I loved Two Sisters and devoured this book in one sitting I could not put it down. Another great book by Kerry that hooked me from the first few pages. Two sisters who have recently lost both parents in a car accident go back to their holiday home in Cornwall where their brother disappeared 10 years ago, why do the residents want them to leave? What really happened to their brother?
A fab book with twists that I did not expect.

The opening of this book introduces us to Chloe and Megan as they return to their family home in the area of Whitecliff. Following the death of their parents, Megan suggests that the reason for their visit is to sort out their parents affairs. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the real reason is linked to the dissapearance of her brother Zac when Megan was just ten years old. I have only read one other Kerry Wilkinson and enjoyed it so was looking forward to reading a standalone. The opening of the book was interesting enough but it was a little slow to get into.

Once I had settled and got over my initial niggle the story started to take some curious turns and I was a lot more engaged. The one thing that I thought was incredibly well done was the descriptive and creepy feel that Wilkinson gives to the town. That undeniable feeling that all may look okay on the surface but underneath there is a lot more bubbling away. Initially I wasn't overly keen on Megan but as the astory progressed I found her sheer determination warmed how I felt about her. Wilkinson also tackles the subject of Megans eating disorder incredibly well.

The story captured me more in the second half and I would certainly say this fits the bill as a creepy psychological thriller. By the time I got to the end I was surprised at how quickly I had read the second half of the book. This reminded me that I really must take a look at the incredibly popular series that Kerry Wilkinson writes featuring Jesssica Daniel. A thoroughly enkoyable read with plenty of grit and creep thrown in!

"They told us our brother drowned, they lied"

Well that line was enough to draw me right in! This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it and will be looking for more.

Two Sisters, Megan and Chloe, are all that is left of a family of 5. Their parents have recently been killed in a car accident and their brother Zac disappeared 10 years earlier, believed to have drowned. They decide to return to the seaside Whitecliffe where their parents still own a cottage and where their brother disappeared after Megan receives a cryptic card with just the letter Z on the back.

What exactly happened to Zac ten years ago and why did Megan receive a card with the letter Z? The mystery of what happened to Zac was suspenseful and intriguing. I loved the atmospheric feel of the island and the descriptions of the caves, woods and cliffs. This book is told through Megan's point of view and Megan has a lot of her own issues. Not only do we have the mystery of what happened to Zac, information is slowly unveiled as to the parents and why Megan had the issues that she did. Megan starts to dig for answers about what happened to her brother but the more she digs, the more strange things start to become. Threatening notes are left telling them to go home. Megan feels she is close to getting answers and won't stop until she does.

This was a great, well written suspenseful read. I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy of this book.

A good, dark, tense psychological thriller. Two sisters orphaned after already losing a brother. Their brother disappeared years ago but no-one knows what really happened. A beautiful holiday spot but with eery characters and suspicion all around. The girls go back to clear the house they have been left but someone does not want them there. Is Zac really dead. Lots of questions and great twists and turns. Did not guess the ending. Really good story and look forward to reading more by Kerry Wilkinson.

Four stars to this latest offering from Kerry Wilkinson... a story full of complicated and intriguing characters. The setting is beautiful... the fictional Whitecliff, a small seaside village and tourist location. During the warm months, the town is divided... the locals and the beach kids. The beach kids are mostly teenagers living off their family money, on a break from school and sent there to keep them out of the way. The locals resent them, but need them. Used to living paycheck to paycheck, they need the business but resent the privileged lifestyle and lack of responsibility they see the beach kids enjoy. Fortunately, the division mostly has only resulted in a couple of arguments and scuffles. Our main character is somewhere in the middle.

Megan has returned to the village along with her younger sister to sort out the estate of her parents. They died recently in a car crash, leaving the two young women immensely wealthy. Neither understands why their parents kept the cottage in Whitecliff, seeing as they barely ever visited since their brother disappeared from there ten years ago. Megan has led teenager Chloe here for another reason though: she received a postcard from Whitecliff with only one letter on the back: Z. Z for Zac, the brother who mysteriously disappeared when they were children.

