself”
“Jena’s brain was badly damaged after the fall. She may never retrieve what she has lost.”
Slowly the reader gets to learn about the events that led Sam to be institutionalized. Sam recounts the horrific events that led her to being institutionalized 18 months previously.
Sam’s therapist is helping her confront her memories. But the road to recovery is a dark and dangerous one. Sam has not only been lying to her doctors: she’s been hiding dark secrets from herself. But now Sam must uncover the lies from the past and discover the truth!
My Sister and Other Liars is not an easy book to read, as it deals with dark horrific events that led to Sam being institutionalized. The story is believable as are the characters and the book is riddled with twists, turns and red herrings. I was thrown by that final twist…and did not see it coming!
Don’t miss out on this special little jewel…you will definitely not be disappointed! Highly recommended for my psychological thriller lovers! Highly recommend!
I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
May 26, 2017
Dark... Twisted... Thrilling!!!
Ruth Dugdall has a new fan in me! She is definitely not afraid to take on uncomfortable, controversial, or dark subject matter - writing it with such ease.
My Sister and Other Liars is a powerful, emotional, and brilliant psychological thriller about a family's dark, deep, and twisted secret. Dugdall takes us back and forth between present and the past telling the story of Sam and her sister Jena's horrific tale of lies, pain, anorexia, and a heart-breaking crime. Buckle up because this novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride until the very last page!
This is a fantastic and well-researched book that I highly recommend!
*I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Ruth Dugdall has a new fan in me! She is definitely not afraid to take on uncomfortable, controversial, or dark subject matter - writing it with such ease.
My Sister and Other Liars is a powerful, emotional, and brilliant psychological thriller about a family's dark, deep, and twisted secret. Dugdall takes us back and forth between present and the past telling the story of Sam and her sister Jena's horrific tale of lies, pain, anorexia, and a heart-breaking crime. Buckle up because this novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride until the very last page!
This is a fantastic and well-researched book that I highly recommend!
*I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 16, 2017
4.5 stars
Dark and twisty, a great read!
It's clear that there is no subject matter that this author is afraid to tackle, and you will find plenty of them in this one read alone.
The key players here are Jenna and Samantha (Sam)-2 sisters who are years apart, but have a bond that defies this age gap. Chapter one opens with Sam, 17 years old and in the hospital being treated for anorexia. The mood is quickly set, as Dugdall paints a grim and disturbing picture of how desperately Sam and her fellow patients are determined to control their bodies. Even if it means their death....
Flashback to months earlier and Jena is introduced. She is also in a hospital, but for different reasons. Jena was brutally attacked and left for dead, and has minimal memories of the event.
But Sam was there. She was the one who ran to her aid when she fell. She held her head until the ambulance came. The one thing she couldn't do though was identify the attacker, as she never saw their face.
What follows is a slow and steady build up to that fateful day, and all that transpired before hand to make it happen. Added to this mystery is the present day struggles of Sam. This journey was both sad and beautiful. Dugdall takes the reader inside her mind-sharing her fears, her anger, her compassion, and her determination to control at least one thing in her life, however misguided it may be.
My emotions were all over the place with this one, and while I did figure some things out that allowed me feel oh so smart, there were plenty of surprises left that had me wondering how I missed the clues.
Why not 5 stars? I felt the pace was a bit slow in the first half of the book. But once it does get going, strap yourself in, because it doesn't let up until that last word is written.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Dark and twisty, a great read!
It's clear that there is no subject matter that this author is afraid to tackle, and you will find plenty of them in this one read alone.
The key players here are Jenna and Samantha (Sam)-2 sisters who are years apart, but have a bond that defies this age gap. Chapter one opens with Sam, 17 years old and in the hospital being treated for anorexia. The mood is quickly set, as Dugdall paints a grim and disturbing picture of how desperately Sam and her fellow patients are determined to control their bodies. Even if it means their death....
Flashback to months earlier and Jena is introduced. She is also in a hospital, but for different reasons. Jena was brutally attacked and left for dead, and has minimal memories of the event.
But Sam was there. She was the one who ran to her aid when she fell. She held her head until the ambulance came. The one thing she couldn't do though was identify the attacker, as she never saw their face.
What follows is a slow and steady build up to that fateful day, and all that transpired before hand to make it happen. Added to this mystery is the present day struggles of Sam. This journey was both sad and beautiful. Dugdall takes the reader inside her mind-sharing her fears, her anger, her compassion, and her determination to control at least one thing in her life, however misguided it may be.
My emotions were all over the place with this one, and while I did figure some things out that allowed me feel oh so smart, there were plenty of surprises left that had me wondering how I missed the clues.
Why not 5 stars? I felt the pace was a bit slow in the first half of the book. But once it does get going, strap yourself in, because it doesn't let up until that last word is written.
ARC provided by NetGalley
March 4, 2017
I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a big fan of Ruth Dugdall. Her writing is superb in that she has a unique way of drawing you in from the start.
I know I'm in for a fabulous read with a fabulous theme.
This is an author that will take a subject matter that others may find uncomfortable but compulsive reading for the reader.
We have Jenna who has been hospitalised due to not only her anorexia but her past. She's convinced she's bad.
There starts her long journey of not treating just the anorexia but the cause. It's an unsettling, emotional and sometimes angry frightening journey. She's got to tell her story.
Then there is her sister that was attacked and left with disabilities.
Behind this is Mum and Dad and a few other characters relevant.
I really was so dam close to thinking I knew the ending. So very close.
But The author just jumped one foot ahead of me. She tricked me. What a fabulous book, what a great way of taking a controversial subject matter and turning it into a compulsive read that just blew me away.
It's undoubtedly reached into my top 10 of this year.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for my copy via Net Galley
I know I'm in for a fabulous read with a fabulous theme.
This is an author that will take a subject matter that others may find uncomfortable but compulsive reading for the reader.
We have Jenna who has been hospitalised due to not only her anorexia but her past. She's convinced she's bad.
