The Good Sister

Sally Hepworth's novel, The Good Sister, is billed as a psychological thriller. I don't know that I'd necessarily agree. There was plenty of psychological fodder, but to me thriller makes me feel like I'm going to sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for something terrible to happen. I just didn't feel that way reading The Good Sister.

I did, however, enjoy The Good Sister from the first page to the last. It was an easy to read novel. And while I thought it was somewhat predictable, I was really curious to see how Hepworth was taking the story from point A to point B. And I was also really curious about how it might conclude.

Rose and Fern are twin sisters in their early 30s. Their mother had "an accident" when the girls were teens and it doesn't seem as though their childhood was particularly good. Now, Rose is married and desperate to have a baby. Fern has sensory issues, is single, lives a very regimented life. But she gets the idea that perhaps she can have a baby and give it to Rose. Fern knows she'd never be capable of raising a child on her own. Only problem is, Fern doesn't date.

Rose is some sort of interior designer and Fern works in a library. Her life is very structured. She eats dinner with Rose three nights a week, does yoga every morning, visits their mother once a week. Until... homeless Wally walks into Fern's library. There's just something about Wally.

At the start, the reader is left to wonder who is the good sister and who is the evil sister. As I said, I figured that out pretty early on and my interest that kept me turning the page was trying to understand why she was the bad sister and how the story was going to move forward.

My book club selected this novel and I'm looking forward to discussing.

What's kind of funny is that I'd recently read The Reading List, a story that takes place in a library. And lots of this story takes place in the library where Fern works. I love a good library story!