Megan is convinced her long lost big brother is lurking about, or at least someone knows what really happened to him. Her abrasive attitude and prying questions aren't making her many friends in the close-knit village. Is it simply because she's bringing up a bleak part of history, or is someone hiding something?

Megan is an insanely complicated character. She resents her parents, trusts everyone very little, and has some real problems with food. The woman barely eats, often experiencing dizzy spells and weakness. Some descriptions of her eating habits may be bothersome for a reader with a history of eating disorders. She also regularly samples pills from a stash her mother left behind, and we're left to wonder if there's really anything going on, or she's become paranoid and suspicious. Did Zac send that postcard? And if not, who did?

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Bookouture, thank you! My opinion is honest and unbiased.

I have enjoyed the Jessica Daniels books by this author but this is the first standalone book of his that I’ve read. And I have to say it probably won’t be the last! I’ve already read the blurb for his next one out in September and made a mental note to keep an eye out for it!

The first thing I will say about Two Sisters is that I felt it actually had quite a Young Adult feel to it. This was possibly due to the ages of Chloe and Megan (20 and 16) and also the storyline surrounding the teenagers who are left to summer on their own by the sea whilst their parents live their own lives. I had an image of the village they were living in as a sort of smaller and spookier Newquay, which also has a very young crowd taking it over as soon as exams are finished for the summer.

Chloe and Megan were very different in nature but were united by the deaths of their parents. Saying that, they were both handling their grief in totally different ways. I thought that Megan’s mental health issues were handled very delicately and with a real depth of understanding of her actions and reactions to events in her life both past and present. Chloe was less complicated but still an intriguing character who was still able to surprise me even though she is much more of an open book.

I had absolutely no idea where this plot was heading! The entire plot was full of dodgy characters and I suspected each and every one of them. A lot of the action took place in the village pub and local shop and whenever Megan went into those places, I always got goosebumps! It was like being in the middle of a stereotypical horror film at times and I had flashbacks to The Slaughtered Lamb from An American Werewolf in London at one point!! I can’t remember the last time I physically felt such an intensely atmospheric vibe in a books setting. This was one village I would hate to have a holiday home in!!

As the lies started to unfold themselves, the book then became a much faster paced thriller taking an unexpected direction right up until the final few pages. The dark and moody undercurrent make this a bewitching and enthralling thriller packed with a real sense of foreboding along the way. Kerry may have moved away from his usual formula but it certainly worked for me!

I’m a fan of Wilkinson’s Jessica Daniel series, so when I found out that he was publishing a standalone psychological thriller, I was super intrigued. His series is more straightforward crime fiction/police procedurals so I wondered how this genre would work for him. I’m so pleased to say that I enjoyed this one just as much as his other books!

It starts right after Megan and Chloe’s parents are killed in a car accident and ten years after their older brother Zac goes missing. When Megan receives a postcard signed Zac, they decide to head to their parents cottage to find out more about their past. They don’t remember much about Whitecliff or Zac, they were very young but Megan especially is eager to investigate her families past. The story is told from her point of view and she was quite the character, she has a pretty awful attitude and she’s very prickly and closed off. It took me a bit to warm up to her, but once some of her personal battles were revealed, I developed a soft spot for her.

My favorite aspect of this book was the creepy, eerie atmosphere Wilkinson created in the village of Whitecliff. It sounds like an idyllic beach town, but there is a very apparent undercurrent of dread and malice lurking. There was a constant sense of someone watching Megan and I began to feed off of her paranoia myself. On top of that, there’s a rivalry between the locals and tourists that added some tension and you just knew things would boil over at some point.

This had a slower pace, the suspense builds gradually although there were a few key scenes that made my heart race. The secrets hiding in this odd town were multilayered and kept me guessing, many of which I never could have seen coming. This could also grab the interest of fans of YA novels since Megan and Chloe are both so young, so there’s definitely some crossover appeal.

I was a huge fan of Kerry Wilkinson’s Jessica Daniel series. So I was excited to get Two Sisters as an advance read through netgalley. He has done it again! This stand alone novel tells the story of two young sisters, coming to grips with life after both their parents die in a car crash. They return to their family's summer cottage, where their brother went missing 10 years earlier. Megan had received a postcard on the day of their parents’ funeral. The postcard was of the summer village with a Z for Zac on it.

