Little Sister

by Patricia MacDonald

Two estranged sisters.
One obsessive boyfriend.
A dark secret that could destroy them all.

Beth has the perfect life. She’s the one who escaped her bleak hometown and now she’s got a successful business, a devoted boyfriend, and her dream home.

Then one phone call changes everything . . .

Her father is dead. And Beth must go home to Maine to take care of her fourteen-year-old little sister who she hasn’t seen in eight years.

Her little sister is dating a dangerous man. He’s too old for her. Obsessive and controlling.

And he’ll do anything to keep Beth’s little sister to himself.

An electrifying blend of high domestic suspense, heart-stopping tension — with a shattering final twist.

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

Audio CD

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Patricia MacDonald is the author of several psychological suspense novels set in small towns. MacDonald grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and has a master's degree from Boston College. Before writing her own novels she was a book editor and was once an editor for a soap opera magazine in New York. She is married to writer Art Bourgeau. They live in Cape May, New Jersey and have one daughter.

Her first novel, The Unforgiven, published in 1981, received an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. Secret Admirer (1995) won the literary prize at the 1997 Deauville Film Festival in France, where MacDonald is consistently a number one bestseller. She’s also been awarded the prize for literature at the International Forum of Cinema and Literature in Monaco.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to listen to Little Sister by Patricia MacDonald on a complete whim when I noticed it in my library's Hoopla catalog. And by this, I mean I saw the cover and loved it, so I didn't even bother with looking it up on Goodreads or anywhere else. I'm glad I took a chance on it because I ended up being such a huge fan! Some parts of the book had faster pacing than others, but I really liked the creepy and crazy storyline (the obsessive boyfriend is crazy to the max), and I ended up being a pretty big fan of our MC Beth. I was more frustrated with her little sister, but I enjoyed seeing how that dynamic played out and was happy with where it went.

Saskia Maarleveld narrates the audiobook, and I loved her for it! She made the book come alive and man did I feel real tense during the parts that were full of action and suspense. The end was absolutely WILD, and I loved that, but there was just something about listening to Maarleveld that made it even better. I don't agree with the majority of negative reviews out there, and I didn't find the story to be completely predictable although some parts could probably be figured out if you are thinking about it. I went where MacDonald took me, and I will definitely be reading more from this author now!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s like a terrible Lifetime movie.

[Wendy Erchull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda predictable, the build up throughout left you disappointed at the end as it was such a boring end.

[Pattie Gaudreau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprisingly Not Good

Very tedious.Mostly a story about a low life on a TV crime spree!
Very little character development.
Disappointed.
There's something about her books that's changed,I used to love them

[Marci Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I’m giving it a 3 1/2 stars. I thought that it was a bit too long but, it’s still a good plot and the characters are very engaging.
I hope you enjoy it!!!!

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Pamela Pavkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Sister is a great book you will have a hard time putting down written by Patricia MacDonald. This story is filled with loss, heartache, mental abuse, and reconnection. When the death of her father forced her home after many years she has no idea what she is really getting herself into. A young, angry, and hateful sister with devastating secrets. There is suspense around every corner. The characters really bring this suspense pact mystery to life. You will wonder if a sisters bond is unbreakable.

I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I was not approached to post a favorable response and all opinions are my own. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others.

[Joel]

It kind of sucks when you've had a book lingering on your shelf for 30+ years and when you finally get around to it, it sucks.

This is dated, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I totally had 80s thriller vibes ala John Saul in the prologue. The only thing missing was "One hundred years ago...."

And I guess that's fitting, since this is a thriller published in the 80s, but man, the protagonist is a bitch. I'm sorry, but she is. And I really don't care to read about someone this self-absorbed and assholey. Your father dies and you're upset because your little sister (who you haven't seen or kept in contact with since your mother's death) disrespects you? Fuck outta here with your whiney-ass boomer bullshit.

DNFed on page 86. Coming soon to a Little Free Library near me.

[Danielle Ramey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took all I could to finish it. DO NOT recommend

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could have given no stars at all, I would have done that.
This was my third Patricia MacDonald novel and the worst so far. As if somebody else wrote it.
I'm now reading "No Way Home" which reminds me of one of Joy Fielding's early books that I love.