There starts her long journey of not treating just the anorexia but the cause. It's an unsettling, emotional and sometimes angry frightening journey. She's got to tell her story.
Then there is her sister that was attacked and left with disabilities.
Behind this is Mum and Dad and a few other characters relevant.
I really was so dam close to thinking I knew the ending. So very close.
But The author just jumped one foot ahead of me. She tricked me. What a fabulous book, what a great way of taking a controversial subject matter and turning it into a compulsive read that just blew me away.
It's undoubtedly reached into my top 10 of this year.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for my copy via Net Galley
June 2, 2017
My Sister and Other Liars is an eye-catching title. Who are all the liars, and what lies do they tell? Ruth Dugdall’s psychological thriller addresses anorexia and some of its underlying causes in the portrayal of Sam, a seventeen-year-old girl who is hospitalized for treatment following the commission of an unnamed crime. The psychological issues that led to her eating disorder were used as her defense. When we meet Sam, she has been hospitalized for eighteen months. Her case is coming up for review, and she must begin showing progress in her therapy sessions if she is to be released.
Initially, I found Sam to be hostile and quite unlikeable. She does not want to get better. She wants to starve rather than cooperate with therapy or eating or even establishing friendships with the other “friends of Ana”. I found myself wondering, why not just kill yourself instead of enduring a slow death by starvation? But as Sam’s story begins to emerge, it becomes apparent that it’s about control – control and denial. Eighteen months earlier, her much-older sister Jena was brutally attacked. She suffered a brain injury, which involved memory loss and seizures. Sam became frustrated with what she perceived as lack of desire on the part of the police and her parents to find her sister’s attacker. This made her feel powerless. She began investigating on her own. She also stopped eating. This not only helped her to regain some sense of control, but it also allowed her to push away the feelings that were gnawing at her – the pain of her terrible memories of the attack as well as the secrets she uncovered along the way.
Everything is revealed from Sam’s perspective as we get flashbacks while she meets with her therapist, Clive. At first, he appears unsympathetic, but as Sam begins to open up, we see that he does want her to get better. Step by step, Sam takes us through the stages of the attack, her visits with Jena in the hospital, and her actions as she tries to learn who was responsible for hurting her sister.
The story unfolds quite slowly, which makes for lukewarm reading for a time. However, as Sam does a gut check, she digs more deeply into her memory, events emerge in the telling. There are situations that tangle and turn in several directions. I should have seen the final twist, but I was immersed in the story as told by a seventeen-year-old narrator, and I didn’t question her version enough to wonder about other possibilities.
A couple of things bothered me slightly. First, there were a lot of references to Jena’s “fits”. I realize that this is how many laymen refer to seizures, but even the doctor referred to one of the seizures as a “fit” in one instance, and I found that unacceptable. I was also rather surprised that Sam didn’t seem too preoccupied with her weight, as many with anorexia are. She simply seemed not to care about her appearance at all, and I wondered how common this is. I do think that Ms. Dugdall got many things right about the disease – the problems in the home, self-esteem issues, or the history of physical and/or sexual abuse. I found it interesting that when one of the younger girls admires Sam, what Sam sees this as “thinspiration”, Sam is appalled by her hero-worship. “It’s not strength. It’s sickness,” she tells her. Even though she can’t convince herself that she is getting better, it is obvious that she has made progress.
Will that progress allow her to be released when the review board meets? Will the lies that Sam has kept stuffed deep down inside finally come to the surface of her psyche? Will her mind and soul be free so she can heal? Do we learn if Jena’s attacker was brought to justice? The final chapters of
My Sister and Other Liars are hard to put down! I am not always a fan of psychological thrillers, but this one was worth reading!
Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for providing me with a read-for-review copy.
4 stars
Initially, I found Sam to be hostile and quite unlikeable. She does not want to get better. She wants to starve rather than cooperate with therapy or eating or even establishing friendships with the other “friends of Ana”. I found myself wondering, why not just kill yourself instead of enduring a slow death by starvation? But as Sam’s story begins to emerge, it becomes apparent that it’s about control – control and denial. Eighteen months earlier, her much-older sister Jena was brutally attacked. She suffered a brain injury, which involved memory loss and seizures. Sam became frustrated with what she perceived as lack of desire on the part of the police and her parents to find her sister’s attacker. This made her feel powerless. She began investigating on her own. She also stopped eating. This not only helped her to regain some sense of control, but it also allowed her to push away the feelings that were gnawing at her – the pain of her terrible memories of the attack as well as the secrets she uncovered along the way.
Everything is revealed from Sam’s perspective as we get flashbacks while she meets with her therapist, Clive. At first, he appears unsympathetic, but as Sam begins to open up, we see that he does want her to get better. Step by step, Sam takes us through the stages of the attack, her visits with Jena in the hospital, and her actions as she tries to learn who was responsible for hurting her sister.
The story unfolds quite slowly, which makes for lukewarm reading for a time. However, as Sam does a gut check, she digs more deeply into her memory, events emerge in the telling. There are situations that tangle and turn in several directions. I should have seen the final twist, but I was immersed in the story as told by a seventeen-year-old narrator, and I didn’t question her version enough to wonder about other possibilities.
A couple of things bothered me slightly. First, there were a lot of references to Jena’s “fits”. I realize that this is how many laymen refer to seizures, but even the doctor referred to one of the seizures as a “fit” in one instance, and I found that unacceptable. I was also rather surprised that Sam didn’t seem too preoccupied with her weight, as many with anorexia are. She simply seemed not to care about her appearance at all, and I wondered how common this is. I do think that Ms. Dugdall got many things right about the disease – the problems in the home, self-esteem issues, or the history of physical and/or sexual abuse. I found it interesting that when one of the younger girls admires Sam, what Sam sees this as “thinspiration”, Sam is appalled by her hero-worship. “It’s not strength. It’s sickness,” she tells her. Even though she can’t convince herself that she is getting better, it is obvious that she has made progress.
