Published by: Avon (5th October 2017)

ISBN: 978-0008200213

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 5*

Synopsis:
Then
When flames rip through their family home, only teenager Stephanie and her younger brother escape unhurt. Brett always liked to play with fire, but now their dad is dead and someone has to pay the price.

Now
Psychologist Connie Summers wants to help Stephanie rebuild her life. She has a new name, a young son and everything to live for. But when Stephanie receives a letter from someone she’d hoped would never find her, Connie is forced to question what really happened that night.
But some truths are better left alone . . .

Review:
I absolutely LOVED Sam's debut, Saving Sophie, so I'd been really looking forward to reading this, as soon as I'd finished reading that brilliant first book! I was really hoping Sam had lots more crackers up her sleeve and wouldn't suffer 'second album syndrome' (music is my first love!) You know, when a band has a phenomenal first album and then their second is sadly lacking that certain something that made you sit up and take notice? Anyway...I digress...and a cracker this certainly is! It's on fire!

Bad Sister is full of rich, interesting characters that leap to life off the page. Connie is fascinating and I want to go to the pub with her! Lindsay Wade is another great character, and I adore the way her and Connie interact. I hope they appear again in future books by this author as I'd love to see their relationship develop further.

The case itself is complex and disturbing and there are more than a few shocks, twists and turns, including one right at the end, which made me gasp out loud! There is plenty to get your teeth into, with flashbacks told via 'then', and present day events via various viewpoints. There is a lot going on here, but with the author's skilful writing, there's no chance to get confused; you're led exactly where you're meant to be.

Had me on the edge of my seat, got my pulse racing, and kept me guessing...ticked every box!
I received an egalley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks to Avon and Sam Carrington.

This review is written with thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for my copy of Bad Sister.
Connie Summers is a counselling psychologist. One of her clients, Steph Cousins, has been given a new identity as part of a police protection order, and Connie faces the task of helping her to come to terms with the events of her past. But Connie has secrets of her own, and when a mutilated body is dumped on the grounds of the local prison, with her name written on the victim's skin, it is clear that these secrets may be about to come out. What does this mean for Connie?
I reviewed Saving Sophie last year and loved it, so I was slightly apprehensive on reading Bad Sister that Carrington would suffer "second book" syndrome. I couldn't have been more wrong. When the first two scenes are a house fire and the discovery of a dead body respectively, you know that you're in for a hairy ride, and this is what Carrington delivers. Bad Sister is full of tension, and the short chapters give the reader the short, sharp shocks they need to stay on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.
Bad Sister can be read as a standalone novel, but if you read Saving Sophie first, your reading experience will be enhanced. Carrington gives the police officers from Saving Sophie, Detective Inspector Wade and Detective Sergeant Mack, a reprise, and she makes frequent reference to the previous case. I enjoyed learning more about Wade and Mack, which was helped by some of the chapters being told from their perspective, so I had more insight not only into their personal lives but also their progress with the case.
There are several twists as the novel builds to a climax, and I did find that as the two strands of the plot came together, it was occasionally a little confusing, but there is an even bigger twist at the very end, and I enjoyed this a lot. I didn't see it coming and it blew all the theories I thought I'd worked out out of the water.

Really enjoyed this book would recommend a deep dark look at forgiveness

What the heck did I just read? Wow this book shocked and surprised me and I did not expect it. The main characters have lives that are hidden from the world. What happens when past and present collide and the world I forever changed? This book took be on a journey of so many twists and turns. Thank you for allowing me to read this and write a honest review.

Who is the Bad Sister? Is it Stephanie whose brother burned down their house? Is it Connie whose brother was killed in a random shooting? What is the main story in Bad Sister? Is it the death of Connie's brother 22 years before? Is it the death of the rapist Connie's psych eval helped set free to rape again? Is it Stephanie and the drug dealers she helped put behind bars? Is it Stephanie and her brother and their house fire? Who are the flashbacks from? Even by the end of the book I wasn't sure which one was the main story and this lack of focus on a single plot made the book somewhat chaotic. It got distracting. I thought it might narrow in towards the end but that never seemed to happen. So, if you like lots of things going on, this might be the book for you.

