Ceux qui te mentent

by Nuala Ellwood, Claire Desserrey (Translator)

La seule personne en qui vous avez confiance vous manipule...

Kate est reporter de guerre et souffre de stress posttraumatique. À cause, entre autres, d'un enfant qu'elle n'a pas pu sauver à Alep. Quand elle rentre à Herne Bay pour les obsèques de sa mère, Kate se souvient de cet endroit où tout allait bien jusqu'à la mort de David, son petit frère. Un accident, dira-t-on. Ensuite plus rien n'a jamais été pareil. Leur père est devenu violent. Leur mère a perdu la raison. Puis sa sœur, Sally, a sombré elle aussi, malgré l'aide de son mari, Paul.



Dès son retour dans la maison de sa mère, Kate se sent oppressée et abuse des somnifères. Elle entend un petit garçon crier la nuit chez les voisins et ne sait plus ce qui est réel ou le fruit de son imagination torturée. Alors elle prévient Paul et Sally qui ne la croient pas, la police non plus, il n'y a pas d'enfant chez la voisine qui vit seule. Pourtant elle l'a vu. Dans le jardin d'à côté. Elle sait qu'il existe...




Un thriller magistralement orchestré. Deux sœurs, deux points de vue, un dénouement final terrifiant.




" Rivalise avec La Fille du train ! " The Guardian

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

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Nuala Ellwood is the daughter of an award-winning journalist. She was inspired by his experiences and those of foreign correspondents such as Marie Colvin and Martha Gellhorn to secure Arts Council funding for her research into PTSD for her debut psychological thriller MY SISTER’S BONES.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘And would you say these bad dreams have gotten worse since you’ve returned to Herne Bay?’
I put the beaker back on to the table and sit up in my chair. I have to stop letting my mind wander; I have to be alert, careful. Every word I say here can be used against me.
‘No, they haven’t gotten worse,’ I say, trying to keep my voice steady: ‘They’ve just become real.’

Kate Rafter is a world class conflict correspondent. She has been there and seen that far too many times. Her latest experiences, in Syria, have gouged new scars, and deepened some old ones. There was a serious question about whether she could keep her shit together when she was back in London. It’s the voices, the screaming she hears when there is no one there, the images that rise in her memory, of destruction too severe for any mind to carry for very long without collapsing under the weight. It is the death of the boy in Aleppo that haunts her the worst. Of course, Kate is not the only person in her family with issues.

Sally Rafter, the sister who did not manage to get out, is a spiteful, raging alcoholic. She was already afflicted when her adolescent daughter vanished several years before. Her descent after that became steeper and faster. She hates her older sister, the successful one.


Nuala Ellwood - from her Twitter page

Both substance-abusing Rafter sisters come to their addictions with a full set of contributions from their parents. Dad was a mean drunk, who regularly let out his demons by pounding on his wife. Mom had issues of her own, in addition to her drinking, enough to keep her from dragging her abusive husband before the law, or maybe stoving his skull with a large metal object. At least the youngest of the three siblings did not have to cope with their advanced dysfunction. He did not survive to his second birthday.

Kate is back in her home town, Herne Bay, on the death of her mother. They had not been close for a long time. Staying in her old home, she sees things. Was that really a boy in the garden or more of her PTSD and substance-fueled hallucinations? And she could have sworn she spotted a boy in a neighbor’s yard. The neighbor, an Iraqi immigrant woman, insists there is no boy. But Kate is convinced there is something bad going on. Sally’s husband is trying his best to help Kate negotiate the family stresses, but things may not be what they seem in Herne Bay. What is the nature of the spectres that haunt Kate? Can we believe that what Kate saw was real?

Nuala Ellwood was much taken with the experiences of foreign correspondents Marie Colvin and Martha Gellhorn. Not surprising as her father is an award winning journalist. She got a grant from the Arts Council to study PTSD and incorporated what she’d learned into the tale. One of the main rewards of reading My Sister’s Bones is to get a you are there look at bits of what it is like being a correspondent in a war zone. The human element of war, particularly for non-combatants, locals and outsiders, shines through. Bone-chilling stuff.

There are various elements that go into a psychological suspense tale. Not least is atmospherics. Ellwood certainty fills the pages with gloom and foreboding. The sea is a hostile force, and always at hand. You turn your back on it at your peril, and, apparently at the peril of others as well. Dangers pop into view, which is not terribly surprising in a place where the British military tested bouncing bombs during World War II, and where a particularly rough tide is carving away the shoreline. The externalities serve nicely to reflect Kate’s internal turmoil.

We have to care about the central character. Kate has demonstrated extreme courage, heroically returning over and over to report on the horrors of war, so that the people’s suffering would not be ignored. She saw enough of suffering being tolerated during her childhood. Her courage makes us care about her, even if her sometimes questionable decisions keep us at a distance. It is easy to look past her need for external remedies to make the images go away. It is easy to sympathize with the burden of her memories.

There is a mystery that needs unraveling, and we see the process step by step. We get a lot of Kate’s history from a prolonged session with a police shrink when she is brought in for reasons we find out eventually. The first part of the book alternates chapters of that interrogation, and the resulting historical peeling back of Kate’s history, with action in the now of the story, as Kate digs into what’s going on.

There is also the resolution. Does the answer or answers to the questions make sense? It was here that I had a bone to pick. I had a very tough time buying the explanation offered for the central mystery. I would not go so far as to call it a shark jump. An argument might be made for it, I suppose. But I felt let down.

So there you have it. A real page-turner, with a lot of the right elements. I am sure it will make a fun movie. If you can live without the finale being all you would want, you will enjoy this one, no bones about it.

Review First Posted – December 30, 2016

Publication by William Morrow – July 11, 2017
It was released as an e-book in November, 2016

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, Twitter, Instagram and FB pages

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood is a 2017 William Morrow Paperbacks publication.

