The Second Sister

by Claire Kendal

Overview

"Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by HarperCollins UK."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062297648
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	882,931
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Claire Kendal was born in America and educated in England, where she has spent all her adult life. Her first novel, The Book of You, was translated into more than twenty languages. Claire teaches English literature and creative writing, and lives in England’s South West region with her family.

Editorial Reviews

As Ella slowly creeps closer to the truth, Kendal reveals her cards, one tantalizing flip at a time. Just when you think you know where the story's going, you're jolted sideways…The Second Sister is a psycho-thrilling romp, with Ella mentally talking to Miranda every step of the way—and Miranda answering back. It turns out sisters really do speak their own language. And it's one that's worth hearing.

The New York Times Book Review - Michael Callahan

07/17/2017
Kendal follows her well-received debut, The Book of You, with a meandering novel of psychological suspense set in Bath, England. Ten years after Ella Brooke’s older sister, Miranda, left her infant son, Luke, with their parents and then vanished, presumed murdered, Ella is now the same age as Miranda was then and looks almost identical to her sister. Ella’s obsession with Miranda and preoccupation with having custody of 10-year-old Luke threaten to overwhelm her life and, at times, distance her from her parents. Luke longs to know about his mom and his father, whose identity has never been revealed. Ella believes that she has found evidence linking Miranda to serial killer Jason Thorne, sentenced to a psychiatric hospital, and she plans to visit Jason against her parents’ wishes. Aside from the precocious Luke, characters veer to the unappealing and one-dimensional. Ella’s grief over her sister and fondness for her nephew are understandable, but her stubbornness and strident nature make her unsympathetic. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Kendal displays insights and empathy that add depth to the mounting psychological suspense.

Booklist

Praise for The Book of You: “Minutes after you dip into Kendal’s novel you’ll know what it’s like to be a woman who’s being stalked—and by the end, your heart will thump and your shirt will get clammy with nervous sweat.

Entertainment Weekly

2017-08-06
A woman searches for the truth about her sister's long-ago disappearance when new evidence comes to light.Ten years ago, when Melanie "Ella" Brooke was 20, her 30-year-old sister, Miranda, disappeared, leaving Ella and their parents to care for her 10-week-old son, Luke, in Bath. There was speculation that murderer Jason Thorne could have had something to do with it, and he's now languishing in a high security psychiatric hospital. New evidence certainly points to Thorne: Miranda supposedly called him a month before she disappeared. Ella wants to speak to Thorne, hoping to gain some insight, but her parents don't approve, and neither does Ted, a policeman she's known since they were 4 and who was her first love. When the police return a box of her sister's things, Ella starts going through the contents, uncovering more questions about Miranda. How did Miranda, a nurse, afford a BMW and the purchase of an elegant flat, and why did she never reveal the identity of Luke's father? Meanwhile, the attentions of handsome psychiatrist Adam Holderness, who accompanies her when she visits Thorne, aren't unwelcome, but they're a distraction in Ella's single-minded pursuit of the truth. Ella, who narrates as if she's speaking to her sister, appears prickly at times, but her standoffish nature seems to have emerged from being a woman constantly in her more outgoing sister's shadow until she was forced to make her way in the world on her own. If there's any question about her empathy, it's put to rest in the way she interacts with the women, and men, who seek her help in escaping abusive relationships through her job as a self-defense trainer and especially in her fierce love for her nephew. Readers may have to suspend disbelief as the threads start to weave together with the help of more than a few coincidences, but Kendal's (The Book of You, 2014) considerable storytelling prowess saves the day. A tense, absorbing thriller that explores the complex bonds of sisterhood as seen through the eyes of a strong, capable woman who will stop at nothing in her very personal quest for answers.

Kirkus Reviews

A tense, absorbing thriller that explores the complex bonds of sisterhood as seen through the eyes of a strong, capable woman who will stop at nothing in her very personal quest for answers.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Kendal displays insights and empathy that add depth to the mounting psychological suspense.” — Booklist

Praise for The Book of You: “Minutes after you dip into Kendal’s novel you’ll know what it’s like to be a woman who’s being stalked—and by the end, your heart will thump and your shirt will get clammy with nervous sweat.” — Entertainment Weekly, Editor’s Pick

“Truly riveting.” — New York Times Book Review

“An engrossing literary thriller….As grimly seductive as any of its inspirational sources.” — Los Angeles Times

“Obsession masquerades as love in British author Kendal’s intimate, chilling first novel….With flawless timing…Kendal spins a tale that’s troubling, raw, and gripping.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Kendal’s debut novel is a palpitating tale of obsession and dangerously unrequited love. Fans of Gone Girl and The Silent Wife will enjoy the delectable tension right up until the heart-stopping conclusion.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“The Book of You starts with breathtaking brilliance and then just gets better with every page.... [It] is already my book of the year.” — Elizabeth Haynes, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner

“Chilling, raw, and utterly addictive, The Book of You is the kind of psychological thriller that you will want to read in one gulp, only to find yourself terrified once the lights are off.” — Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of If You Were Here

From the Publisher

Truly riveting.

New York Times Book Review

Chilling, raw, and utterly addictive, The Book of You is the kind of psychological thriller that you will want to read in one gulp, only to find yourself terrified once the lights are off.

Alafair Burke

An engrossing literary thriller….As grimly seductive as any of its inspirational sources.

|Los Angeles Times

The Book of You starts with breathtaking brilliance and then just gets better with every page.... [It] is already my book of the year.

Elizabeth Haynes

Kendal displays insights and empathy that add depth to the mounting psychological suspense.

Booklist

An engrossing literary thriller….As grimly seductive as any of its inspirational sources.

Los Angeles Times