Skip this one and read "The Unforgiven" which has suspense and atmosphere in abundance.

[esther! · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5
mid mid mid

[Tia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️/5
Predictable. No real surprises or twists but a fairly pleasant read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good

Decent read. Not a fan of the ending but it was still good. Love a good plot even without a twist

[Imane Dellale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a thriller .This book made me want to read more of this genre. Little sister was a verry great exprience. So the story is about a girl named Beth, and she actually left her old town Oldham and went to live in Philadelphia, she built her life, she has Mike her fiance that she loves so much. One day something happened and she had to go back to Oldham ,and to the house she left ages ago. So now she has to deal with her sister Francie that she bearly know and the consequences of what happened .Francie has a boyfriend named Andrew, he was obsessed by the idea of keeping Francie to himself, and when Beth came in the play between the two of them, he basically lost his mind and he was prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the little sister by his side ,and that was the scary part of the book ,but overall I think that the book wasn't really that scary especially in the begining ,but as it goes on and on, it gets scary and verry intense ,and that's what i really enjoyed about this book as well as the world building, everything felt just like reality and the caracters felt alive "if that makes any sense hh". The ending was fair for all caracters except for Noah,DR Ridelberg and his wife, what happened to them was just miserable. This book is definitely five stars. I highly recommend it for someone who wants to start reading thriller, this might not be the scariest book out there but it's definetly breath catching .

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely unputdownable!!!

I began reading this book last evening around 10:30pm and finished it at 7:00am, staying up all night to read it. The character development is done at a steady pace taking the reader through many assumptions about each character until the end. The twists and turns kept me wanting to know what would happen next. I will be on the lookout for more books from this author!!!

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the fact that the protagonist is an absolutely insufferable, unlikable, raging narcissist, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick and easy read. It's a tad predictable, but it still held my attention

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre.
Les personnages sont attachants, l'intrigue vraiment bien trouvée, bien menée avec ce qu'il faut de drame, de peur et de suspens !

[Krissa33 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encore une histoire plein de suspense!

[Dulce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Há tanto tempo á espera e estava a perder uma história de tirar o folego. Ler Patrícia McDonald é melhor do estar a ver um filme.

[Vanida Chellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu déçu du livre par rapport aux autres livres de Macdonald... Il n'y avait pas trop de suspense

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

C'est quoi cette fin ?

[Chris Schneider · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes, the story has lots of suspense and intrigue, but I cannot in good conscience give this a good reading because of one grave, irritating, even offensive flaw.

The suspense and intrigue would not be there if all the female characters were not stupid and weak. If this were written by a man, he might (rightly) be accused of misogyny.

There are other flaws, of course. Start with the 28 year-old successful business woman engaged to a doctor returning to the small town she grew up in. Yes, the start of every Hallmark movie. Dumb.

You know the commercial where they parody horror movies by showing a group of teenagers hiding in a garage loaded with torture devices instead of getting is a running car and driving away? These characters are even dumber. Physically and verbally abusive guy who talks about robbing and killing people? Yeah, he's fine. Let's go for a ride together! Oh, maybe he is a little dangerous. Let's finally try to get away, but first, let's casually chat and then get gas at the station where he hangs out. What could do wrong? Oh, there's a truck behind us now on the highway at night. Let's pull over and see what wants. Doop doop doop.

Practically the entire book is like this....

[Mai Laakso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yhdysvaltalaisen Patricia MacDonaldin (1949-) psykologinen trilleri Pikkusiskon painajainen aiheutti minulle painajaisia ja unettomuutta. Kirjan kannessa lukee, että hyytävää jännitystä, mutta ajattelin lukea kirjan toistamiseen, ennen kuin pistän sen kiertoon.

Beth palasi kotiinsa monen vuoden jälkeen, kun kuuli isänsä kuolemasta. Kotona odotti pikkusisko, Francie, joka oli elänyt isän kanssa kahdestaan vuosikausia. Beth ei ollut pitänyt yhteyksiä kotiinsa, ja kotiin tuleminen oli ikävä kokemus. Hautajaiset piti kuitenkin hoitaa. Sitten piti päättää, mitä tehdä 14-vuotiaan pikkusiskon kanssa.