This is a good story, but unfortunately I struggled to read it with all the back and forth going on,

I loved the premise and structure for Bad Sister, alternating timelines always appeal to me and multiple narrators that are done well are fun and Carrington nailed both aspects. This was an extremely fast paced and edge of your seat type of read from an author I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on.

This is told from the perspectives of Connie, DI Wade and an unknown narrator from the past. The blend of these three narratives made this read part police procedural and part psychological thriller with a dash of something sinister as well, I loved the merging of genres and it was executed seamlessly. DI Wade first made her appearance in Carrington’s debut, Saving Sophie and it was fantastic learning a bit more about her this time around. Connie was the type of character that you’re not quite sure about, her history is sketchy and I often wondered exactly how reliable she was which really kept me on my toes.

The pacing was fast and furious and almost every chapter ended on a mini cliffhanger making it downright impossible to put it down. There were twists and turns galore and more shocking moments and surprises than I can count but at no point did I have anything figured out, I always had more questions than answers. When things all came together in the end I was ultimately satisfied, this was a highly entertaining and exciting read!

This book was an interesting new tale that deals with witness protection and a psychologist who just had a past she would sooner forget.

The characters were very interesting and the only thing to prevent this from a 5 star read is that there wasn't a complete conclusion to some of the story arcs. I wanted more answers and they just weren't to be found.

I have read a lot of psychological thrillers and although this was an enjoyable read I felt it lacked something. I found I had to suspend belief sometimes and I found that a bit irritating. Nevertheless I would recommend it to friends to make up their own minds about.

Love, love, love this book. I am now a huge Sam Carrington fan and can't wait to read more! Such a brilliantly written book, full of plot twists and turns which kept me begging for more, a real page turner. Highly recommended.

This book is told through the eyes of two different characters, psychologist Connie and DC Lindsay Wade. Connie has a patient called Stephanie who is currently under witness protection but is scared she has been found and when a body is discovered Connie and Stephanie have more in common than they thought.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well executed and the characters well developed, the then and now parts of the story kept me hooked wanting to know exactly what had happened to these women and how they were connected. Lots of twists and turns and a very gripping read.

I will definitely be looking for more books by Sam Carrington in the future as I really enjoyed this read.

This was a quick and engrossing read. Well written, with strong characters who have both escaped their pasts and are not who they seem.

Would highly recommend this energy filled and emotionally charged book.

My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

We meet our main character Connie as she bumps into someone she knew in her former life working in prison. The problem is, he was an inmate not a colleague. Things get even worse when another former inmate turns up dead with her name written on his hand.

At the same time Connie is trying to help her new client Stephanie who has been relocated under the witness protection scheme. Stephanie is adamant that someone knows her new identity and has tracked her down. Is there a link between these facts?

Enter DI Lindsay Wade who is investigating the murder and who quickly becomes a friend and support to Connie. We met Lindsay in the previous novel by Sam Carrington, Saving Sophie, and it really was a pleasure to catch up with her again. The relationship between the two women is a strong one which I hope to see continue in further novels.

As the story continues there are unexpected twists and turns and the author cleverly leads us down one path only for it to lead in a different direction. I highly recommend this one

Bad Sister by Sam Carrington is a mystery/thriller, and only the second novel by this talented writer.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Avon Books UK, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Connie Summers is a psychologist who is trying to start over by opening a new counselling clinic. She has left the prison system. She even changed her name. She is still trying to come to terms with the fact that she had signed off on the prisoner release of Eric Hargreaves, only to have him rape someone shortly after getting that freedom. When he escapes and is then murdered, her name is linked to him again. What good is a name change?

Connie is also still haunted by her brother’s death 20 years ago. When someone gives her new information about those circumstances, old wounds and new suspicions begin to surface. What has been hidden all these years?

