Rosamund Lupton’s Sister meets The Woman in the Window in this gripping thriller full of suspense and lies!
When Molly Napier’s sister Scarlett is killed in a road accident the whole family are in shock. The police are certain she purposely caused the crash that killed another but what could have happened for sensible Scarlett to lose control at the wheel?
Determined to discover the truth, Molly begins to dig deeper into her sister’s life. With every question she uncovers yet more secrets…all connected to her own family’s past. One of them has something to hide.
And then Molly meets Rocco, a stranger with dark secrets of his own. Nothing can prepare her for what comes next…
Perhaps the answers she is searching for are more dangerous that she ever imagined…
Her Sister's Secret by E.V.Seymour begins with a woman killed in a car crash. We read her emotions, thoughts, fears and anguish as the car careens into another. We suspect, and eventually so do the police, that this was no accident and the driver intentionally killed herself via the fatal crash. But that is just the beginning to the twists, secrets and questions that we encounter within.
There are three Napier siblings - one is perfect and adored, one struggles to live up the image her sister has set while never quite achieving that goal in the eyes of their parents. The third doesn't even try to meet the parental expectations and is now a recovering addict. When the perfect sibling dies in this car crash, one sibling withdraws back into their addiction and the other, Molly, goes on a quest to learn the truth. Why would her perfect sister with a perfect husband and perfect life kill herself - and did she intentionally attempt to kill the other driver as well? As Molly searches for the truth, she discovers more questions and secrets than anyone, including herself, are prepared to answer.
Everything about Her Sister's Secret was interesting: the characters were complex, the writing was exceptional and the plot was riviting. There were plenty of red herrings to keep me guessing how the ending would play out. I had my own suspicions, but the nuances of the story line kept me intrigued to the very end. This is exactly how thrillers and suspense should be written. If you haven't picked up Her Sister's Secret yet, then I highly encourage you to do so.
Note - I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book was a fast-paced, action-packed thriller with mystery (more of fact-finding, really). What starts as looking for heroine's sister's secrets, quickly becomes finding more about finding her family's secrets. Her sister's death becomes the catalyst to the heroine's search for answers about her family.
There were a lot of characters involved and at places, the happenings of the story was confusing. In the beginning itself, the first chapter is from her sister Scarlet's perspective and it took about four chapters for me to realize that. There were few lose ends that I felt required more tying up and the ending felt unsatisfactory to me, but mostly the story had twists and turns enough to keep me engaged.
Where I felt the book was lacking, is the emotional aspects. The heroine's feelings and consequently her actions felt off for someone who was dealing with her sister's death and later her family's secrets. For example, the first few chapters that deal with the entire family receiving new about Scarlet's death. The heroine and her mother stay at home after finding out that Scarlet was in hospital after an accident because her mother has a migraine. I just can't imagine a mother sleeping at home when her daughter is in hospital.
The characters, including the heroine, came off as very self-centered and cold-hearted. Like, her mother worried about Scarlet's face when she was fighting for her life; the heroine going to work the very same day that they learn about Scarlet's death; the heroine focusing on what her brother said, instead of her sister's death; or the heroine and Scarlet's husband talking about legal matters and searching through Scarlet's things the very same day. It all seemed very mercenary, unbelievable and unrealistic. It would have been much better if the timeline of the story was different - maybe, started few days after Scarlet's death.
Though the characters put me off, the story mostly was engaging. If I only focus on the mystery and thriller part, the story would gain another star. Overall, I would rate this book 2.5 stars.
Enter into a world of secrets. Secrets here, secrets there, secrets upon secrets everywhere. Some spend a lifetime keeping and protecting their collection of secrets. As they leave this world, those left behind have a choice of continuing with the secret keeping or unearthing the truth. Each choice comes with its own set of consequences.
This story was centered around a family who had three adult children. One of the children had become the favorite while the other two were never groomed to measure up. Dysfunction at its finest. The inequality amongst the siblings set them up for some rather interesting family dynamics.
