Cover Image: The Good Sister

The Good Sister

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Member Reviews

This book earned Jess Ryder a spot on my favorite author's list! I read this one in a single day, because it was impossible to put it down. Great book!

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.

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The good sister by Jess Ryder.
Two sisters. One secret... A lie that could destroy them both.
Omg a brilliant read. Twisty and full of suspence. Kept me gripped until the end. 5*.

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Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

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I think that books about a double life are fascinating, and this one did not disappoint. The characters were good, and it kept me interested!

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Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

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An interesting concept that was well written. I enjoyed this book - would read more by this author in the future.

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Josie is devastated when she finds out her father has died in an accident and begins to investigate why her father was where he was when he had the accident. Josie discovers her father had been living a whole other life and that she has a sister. I really had a hard time liking this story. While the story was not implausible, the words/actions of both of the sisters were and this made it difficult for me to really get into this book.

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“My father is dead and my sister has been born. How fucking depressing and amazing is that?”


The Good Sister starts with Jerry Macauliffe, a professor dying in a motorcycle accident. This devastates his daughter Josie and wife Helen. Josie, who was very close to her father wants to understand more of his life in Manchester, where he spent most of his time away from home. In this process, she discovers her half-sister, Valentina who has literally been leading a life in Manchester parallel to hers' in London, as Jerry's other daughter. What is more interesting? They are mirror images of each other - long lost twins. And mind you, in this story's setting, that's bad news.

Valentina is Josie's antithesis; Josie is sweet, soft and perfect where Valentine is bold, rash and broken. Josie decides to hide his other family from her mother as she fears it would break her. Valentina shortly moves near Josie in London and they start spending more time together. Josie is repeatedly warned by her Uncle and boyfriend, Arun to stay away from her and that she's bad news - but of course, curious (and angry) Josie doesn't listen.

Josie and Valentina narrate the story alternatively, which made reading the book more unsettling - it took a while to realize who was narrating. It is well understood why the author chose this way of narration towards the end when it is a real struggle to guess who the narrator is. As a reader, I loved reveling in the suspense as I hung over the edge, cursing Josie as she ruined her perfect life making one bad decision after another and hungrily devouring more of the book hoping to get answers.

As we struggle to understand which among the two is the good sister, more secrets are uncovered and more details about Valentina's past are revealed. Every detail finally makes sense in the last couple of chapters and I couldn't put the book down until then. I loved this book, the pace at which the details are revealed and the emotions I felt while reading the book. Great read!

*Received Kindle Edition from NetGalley and Bookouture in return for an honest review.*

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This is the first book I have read from Jess Ryder. All I can say is Brilliant! Brilliant The Good Sister was. I was gripped from the first page. Two sisters. With One secret. that can destroy.
Josie lost her father to a motor cycle accident everything indicates it was an accident....But was it? Josie discovers her dad had a double life and then finds out she has a half sister who was born only a few days apart called Valentina. They look alike they could have been twins. Two sisters that are so different.
Josie don't want anything, she is polite, happy with her boyfriend who she wants to marry in the future who is calm and responsible. But Valentina was brought up in a less favourable environment, she is loud abrupt, takes drugs, smokes and has no job or money.
Valentina turns up at Josie’s workplace and tries to build a relationship with her sister Josie. But, Is Valentina just trying to know her sister better or does she have an ulterior motive what does she want from Josie?

This book was gripping and just brilliant. I loved it. Looking forward reading more books from Jess Ryder in the future.

I would recommended her books.....Just started The Ex-Wife and this is excellent so far.......

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

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This is the first one I’ve read by Jess Ryder, and I really enjoyed it.

When Jerome (Jerry) Macauliffe dies in a motorcycle accident, his daughter discovers a secret sister (Valentina) and a secret life.

Josie is level headed and sensible, Valentina is a loose cannon who seems set to destroy Josie’s life. Or does she? And is Valentina and her mother the big secret that Josie thinks it is.

This book is a traditional page turner. Bits of it did let me down, and I did find myself wondering how Jerry could think he had got away with it. But maybe that’s the point, is that people will believe what they want to.

Do yourself a favour, buy this one for your summer beach read.