Wilkinson does a fabulous job of bringing to life the main characters. Megan’s anorexia is well defined. These children of the upper class aren't close to each other or anyone else. Their parents didn't do them any favors with their upbringing. “Mother’s voice is at the back of my mind once more. “Y’know, Megan, you can be a real bitch sometimes. I don't know where you get it from.” The irony of it all. The obliviousness.”

And there is definitely a tension here. Megan keeps feeling that someone is watching her. There's a definite bad vibe feel to the village. But still Meghan keeps poking her nose in where it doesn't belong. This is a fun psychological thriller that keeps you in suspense. Yes, some of the events defy belief but it didn't make it any less enjoyable for me.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Two Sisters by kerry Wilkinson.
They told us he had been missing for nearly two days, that he probably drowned. They told us a lie.

Megan was ten years old when her older brother, Zac, went missing among the cliffs, caves and beaches that surround the small seaside town of Whitecliff.

A decade later and a car crash has claimed the lives of her parents.

Megan and her younger sister Chloe return to Whitecliff one summer for the first time since their brother’s disappearance. Megan says it’s to get her parents’ affairs in order. There are boxes to pack, junk to clear, a rundown cottage to sell. But that’s not the real reason.

Megan has come to confront her family’s past after receiving a postcard on the day of her parents’ funeral. It had a photograph of Whitecliff on the front and a single letter on the back.

‘Z’ is all it read.

Z for Zac.
An absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. Megan just wanted to know what happened to her brother. What a twister of a read. Full of suspense. 5*. Netgalley and bookouture.

Dysfunctional family doesn’t even begin to explain the dynamics of this one. Chloe and Meghan lost their brother ten years ago, their parents died in an accident just a few months ago. But this is only what you get from the papers. The reality of it is darker, more painful, and pretty disastrous.

Like I often say in my reviews, I love reading about siblings relationships. I have come to realize that this bound between two or more people has its rules and its differences. Chloe and Meghan only have each other now, and despite growing up in a very particular way, they managed to connect and make the best of what they had. They say blood is thicker than water, and sometimes, it is true. I loved discovering both young women and try to understand the balance on which their bound lies on. What makes a sister your best friend or your worst enemy? Does a family link forgives everything, meaning you can get away with whatever you want? How do you grow up with someone so close in genetics but who is also their own person with desires, dreams, a personality, their own way of dealing with life. This was particularly well explored in the book, through each girl’s mind and habits, forte and hobbies. It made me long for such a relationship, without the sorrow attached to that family!

But what about a stolen brother? Meghan takes the decision to come to Whitecliff to find answers regarding the disappearance of her brother Zac ten years before. The author did a wonderful job at descripting fading memories, yellowed images, fragments of souvenirs. Meghan was ten at the time, which means there is a gap between the little girl back then and the young woman now, like a scar that time did not heal, a small question mark at the back of her mind. Why is she so adamant about finding out what happened to Zac, who she wasn’t really close to? Why can’t she move on and start afresh now that the world is hers to take? Meghan has demons to face, some are tangible, others not. I thought the way the author managed to mix and combine everything that makes this book was exceptionally spot-on. Tackling tougher subjects in such a realistic and convincing manner added a touch of authenticity to the characters that helped me feel for them. Still, I had issues warming to either girl, without being able to exactly pinpoint why.

When she receives a mysterious card, Meghan can’t help the curiosity, especially since her parents weren’t the most open people in the world! I believe I would have taken the same decision! Kerry Wilkinson having scattered enough information about the whole family for the mystery to feel too strong to resist. Little words here and there, small pieces of childhood you can’t help but wonder about.

Zac is all around the story, following his sisters on Whitecliff’s roads, dirty paths, beach and cobbled streets, but this book is about Meghan. I felt that in addition to answers, she was looking for an escape from the past, from herself, from the grip of the years of her childhood. The story’s mystery is the background to a dangerously gripping study of what motivates people and the damage they do, intentionally or not. I couldn’t stand some of the things I read, but I can only agree there are all sorts of people in the world, including the bad ones.

