Book Review: Sister by Rosamund Lupton
June 17, 2012 23 Comments
This book has had some positive reviews on blogs that I value (but also some less favorable reviews) and I was keen to read this thriller when I saw it at the library.
I enjoyed the book but not so much as some of my blog friends.
Sister: What it is about
Beatrice’s sister Tess is missing and later found dead in an abandoned toilet building in a park in London. Beatrice, who lives in New York, flies back to England as soon as her mother calls her about her missing sister.
Beatrice moves into Tess’ apartment while waiting for news of Tess. She talks to a few of Tess’ friends and her lover. It turns out Tess’, who had been expecting a baby soon, gave birth to a stillborn baby only a few days before she went missing. When Tess is found, apparently having killed herself, Beatrice investigates the matter, as she cannot imagine her sister doing such a thing.
She goes to the police a few times with new information, but none of it is strong enough for them to take action. After suspecting several different people, she closes in on the killer. But will Beatrice get a chance to tell her story to others before the killer gets to her?
Sister: What I thought
This wasn’t as fantastic as I had been made to believe, but it was still a very decent mystery that I enjoyed reading. However, the story left me a little ambivalent. Although I happily read it when I felt like reading, I was not thinking about the story when I wasn’t reading and I was in no hurry to find out who Tess’ killer was.
The story isn’t told in a straight forward way: we have Beatrice recount to (the no longer living) Tess what she told Mr Wright, a lawyer of the public prosecution. What she tells is the story of what happened to her, Beatrice, from the moment she heard about Tess gone missing, to the arrest of the killer.
Sometimes this was confusing – it wasn’t always clear whether what was happening was happening in the now or was something that happened before. Also, I wasn’t sure why she had to tell Wright absolutely everything that happened, including her thoughts and feelings (although later, this becomes clear).
The solution of the story, who had killed Tess and why, was a little far-fetched although the whole story around it was fun.
The book was a easy-going read, that lent itself very well for reading a bit and putting down again (there was no need to concentrate deeply on the book or ‘getting back into it’ after putting it down). I was never on the edge of my chair but I did feel sympathetic enough towards Beatrice that I wanted her to solve this crime.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I got this book: from the library
I read this in: Dutch (Zusje), the original language is English
Number of pages: 352
First published: 2010
Genre: mystery, thriller
I really loved this, but detested her next book, Afterwards. Couldn’t finish it. Sister I couldn’t put down!
I find that sometimes, Sam. One book by an author is really good, the next not at all.
I reviewed this one recently, also marking it 4*. I enjoyed it very much. Have you read Lupton’s later book Afterwards?
I haven’t, booketta. It’s not high on my list, but when I see it in the library, I’ll probably pick it up. Have you read it?
Yes, I also liked it very much. Lupton is for me, a writer to watch out for.
I have to say, the book sounds enticing just from the synopsis.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
Man of La Book, yes, I was enticed! And I like the cover too.
I am in doubt about this, Judith. Perhaps when I come across it by accident in the bookstore, I’ll take a look.
Nadine, I thought it was nice, but not a real find, or anything. There are many more nice thrillers in the world…
The cover calls to me… I would give it a read.
I love the cover too, Sheila!
I thought the story was quite good (except for the ending) but I found the way it was told to be quite frustratig and I kept getting a bit lost as to when I was & the sequence of events. I have to say I also found the writing style irritating too.
Same here, Suzi – I kept getting lost a bit, too.
I took this out of the library because I expected it to be a fast, easy read after the previous book had taken me 2 weeks to read. And it is a relatively fast, easy read – but you are right, the form of a letter to her sister in which she recounts absolutely everything does make you think more about why is she doing this, than who actually did it. I felt she was an unreliable narrator and found myself wondering what was going to be revealed when we finally discover that. I would still like to read her second book, precisely because there are such varying opinions, some think it better, others the contrary.
Claire, I also found it a quick read. I like unreliable narrators but I felt a little tricked in the end.
I agree, I didn’t guess at all that’s how it would end, it was clearly masterminded, but I have to admire the attempt.
I am in the category that liked the book very much.
Mystica, you’re not alone!
I wasn’t that impressed by this book either. My main problem was that a lot of the scientific bits didn’t quite ring true and that bothers me a lot. The story was also a lot lighter than I’d hoped – as you say there is no need to concentrate! Not as good as I was led to believe either.
Jackie, good to hear that our tastes overlap again.
What an exciting review, Judith. I don’t know but what you wrote actually got me curious
I didn’t want to give away too much, Tes. It’s a good mystery.
Due to the writing style, I found the book a little difficult to read and follow. Having a fraternal twin sister, I did not find the relationship between Bea and Tess to be remarkable. Although the dark side of medical research that was depicted may be a bit far fetched, I am not pollyannaish about corruption within the system.