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When Josie's father, Jerome Maculiffe, tragically and unexpectedly dies in a motorcycle accident, Josie unlocks a whole new world of her father's, including a half-sister. Josie lived her life believing that her father worked only as a teacher/lecturer in Manchester, however, what she doesn't know is all of the trips away on the weekends were made for his second life, family, wife and daughter - Valentina.

Josie and Valentina could easily be mistaken for twins, born in the same year and month. Although their similarities end there - they couldn't be more different from each other if they tried.

Josie, an only child, was raised by Helen and Jerome. She looked up to her father more than anybody in the world - never happy until he walked through the door everyday. She was his golden child. So she thought... She had a secure job and a secure relationship, a life her half-sister could only have dreamed of having.

Valentina, also an only child, was raised by Sophie and Jerome. She also looked up to her father and despised her mother more than her mother despised her. Being part of a second life means Valentina never got the special treatment and wealth she finds out Josie received, leaving her to lose herself in a crowd full of drugs, alcohol and lots of bad people.

When Josie and Valentina eventually meet, they can't help but compare each other's lives. Josie is accepting of Valentina and encourages her to make a better life for herself. Valentina only wants one life, and that's her sisters.

Although the chapters throughout this book can become quite confusing on which sister you're reading about, that can be looked at as a good thing, as you're constantly compelled to keep reading on to find out which sister is gradually getting more and more crazy as the book goes on. What I loved the most about the plot twists was that you begin to believe that they're going to be so predictable and then all of a sudden, Jess is like BAM... not so predictable anymore!! Whilst their father's secrets were a big part of the story, the sisters completely stole the show with their double personalities and secrets of their own. It is definitely a "how far would you go for your family?" situation, as Josie soon enough neglected all of her loved ones to learn about Valentina - which of course, lead to nothing but trouble. I would definitely recommend this book, if you're in to revolutionary plot twists and gasp moments - Jess does not disappoint!

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I’m not sure about “gripped”, but this book definitely took me down roads I wasn’t ready to go down. The story opened up with a man named Jerry, dying in a motorcycle accident, after refusing to respond to text messages that seem to be incriminating him in some way. As a result, his wife Helen and her daughter Josie are alerted to his death and they start the process of grief and moving on. Josie’s father, Jerry, was a Viking who passed down to her his heritage and philosophy, and it is evident in her appearance and way of thinking.

When Jerry passes, Josie goes to his second residence to clean it up and get it ready to sell. It’s there that she begins to realize who her father really was. There is a sister named Valentina who is five days older than she, and another mother she’s never met, and all of a sudden, her father’s time spent away from home begins to take shape. The betrayal, questions and heartache are all left wanting, as Jerry isn’t there to fill in the blanks.

As the half sisters begin to spend more time with each other, they begin to learn about each other and it’s hard not to compare how one of them was given much, while the other had to struggle through life. The built up animosity begins to show, and sadly, the lines begin to blur between what is acceptable and what isn’t.

Sidenote: At the beginning of each chapter is a “truth” about Viking morals and values, and it prefaces what is about to happen. These are very contradictory to a healthy functioning family, and seems to give Jerry a pass at not being the best father.

The story shifts each chapter between Josie and Valentina, and even toward the end, it’s hard to tell which is which, so that may be a bit confusing, but it does eventually line up. And although I enjoyed the suspense of the mothers finding out, the details learned by the sisters, and the antics they go through, I couldn’t help but find myself yelling at one of the sisters in many of the situations, because she seems to allow herself to be led down paths she knows aren’t safe. What truly is the intention of the “bad” sister? And which sister is which? The ending is bizarre, but leaves lingering questions. However, I read it in less than a week, so maybe it did grip me.

Nature of book warning: graphic sex scene and memories of a rape

Blogger note: I read 50% of this book, and listened to the other half through Amazon Audible. I loved the narrator, Annette Chown, as she read from Josie’s and Valentina’s perspectives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bookouture and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I appreciate the opportunity to receive an advanced reader copy to do so. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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The Good Sister is my first read by this author and it certainly won’t be my last as I loved this read.

Two sisters. One secret....A lie that could destroy them both.
When Josies father dies she’s devastated when she finds out he was leading a secret life. He had another family and she finds out she has a half sister Valentina.

I inhaled this story. I couldn’t put it down and ended up staying up until the wee hours to read this. A fantastic gripping read.