If you thought Whitecliff sounds like a wonderful holiday destination, think twice! The vivid and colorful images sent to my brain by the wonderful descriptions of the author quickly became ominous and foggy, as if the place itself was cursed. I’ve read about more welcoming places! The village itself is a character, dealing the cards the inhabitants and vacationers are given. Asking questions always disrupts small communities and is never a good idea, but no one knows better! Until the very end, I couldn’t fathom the connection between all the hints I was given. The only thing I could never truly feel was the tension ratcheting up. I was too curious to pay attention to the threats.

The ending was as surprising for Meghan as it was for me! Never ever would I have thought some people would were able to go this far… Now you’re curious, right? :p The mystery itself felt a little flat for me, as I had experienced the book as if it were a soufflé, only to see it collapse slowly. A tiny bit too simple for my taste, it did keep me wondering until the very end and involved more than I had anticipated! I think if the focus would have been more on Zac and “the lie” from the parents, the denouement would have had more effect on me.

Two Sisters is a slow-paced story perfectly balanced to offer its readers a gripping but painfully living picture of a broken family, a cry for life, and a glimpse into the darkest corners of the best postcards villages!

My review as posted on Goodreads:

I like the fictional setting on the Cornish coast.
I like the tension between the locals and the holiday- makers.
I'm not sure about the characters of Megan and Chloe. One seems normal, the other doesn't.
Being watched, imagined or not?
What is the combination? ZS 4 CA?
The village mafia?
Who can you trust?

The intrigue builds to a tense ending.
There are a few twists in the tale.
The characters of the sisters grew on me later in the story.
I give thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan (Bookouture) for a copy in exchange for this impartial review.

23/6/17 Two Sisters 4*

Two Sisters promised to be a psychological thriller and after a slow start it really picked up pace.

Megan and Chloe's parents have died and they've inherited the cottage down in Whitecliffe. Ten years previously their brother Zac went missing, presumed dead but is everything as it seems? Megan tells Chloe they've come to the cottage for closure and to get their parents affairs in order but is that the only reason?

Meg's character is slightly infuriating but it all adds to the plot line. After the first few chapters I really got into this book and as it progressed the pace gathered.

I would happily give this book 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Another fantastic read from a very talented author. This is another stand alone book, and shows off the authors talent for writing. I am a HUGE Jessica Daniel fan, and each time KW does a standalone book I'm always worried that I wont like it as much as the Jessica Daniel series of books, but I needn't have worried with this one.
​I managed to get stuck into this book right from the off, and found it an interesting and easy read.
​The story is based around 'Two Sisters' who have lost their parents in an accident.
​Megan and Chloe visit their old holiday home in the seaside town of Whitecliff.
​They have returned here as they hold memories of the place, it's where their brother Zac went missing ten years ago. It's time to get their parents things in order, but there is also another reason Megan needed to come back. She has received a postcard from Whitecliff signed 'Z'.
​Is this from her brother, or someone who knew him. The sisters are not mad to feel welcome by everyone in the town. Some people it seems don't want them there. Things start happening, and slowly the girls are piecing things together.
​What really went on when Zac went missing?
​This really was an interesting story line, and keeps you gripped throughout the book. It leaves you wanting more each time you put it down, and you know you'll be picking it back up the first opportunity.

Megan and Chloe lose their parents due to a car crash and decide to visit the holiday home where their brother disappeared 10 years ago. He was presumed dead- but no sign was ever found. Megan received a postcard on the day of her parents funeral that she thinks may have come from her brother and she wants to see if she can find out what really happened.

Whitecliff is a really creepy place to be- rich parents seem to leave their teenagers there for the summer and the locals resent them. No one seems particularly happy. You get a sense of danger lurking- but never sure which direction it might be coming from. The book is full of suspense- where you really wonder what may be beneath the story. The village celebration promises more dark secrets.

I liked the two sisters and the owner of the art gallery.  I loved the sound of Chloe's drawings- it's a talent I would like to have myself. The other villagers seem to be hiding any knowledge they had of Zac and display varying degrees of hostility to the girls.

Although I enjoyed this book I must admit that I much prefer the Jessica Daniels series.