Will that progress allow her to be released when the review board meets? Will the lies that Sam has kept stuffed deep down inside finally come to the surface of her psyche? Will her mind and soul be free so she can heal? Do we learn if Jena’s attacker was brought to justice? The final chapters of
My Sister and Other Liars are hard to put down! I am not always a fan of psychological thrillers, but this one was worth reading!
Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for providing me with a read-for-review copy.
4 stars
February 25, 2017
I think it’s quite safe to say that Ruth Dugdall likes to write about topics many authors avoid and has no qualms about covering controversial or taboo subjects. My Sister and Other Liars is a standalone psychological thriller which tells the story of 17 year old Sam who is currently residing in a hospital in Suffolk due to her anorexia. It is NOT an easy or comfortable read, but it is gripping and sympathically written. Going back and forth, Sam recounts the horrific events that lead her to being institutionalised 18 months previously. With psychological thrillers it’s almost a given that there will be some twists, turns and red herrings and I will publically admit to feeling quite smug with myself when at 25% through the book I had worked out the twist. I will also publically admit that at 70% through the book I realised I had actually got it all wrong and the said “smug smile” was swiftly wiped off my face. This is a fabulous and thoroughly researched book which I highly recommend to fans of any suspense and thriller books.
March 29, 2020
"You must remember to forget!"😢😢😢 A genuine mystery but man, a damn heartbreaker. I usually stay away from YA, so when i realized alot of the story was told from the pov of a 16-17 year old, i thought maybe i had made a mistake. But that was not the case. Sam's journey through the hospital & with her psychiatrist were riveting. The author did a great job "introducing" even the smaller characters, i found myself really invested.❤️ I did figure out a few of the key aspects pretty early on, but surprisingly for me with this 1 it didn't ruin the story unfolding. & the ending was perfect. So.. If you go in expecting some turmoil, you're in for a unique rollar coaster of a ride.
August 14, 2018
Wow! I LOVED this book!
I listened to it as an audiobook and had to take it around the house with me all day yesterday, as I couldn’t stop listening to it. The story is told through the main character, Sam, a teenage girl dealing with anorexia as well as trying to piece together her sister, Jena’s memory after she was violently attacked. I felt like Sam was sat with me talking to me all day long. I actually felt a little sad when the book finished, as I was going to miss her company.
My Sister and Other Liars is a gripping psychological thriller full of emotion and mystery. There were twists I never saw coming. In fact, I gasped out loud and slapped a hand across my mouth at one point due to being so surprised. And, wow, what an ending!
This is definitely a book I highly recommend to fans of psychological thrillers that cover uncomfortable subjects such as anorexia and trauma. Which I’d like to say, was written about very well in this book. It made for difficult listening at times, but it felt so raw and real.
Because of the way this story was told I thought it worked particularly well as an audiobook, so if you like to listen to audiobooks as well as reading, I’d say go for the audiobook version of this if you can, as it’s brilliant.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I’m sure it won’t be the last!
I borrowed this through Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
I listened to it as an audiobook and had to take it around the house with me all day yesterday, as I couldn’t stop listening to it. The story is told through the main character, Sam, a teenage girl dealing with anorexia as well as trying to piece together her sister, Jena’s memory after she was violently attacked. I felt like Sam was sat with me talking to me all day long. I actually felt a little sad when the book finished, as I was going to miss her company.
My Sister and Other Liars is a gripping psychological thriller full of emotion and mystery. There were twists I never saw coming. In fact, I gasped out loud and slapped a hand across my mouth at one point due to being so surprised. And, wow, what an ending!
This is definitely a book I highly recommend to fans of psychological thrillers that cover uncomfortable subjects such as anorexia and trauma. Which I’d like to say, was written about very well in this book. It made for difficult listening at times, but it felt so raw and real.
Because of the way this story was told I thought it worked particularly well as an audiobook, so if you like to listen to audiobooks as well as reading, I’d say go for the audiobook version of this if you can, as it’s brilliant.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I’m sure it won’t be the last!
I borrowed this through Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
September 20, 2017
This is the 3rd Ruth Dugdall novel I have read and I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of them. I loved Humber Boy B and Nowhere Girl and now I can add this one to the list.
This is the story of two sisters, Sam is seventeen, suffering from anorexia and starving herself to death and her sister, Jena, who is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. They both have terrible secrets that are difficult to share.
Sam is desperate to unravel Jena’s fragmented memory, damaged after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. The deeper she digs the more lies and betrayals that are uncovered and with the aid of her therapist who is trying to help her confront her memories., Sam searches for the truth.
The more you read of this book the more you want to continue. I can highly recommend both this book and Ruth Dugdall's novels in general.
This is the story of two sisters, Sam is seventeen, suffering from anorexia and starving herself to death and her sister, Jena, who is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. They both have terrible secrets that are difficult to share.
Sam is desperate to unravel Jena’s fragmented memory, damaged after the vicious attack that changed their family forever. The deeper she digs the more lies and betrayals that are uncovered and with the aid of her therapist who is trying to help her confront her memories., Sam searches for the truth.
The more you read of this book the more you want to continue. I can highly recommend both this book and Ruth Dugdall's novels in general.
April 23, 2017
Having been a huge fan of Ruth Dugdall after borrowing a copy of The Woman Before Me when I ran out of books on holiday one year (a mistake that I have NEVER repeated thanks to my trusty kindle!) I have been eagerly awaiting this new book. So I was rather excited that I was able to read it early due to it being a Kindle First choice for April on Amazon UK! My Sister and Other Liars isn’t another in the Cate Austin series but a dark, standalone domestic suspense and it’s absolutely brilliant!
