The Third Sister

Ilka Jensen #3

by Sara Blaedel

Family drama, deadly secrets, and deception come to a head in the explosive conclusion of #1 internationally bestselling author Sara Blaedel's Family Secrets trilogy.

Ilka Jensen's life is in chaos following the tumultuous events of Her Father's Secret . The funeral home she inherited after her estranged father's death is bankrupt. Her new business partner, Artie, lies unconscious in the hospital after a savage attack by mysterious assailants, and her father's second wife is in prison.

Then, just as Ilka learns a shocking revelation about her father, two menacing strangers turn up at the funeral home—dangerous men who mean to draw her further into a world of secrets, betrayal, and murder.

In order to protect herself and those around her, Ilka sets off on a twisting journey to confront the truth about the man who abandoned her as a child. But the long-buried secrets of her father's past are more tangled and perilous than Ilka could ever imagine . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Adult, Suspense, Denmark, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2018

About the author

Sara Blaedel is the author of the #1 international bestselling series featuring Detective Louise Rick. Her books are published in thirty-seven countries. In 2014 Sara was voted Denmark’s most popular novelist for the fourth time. She is also a recipient of the Golden Laurel, Denmark’s most prestigious literary award.

In 2016 she published the first book "The Undertakers Daughter" in a new trilogy set in Racine, Wisconsin:

Already widowed by the age of forty, Ilka Nichols Jensen, a school portrait photographer, leads a modest, regimented, and uneventful life in Copenhagen. Until unexpected news rocks her quiet existence: Her father–who walked out suddenly and inexplicably on the family more than three decades ago–has died. And he’s left her something in his will: his funeral home. In Racine, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Mie · Rating 5 out of 5]

She did it again! Once I started, I couldn’t stop - thank you for another fantastic pageturner to my favourite author 😊

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have enjoyed this more if I had read the earlier book. Ilka’s life is a mess, she came to the US to take over her dead father’s funeral home and went bankrupt. Her business partner is in the hospital and her father’s 2nd wife is in jail. right when she learns that a her father is still alive, two men come into the funeral home threatening to kill her. She undertakes a strange hard journey to find out the truth.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the funeral home that Ilka inherited and her business partner is in the hospital with a bad concussion' and her father's wife is in jail for murder. Ilka got word that her father is alive and not dead. He is in Florida and went to a facility for his gambling addition.

Ilka travels to Florida to see for herself. He thought that claiming to be dead was easier that accept reality.

Meanwhile back at the funeral home. They are all trying to get the business up and running with the help of Ilka's mother that came over from Denmark to visit her daughter. Ilka's half sister Leslie is doing her part to bring everyone together.

Mystery almost solved

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf, not for me, the dead babies had me fleeing 😟

[Ken Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Blaedel has really past everyone with this third book about Ilka and her undead father. There are so many characters in this book that it would take a book to explain everyone. I could do it, but lets just say there are two Mexican brothers and the Isiah Burnes God Squad that want to get hold of Lydia (the nun), to punish her and get their money back. Sara does not hold back in describing how people get murdered. Ilka sees some of the murders and people after they have been beaten up and taken to the hospital. Her reactions aren't without some form of grieving or blaming herself, it as if she's there only to watch. This book had me wondering how Ilka was going to come out alive. If you want to read this story about how she inherited the funeral parlor, she gets more family involved from Denmark to help and they only get bits and pieces of details from Ilka. All the books play into this one which is interesting and can be seen in how the characters act. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes who done its.

[Krys · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just too much. Too many unnecessary "twists" (this person is a bad guy! No, wait no they aren't! This person is dead! No wait..wait no they aren't)! The constant back and forth became tiresome - and when you coupled that with how readily people were willing to forgive and forget? And how many characters kept being thrown at you? It just became unrealistic to the point that I stopped enjoying the story.

The straw that broke the camel's back, however? Was the constant threat that Artie would be discharged from the hospital unless Ilka provided them with a copy of his insurance paperwork (to be certain he was covered for treatment). Scans canceled, threats to have him discharged (the man had a bleed on his brain for crying out loud), etc, etc. Even though over $85,000 had already been deposited in his "patient account" to cover the treatment. I'm sorry - I know our healthcare system is rubbish - but this would never happen. Hospitals are required to treat all patients whether or not they are covered by insurance. This seemed like just another way for the author to heap more burdens on Ilka's shoulders. And because it was so blatantly over the top, it took me out of the story altogether.

The whole thing was utterly disappointing, especially considering the author does have a strong writing style. I have read other stories from her, but I had to say that this one will likely be my last.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

[Bjarne Skjødt Hjaltalin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serien lagde godt ud, men personligt føler jeg den faldt fra hinanden til sidst. Blaedel vil for meget... det bliver for Tarantino til min smag.
Karaktererne er levende, men persongalleriet er stereotypt og handlingen mange steder springende.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book in a good reads giveaway.
This one weird and strange book. I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t like it at all.

[Gabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was absolutely too much. Too many story lines too much chaos and none of it was tied together. There were multiple characters thrown at you and then the author made it seem like explaining their relationship or purpose to the story was an after thought. The Hospital threatening to discharge a patient with a potential brain bleed would 100% not happen. Then we go from cartel to cults to "OMG who kidnapped the kid, the cartel or the cult" I actually said "what the fuck" as I continued to read....*and not in a good way*
Can we also talk about how a single woman DRIVING A HEARSE made such excellent time driving from Racine, Wisconsin to Key West, Florida, and then back again in the same week!?!
The way things were said in conversation among the characters was also off putting, I did however chalk that up to being poorly translated.
Also, I can guarantee that the drug cartel brothers would not have just taken Ilka's word for it that Lydia was "On her way to the San Antonio police station" and just left to wait for her outside the station to intercept her......COME ON.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago. The library did not carry the second book but the third one just came in. Since it's a trilogy, I should have known it was a mistake to skip the second one. I think I must have missed something important because this book was so different. Ilka's father is miraculously not dead.

My main problem I had with this story is that Ilka is so angry. I didn't warm to her too much in the first book but I wanted to give her another shot. Not feeling it. All of the secondary characters were fine, especially Ilka's mother. I would still like to try another series by Sara Blaedel.

[Kristin (Always With a Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fitting ending to a fantastic trilogy.

Full review up on blog: http://alwayswithabook.blogspot.com/2...

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thumbs down Not for me

[Elisabeth Ahlefeldt-Laurvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super god serie

[Astrid Johanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

En fantastisk og fuldstændig uventet afslutning på historien om Ilka. Som sædvanlig når jeg læser en bog as Sara Blædel er der en del løse ænder som gør at det ikke ville gøre noget at der kom en ekstra bog i den her serie.

Læste den fra den første side til den sidste på nogle timer, da det var umuligt at ligge den fra mig. Og historien sidder stadig i kroppen på mig. Begge ting tegn på at det er en bog som er fantastisk skrevet.

[Geruffen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grundlæggende er plottet i de tre bøger for kompleks til at være fordelt over tre bøger. Der er for mange genfortællinger/erindringer om, hvad der er sket i de foregående to bøger. Og plottet er nok også lidt for fortænkt. Men Ilka - she rocks!

[SidseC · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/6 stjerner. Fantastisk afslutning på historien om Ilka!

[Jennifer N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fitting ending to the trilogy. There was lots of excitement and the story wrapped up nicely.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this couldn't get any goofier than the first two. I was wrong. At least none of the characters had name changes in this episode.

[Vilda Rosenblad · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/ 4

I "Den tredje systern" skruvas handlingen åt rejält. Knutar nystas upp och hemligheter avslöjas och insatserna höjs. Nu är det på liv och död. Det går inte att skriva så mycket om handlingen utan att avslöja för mycket men rytmen är annorlunda i denna boken. Tempot skruvas upp. Saker och ting händer snabbt och på vägen tvingas Ilka rota i sin egen historia för att förstå varför allt blivit som det blivit.

Böckerna är spänningsromaner med stråk av deckare. Folk blir mördade, andra jagade, några anklagas för brott de kanske har, kanske inte har begått. Få är de de påstått sig vara. Det är väldigt spännande och man vill veta vad som händer härnäst, men tempot i första boken passade mig allra bäst. Stämningen. Tankarna som gick till Six feet under. De fick inte plats på samma sätt i andra boken, och än mindre i tredje.

En intressant och ganska prominent aspekt av de två sista böckerna är den totalsågning av det amerikanska sjukvårdssystemet Blaedel gör. Man riktigt känner hur orättvist och idiotiskt systemet är och har svårt att fatta de som försvarar det. Som man ju redan vet måste man vara rik eller ha rätt slags jobb (with benifits) för att bli sjuk annars kan det gå riktigt illa. Men Blaedel lyckas skriva in detta i böckerna så att man verkligen lever i det på riktigt.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

What on earth is this? Hopefully the book would have made more sense if enjoyed as the third book in the series. Starting with it, there were so many questions hanging and so few of them got answered.
So, Danish author but the setting is US... not a thing gets told about the protagonists until at least an hour into the story. Ok, so Ilka is Danish. Why is she in US, and why does she have this weird American-doing-cheesy-Scottish accent? The accent was painful in the Hachette audio version of the book. All of the other Danes had also this cheesy fluctuating Scottish-Irish-Botswanan-South African accent, and not a hint of Danishness. Not much of Nordicness in their characters or actions either.
The accents were painful, and the story took ages to get action. The storyline would get also barely 2 stars; it wasn’t credible, and it didn’t keep with the “must finish this now, I want to know what happens” thing either. More just a desire for anything in the story to start to sound credible.
Oh, one thing did seem credible: the US for profit hospitals’ charging.