Beth sai pian selville, että Francie seurusteli huomattavasti vanhemman miehen kanssa, miehen, jolla oli runsaasti ongelmia. Pian Beth pääsi tietämään noista ongelmista. Andrew oli päättänyt, että Francie olisi vain yksistään hänen, joko hyvällä tai pahalla.

Patricia MacDonaldin Pikkusiskon painajainen oli pelottavuudessaan ihan järkyttävän paha.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve only read one other book by this author. There was a great twist in that one, but none in this one. Which was okay - the story line was still good. I didn’t like the main narrator, Beth, that much. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way. I also kind of felt like her boyfriend Mike played a weird role in the book and his character was just pointless to the plot line.

I would have liked to know the backstory as to why Andrew’s mother was so evil. Or where the body of his father was buried. Why she made Andrew take showers every night in the cellar before he came inside. Sometimes when you reflect on a book you realize how many little details could have made it even better.

Regardless, solid 4/5 stars. I’m probably going to pick up another of her books soon. 😊

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodness, it seems that this book took on common tropes and went overboard: The incel, the domestic violence victim, and the cold sister. This book seemed to lean too heavily on villanizing Andrew due to his mental health, rather than expanding upon how he turned out the way he did. Beth is the absolute worse. She treats Francine bad, and shocked Francine goes back to Andrew. Beth perpetuates the same dominance and says arguably crueler things. The one person I do feel for is Francine. She experiences trauma without support, and finds Andrew, who is domineering like her dad. With her self-esteem depleted, no wonder she keeps feeling drawn to him. Although this book held my attention, I felt the ending was too abrupt.

[Eva Witmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beth has a successful career and a man who wants to marry her in Philadelphia. But when her father passes, she must head back to her childhood home in Maine to lay her dad to rest. She hasn’t spoken to him in 8 years and she hasn’t seen her 14 year old sister in the same amount of time. Her sister is hanging with a 21 year old guy…nothing good van come of this, right?

The book had several grammatical errors (I was surprised these weren’t caught before publishing) but I found Beth to be annoying, wanting what’s best for youngsters sister, Francie, but Francie’s desire to help Andrew was just annoying.

[Chryslit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonne ambiance, mise en place ultra rapide, avec l’arrivée de la grande soeur citadine dans une campagne baignée de pluie grise dans un hiver gris, pour les funérailles grises d’un père dont elle perdu tout lien.

Bonne odeur d’années 80 avec sa structure mais aussi son langage typique : “soudain, la porte à double battant s’ouvrit sur un homme solidement charpenté, au visage coloré”...
...
Il est quoi ? rougi par le froid, la pluie ; bleui par le froid, la pluie ; blêmi par le froid, la pluie ???
“colored face” ? Ok. Merci la traduc’ même pour 1986.
Je respecte toujours l’auteur, l’époque, mais là, c’est difficilement français, non?

Bon petit thriller qu’on a du mal à lâcher.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best. Not the worst.

If you keep in mind that it's not current day it becomes a better story. It's hard though when people do the stupid things to remember there was a time, not long ago, independent strong minded women were not common place. The characters also are not fully developed. Their stresses. What makes them feeble, unsure, and at odds is partially answered but could have been done better. The deranged, creepiness of the villain is effective and disturbing. Again not a bad thriller.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very predictable. There is a little 14 year old sister that is basically left to her estranged, successful, adult sister’s supervision after their father dies. The book is basically about the little sister dating an almost 21 year old psycho boyfriend that becomes really unhinged, but his unhinging is rather predictable. There really is no big plot twist or real elements to classify this as a psychological thriller. It was disappointing in regards to psychological twist. Nevertheless, it was still an interesting story, just not one to get excited about.

[Carey Michels · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think Little Sister was an accurate title for this book. It should have been called Psychotic Controlling Boyfriend on a Murderous Rampage. I went into this book thinking I knew what was going to happen from the beginning. I thought Francie killed her mom and then her dad several years later and then she and Andrew were going to gang up in Beth. While I was wrong and it went into a different direction than I was expecting, I don’t think I liked it….

I also think this book should have come with a trigger warning.