Emotionally though, I found parts of this book very hard to read in places. The storyline itself was addictive and totally gripping but the scenes where Sam is talking to her therapist and the other anorexic girls were painfully realistic and I found I was actually gritting my teeth whilst reading those interactions. It was unashamedly direct in its detailing of how Sam was reacting to an unknown life changing event in her past and the depth of feeling inspired by those intimate exchanges was truly heartfelt. I felt uncomfortably voyeuristic as the narrative started to lead up to discovering what those secrets were, some of which I suspected but most didn’t click until they slapped me in the face.
Ruth Dugdall has the most beautiful and intelligent writing style, slowly weaving her tale until it has you under its spell, almost afraid to keep reading for fear of what you will discover. It’s such a dark and distressing journey for her expertly crafted characters that I wanted to break away from it at times to gather my thoughts but found it was just impossible to let Sam and Jena go.
This is a chilling suspense novel, both terrifying and heart-breaking in its honesty in dealing with some very emotive issues. And I think it is actually my favourite Ruth Dugdall since the first one I read on that sunlounger so this one is highly recommended by me!
Emotionally though, I found parts of this book very hard to read in places. The storyline itself was addictive and totally gripping but the scenes where Sam is talking to her therapist and the other anorexic girls were painfully realistic and I found I was actually gritting my teeth whilst reading those interactions. It was unashamedly direct in its detailing of how Sam was reacting to an unknown life changing event in her past and the depth of feeling inspired by those intimate exchanges was truly heartfelt. I felt uncomfortably voyeuristic as the narrative started to lead up to discovering what those secrets were, some of which I suspected but most didn’t click until they slapped me in the face.
Ruth Dugdall has the most beautiful and intelligent writing style, slowly weaving her tale until it has you under its spell, almost afraid to keep reading for fear of what you will discover. It’s such a dark and distressing journey for her expertly crafted characters that I wanted to break away from it at times to gather my thoughts but found it was just impossible to let Sam and Jena go.
This is a chilling suspense novel, both terrifying and heart-breaking in its honesty in dealing with some very emotive issues. And I think it is actually my favourite Ruth Dugdall since the first one I read on that sunlounger so this one is highly recommended by me!
September 13, 2017
This book packs a big emotional punch when describing the treatment and effects of anorexia - it's also a brilliant sinister suspense.
Ruth Dugdall's writing is, as always flawless and riveting, her handling of the difficult subjects of anorexia, grooming and incest was skillfully and gently done. The characters are brilliantly drawn, my perception of many of them changed throughout the story. There is suspense by the bucket load as the story unfolds and we learn who attacked Jena and what caused Sam mental health to suffer so much that it resulted in such a heartbreaking, life threatening condition.
Intense and uncomfortable at times, this is a brilliant read that I'd recommend without reservation.
Ruth Dugdall's writing is, as always flawless and riveting, her handling of the difficult subjects of anorexia, grooming and incest was skillfully and gently done. The characters are brilliantly drawn, my perception of many of them changed throughout the story. There is suspense by the bucket load as the story unfolds and we learn who attacked Jena and what caused Sam mental health to suffer so much that it resulted in such a heartbreaking, life threatening condition.
Intense and uncomfortable at times, this is a brilliant read that I'd recommend without reservation.
August 25, 2017
The setting of My Sister & Other Liars immensely attracted me: Ipswich, Felixstowe, the Orwell brought back many happy memories of sailing with the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association. Unfortunately, here Orwell does not signify a river leading to Pin Mill, but a nasty estate full off very low lives. I vaguely recalled from The Sacrificial Man (which dealt with sacred cannibalism) that Ruth Dugdall seems oblivious to the spirituality of the subjects on which she bases her stories. In this case the principal character & narrator, Sam (Samantha) is confined to a treatment facility for anorexia. That makes this novel a member of the genre I call “the Bell Jars” after the most-read (but not the best) example of the genre. The main character, usually a girl or young woman, is diagnosed with _________ (fill in the blank: anorexia, depression, suicidal ideation, less often drug or ETOH addiction, never morbid obesity - too gross!). I tend to sympathise with the patient against the staff who are treating her, who usually are total materialists who believe her problem is “an eating disorder” & use behaviouristic methods (“If you cooperate & answer my questions, you’ll be allowed to ____________ (watch television, ride a pony, eat an apple), but if you remain recalcitrant we’ll pour 500 ml of hi-calorie glop into your feeding tube”). As if a good reason for living were to watch television or eat apples. Fortunately here Clive the “psychiatrist” is largely a prop to give Sam an audience to narrate the backstory. (As he’s overweight and smokes a pipe, I can’t see why he shouldn’t be confined to a treatment facility, put on a slimming regimen and hooked up to a nicotine patch.) That backstory is the real plot of the book & involves the sister in the title, who was attacked, resulting in GBH, specifically brain injury. Sam witnessed the attack, but cannot recall the identity of the perpetrator either. About 1/3 the way in we discover that Sam not confined simply for anorexia, but has herself committed a crime somehow related to Jena’s condition. As the story unfolds, gradually the fiction of Sam’s narrating the story to Clive drops away, & the focus becomes what happened to Jena, why, & the secret her family is hiding. At the 55-percent mark I figured out the secret. ( Having another 200-something miles to drive, I had to go through the rest of the dismal parade of exonerating the red herrings to get to the actual perp. They might as well have been named Red Herring, Ginger Herring, & Real Villain, for all the suspense the story generated henceforward. In this kind of mystery story, the main suspect @ 1/2-way is never the bad hat, the 4/5 suspect can be an accomplice but never the chief malefactor, who will be unmasked in the final pages.
Enjoyed the parts where Sam is supposed to be an anorexic resisting “treatment.” Like some forms of alcohol & drug addiction, anorexia seems truly a species of misplaced spirituality, which in the Middle Ages would have got shrines set up to honour the “victims” who would have been seen as immensely holy people who are attempting to make their physical grossness melt into pure spirit. I suspect the cure lies in replacing false spirituality the real thing, holiness not pony rides.