[Antonietta tesfaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same. She runs into the situation without thinking and then she regrets it and his Wolfle about going back home. Where did this author do the research of American hospitals? They do not put 4+ more people in one ward. Maybe in a 1950s perhaps but no longer. I can appreciate the emphasis on universal health care in Europe but our system isn’t as atrocious as it’s made out to be. If a patient doesn’t have insurance, the hospital simply doesn’t stop therapy and kick you out. There’s a process or social working comes in and sees what can be done. If you have assets such as a house etc., they’ll take that before they’ll put you on Government assistance. insertion point at end. And really, private room with a balcony in a hospital? Get to choose from a different menu if you have money or insurance. No.

[Jovdb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced, exciting finish to the trilogy. But, I found it a bit far fetched that Ilka’s mother and partner would leave Denmark, come to Rancine, stay, work on bringing the funeral home back to life; that Paul’s second family would welcome Ilka with open arms.

Ilka is in a right old mess and it just gets worse in this book. The book reads like a farce with one thing after another going wrong. One wonders why Ilka doesn’t just throw up her arms and walk away. The number of people who are wronged but quickly forgive is unbelievable! Lots of therapy in the future for unresolved issues.

So many themes, gang violence, drugs, cults, physical and sexual abuse, sad state of healthcare in the US, police corruption, and the list goes on.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, quick read. I liked the characters, and it's crazy to think how much Ilka's life has changed in a year. The book covers a lot of ground (from Denmark, to WI to FL) and we meet Ilka's mother, learn more of her backstory, and find out a lot more about Sister Eileen.

While the book is action packed and enjoyable, none of the characters are compelling or deep enough to make you feel like you do in the Louise Rich series. Everything feels kept on the surface.

This was an entertaining read, and I really enjoyed catching up on Ilka's story. There is room for books in the series, though it's not clear if that's planned or not. You do need to read this series in order - if you were too read this first, a lot of the drama would be missed.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I violated my rule of reading books in a series in order. Somehow I did not realize that this was the 3rd and last book in the "Family Secrets" series. Hence I was often confused because I did not know the characters or the history - my fault. My other source of disappointment is the fact that I read Scandinavian / European authors because of their setting in the country of origin. I saw the author's name and having read her Louise Rick / Camilla Lind series, which I enjoy very much, I wrongly did not expect the book to be set in Racine, Wisconsin. I will be more careful in the future. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I violated my rule of reading books in a series in order. Somehow I did not realize that this was the 3rd and last book in the "Family Secrets" series. Hence I was often confused because I did not know the characters or the history - my fault. My other source of disappointment is the fact that I read Scandinavian / European authors because of their setting in the country of origin. I saw the author's name and having read her Louise Rick / Camilla Lind series, which I enjoy very much, I wrongly did not expect the book to be set in Racine, Wisconsin. I will be more careful in the future. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has many things going on. I think I should have read the first two books first as I was a little lost. Ilka Jensen has inherited a funeral home from her father. She leaves Denmark to find that the funeral home is bankrupt, but she is responsible for the employees, one of which was beaten at work, is in the hospital and because Ilka didn't pay the bills he is without insurance. Ilka's father disappeared when she was 5 years old and hurt her and her mother. Now she must clean up his mess. The book has a cult and Mexican drug smugglers who are after friends of her father.

[Kylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story that wraps up the storylines of the first 2 novels in this series. It is definitely the only one of the 3 novels that you need have at least read the book before otherwise you will be lost. This book is well written and I loved the way all the characters are involved in a big way in the final book. The way all of the loose ends and backgrounds of the story line are revealed is done in such a way that keeps it interesting, instead of feeling like the author was trying to just get the information out so that there would be no questions left.

[Julie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit confusing for me, but that is most likely because I couldn't get my hands on the second in the series and was relying on summaries of it to jump into this point in the story. I loved the first of this series, and other of Blaedel's books, but this one fell short because at the end of the book, it didn't feel resolved, and I was left confused.

(I will update my review if I ever get the second in the series, and if that changes my mind on this one.)

[Tonya Bryner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself was 4 stars, I just gave it 3 because it totally assumed you not only read the first two books but remembered what happened. Most authors give a little more background if you’re getting into a series later, and I could’ve used a few reminders of past plots and who people were. Otherwise a nice ending to the trilogy. I recommend reading them one after the other, for the above reasons.