I have read a few of the author's books before and enjoyed them. This one was a good read also, but different to the previous works I felt.

The story has a very creepy side to it in that there is something going on in the village that most, if not all, of the villagers know about. There are secrets galore throughout the book, and we don't discover the truth until near enough the end. Form your own theories as I assure you nothing you think is right actually is.

The characters are very well written, and I found I was drawn into the story almost immediately. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Two Sisters by Kerry Wilkson tells the story of Chloe and Megan, two sisters who recently lost their parents. They decide to go back to their family’s cottage at Whitecliff. It soon becomes clear that their visit is not without motive. Whitecliff is where their brother, Zac, went missing ten years ago. Megan has received a card that made her want to get answers about his disappearance from this coastal village full of secrets.

One of the things that I liked most about this book was the setting. I like small town mysteries. Whitecliff is a small, tourist village full of interesting, creepy characters. It is right along a coast line and as you know, the waters hold even more secrets. The setting is described as having rocky cliffs, caves and hilly places and of course, the waters. In addition, there is an ongoing conflict between the locals and the tourists. The two groups depend on each other though they do not get along. I liked the close-knit community where everyone knew each other. This provided a lot of suspects in the mystery. I also liked the festivities and legends around the town.

Chloe and Megan are two very distinct characters. Megan had some serious personal struggles (you will find out what I mean when you read the book). I liked how mature she was and protective of her sister. I also liked the fact that as readers, we got to discover stuff at the same time that she did. We were part of her investigation team and walked with her as she asked tough questions and made the discoveries along the way. On the other hand, Chloe was mostly in the shadows and we mainly got to know her through Megan’s narrations. I wish her presence was a bit more prominent in the book though. I did like the relationship between the two sisters. The closeness, awkwardness and sometimes disagreements made it realistic.

The story is narrated mainly through Megan’s POV with Chloe’s narrations coming in towards the end. I liked the tension that the author created. I was anxious to find out about Zac. What happened to him? Why are the villagers bothered by Megan’s questions? Where is Zac? I also liked the secrecy in the village. It made it tough to guess who the villain(s) was and most importantly, the motives behind their actions.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers then I think that you will like this one. Kerry Wilkinson is a talented writer. I read and enjoyed his previous book which was contemporary YA, Ten Birthdays (which I reviewed here). I was surprised to see that he had written a psychological thriller. Although very different, both books have unique premises tackling various themes. He has a way of interweaving delicate themes within a story. In this case, it was eating disorders and parental abuse/negligence (I hope that is the right term). They weren’t main themes but they are important topics which he managed to tackle without taking the focus away from the main story-line and mystery. He has a way of bring the words alive and immersing readers into the setting of his books and the character’s life. In this book, I felt like I was part of Megan’s investigation. I also like the imagery in his writing. Whitecliff really came to life in the story. It felt like a real place. I definitely can’t wait to read his next book.