Bleak, atmospheric, somber-


Psychological thrillers are not all created equal. They can come in all shapes, sizes and forms and still solidly fall within the specifications applied to this genre, but with various degrees of success.

While this book adheres to the standard requirements, the author turns the genre on its ear by producing a multi-layered literary piece told from the first -person perspectives of two sisters, both of whom are dealing with immense loss, psychological demons, and emotional scars, but unable to find comfort in each other.

Kate is a journalist who has spent the past several years covering the atrocities in Syria. After her mother’s death, she returns home to put her affairs in order. It soon becomes obvious that being back in her childhood home is bringing back torturous memories, on top of being haunted by the images of war, topped off by her sister, Sally’s, alcoholism. The stress manifests itself with vivid nightmares and hallucinations.

Sally’s alcohol issues multiplied after her teenage daughter, Hannah disappears. Now, after the death of her mother, she crawled inside the bottle, not even bothering to hide it or fight it.

The only sane person in this shadowy land of illusion is Sally’s husband, Paul. He takes care of both sisters and they work their way through childhood abuses, PTSD, and their broken relationship with each other.


The imagery is Aleppo is haunting, reminding us that journalists are out there in the crossfire, and can suffer the same ill effects of war as soldiers, and even lose their lives on occasion. What happens to Kate in Syria easily explains her PTSD, and how she ends up in the shape she does.

The subject matter is heart wrenching, harsh, and cruel- so if you are sensitive to scenes of psychological and physical abuse, or the depictions of war - be aware of these possible triggers- most of which occur in the first half of the book.

Sally holds deep resentments toward Kate, who she believes was her mother’s favorite child, and while Kate wishes to help her, Sally resist to the point where Kate feels helpless and hopeless, especially under the circumstances.

While all this is very interesting and is an absorbing character study, there are some odd occurrences thrown in that makes us question our narrator. The author planted seeds of doubt, making me wonder just what is real and what is deceptive. I was very caught up in the story, but the deeper I tread, the more I began to wonder where on earth all this was leading. Wasn’t this supposed to be a thriller?

As a matter of fact, yes, it is, and I’m glad I was patient, because when the twist came, it hit me hard, right in the gut, and I could have kicked myself for not seeing it sooner.

Once the bottom drops out, it’s a harrowing, white knuckled fight that held me enthralled and made me a little jumpy, while totally screwing with my head.

At the end of the day, I was mentally exhausted and stunned emotionally by this moody, melancholy, but exceptional novel. I am impressed with the author’s style, the way she layered the events so I was kept off guard, using a powerful prose to slowly entice me into her web.

This is a novel with much more going for it than most standard thrillers. This book examines thorny issues, made me think, forced me to work at solving the puzzle, and packed an emotional wallop that left me shell shocked.

While the story is very dark, and rarely offers a moment of reprieve, the ending did show much improvement and even a ray of hope for those who live to tell the tale.

This is one of the very best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. So, if you are a fan of this genre, I highly recommend it!!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY SISTER”S BONES is a tension filled psychological debut thriller by author Nuala Ellwood.

This is the story of two sisters, Kate and Sally, different in every way. They had come from a dysfunctional family, and had the scars and memories to show for it. Both chose different paths; Kate left home, Herne Bay in Kent, and was a successful war reporter and had been witness to the murders taking place in Syria, while Sally never left home but resorted to the bottle.

But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. Kate has witnessed horrific atrocities in Syria, that no one should see, and now is now suffering from PTSD and relies on sleeping pills and booze to block out these memories. But on her first night back home, she is woken by a terrifying scream…she sees outside her dead brother David. Is this just a dream?

The novel opens with Kate being questioned and detained by a therapist at a police station under the mental health act, to determine her mental state.

I don't want to spoil this book for anyone by talking further about the plot but I just want to say that this is a book full of surprises. Well written with fully flushed out characters.

This emotional read will not be forgotten easily. It is a story of family relationships, love, strength, loss and redemption.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Penguin Books (UK) - Penguin Viking via NetGalley for my copy.

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was all it said it would be and more.

I received my copy through the post from the authors PA. I was that desperate to continue reading I was frantic on the evening as I was laying in bed. I am used to reading on my Kindle paperwhite, it has a backlight! oh no, what do I do with a paperback and not disturb my husband from sleeping? I delved into my bedside cabinet to find a light I used to have before Kindle days, found it! but will it light up? YES! ureka! I could continue to read this.

If not, I would have taken myself downstairs because this was a book I got my teeth into.

Kate has a sister, but both choose a different path. Or they're life just went that way. Kate has a career, and her sister has the bottle of booze to escape into.

The things that Kate saw and experienced on her travels haunted her, one thing especially. We are are unraveling layers of Kate's journey bit by bit taking each layer off. Its very cleverly done.

Its harrowing, its compelling, its sorrowful, its also a relief sometimes for Kate.

Its not good returning to a hometown and family that you want to keep at a distance but, she had to return when her beloved Mother dies.

There are all sorts of shapes that fit this puzzle, you just need to find the right one.

When Kate starts to experience and 'see' things that others don't believe she is frantic.
Until..........

Just what did her Mother see that she saw?

This is a really good read, and I am not kidding when I needed to find that light to stay up and read it. Sometimes no matter what, a book comes before sleep, and this was one of them.

Thank you to the PA of the author for contacting me and involving me in this book. I will be looking for this authors books now, another to add to my collection of 'must read his/hers next book'

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly brilliant novel. I could not find enough hours in the day to keep reading this, I knew from page one it was going to be good and it ended up exceeding my expectations. This will be a big hit in 2017, of that I am sure.