The author’s Humber Boy B was formerly on my TBR, but I doubt Dugdall has the insight to deal with the questions of guilt & absolution the subject deserves. But I should say that I liked two things about My Sister & Other Liars. It is the 1st English mystery I’ve read featuring a Tokarev pistol (tho’ the account of how acquired rang hollow) & I thought Henrietta Mieres’ narrative voice was brilliant. That glottal stop where “photo” sounds like “faux-eau” & “better” like “beh-ah” that infects the “Orwell Estate” was beautifully reproduced.
Enjoyed the parts where Sam is supposed to be an anorexic resisting “treatment.” Like some forms of alcohol & drug addiction, anorexia seems truly a species of misplaced spirituality, which in the Middle Ages would have got shrines set up to honour the “victims” who would have been seen as immensely holy people who are attempting to make their physical grossness melt into pure spirit. I suspect the cure lies in replacing false spirituality the real thing, holiness not pony rides.
The author’s Humber Boy B was formerly on my TBR, but I doubt Dugdall has the insight to deal with the questions of guilt & absolution the subject deserves. But I should say that I liked two things about My Sister & Other Liars. It is the 1st English mystery I’ve read featuring a Tokarev pistol (tho’ the account of how acquired rang hollow) & I thought Henrietta Mieres’ narrative voice was brilliant. That glottal stop where “photo” sounds like “faux-eau” & “better” like “beh-ah” that infects the “Orwell Estate” was beautifully reproduced.
June 16, 2017
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sam has been in the hospital for eighteen months, her body is shutting down, a welcome escape from the past and the memories that haunt her. Sam and the other patients are starving themselves, attempting to control their lives at any cost. Sam's past may be the cause, but also the cure. Through flashbacks we learn about Jena, Sam's elder sister, confined to a life in hospitals after an attack leaves her brain irreparably damaged. Desperate for the answer, Sam begins her own hunt for the criminal that stole her sister from her, but what she finds is only a dark room full of deceit.
"Once I tell Clive the next part of the story, he'll agree. It's not just that I'm mad, I'm bad too.
Sick to the core."
Ruth Dugdall's My Sister and Other Liars is haunting and realistic; two sisters forever changed by an event that comes to life in the flashbacks Sam shares in therapy. Told entirely from Sam's perspective, her anger at herself, at everyone around her, bleeds from the words as she revisits the awful events that lead to her starvation. Sam is a difficult character, her hostility makes her unlikable, but her true lack of control makes you desperate for her health. She's naive, too youthful for her hardened outlook and her story breaks down those around her. Sam's perspective is narrow, her will to live is slim, but Dugdall's writing shows that those around her care and have compassion. Dugdall breaks down the disease, highlighting the many roads that lead to eating disorders for not just Sam, but the secondary characters she lives in treatment with. She showcases the highs, the lows, and the progress made as Sam faces her disease, her sister's accident, her locked up memory, and the heartbreaking reality of other's sicknesses. The events leading up to her treatment begin as hazy memories, but soon Sam is desperate to reveal her discoveries she made as amateur detective. What starts as a slow read soon takes readers on a fast-paced twisted adventure, as twists and red herrings reveal some, but not all secrets. The ending is a surprise, a chilling unveiling of the real truth that readers will be unable to guess.
"I feel unlocked, like my heart is open and warm, and fluttering out are feelings and thoughts that had been frozen."
My Sister and Other Liars is a horrifying tale, it's achingly painful to read, but it is every bit deserving of the praise it has received. Ruth Dugdall tells a twisted tale of secrets and lies, enticing the reader with a plot that doesn't reveal the truth until the very end. Dark and mysterious, this psychological thriller is hard to put down. It's honest take on eating disorders and the events that psychologically break down Sam makes My Sister and Other Liars a novel I highly recommend.
Sam has been in the hospital for eighteen months, her body is shutting down, a welcome escape from the past and the memories that haunt her. Sam and the other patients are starving themselves, attempting to control their lives at any cost. Sam's past may be the cause, but also the cure. Through flashbacks we learn about Jena, Sam's elder sister, confined to a life in hospitals after an attack leaves her brain irreparably damaged. Desperate for the answer, Sam begins her own hunt for the criminal that stole her sister from her, but what she finds is only a dark room full of deceit.
"Once I tell Clive the next part of the story, he'll agree. It's not just that I'm mad, I'm bad too.
Sick to the core."
Ruth Dugdall's My Sister and Other Liars is haunting and realistic; two sisters forever changed by an event that comes to life in the flashbacks Sam shares in therapy. Told entirely from Sam's perspective, her anger at herself, at everyone around her, bleeds from the words as she revisits the awful events that lead to her starvation. Sam is a difficult character, her hostility makes her unlikable, but her true lack of control makes you desperate for her health. She's naive, too youthful for her hardened outlook and her story breaks down those around her. Sam's perspective is narrow, her will to live is slim, but Dugdall's writing shows that those around her care and have compassion. Dugdall breaks down the disease, highlighting the many roads that lead to eating disorders for not just Sam, but the secondary characters she lives in treatment with. She showcases the highs, the lows, and the progress made as Sam faces her disease, her sister's accident, her locked up memory, and the heartbreaking reality of other's sicknesses. The events leading up to her treatment begin as hazy memories, but soon Sam is desperate to reveal her discoveries she made as amateur detective. What starts as a slow read soon takes readers on a fast-paced twisted adventure, as twists and red herrings reveal some, but not all secrets. The ending is a surprise, a chilling unveiling of the real truth that readers will be unable to guess.
"I feel unlocked, like my heart is open and warm, and fluttering out are feelings and thoughts that had been frozen."
My Sister and Other Liars is a horrifying tale, it's achingly painful to read, but it is every bit deserving of the praise it has received. Ruth Dugdall tells a twisted tale of secrets and lies, enticing the reader with a plot that doesn't reveal the truth until the very end. Dark and mysterious, this psychological thriller is hard to put down. It's honest take on eating disorders and the events that psychologically break down Sam makes My Sister and Other Liars a novel I highly recommend.