As one of the Napier children meets an untimely death, the rest of the family finds themselves in tatters. As they try to adjust to their new normal, fractures develop. Even as they deeply grieve, the pulsating secrets remain and fester. Could it be possible that even the investigators were caught up in this rather large web of lies? Could they also be protecting some unsavory secrets?
As Molly doggedly labored to uncover the truth, she peeled away multiple layers of secrets and lies. Who could she trust? Who should she trust?
As the truth came out, foundations crumbled and nothing would ever be the same. Longtime loyalty gave way to suspicion. Respect was drowned out by intense fear. When all is said and done and the dust has settled, who will land on the right side of the law? I really enjoyed this thriller-mystery that took me along a path which was filled with countless twists and turns.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from HarperImpulse through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
As the title implies this is a book about family secrets- in this case it goes more broadly than just the sister. Following the shocking death of her sister Molly’s life and that of her family implodes. Initially I didn’t think that I was going to get into the book as the start was rather laborious and over wordy. However, the pace picked up and overall I enjoyed it but with some reservations. I did like the main character of Molly, her friend Lenny, her aunt Dusty and that of Rocco. The setting of the Malvern area was lovely and the author has definitely piqued my interest to visit the area!
There was an awful lot going on in the storyline from police corruption to murder to blackmail and cover ups some of which was intriguing but at times it felt rather convoluted and a bit far fetched. Some of the ending came out of left field and I thought some of the dialogue at this point was melodramatic. However, overall the story kept my interest once it got going and I enjoyed it.
Quite a fast read, the book gripped me with its plot.
A woman died in a car crash and the police suspected it wasn't an accident. The story soon revealed its twists and turns, the lies some told, some untold. 3 sisters were them, one died, one was addicted and it was left to the third to uncover the truth.
My first book by author E. V. Seymour, the story pulled me in with the first chapter. The characters were complex, each had a story in them. The writing kept the tension drawn across its pages like a tense rubberband. The suspense was high. I read this at one go as I wanted to get to the end.
Clues were left, but I ignored them as I wanted to read this book for the pure pleasure of it. Overall, a fun read
What would you do if your sister was in a terrible accident that makes NO sense? Molly will stop at nothing to find our what really happened to her older sister Scarlett. Molly went a little overboard with her investigation. Her family was VERY dysfunctional! It didn't take me long to finish it but it could've been a little better.
E. V. Seymour writes a hugely engrossing and entertaining novel that deals with some serious issues in this gripping thriller full of suspense and lies.
Molly, the daughter of a retired police officer, is devastated when her sister, Scarlet, is killed in a random accident following an argument that leaves Molly feeling horribly guilty. Scarlet's husband Nate, also feels responsible for other reasons, but, astonishingly, their parents, who doted on Scarlet, accept the accident at face value - so why is it only Molly who feels like it was a setup? As Molly searches for the truth, she discovers more and more questions and secrets than any member of her family including herself, would not wish to be answered or revealed.
E. V. Seymour delivers an unrestrained and exuberant story of family drama with a toxic concoction of police corruption, secrets, affairs, sex, drugs and deception. Everything eventually crash-lands around Molly as she unravels the story that follows one fateful moment many years ago that has haunted family and friends.
Her Sister's Secret is a cracking story and a book that I revelled in all the way through. It brought no disappointments and everything was beautifully wrapped up in the fabulous finale. A riveting tale of familial dysfunction, unscrupulousness and the burden of truth, I'm very happy to recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Harper Impulse via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
From the first pages, I got pulled into this story. The story unfolds through the eyes of Molly, the sister of Scarlett, who had a car accident in which she was killed. But very soon we learn that nothing is what it seems. There are a lot of sudden twists in this mystery and I loved how I kept speculating and wondering if I would be right or wrong. What initially starts as a sister’s secret, evolves into a family secret that is about to erupt. We get a little love story as well; one that is perfectly balanced within the story and mysteries. The focus of the story changes a lot and there are multiple suspects, but in the end all loose ends become clear. It is a perfect summer read; a thriller you just cannot put down. I'm giving it three stars because the mystery evolved into something completely different from the start, with a lot of suspects. In the end it was something very unexpected, which is just fine, but maybe a bit too far fetched?