I commend the author Nuala Ellwood for writing a novel that has parts of it set in, and about the terrible humanitarian crisis and war happening today in Aleppo, Syria. Events that I watch on the news that I feel so helpless to do anything about but want to. The author has done a brilliant job of bringing some of that truth to the public in the format of a really well written novel. I hope that many may be somewhat educated to the plight of the people living in the hell that is called Aleppo.

Kate is an investigative Journalist. She is no stranger to war-torn countries or being in the midst of danger, death and destruction. She has seen the worst atrocities up close and personal, in Iraq, in Syria, in Africa. Journalism and her passion for reporting the truth is in her blood and her bones. Kate's sister Sally is an alcoholic, spending her time wasting away with bottles of wine and ruminating on the bitterness and anger that runs through her blood. Sally's husband Paul is at a loss what to do with his wife and does his best to welcome Kate back to her home town, desperate for her to try to get through to her sister about her destructive drinking.

Yet both girls have come from the same family home, were witness to the same events, were impacted by painful and alarming family issues but could not have turned out so different in their outlook on life. The plot is really good and very interesting, it's paced really well, you won't be bored for a second and takes us on a journey into Kate's life and inner world. As the book moves us between timelines and locations you get the sense you are on a journey with the characters but are not sure where you will end up. All the characters in this book are strong points.

It's hard to review this book in-depth without spoilers, so I am going to keep it simple. Just trust me - the plot is very good, very interesting and it blew me away with some reveals that I did not see coming in a million years. The characters are written well and easy to connect with, form opinions about (those opinions may change over the course of the book) and there is nothing obvious about the book. There are so many hidden gems within the book that you really can't see fully in all their glory until the end of the book. The chapters leading up to the ending really stunned me.

The research done by the author into how PTSD impacts an individual was very good. It's written into the plot very realistically in regards to how it impacts a person who has experienced terrible trauma. I hope that the book does it's bit to raise some awareness of how debilitating PTSD is.

I truly didn't expect the book to go where it does, as a reader this novel kept me on my toes, just when I would get comfortable thinking I knew where we were going I would be spun around on my head and proved wrong, chucked back out of that comfort zone. I loved that element of Nuala's writing! There was nothing I did not like, this book has everything you need for an entertaining and page-turning read and I highly recommend this to everyone. Without a doubt - 5 stars for My Sister's Bones, truly riveting with many outstanding features.

I received an ARC paperback of this book from the publisher, plus had it approved through NetGalley also in exchange for a fair and honest book review, many thanks.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about a war reporter and the horrors she endured on her last assignment. When she returned home she tried to connect with her estranged sister after their mother funeral. There was so much going on in their story that I could not put the book down and read it in one day. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the publisher and author for sending me this book. The book is about a reporter, Kate Rafter, who has returned to England from Syria to settle her deceased mother's affairs. She suffers from PTSD and has recurring nightmares caused by horrific memories of people blown up and shot. One especially terrible memory is of a child who is shot in the head when he runs out into the street to get his football.
While she is staying in her mother's house she is awakened several times in the night by sounds in the back garden. She sees a little boy and goes out to investigate. She calls the police when she is convinced that the boy is in danger. The woman next door denies that there is a child living there. Kate loses control and grabs the woman, trying to get her to admit that there is a boy. The police arrest Kate.
The narrative goes back and forth for the first 2/3rds of the book between Kate's interrogation at the police station, under the Mental Heath law, and Kate's experiences leading up to the arrest.
Kate tries to reconcile with her estranged sister, Sally, who is an alcoholic.
Pros: The author does provide a good ending, with all plot threads tied up. She also provides a realistic portrayal of the PTSD affecting Kate and points out that it is an under recognized problem among war reporters.
Cons: The blurbs describe this book as a compulsive read, but I thought that the first half of the book dragged on way too long. If you are interested in the PTSD issue, then this book is for you. However if you are a mystery/thriller fan, you may be disappointed. I realized who the villain was about halfway through. It took me forever to read this book and I almost gave up.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

War reporter Kate Rafter had no inclination to return to her home town – but her mother’s recent death meant she needed to put some affairs in order. Her sister Sally was there, but Sally had fallen to pieces after their father died, and spent her days in an alcoholic haze. Her husband Paul despaired of being able to bring her out of it. Sally’s daughter Hannah had left home as well, unable to abide by her mother’s drinking and rages any longer.

Though Kate was a tough reporter, able to report on the horrendous events in Syria without any seeming effect, her last posting had created a never ending loop of nightmares. Kate despaired of ever erasing the incessant images from her mind. Her first night back in her mother’s home had her waking to a terrible scream – but was it one of her nightmares, or was there something else out there?

As the days and nights passed, Kate began to feel either she was going crazy, or something really was wrong. But no one would believe her – especially not the police. What could she do? Was she mixing fact with fiction; was she ill? But her nightmares were about to get a whole lot worse…

My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood is a gritty, tension filled psychological thriller! The pace was a little slow for the first part of the book, but half way through the pace ramped up, and the action intensified. This is one thriller I can definitely recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy to read in exchange for my honest review.

[Warda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I'm in a state of shock right now. This book was just mind-boggling. As well as slightly traumatising.

I'm going to try and review it.

Trigger warnings: rape, panic and anxiety attacks.

The story follows Kate, a journalist who actively reports about Syria and also travels to the country and experiences the war first hand. It also follows the narrative of her sister Sally, which I wasn't expecting, but added the different perspective, the other side of the story that was needed. That's all I will say about it for now.

For quite a short book, it packs an absolute punch. I was hooked from that prologue alone and every page after that was ridiculously engrossing.

It's best to go into this book blind, I feel, like with most thrillers. But the ride you are in for will make it worth it and then some.