April 1, 2017
My Sister And Other Liars by Ruth Dugdall is by no means a comfortable read. It is however very addictive, and while disturbing, I found it very involving and Sam the main character is hugely engaging. The book is a good choice, although the subject matter involves eating disorders and crimes of a sexual nature, it held my attention and it proved a satisfying and memorable story.
Sixteen year old Sam is frustrated by the lack of police progress after her beautiful older sister Jena is attacked and left close to death. She turns detective and her dark story is revealed from the hospital wing where she is being treated eighteen months later for anorexia. The sometimes painful exploration of the thought processes of these teenagers starving themselves in the ward is troubling, but thought-provoking. With this as the story’s backdrop, Sam’s investigation is revealed through a series of sessions with the man who will help determine her future and if she may ever be released from her secure hospital.
The author cleverly raises the tension and feeling of unease in the reader as Sam, with the aid of her precious camera, confronts the possible suspects for the crime. She uncovers secrets and lies that shock and confuse. While the current events at the hospital all add to the interest and human element, the truth of past is slowly becomes clearer and darker as we draw to the conclusion. This is not a particularly fun read, but the characters are strong and the story-line absorbing and I really had to keep reading to the end. I enjoyed reading it, it had a likeable if troubled main character and an interesting setting. I would be happy to recommend it you, if you like your book a little thought-provoking and challenging
Sixteen year old Sam is frustrated by the lack of police progress after her beautiful older sister Jena is attacked and left close to death. She turns detective and her dark story is revealed from the hospital wing where she is being treated eighteen months later for anorexia. The sometimes painful exploration of the thought processes of these teenagers starving themselves in the ward is troubling, but thought-provoking. With this as the story’s backdrop, Sam’s investigation is revealed through a series of sessions with the man who will help determine her future and if she may ever be released from her secure hospital.
The author cleverly raises the tension and feeling of unease in the reader as Sam, with the aid of her precious camera, confronts the possible suspects for the crime. She uncovers secrets and lies that shock and confuse. While the current events at the hospital all add to the interest and human element, the truth of past is slowly becomes clearer and darker as we draw to the conclusion. This is not a particularly fun read, but the characters are strong and the story-line absorbing and I really had to keep reading to the end. I enjoyed reading it, it had a likeable if troubled main character and an interesting setting. I would be happy to recommend it you, if you like your book a little thought-provoking and challenging
February 8, 2018
Thrilling. Tense. Clever. Poignant. Loved it.
June 14, 2017
I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot is gripping and the pace is great, once I began reading I was absorbed. I have to admit the identity of the assassin was of no mistery to me since almost the beginning, and almost halfway I got who Sam really was [saying no more as I want it to be spoiler-free] and about the why... I got half of it right, but the whole truth was even worse!
That said, it doesn't mean the author is previsible, just that I love to guess and try to follow all the hints that are given so I can make deductions. Some times you got it right, other times you don't.
I also loved the story, or better yet, stories developing on the anorexic unit. Those were very touching and it shows the author has done her homework getting information and such. Sometimes I didn't know what I prefered: the parts of the hospital or the what-happened-to-Jenna ones, good thing the author gives us half and half on each chapter! haha
The characters are well rounded, very much alive and quite relatable, but for the "bad guys". Those deserve death by blo*dy castration. But even them are really well crafted.
This is a very good book, honestly. If you like mistery, solving a crime, adolescence and mental health... it has a bit of everything!
That said, it doesn't mean the author is previsible, just that I love to guess and try to follow all the hints that are given so I can make deductions. Some times you got it right, other times you don't.
I also loved the story, or better yet, stories developing on the anorexic unit. Those were very touching and it shows the author has done her homework getting information and such. Sometimes I didn't know what I prefered: the parts of the hospital or the what-happened-to-Jenna ones, good thing the author gives us half and half on each chapter! haha
The characters are well rounded, very much alive and quite relatable, but for the "bad guys". Those deserve death by blo*dy castration. But even them are really well crafted.
This is a very good book, honestly. If you like mistery, solving a crime, adolescence and mental health... it has a bit of everything!
May 2, 2017
Once in awhile you come across a gem of a read that you just know will stay with you. This book is one of those reads and even though weeks have passed since I finished this book, well OMFG – I cannot stop thinking about it!! Now THAT is what turns a great read, a bloody AWESOME read!!
This book is mainly set within the walls of Bartlett Hospital with flashbacks that take us back to Ipswich. The reader comes across several themes, including eating disorders, despair, (lack of) control, survival – both in the physical and emotional sense, trauma, secrets, betrayal and a search for the truth. There are some uncomfortable subject matters, but the author handles them with sensitivity as well as transparency so the reader feels the true impact of what is happening within the pages.
For me, the plot was definitely fast paced as I found myself wanting to spend every spare minute reading this book! I raced through it as the story unfolded! At the start, I had no clue where the story was going, but I was most certainly hooked! It was as if the reader is drawn down one path, only to be swiftly turned and lead down another. Absolutely superb!! This was also a highly emotive read. Triggering various emotions as each new aspect was handed to the reader – I was angry, curious, heartbroken, sad – jaysus, it was a whirlwind, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going…in a good way!!
Now for my favourite part: Characters!! This book was rich with characters, each of whom brought something to the story and moved it forward. I will only mention a few, as you really need to read them in the context of the story to understand their greatness and what they brought to the table! Sam Hoolihan was fascinating! She is the main character and the majority of the story is told from/through her perspective- whether in real time or flashbacks. On the exterior, she is sassy, strong, determined and clever- but inside she is struggling, very vulnerable and emotionally broken. She tries to gain control through her eating disorder – the only thing she feels she has total control over, and as a patient in Bartlett Hospital, we learn pieces of her trauma through the therapy she undergoes. She is one of those characters who niggles at you. At first, her bold, brash nature annoyed me- but once the layers are removed, she is a hero who we want to see win!