I got this as a e book for my i pad from net galley. I enjoyed reading it. It took longer for me than normal to read because I had a few other books on the go to read. It had a good story to it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.
I received an advanced copy for an honest review. Thanks E.V. Seymour!!
I have never read one of her books before so I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I was hooked on this book from the very first chapter. The entire book you’re learning along the Molly all these secrets and still have no idea how it’s going to unfold until the very last page of the book. I really enjoyed it, would definitely recommend it.
REVIEW: It looked like a simple British mystery thriller and I love those so of course I was gonna read this the moment I set my eyes on its synopsis. Overall, I must admit that the promise some other readers gave me about how fast-paced it was, was an utter lie, it was really slow paced and for a 35% of the book I was bored and not finding many redeeming qualities in Molly. I didn’t like her until I discovered she was part of the few that still had something of a moral compass. So yeah, overall I liked it. DON’T TRUST YOUR PARENTS. So her parents were criminals all along, her mother for following him and him for being a corrupt monster. They are truly the worst, they played along not really loving their children but their comfortable lives more, they didn’t commit crimes to help their drug addict son, they didn’t give a fuck about their daughter’s suicidal murder, and surely they did not give a fuck about Molly and their dog. Truly heartbreaking for any person. EXPECTED SOMETHING MORE TO HIT THE FAN. I expected more from the Eddie storyline and her in-laws. Seriously, I was expecting an OMFG blow to hit me when I expected it the least, and that never came! Upset about that to this day, it could have had so much potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a thrilling family drama involving long kept secrets, the price paid for keeping them and the pain of breaking them apart to get to the truth no matter the devastating costs, emotionally and physically. Molly, the daughter of a retired police officer, is devastated .when a random accident kills her sister a few days after an argument that leaves Molly feeling guilty., her sisters husband Nate feels guilty, for other reasons, their brother Zach is feeling guilty and partly to blame but their parents, who doted on the dead sister, surprisingly just accept the accident at face value - so why is Molly the only one who feels like it was a setup.? Now the stage is set, and as Molly uncovers each new turn and twist, she has to decide the toll the truth will bring as she delves deeper and deeper until reality threatens to destroy all she holds dear. Sex, drugs, police corruption ( I found this storyline a little difficult to follow), lies, affairs, deceit and deception come crashing down around Molly as she unravels the story that follows one fateful moment many years ago that haunts family and friends but one they must keep buried at all costs. Great read!
⭐️Book Review ⭐️ Her Sister’s Secret by E.V. Seymour 4/5 Stars
**I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.** Pub Date July 5, 2019
Fast paced psychological, suspense thriller. Could not put this one down!
Molly is investigating the death of her sister, her family and life break down. Looking into the death comes at a cost... possibly Molly’s own family. Along with her friend Lenny and Aunt Dusty, Molly uncovers police corruption, blackmail and cover-ups. Longtime loyalty gave way to suspicion. When all was said and done, who stood on the right side of the law?
The storyline was quite intriguing and kept me interested the entire book with secrets and uncovering the truth.
The book (The Family Secret) begins with the sudden death of Molly's sister, Scarlett from a car accident. The family of course, is crushed. Molly feels a sense of guilt, as they had had an argument not long before the crash. But Molly begins to think that her seemingly perfect sister was hiding something, after a comment from their brother, Nate, and begins to do a little digging around herself.
The book takes the reader through many twists and turns, and I could not put it down once I started reading it.