I loved that it covered relevant themes such as war, the effects it has in those reporting whilst allowing us an insight into the war zone. Quite frankly, I found myself having a new-found respect for journalists. Those that put themselves out there to report the truth and give voices to those that have been silenced.
It honestly brought to light again the situation in Syria and the absolute horrific state they're in. It fills one with zeal to aid and shed light on them again.

It discusses the effects parents have on their children, their whole childhood and the implication their actions can have on their upbringing, their worldview. It was heartbreaking and uncomfortable to read about the traumatic upbringing both Kate and Sally faced.

The writing style was simple, but powerful and raw and hard-hitting. The author managed to conduct such great research for it all.

I just highly recommend this book. For fans of thrillers or not. It was an absolute page-turner!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally written, this is a thriller that gets properly under your skin. The mix of PTSD, childhood trauma, and bereavement in the main character Kate was very well done. Her background as a war reporter, most recently in Aleppo, Syria was timely and harrowing. Unlike so many of the other female protagonists in psychological thrillers, she felt real and strong, desperately fighting against a tide of emotion and memory. Even her sister, Sally, who isn’t as immediately sympathetic, did not make me think 'oh great, another batshit crazy woman having a bad week'.

It was clever, compelling, and didn't progress how I thought, or hoped, it would. But despite the author daring to take the story in a direction I didn't want it to go, it worked really well and ended as it should. These authors know their business sometimes.

Anyone who can request this on Netgalley, get to it, you won't regret it. All the rest will have to wait till 2017, but put it on your TBR because you won't want to miss this.


My thanks to Nuala Ellwood, Viking/Penguin Books, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
3.5 stars
My Sister’s Bones opens with a hooking premise. The key player in this novel, finds herself in a police station being interviewed by a police psychologist. The psychologist is trying to determine if the book’s lead character Kate needs to be sectioned for her own health and safety, as part of the mental health act. We learn Kate is a war correspondent, who has witnessed many atrocities and these seem to have surfaced upon her return home. It is a question of deciding whether or not Kate’s claims are valid – or is she an unreliable narrator suffering from PTSD.

Nuala Ellwood’s debut offering in the popular psychological thriller writing scene, is a hard hitting release. The main character Kate’s horrific and life altering experiences from her time as a war correspondent, guarantees this novel packs a punch. Kate is the chief narrator of this novel, but the perspective does shift on to sister Sally, who is suffering from the effects of substance abuse. My Sister’s Bones gradually reveals information about the Kate and Sally’s tragic past. We learn they suffered years of abuse at the hands of their violent and alcoholic father. The recent death of their mother brings Kate back home from her job overseas. This is also when Kate’s nightmares begin and things get creepy. Kate is convinced she sees a small boy in the garden of her deceased mother’s home and believes he may be a neighbour, being abused. However, Kate’s grip on reality, particularly the here and now is unclear, as we are not entirely sure if the small boy Kate is fretting for exists. We must consider the possibility that the boy is simply the product of Kate’s wild imagination, rising from the ashes of her time spent in many treacherous war torn locations.

On the whole, I found My Sister’s Bones a well written psychological thriller. Nuala Ellwood is new on the writing scene, but this does not stop her delivering a novel that was well researched in the area of PTSD and the role of a war correspondent. In fact, Nuala Ellwood’s own background and family history in this area, which I discovered after reading this book, would have helped enormously in crafting her first book. As a result, My Sister’s Bones came across as realistic and sensitive to the issues at the heart of this novel.

My Sister’s Bones follows a steady pace and there are some good turns put in place by the author. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this novel. It took me to places I did not anticipate, but I do appreciate being shaken up by a book every now and then. There seemed to be a large focus on the build up to the big reveal near the end of the novel. This big reveal was shocking to stay the least and I did not see this turn of events coming at all.

The use of shifting time frames and two character voices is utilised to full effect by Nuala Ellwood. This enables the reader to get a significant insight into Kate and her sister Sally’s worlds – both in the past and in the present. Kate and Sally’s lives are not easy ones to stomach, from child abuse, alcoholism, teen pregnancy and Kate’s harrowing war experiences. My Sister’s Bones does not make for light reading. Despite this, I did find that Nuala Ellwood handled these issues with the correct level of dignity.

A domestic thriller that leans strongly on the psychological, My Sister’s Bones was a haunting and confronting read. Nuala Ellwood is a new writer that I will be sure to watch out for in the future, as I appreciated her dark and twisty tale.

[Natalie Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly thank you to goodreads for me winning this in a giveaway. I really enjoyed this book and specifically Kate, the main character. She is a journalist and seen some terrible things in war torn countries, which have affected her deeply. The story has a lot of twists and while I suspected these fairly early on this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy thrillers.

[Linda Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Rafter was part of a dysfunctional family and the only one who escaped. Her father was a drunk who beat her and her mother. She had a younger brother who drowned when he was young ... Kate's mother has always felt guilty about that. Her younger sister, Sally, is following in their father's footsteps. Sally has already driven her own daughter away .. she's not had anything to do with Kate, and even Sally's husband is about to wash his hands of her.

When their mother died, Kate came home. She's now a hot-shot journalist following the war in Syria. She's seen things that most of us have never even thought of. Suffering from severe PTSD, she's an insomniac, depending on sleeping pills, and now she's drinking to escape the hallucinations.

Her first night home, she's awakened by a scream. Looking out her window she sees a very young boy ... who is the spitting image of her deceased brother, David. She convinces herself it's only a dream, a hallucination ... but is it?

The beginning of the book is Kate being questioned by a therapist. They are holding her for 74 hours to determine if she's a danger to herself or others. Slowly, bit by bit, the reader is privy to her life, from her childhood through the days she spent in war torn countries.