Sam’s sister, Jena and her parents have also suffered trauma- as Jena had been attacked and Sam had tried to piece together that mystery before she had been hospitalised. What we learn about them as a family, come from flashbacks Sam has as she had buried these thoughts as a coping mechanism. Sam’s mother is overly protective but weak in my opinion. Her father is just….odd. I did not take to either parents. Jena was an interesting character who started off as one thing, but ended up being something else altogether. I can’t say anymore about this without giving away spoilers…so I won’t.
The Campbell’s: Sonia, Douglas and Rob – what a total mess this lot were! Well Rob (the son) wasn’t so much, and he and Sam end up as each other’s emotional crutch. There were plenty of OMFG moments with this bunch, I bloody loved it!
Clive- Head of Bartlett hospital, reveals a whole HEAP of interesting OMFG moments throughout this book as he counsels Sam in an effort to help her piece together the puzzle. At first I thought he was a pompous and slightly uncaring arse, if I am honest. But as he pushes Sam, and we learn more about her stay in Bartlett – Jeez!! It totally blew me away as it was NOT what I expected at all.
I actually don’t think my review gives this book the justice it deserves. There is SO much I want to say, but to do so, would reveal some of the most interesting and fascinating twists that I did not see coming at all. And I don’t like giving spoilers, so all I can say is TRUST ME – you NEED to read this book! It is not often that I am completely caught off guard, and although aspects of the story, I had figured out- it wasn’t the full story and then the mind blowing metaphorical smack in the face when the revelations were unveiled in all there glory well WOW! WOW! WOW!
Although I have Ruth Dougdall’s other books on my TBR, this was the first book I have read by this author and most certainly will not be the last! Great chracterisation, a tight but complex and uncomfortable storyline and the sheer adrenaline rush when the twist were thrown at me from all angles, means I am most certainly HOOKED. Of course this stand-alone novel gets a HELL YEAH recommendation from me and will also sit nicely on my #TopReadsOf2017 list! I urge you to click the book below and grab yourself a copy – don’t let me tell you what it is about, experience it for yourself!! You will not be disappointed!
This book is mainly set within the walls of Bartlett Hospital with flashbacks that take us back to Ipswich. The reader comes across several themes, including eating disorders, despair, (lack of) control, survival – both in the physical and emotional sense, trauma, secrets, betrayal and a search for the truth. There are some uncomfortable subject matters, but the author handles them with sensitivity as well as transparency so the reader feels the true impact of what is happening within the pages.
For me, the plot was definitely fast paced as I found myself wanting to spend every spare minute reading this book! I raced through it as the story unfolded! At the start, I had no clue where the story was going, but I was most certainly hooked! It was as if the reader is drawn down one path, only to be swiftly turned and lead down another. Absolutely superb!! This was also a highly emotive read. Triggering various emotions as each new aspect was handed to the reader – I was angry, curious, heartbroken, sad – jaysus, it was a whirlwind, I didn’t know whether I was coming or going…in a good way!!
Now for my favourite part: Characters!! This book was rich with characters, each of whom brought something to the story and moved it forward. I will only mention a few, as you really need to read them in the context of the story to understand their greatness and what they brought to the table! Sam Hoolihan was fascinating! She is the main character and the majority of the story is told from/through her perspective- whether in real time or flashbacks. On the exterior, she is sassy, strong, determined and clever- but inside she is struggling, very vulnerable and emotionally broken. She tries to gain control through her eating disorder – the only thing she feels she has total control over, and as a patient in Bartlett Hospital, we learn pieces of her trauma through the therapy she undergoes. She is one of those characters who niggles at you. At first, her bold, brash nature annoyed me- but once the layers are removed, she is a hero who we want to see win!
Sam’s sister, Jena and her parents have also suffered trauma- as Jena had been attacked and Sam had tried to piece together that mystery before she had been hospitalised. What we learn about them as a family, come from flashbacks Sam has as she had buried these thoughts as a coping mechanism. Sam’s mother is overly protective but weak in my opinion. Her father is just….odd. I did not take to either parents. Jena was an interesting character who started off as one thing, but ended up being something else altogether. I can’t say anymore about this without giving away spoilers…so I won’t.
The Campbell’s: Sonia, Douglas and Rob – what a total mess this lot were! Well Rob (the son) wasn’t so much, and he and Sam end up as each other’s emotional crutch. There were plenty of OMFG moments with this bunch, I bloody loved it!
Clive- Head of Bartlett hospital, reveals a whole HEAP of interesting OMFG moments throughout this book as he counsels Sam in an effort to help her piece together the puzzle. At first I thought he was a pompous and slightly uncaring arse, if I am honest. But as he pushes Sam, and we learn more about her stay in Bartlett – Jeez!! It totally blew me away as it was NOT what I expected at all.
I actually don’t think my review gives this book the justice it deserves. There is SO much I want to say, but to do so, would reveal some of the most interesting and fascinating twists that I did not see coming at all. And I don’t like giving spoilers, so all I can say is TRUST ME – you NEED to read this book! It is not often that I am completely caught off guard, and although aspects of the story, I had figured out- it wasn’t the full story and then the mind blowing metaphorical smack in the face when the revelations were unveiled in all there glory well WOW! WOW! WOW!
Although I have Ruth Dougdall’s other books on my TBR, this was the first book I have read by this author and most certainly will not be the last! Great chracterisation, a tight but complex and uncomfortable storyline and the sheer adrenaline rush when the twist were thrown at me from all angles, means I am most certainly HOOKED. Of course this stand-alone novel gets a HELL YEAH recommendation from me and will also sit nicely on my #TopReadsOf2017 list! I urge you to click the book below and grab yourself a copy – don’t let me tell you what it is about, experience it for yourself!! You will not be disappointed!