Meanwhile, one of Connie’s new patients is in the Witness Protection Program, and is terrified that her past is following her too. She too has had a name change, but is still living in fear. Steph and her son Dylan are drawing Connie into their lives. Steph’s brother has been incarcerated since starting a fire at the age of 8 that killed their father. He is out now, and Steph is sure that Brett is coming after her. But why? Something doesn’t add up. What really happened all those years ago?

Detective Inspector Lindsay Wade and her partner Detective Sargent Charlie Mack are in charge of the investigation into Hargreaves death, but find themselves embroiled in all aspects of Connie’s life.

The story alternates between Connie and DI Wade, with Steph’s background told in chapters marked “Then”. It helps to keep everything straight.

I rather liked the fact that Connie is not perfect. She has made some bad decisions in her attempts to get over her past, but she owns up to them.

Although DI Wade and DS Mack were in her first book, I like how the author has not made this solely about the Detective team like so many do. This is clearly about the crimes and victims, with the detectives taking on the secondary role. It is refreshing!

I really enjoyed this book. It is about family, about secrets, about lies, about friendship. It is a riveting tale of suspense. There were a lot of twists and turns, and I really loved the ending, which sort of made you sit up and go “Oh”. That was unexpected!

Bad Sister was a gripping, chilling read but found it lost the way half way through, brilliant book cover, very eye catching.

Gripping and very well written psychological thriller. I could not put this one down. Great twists and turn with a great ending! Highly recommend.

Having read and loved Saving Sophie, I was thrilled to see that Sam Carrington had written another dark and brooding crime thriller and couldn’t wait to get stuck in. So a cold, stormy Monday afternoon (with no children!) was the perfect excuse to cuddle up with Bad Sister and I hardly moved from the sofa whilst reading it, only venturing into the kitchen to make cups of tea when needed. Athough this book had me in such a state of intense anxiety that by the time I was near the end I had to replace that tea with a rather large G&T!

Right from the opening few pages, the compelling narrative grabbed my full attention and didn’t let me go for the entire book. In fact, I don’t think I have become so racked with frustration at a novel for a very long time as I became desperate to know EXACTLY what was going on and what secrets were being kept from Connie. I really did feel for her as she became completely obsessed with finding out what had happened in Stephanies past to make her client so paranoid whilst also realising that not all in her own family was as it seemed. And what on earth is the connection with one of the investigating team?! I promise that you will be as exasperated as I was with the many twists and turns, none of them giving me the answers I craved! If you have high blood pressure then beware -this book will seriously mess with your stress levels!

I was never really sure whether or not I really liked Connie but I did love the investigating police team. When DI Lindsay Wade and her colleague Mack are called to an incredibly gruesome murder scene outside a prison, they discover a connection with psychologist Connie, who is then dragged into a nightmare scenario where she fears for her own safety. But this then also lead to an unexpectedly poignant friendship that really worked well for me and made me want more! So I do hope that there can be a continuation of this part of the storyline in future books!

If you haven’t read Saving Sophie then I’m convinced you will be straight onto your preferred bookseller as soon as you finish Bad Sister ordering yourself a copy. There are a few nods to what happened in that book within the narrative that will intrigue you (but without giving you any spoilers!) and so I would definitely recommend you give Saving Sophie a try if you love Bad Sister. It’s a top notch thriller that will shock you to your very core!

what a brilliant story will hope to read more from this author highly recommend

Try this one if you like twisty psychological thrillers where little is what It seems. Both Connie and Stepanie have big secrets they're hiding from. Connie is a psychologist who has made a big mistake and Stephanie, well, she's in hiding. Both are using assumed names, both are dealing with trauma, and really, you'll ask yourself how on earth these two damaged women found each other. This is a fairly complex story but it's also a page turner, which will occasionally make you question your assumptions about both of them. The books tells their stories moving back and forth in time so the details leak out bit by bit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.