There are surprises at every turn. It's a compelling read, very cleverly written. All the characters are fully developed .. these are people who could be your neighbors.

It's a poignant telling of how she and her family related to each other. It's also a story of love, loss, guilt, forgiveness.

This is a book that begs to be read. From the very first, the pages practically turn on their own, keeping you so engrossed you can forget everything else.

I highly recommend this book, this author to anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller. It's one you won't forget anytime soon.

Many, many thanks to the author / Penguin Books (UK) - Penguin Viking /NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains a multitude of disparate mysteries that all are seemingly unconnected... until they aren't. Linked only by the protagonist they centre around, this is a thriller on a large global and political scale, the likes of which I have not encountered in a mystery novel, for quite some time.

This begun at a relatively slow pace and fooled me into believing I was aware of where this book was taking me. Falling into this trap of presupposed assumptions proved to intensify the shock I felt when this book revealed it was about so much more than what it initially appeared.

Kate Rafter is a well-known and widely-respected war reporter, who has spent much of her adult life amongst bombed-out and poverty-stricken regions most others avoid.. But all these pale in comparison to where she grew up, and what she discovers there is far less alarming than the childhood she is still running from. But when the death of her mother unwillingly returns her to this past life, she realises what she has been hoping to avoid is something she can never run from. A return to the idyllic seaside family home only serves to bring back how much she longs to flee, and how there isn't anywhere where the horrors of her life can't reach her.

This is a novel that has many separate threads, but the point on which they all converge is always with Kate. The trauma she endured in Syria combats against the inescapable memories of the past, and both become bound into her present grief until she can no longer discern fact from fiction. With the merging of these two separate entities, both the reader and Kate herself are constantly striving to decipher the true events from those imagined. This transforms this into a novel that incorporates a depth of subject matter into the central thrilling plot-line.

This novel confronts the harsh reality of the chaos of our world. As a reader, we are somewhat distanced from it. For our protagonist, there is no such distance provided and she is left to cope with the devastating effects on her mental and physical well-being, alone. This exploration is one I found both a painful yet mandatory, and the viewpoint helped navigate this novel as well as the world at large.

And this is just one of the many poignant topics 'My Sister's Bones' diverges on to. Domestic abuse, alcoholism, abduction, immigration... I could go on. This is a novel that is fearless is the breadth of subjects it addresses, and it does each one an illuminating and sensitive justice.

I went in to this expecting nothing more than a passive yet suspenseful read. What I received was something that made me think. This delivers point after point about the injustice and savagery abundant in the modern-world and, through one story, the reader is invited to open their eyes and notice it. We can't all be highly-paid war reporters, but we can all become aware of the horror that may live on our own doorsteps.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Nuala Ellwood, and the publisher, Penguin Viking, for this opportunity.

[Louise Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Rafter is a successful war reporter. She's the strong one. Her sister Sally drinks. But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. On her first night she is woken by a scream. What secret has Kate stumbled upon?

This is quite a heavy read as it deals with some dark depressing subjects: mental health issues, rape, child abuse and alcoholism to mention just a few. In fact, it's quite a distressing story. Kate and her sister Sally are both pretty damaged individuals. They were brought up in an abusive home. I enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half just went downhill a little.

Library book.

[Γιώργος Δάμτσιος · Rating 5 out of 5]

Με το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο την πάτησα για τα καλά. Στην αρχή, στις πρώτες 50-70 σελίδες, είχα αρχίσει να σκέφτομαι ότι ''διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο της τάξεως του 3 στα 5, με καλή γραφή και με κύριο θέμα τα ψυχικά τραύματα που αφήνει ο πόλεμος σε όσους τον παρακολουθούν από κοντά''. 50 σελίδες αργότερα, ανασκεύασα ελαφρώς τη δήλωσή μου και είπα ''διαβάζω ένα ΠΟΛΥ ΔΥΝΑΤΟ βιβλίο, της τάξεως του 4 στα 5, με ΠΟΛΥ καλή γραφή και με κύριο θέμα τα ψυχικά τραύματα που αφήνει ο πόλεμος σε όσους τον παρακολουθούν από κοντά'' Και όσο οι σελίδες γυρνούσαν, άρχισα να αντιλαμβάνομαι ότι για κάποιον αδιευκρίνιστο λόγο ήμουν εγώ αυτός που άργησε να συγχρονιστεί με το βιβλίο, και ότι τελικά αυτό, επιεικώς, τα σπάει. Η ιστορία που βρίσκεται μπροστά από το μήνυμα που ανέφερα (δύο φορές) παραπάνω είναι πάρα πολύ δυνατή και πάρα πολύ ανθρώπινη, ενώ το τέλος είναι γεμάτο απανωτές ανατροπές που σοκάρουν. Ειδικά δε στη σελίδα 387 της ελληνικής έκδοσης αναγκάστηκα να κάνω παύση καθώς συγκινήθηκα πολύ έντονα. (Δεύτερη φορά που μου συμβαίνει φέτος, ενώ, υποτίθεται, συγκινούμαι σπάνια). Το βέβαιο είναι ότι στο τέλος οι εντυπώσεις που μου άφησε ήταν άριστες. Πέραν αυτού, αγόρασα κατευθείαν και το δεύτερο της συγγραφέως. (The day of the accident).

[Zuky the BookBum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-review...

NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK!

Trigger warnings are noted in the first paragraph.

We’re all of us, every day, just a hairbreadth away from evil. If I’ve learnt anything from fifteen years of reporting, it’s that. But I couldn’t expect these people to understand.

This is a really heavy read as it deals with some really dark and depressing subjects, such as the war and refugees in Syria, domestic & child abuse, rape, death, mental illness, alcoholism and miscarriages. Don’t read this if you’re having a low period in your life because this is not going to make you feel any better, throughout it’s a rather distressing and upsetting story.