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Josie's father Jerome dies in a motorbike accident which leads to a life changing discovery about the father she thought she knew. It transpires that Josie's father has been living a double "parallel" life where he has a mistress and another daughter, Valentina who bears an uncanny resemblance to Josie.
Both girls are united in their grief and bond over shared stories of their lives with Jerome but it's not long before things start to turn sour. Told from both sisters point of view there are enough twists and turns to make this an enjoyable read and the ending itself was fantastic. Too say much more would potentially spoil as it would be best to know nothing before reading and make your own opinions as you go - they will possibly be wrong like mine were!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Josie is happily living with her boyfriend until her eccentric father dies mysteriously and then her life begins to unravel alarmingly by what she discovers. Her "perfect" father wasn't so perfect after all. Well this was a page turner and a half and I kept reading it long after I should have turned the light off! Josie was naive though and a bit of a ditherer, the sort of character you want to shout at and shake. Loved the ending too - what a twist. A great cover too - enticing and I would definitely pick it up for a closer look. A book which definitely lives up to its description.

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The premise for this story is very creepy. When Josie’s father dies, she discovers that he had a secret double life with another family and another daughter who was exactly the same age as her. I’ve read other stories with a similar starting point, and I just find that so creepy to think about.

I really liked the Viking facts at the beginning of each chapter. They gave a little insight into their culture and reinforced the Viking theme.

I didn’t like how the narrator switched between Josie and Valentina without warning. Sometimes I would start reading a chapter and realize a couple of pages in that it wasn’t who I thought it was. If those changes were identified at the beginning of the chapter, it would have been much easier to read.

I enjoyed this thriller. I really didn’t know how it was going to end! I recommend it to other fans of psychological thrillers.

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Josie was always her Daddy's girls. She grew up with him involving her in games to do with Vikings. He was the one she turned to with her joys and sorrows. She is devastated when he dies in a motorbike accident. When she goes to clear out the house where he stayed whilst working away during the week she discovers she didn't know him at all. He has been living a double life with another woman and has another daughter- one who, although she has different dress sense is her double. Valentina has had a different upbringing and is in many ways very different from Josie.

Before long Valentina has wormed her way into Josie's life. Although Josie is at first delighted to have a sister she soon finds that Valentina is going to change her life- & not for the better!

The story is told from the point of view of each of the sisters. It sometimes takes a moment or two to work out who is 'speaking' but that adds an edgy feel to the story.

I was often irritated by Josie- if she's told her mother the truth it would have saved a lot of trouble. I also felt poor Arun was sidelined a bit. However it was a good story. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read & review this book.

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Hi Noelle/Kim - its that time to clear shelf again! Not read all yet but I will. Thanks. Louise x

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THE GOOD SISTER is a dark psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family, and the secrets that can destroy them, by author Jess Ryder, a follow-up to her debut novel Lie To Me.. This is an excellent well-written novel with engaging characters. I was totally engrossed in this novel from beginning to end…wanting to know how it would end. I loved this book, and I know it will be well-received by those readers that enjoy reading psychological thrillers. A talented author to keep on the radar!

Two sisters. One secret... A lie that could destroy them both.

When her father, Jerome Maculiffe, dies in a motorcycle accident, Josie is devastated to uncover he led a secret life: another house, another family, another wife and a half-sister called Valentina. Jerome worked in Manchester as a teacher/lecturer during the week and returned home to London during the weekends.

Their father was having an affair? He was living a “parallel life.”

Both with red hair and icy blue eyes, Josie and Valentina could be mistaken for twins. But the similarities end there…Josie is sweet and responsible has a good job and is living with her boyfriend Arun, while Valentina is unemployed, manipulative and dangerous. Both Josie and Valentina were born in the same hospital a few days apart!

Josie had been raised by her working mother, Helen and father, Jerome in London in a wealthy family, while Valentina and her mother Sophie lived in a cottage in the countryside struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. Jerome was married to Helen while Sophie was his mistress.

So naturally, you can see that this street girl-Valentina wants Josie’s life!

This novel is full of twists and turns and revelations. The characters are so well developed it is so easy to identify each sister’s traits. I enjoyed the added passages of Viking history. You will not be able to put this book down.

Many thanks to Jess Ryder, Bookouture and Netgalley for theARC. Bookouture has all the best books to read!

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What a great debut thriller.. kept me gripped from start to finish.

Thanks for the chance to read this.

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