November 4, 2017
When I started reading My Sister and Other Liars by Ruth Dugdall I was drawn into what seemed like an intriguing story but somewhere along the line I lost my initial enthusiasm. Though it was a good read, in my hands it seemed to drag and I became impatient to reach the end. Having said that there were many elements I found interesting. As readers we saw inside the ugly and distressing disease anorexia, the psychological mindset that leads some young girls (& occassionally boys) to starve themselves. For many people this slow but progressive path to death is a way of suppressing memories, emptying mind and body, and gaining control over their own lives.
In this instance 17 year old Sam Hoolihan is anorexic and has been hospitalised for 18 months. Prior to being hospitalised her sister Jena had been attacked and suffered a serious brain injury. That event had a dramatic impact in Sam's own life, and ultimately lead to the downward spiral which landed her where she is today. Sam is now due to front a panel who will decide if she is ready for release. The story is revealed gradually, during her daily sessions with her pyschologist. She doesn't give up the words easily and the threat of food is used to get her to open up. Alternating between her thoughts in the present day and the backstory, there was plenty of room for speculation about what Sam did, who attacked Jena and why. Unfortunately I had predicted the culprit very early in the book and this probably detracted from my reading experience and ultimately my rating of this book.
Overall a good read and I give my thanks to Ruth Dugdall, the publishers Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
In this instance 17 year old Sam Hoolihan is anorexic and has been hospitalised for 18 months. Prior to being hospitalised her sister Jena had been attacked and suffered a serious brain injury. That event had a dramatic impact in Sam's own life, and ultimately lead to the downward spiral which landed her where she is today. Sam is now due to front a panel who will decide if she is ready for release. The story is revealed gradually, during her daily sessions with her pyschologist. She doesn't give up the words easily and the threat of food is used to get her to open up. Alternating between her thoughts in the present day and the backstory, there was plenty of room for speculation about what Sam did, who attacked Jena and why. Unfortunately I had predicted the culprit very early in the book and this probably detracted from my reading experience and ultimately my rating of this book.
Overall a good read and I give my thanks to Ruth Dugdall, the publishers Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
April 26, 2019
SPOILERS, I summarize the plot and ending.
MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is a lukewarm mystery with anorexia as a backdrop, I assume to appeal to a wider audience and add some dimension to the character of Samantha.
We learn early on that Sam’s been hospitalized for eighteen months due to anorexia and shooting someone, presumably the person who attacked her sister Lena who is presumably the same person who raped Lens when she was thirteen years old which is not so coincidentally the same number of years ago as Sam’s age. Holy predictable “twist” Batman.
To save you the money and time of reading MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS, I’ll tell you the rapist isn’t the man convicted of the crime or his brother-in-law, the child pornographer. Nope it’s her father. And her mother knew. Her mother was the one who attacked Lena, who was about to reveal she was Sam’s mother and the people Sam thought of as her parents were her grandparents, though technically her father was also her grandfather. Sam shot her father, who was barely injured and ended up in jail. In the end Sam and Lena reunite at Lena’s mother, Sam’s grandmother’s funeral. We don’t know if Sam recovers from anorexia or is allowed out.
My synopsis is probably a whole lot more interesting than the book.
The addition of anorexia to the story felt an awful lot like bait to those who like sick lit porn (figuratively speaking) rather than an important element of Sam’s story or unraveling the mystery.
MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS is a lukewarm mystery with anorexia as a backdrop, I assume to appeal to a wider audience and add some dimension to the character of Samantha.
We learn early on that Sam’s been hospitalized for eighteen months due to anorexia and shooting someone, presumably the person who attacked her sister Lena who is presumably the same person who raped Lens when she was thirteen years old which is not so coincidentally the same number of years ago as Sam’s age. Holy predictable “twist” Batman.
To save you the money and time of reading MY SISTER AND OTHER LIARS, I’ll tell you the rapist isn’t the man convicted of the crime or his brother-in-law, the child pornographer. Nope it’s her father. And her mother knew. Her mother was the one who attacked Lena, who was about to reveal she was Sam’s mother and the people Sam thought of as her parents were her grandparents, though technically her father was also her grandfather. Sam shot her father, who was barely injured and ended up in jail. In the end Sam and Lena reunite at Lena’s mother, Sam’s grandmother’s funeral. We don’t know if Sam recovers from anorexia or is allowed out.
My synopsis is probably a whole lot more interesting than the book.
The addition of anorexia to the story felt an awful lot like bait to those who like sick lit porn (figuratively speaking) rather than an important element of Sam’s story or unraveling the mystery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2018
Months and months and months ago, Kindle had a massive sale and I bought 3 mystery/suspense style novels that I’d never heard of before but sounded alright. I’ve recently (finally) gotten around to reading the first two - My Husband’s Wife and His Kidnapper’s Shoes - and didn’t really enjoy either of them, so I was not holding out high hopes for this book. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised! This was way better than the other two. The ending and some of the other twists/surprises I had already predicted a while back, but it almost didn’t even matter because I still enjoyed reading them happen.
April 28, 2022
How many fonts can you fit in a book?
April 27, 2017
An intriguing mystery and psychological thriller filled with a sad and disturbing tale. Sam is a young women on a mental health unit for eating disorders. As part of her therapy for anorexia she starts to recall her past that led her there. The book tackles difficult subjects and traumas Sam and her family have endured so is not an easy read. But there is plenty to keep you gripped and wondering to the very end. It is a book of twists and darkness that makes uncomfortable reading but still a book you can't put down.
I'd recommend to people who enjoy mystery and female/family based psychological thrillers.
I'd recommend to people who enjoy mystery and female/family based psychological thrillers.
December 22, 2017
My sister and other liars by ruth dugdall.
Sam is in a special unit at the bartlet hospital. She is not eating. Why? What happened to get her that way?
Who attacked jenna and why?
A very emotional read. I really felt for sam. Shocked. Didn't expect that. 5*.
Sam is in a special unit at the bartlet hospital. She is not eating. Why? What happened to get her that way?
Who attacked jenna and why?
A very emotional read. I really felt for sam. Shocked. Didn't expect that. 5*.
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