A great, engrossing book, and anyone that enjoys a thrilling read will surely enjoy it!! Thanks so much @HarperCollins and @Netgalley
I felt like it seemed like I was left with a lot of questions. Also, I felt nothing for any of the characters because the author didn’t really say much about them in the beginning or much throughout the book. I had difficulty getting through the book not just because it was slow and boring, but also because she used so many large words and expressions in just about every sentence (literally). I’d have to stop and think or reread it. Even though it seemed to be taking place in the present tense it was written in past tense. It was also often like I was reading off a list. Instead of going through the actions that the character was doing the author just quickly listed what the character did. This happened many many times. I was not at all satisfied with the ending. It was also a little confusing and hard to follow. I can’t stand not finishing a book or I would have quit reading. I can’t believe how many 4 and 5 stars there are on this book....
When Molly Napiers sister Scarlet dies in a road traffic accident, Molly believes her sister had a secret and attempts to discover what it is.
When she meets Rocco Noble she can't help but wonder if there's something else about him, who is he and just how far does this secret go?
I read this within a few hours the secret just gets bigger and bigger! It's a real page turner that I couldn't put down. The characters are well formed and those you grow to love you can't help but be shocked by.
For those who enjoy a bit of a mystery/ thriller I recommend this!
So this book took me quite a while to get into but once I did it had me hooked !!
The story starts with a car accident that results in the death of scarlet. This tragic event leaves Scarlets sister Molly with and uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach .
Determined to find out the truth of what happened in the days before her sisters death , Molly discovers a shocking truth . Who should she trust??
The plot twists in this book are incredible and unpredictable. I loved how then plot thickened with each chapter making the grand reveal all the more astonishing!
The start of the books was a little slow for me but certainly made up for it with an incredible ending . I really enjoyed this book , thankyou to Harper Collins impulse and Killer reads ,One More Chapter for sending me a copy of this book for an honest review
Highly addictive, this was a fast-paced read. A sister trying to understand what happened to her sister is pulled in to another mystery - the history of her family. I loved each turn and each new chapter. I had no idea who to trust and I was completed wrapped up in the story. It had a few spots that made me pause and it was maybe a bit long but all in all, I really liked this one.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A great read with an awful lot of twists and turns and as the title implies many family secrets.
If your after a story that's well balanced with mystery, intrigue, speculation and a good dose of love than this is the one for you. A perfect psychological thriller!
Even though the book was well written I found the ending quite far fetched.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
What really happened the day Molly’s sister Scarlet died? Molly isn’t the sort to let things rest and soon finds herself in a maze of secrets as she tries to find all the answers. No slow burner this, quick and pacy the whole way through with plenty of thrills and spills as all the long held secrets are revealed. I loved it straightaway, it wasn’t boring or stilted and for once I didn’t have to skim read! I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Gripping. I didn't guess the twist and actually thought the story would end a completely different way. I read it all in a day and into the night (who needs sleep?). I want to reread the book to work out where the clues were that I missed and I never usually reread a book. I'll be looking out for more by this author. Recommended.
I feel like it took me a while to get into this book, but once I did the twists and turns were gripping! So many unexpected events. For me, there was no way I could have anticipated what was going to happen. I mirror what some have said that there were certainly aspects that felt confusing, at times hard to keep up with, but I actually felt that added to the book. It kept me thinking, wondering, and curious!
I so enjoyed this book very good keeps you gripped from page one mollys sister gets killed in a car accident but molly does not think its suicide mollys dad was a policeman this book is so gripping twisty and addictive molly wont stop till she finds out the truth so recommend
I feel like the overuse of particular words and phrases(e.g., relating to the sun) murdered parts of this story. However, with saying that, you are in for a suspenseful ride.
I don’t think this book is for me. I read 15% of the ebook and I’m struggling to find it engaging. Although part of me is curious about Scarlet’s secrets, I am not connected enough to the story to see it all the way through.
Excellent read! Molly investigates the death of her sister - at the possible expense of her family. Suspenseful. Fast paced. Twists. Great writing - highly recommend.