Each character in this novel was well developed, no matter how small a part they played in the plot. Ellwood has done a fantastic job with her research into PTSD as Kate’s fears and anxieties seem so real to the reader. Though I’ve never experienced anything even close to PTSD, I can really imagine how terrifying and disturbing it would be, from reading this book. It’s definitely the best and most harrowing description of the condition I’ve ever read in a fiction novel.

This was a really well presented novel and I’m amazed that it’s a debut! It was excellently written and thought out. My only issue being that sometimes, the timings in this book felt a little off. When Kate and Paul were together, one minute they'd be serving dinner and the next, after a small 5 lined conversation, it would be midnight and time for Paul to leave and Kate to get into bed. It seemed like large chunks of the day would just disappear.

Maybe I shouldn’t have read some other people’s reviews on this beforehand, but because I was expecting all these super duper amazing twists, I kind of didn’t feel that they were super duper amazing. I also found some of them to be a little far fetched and silly, rather than surprising.

I can definitely see why this has gained so many 5 star ratings, but it’s all down to personal preference at the end of the day, and this one was just a little too dark for my liking. That's not to say I didn't like this...I enjoyed this a lot, hence the 4 stars. I found myself not wanting to put it down, even when my eyes were telling me it was definitely time for sleep. It was certainly a thrilling and page turning read, but I don’t know if I could recommend this to anyone because of all the dark subject matters. It seems like the sort of book some people are going to love for it’s dark realism and others are going to hate that and find it too distressing to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was so NOT what I was expecting. I think because my review copy didn't have any blurb on it, I kind of went in blind to this one and it came across all the better for it. I'm still reeling from all the the twists that popped to the surface to this bubbling cauldron of suspense to be honest but I don't want that feeling to end quite yet!

This noticeably has a very topical feel to it from the start as we meet journalist Kate and realise she has been a witness to the atrocities taking place in Syria. The first part of the story is split in two, with Kate coming home to Hearne Bay following her mother's death and this is alternated with Kate being questioned by police following her arrest for an undisclosed crime. This part was left deliberately rather vague reflecting Kate's fragile mental state. She is obviously suffering from PTSD so the reader comes to the conclusion that this may not make her a reliable narrator. She sees and hears things that aren't there and her nightmares are graphic and realistic so what is real and what only exists in Kate's imagination? But when I read the end of Part One.....oh my goodness, what a gasp out loud moment! And that's when the book suddenly became totally unputdownable for me!

Kate and her sister Sally are both damaged individuals. Brought up in an abusive home where the mental abuse was worse than the physical, the girls have self medicated in totally different ways, Sally with alcohol and Kate with her destructive relationship and her dedication to her job. I need to say that the journalism side of the plot is meticulously crafted and I really felt Kate was a living breathing person who had actually seen and been through the horrific war zone in Aleppo. We see things through her eyes and my heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest at times through the whole destructive and senseless violence there.

I don't want to spoil this book for anyone by talking further about the plot but I just want to say that this is a book full of surprises. It's so very cleverly written that I can guarantee most people will be shocked by the turn of events that occur here, I know I was. In fact, I'm still thinking about it now and have just gone back to read the prologue again. It gave me goosebumps the first time round but that second time.....chilling!

Definitely one to watch out for if you're a fan of psychological suspense, just watch out for those twists!

I received my review copy of My Sister's Bones from the publisher.

[Lavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this was an intense read. I don’t know what I expected but I did not expect THAT.

There is much going on in this book. I struggled a bit to get into the story. I was confused about the chapters about Kate being interviewed by a doctor. Something happened and we don’t know what for quite a long time. Kate is a war reporter and she has seen a lot of horrible things. She is haunted by the vision of a boy who was killed in Aleppo. She has a massive PTSD problem which she somehow denies. I was a bit annoyed by her stubbornness. There was clearly something wrong with her but she refused to see help. But after a while you see there is much more going one.

The second part is from her sister’s view. Sally deals in a different way with her demons. While Kate depends on her pills, Sally numbs herself with wine. So we have two unreliable narrators and a story I did not know where it is leading to. My first bad apprehension I would not like the book soon vanished. At least when Sally is the narrator the book gets almost unputdownable .I really enjoyed the last half immensely. The book turned out to be something completely different than I expected even after starting reading it. The way the story turns is completely different than I thought it would be after I learned about Kate and her PTSD and her hallucinations. Which is a really good thing.

After all it is a sad and disturbing and tragic story. The author did a great job, the writing and structure is superb. I enjoyed it not from the beginning but I got more captivated the further I read. This book is definitely different to other thrillers and I highly recommend it.

4,5 Stars

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Penguin Books UK in return for an honest review

[Vaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Η Κέιτ, ως πολεμικά ανταποκρίτρια που είναι, έχει ζήσει μερικές πολύ δύσκολες και τρομαχτικές συνθήκες. Μετά το θάνατο της μητέρας της, επιστρέφει για λίγες μέρες στο πατρικό της σπίτι. Εκεί ξυπνούν αναμνήσεις από τα παιδικά της χρόνια σε συνδυασμό με τις αναμνήσεις από τις ανταποκρίσεις της.
Η Σάλι, αδερφή της Κέιτ, μετά την εξαφάνιση της κόρης της, έχει κλειστεί στο σπίτι και το έχει ρίξει στο ποτό. Κατηγορεί τους άλλους για τα προβλήματά της, δεν θέλει να δεί κανέναν κι επιτίθεται ακόμη και στον Πόλ τον άντρα της.
Η συγγραφέας αναλύει τη σχέση των 2 αδερφών που έχει περάσει απο 40 κύματα, αφού κι οι δυό τους, μέσω των αναμνήσεών τους αναφέρονται σε αυτή.
Το ντεμπούτο της συγγραφέως είναι αρκετά υποσχόμενο. Είμαι περίεργη να δω την εξέλιξή της,
3,5*

[The Book Review Café · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first saw the title of this book I conjured up so many different scenarios but oh my god I couldn’t have been more wrong! New author on the block Nuala Ellwood has certainly written a disturbing and spine chilling tale that I found impossible to put down once I started reading. Kate Rafter is a war reporter it’s clear from the start that she has seen terrible things during her time reporting from war zones, so much so she is having horrendous flashbacks that torment her day and night. Kate begins to see and hear things but is it a symptom of PTSD or is there something more sinister at work?