Actually 4.5 stars.
I am a big fan of this author. His Jessica Daniel series was one of the first I read on my Kindle when he was still self published and I have gone on to read all that series as well as his Andrew Hunter series and all his stand alones and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them so I just knew that the chances of me enjoying this were pretty good too.
This is a book of lies and hidden secrets and how their repercussions can tear people apart. It's a popular theme at the moment so there was the chance it would be a bit samey for me but the author has managed to weave something that, although similar, still has its own uniqueness. Sisters Megan and Chloe have returned to their parents holiday cottage to prepare it for sale, after their deaths in a car crash. At least this is what Megan has told Chloe. Megan has a secret she is keeping from Chloe. She has received a strange postcard, signed by someone calling themself Z. She believes that Z could stand for Zac, her brother. But her brother is missing, presumed dead. On arrival in the village, she soon discovers that not all is as it should be. There are definitely secrets to be uncovered. Determined to fine the truth, Megan stands her ground. Will she succeed in uncovering all the lies layer by layer to get to what really happened? And if she does, at what cost?
As always with this author's books, I connected to the main characters right from the off. There is always a certain amount of common ground between me and them in his books and this one was no exception. Like other books there were a fair few memory links from things from my childhood that kept making me nod and smile as I made associations with them. I do love a book that I connect with early on as I think it always makes for a better read for me. I especially gelled with Megan, her tenacity, guts and determination showed from the off. The way she was wary but still got on with things as she saw them, never showing her vulnerable side which was evident when we were allowed into her inner thoughts.
The plot was well worked out and expertly executed. I did guess a few things along the way but I wasn't 100% sure so I kept my eyes open. I think this did mar my overall enjoyment at times as I was a bit ahead of some of the reveals but, even so, they were very well weaved into the narrative.
The description was good too, I really felt the atmosphere of the village. How all wasn't quite what it should be. Who to trust, who was helping and who hindering. With the villagers "little ways" being a wee bit on the strange and eclectic side. All thing that lent themselves to it being a bit claustrophobic and dark at times.
Pacing was also good. with some of the topics in the book being a bit dark, there was a danger that the book could have been a bit heavy but the author managed to just keep it on the right side of too much. He also gave me as a reader a few lighter, breathing moments along the way which I gratefully took as respite.
All in all, a good solid read that left me on the whole satisfied. Can't wait to see what he serves up next time.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Megan Smart was tens years old when her older brother Zac went missing among the cliffs,caves and beaches that surround the small seaside town of Whitecliffe.

A decade later and a car crash has claimed the lives of both their parents.

For the first time since their brothers disappearance Megan and her younger sister Chloe have returned to Whitecliffe.

Megan says it's to get their parents affairs in order but the truth is that she has come back to confront her family's past after receiving a postcard on the day of their parents funeral.It had a picture of Whitecliffe on the front and a single letter on the back.

Z is all it read

Z for Sac

This is a gripping,intreguing mystery that's not bogged down by long drawn out descriptions and pages of padding.It's a entertaining thrilling story,I loved the places where the story was based from the village and its sinister inhabitants,the caves,the dark woods,the mysterious caves and the lightning tree.There was a mixed bag of realistic but mostly untrustworthy characters and I spent the whole book not knowing if Megan could trust any of them.

The story is mostly told from Megan's point of view although there are some chapters towards the end of the book that are voiced by Chloe.I would have liked to have read more of Chloe`s thoughts especially her feelings about her parents.Megan is a complex character who obviously had serious issues,the author wrote about these issues with sensitivity and a lot of thought for readers who also might have the same issues.My feelings about Megan constantly changed as the story unfolded,I wanted to like her but at times her thoughts and actions made her not very likeable.

The mystery of what had happened to Zach was very Intreguing and did keep me guessing.Megan found herself in a number of life threatening situations and quite a few of the chapters ended on cliff hangers causing the reader to have a very bad dose of just one more chapter syndrome.I really enjoyed this book and hope that this is the first in a new series,I would love to read more stories featuring Megan Smart.

Gripping thriller....thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It kept you wondering until the very last page!! Looking forward to more from Kerry Wilkinson. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

OMG talk about grabbing you from the very first page... what an opening, which totally sets the scene for what's to follow. I was totally mesmerized reading it in one afternoon talk about a page turner it's unputdownable, I loved it.

We are taken on one hell of a journey where we follow a story of Megan and her sister Chloe who lose their parents in a car crash a decade after Zac their brother went missing among the cliffs and beaches that surround the small seaside town of Whitecliff.
Megan and Chloe return to the town for the first time since Zac disappeared after receiving a postcard of Whitecliff on the day of her parents funeral with the letter Z on it. In hope To find out the truth about his disappearance.

This is a psychological thriller and a half and will have you guessing until the end. I have to say what an incredible writer Kerry is dropping out bits of the puzzle that really get inside your head where I found myself piecing it together just when I thought I had worked it out he throws me totally off the scent with another twist. Honestly this story has blown me away that’s for sure.

You can't help but feel sorry for the two sisters after losing their parents my heart really went out to them Megan is the stronger motherly character out of the two, with Chloe being younger.

Then the last 10% of the book was fast paced and action packed where the author nicely wrapped everything up with a truly gripping ending.

The is full of suspense and original, which I highly recommend giving it 5 stars

Thank you to Bookouture for a copy in exchange for an honest review.