Our first introduction to Kate, she is in a Police Station, Kate is being interviewed by a police doctor, you aren’t sure why but you do get a sense that it’s very bad. Layer by layer the author reveals more and there are shocks galore as the truth emerges. My Sisters Bones has two very unreliable narrators Kate who relays heavily on medication to get her through and her alcoholic sister Sally. The two sisters never had the best life growing up, mentally abused by an alcoholic father, they are both struggle to cope with past events.

At times I found it difficult to work out which sister was the most disturbed or whose narrative was the more reliable which made for an highly engaging read. This book really messed with my head as you try to work out if Kate and her sister are imagining things or if there is something much more sinister going on, and for me that’s what a book of this genre should do, keep you guessing right up to the end. As the plot progressed I really felt I was no nearer to guessing the outcome than when I started, and I remained in the dark until the last couple of chapters.

There are numerous threads running through my sisters Bones and I have to say the author paints a vivid picture of both women’s torment so much so I found this book both harrowing and disturbing at times. What I found intriguing and added depth to this novel was the way the two sisters lives were connected by past horrifying events, but their lives took very different paths, they also had very different memories and views on their past experiences, which for me made it difficult to distinguish whose memories were the more credible.

If I had one small criticism I did feel I had to suspend my disbelief for the ending, it really wasn’t what I expected at all, don’t get me wrong this never spoilt the story in anyway I just didn’t find it to be a credible one, but on the other hand it works making this an outstanding psychological read. My Sisters Bones is well paced, and it certainly keeps the reader on their toes, as it’s so difficult to second guess where the plot is leading. I find it hard to believe this is Nuala Elwood’s debut as it is so well executed, it’s creepy, harrowing and down right disturbing at times, but readers of psychological thrillers will love it, and it’s a book I feel will do really well, in fact I would go as far to say it could be a bestseller on its release.

[Kim Ebner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please see all my reviews at: www.thebuzzingbookmark.com

The first thing that struck me about this book was how emotional I found the first quarter of the story. I wasn't expecting that. When Kate returns home after the death of her mother, she can't help but think back over her childhood and the time she spent with her Mom, to the close bond that they had and to the abuse that she and her mother endured at the hands of her father. The author definitely manages to pull the reader in with the emotional account and any reader who has or had a close relationship with their mother will probably find Kate's pain tangible.

This is ultimately the story of two sisters, Kate and Sally, although we hardly get to know Sally during the first half of the book. We are introduced to her once and other than that the story focuses on Kate, her life as a reporter, her relationship with her family members and her time spent in Syria. Sally only comes into her own during the second half of the story.

I must be honest and say that when I learnt that part of the story centered around Kate's life as a reporter and her time spent in Syria, I wasn't very excited. It's not that I don't sympathize with the people of Syria and the refugee crisis but I'm not a fan or reading books about wars, refugees, politics and so on. I don't actively choose to read fiction books that are set in war zones or that focus on the terrible atrocities that are going on in the world. But, luckily, this story didn't delve into the Syrian crisis in much detail and although there are small sections of the book that touch on Kate's time spent reporting from Syria, they aren't lengthy and it didn't detract from the book for me.

I liked this book, but I did have some concerns and problems with it. Firstly, I thought that the flow was a bit disjointed and the actions of the characters seemed strange at times with no clear and gradual link between their normal actions and then the craziness. For example, and this doesn't give anything away, Paul's actions towards Sally were so strange. From one extreme to the next with no indication to the reader that his mind set was starting to change. Secondly, and probably because of the jump from a pretty normal story to a strange one, I found things a tad overboard and unlikely. I know that this could probably be a criticism of many psychological thrillers but in this one, it just seemed more pronounced. I didn't feel that the story pulled together well. But that's just me.

My verdict is that this is a good read but not one that you need to rush out and buy today. If it comes across your reading path, then give it a go. It didn't blow me away, but it's a fairly decent read that will probably appeal to many people.

My rating: * * *

Many thanks to author Nuala Ellwood and publisher's Penguin Random House SA for my copy.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book!! Didn't see that twist coming at all! listened to the audio book and one of my favourite narrators Imogen Church.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Experienced journalist Kate returns home early from an assignment in Syria following her mother’s death. It soon becomes clear that Kate’s family life has not been a happy one and despite the fact that the only family remaining are Kate and her sister Sally, they do not get on at all. Sally is an alcoholic and her husband Paul is the go-between, trying to support Kate whilst trying to keep his wife sober.

Kate’s experiences in Syria have had a severe effect on her mental health and it appears that she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder – she has recurring nightmares, with unsettling visions and is convinced she can hear screams coming from the garden of her family home. She is not in a good place at all and when the story begins, she is being assessed for a mental health review; something bad has happened. We just don’t know what.

This is very disturbing thriller at times but also a very topical one. Via Kate’s flashbacks and experiences of working in Syria – the bombings, the snipers and the constant danger, we get a very clear picture of the horror of this war. Add in the memories of her childhood with an abusive father and the nightmares she still suffers, it is sometimes difficult to tell what’s imagined and what is real and there were many times when I wondered just how reliable Kate’s memories were.

So many other books are now marketed as “….a psychological thriller with a twist you won’t see coming….” etc. which can be rather irritating when quite often you do! However, with this book, I really didn’t expect the events that felt like a punch to the gut. Without going into any details and spoiler territory, this book will have you scrabbling to turn the pages to find out what the hell is going on.

My Sister’s Bones is an excellent read with a well developed and realistic cast of characters and a powerful storyline covering darker subjects such as domestic abuse and alcoholism, all combined with the twists and turns that you would expect from a psychological thriller. Although there were some characters that I found distinctly unlikeable, I could still believe in them and the situations they found themselves in. This is a superb debut thriller from Nuala Ellwood and I look forward to reading more from this author. Definitely one to put on your reading list.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This starts off well, if a little jagged in the back-and-forwards execution, and paints a vivid picture of a woman under acute psychological pressure through PTSD with flashbacks to her time in Syria. But it's a case, here, of less would have been more: way too many issues and revelations are piled on top of each other so that the story gets absurder and more hyperactive as it progresses: as well as the PTSD we have alcoholism, refugees, people trafficking, a hidden-in-plain-view murderous psychopath, rape, abuse, a drowned child, a secret child... there's enough content here for a handful of books and a more pared back approach might have made this more believable. This has potential but at the moment feels like a messy first draft.

[Lindamac Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.... Cracking twist at the end . Looking forward to the next one

[Maureen DeLuca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - The first part of the book it was a 4 star reading for sure. Then the second half...it went down just a tad. Having said that - I'm glad I picked up the book. While reading this book, you have no idea what is real or what the person THINKS is real. An enjoyable psychological thriller type book, with lots of OMG'S!! If you enjoy thriller mysteries with psychological twists and turns, I think you should enjoy this book .

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I seek to actively avoid thrillers with the merest whiff of domestic noir about them, I was intrigued to read My Sister’s Bones, a debut psychological thriller by Nuala Ellwood with its blend of emotional domesticity combined with more global concerns. Effectively marrying the usual tropes of domestic noir and familial conflict, with more salient humanitarian issues,  Ellwood has produced a thriller that is a curious blend of the intensely satisfying and the slightly frustrating…
The absolute lynchpin for my enjoyment of this book was Kate’s story, a seasoned war reporter who on her return from war-torn Aleppo in Syria, is battling the twin demons of PTSD and personal emotional stress caused by the death of her mother, and the non-connectedness to her sister Sally who is in the grip of alcoholism, and suffering personal distress at the disappearance of her daughter, Hannah. Reflecting my enjoyment of other thrillers such as Matthew Frank’s If I Should Die, and Kate Medina’s Fire Damage, which also explored the realm of PTSD, I found Ellwood’s portrayal of Kate, so emotionally affected by her horrific experiences in Syria, utterly authentic, bolstered no doubt by the author’s own familial links to the world of war reporting. Her confusion, anger and twisted sense of self worth and guilt was heart-breaking and emotional throughout, really tapping into the reader’s empathy, and depicting perfectly one woman’s personal experience of war. I also admired the clear-headed, objective portrayal of the Syrian conflict exhibited by the author, and its balanced and unflinching tone when describing the danger and human devastation that Kate experiences holed up in this war torn city. I liked the way that we as readers are drawn in and out of states of mistrust towards Kate, due to the symptoms of her stress, constantly questioning her veracity as a reliable narrator, and a credible witness to what she believes is happening in the house next door. Her story and actions totally carries the thrust of the book, and without giving anything away I was a little worried that her story had been too swiftly curtailed to carry my interest to the end.
More frustrating for me, was the close to home aspect of the story, where Kate finds herself immersed in the suspicious goings-on of her next door neighbour, and the grand reveal of how this relates to the travails of her alienated sister, Sally. Again, I think Ellwood, is spot on with the characterisation of Sally, fighting a battle with alcoholism, and the conflicting states of mind and self-awareness that this terrible addiction causes to those in its grip. Her experience was never less than utterly believable and affecting. However, I did find the central plot of the book a little weak, and far-fetched to totally draw me in, and the denouement was just a tad too fanciful to entirely convince this reader. Such is the strength of Ellwood’s writing in terms of human experience, that I wondered with the blips in the central plotting, if crime fiction was the right avenue to go down. With her undeniable knack for portraying the weaknesses and strengths of her female characters, I would happily have read this a contemporary fiction novel examining the condition of war and its impact on human relationships, drawing on the issues of PTSD, familial isolation and alcohol addiction.
So, all in all, a bit of a mixed bag for this reader, who didn’t really appreciate the ‘crime’ aspect of the book so much,  but with exhibiting such strong characterisation in the protagonists of Kate and Sally themselves, had enough to keep me reading on. Recommended.

[Jess The Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate returns to her home town, for the first time many many years, following her mother's death. Kate has been stationed in Syria as a war reporter, and is not coping very well with all of the death and destruction she's seen over there.

Returning home to her childhood memories, and a mean drunk sister, are very difficult things for her to do as it is, and then she starts to hear a little boy screaming and crying. Her mental health issues and drinking mean that no one really believes her, but she's convinced that something is going on at the house next door.

It's been a long time since I've finished a book in a few hours, and it was really easy to do with this one. A well told thriller.

[Tracy Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly any book that I read in a day and keeps me up past my bedtime is obviously one I would recommend. My Sister's Bones is so much more than your average psychological thriller. The main character Kate, a wartime journalist who has just returned from Aleppo and is battling her own demons and her sister Sally an alcoholic with major issues are brought together after years apart to deal with the sale of their mother's home after her death. There is so much more to this story and you need to read it to find out what! I found this debut novel gripping and heartbreaking in equal measures.