Josie is living a good life in London. She has a job helping hurting people, which she finds very satisfying. She and her boyfriend Arun are living together in a nice apartment, making plans for the future. She is close to her mom, a highly renowned psychiatrist, and though she doesn't see her dad very often (he works in Manchester and spends his weeks there, only returning to London for weekends and holidays), she has always had a tight bond with him. It was a really good life. 

And then everything changed. 

When Josie got word that her father had been killed riding his motorcycle, she couldn't believe it. He was a capable rider, a smart man, and considered himself a strong Viking warrior. But he was no match for the wet, curvy roads during his final midnight ride. So Josie takes his keys and goes to check out his apartment in Manchester, to feel close to him again and see what needs to be done with his effects. 

Oddly, the keys she has don't fit the lock, so Josie breaks in, and she is quickly surprised to find a young woman living there, a young woman who looks shockingly like her. As the women talk, they discover that they are half-sisters, born just days apart in the same hospital. Their father had two families--Josie and her mom in London and Valentina and her mom in Manchester. As the two sisters get to know each other, their relationship creates issues in other areas of Josie's life. Valentina is definitely more of a free spirit, and her decisions start to effect Josie's relationship, her job, her financial security, and her family. And as Josie keeps digging at her family's past, what she finds could change everything for her and for everyone she cares about

The Good Sister is a twisty psychological thriller that is a roller coaster of family betrayals, lies, and secrets. Author Jess Ryder takes readers on a journey through layers of bitterness and deception, of resentment and pain, of mistakes and bad choices. Each chapter starts with information of the lives and families of the Vikings, and those tidbits are both fascinating and informative of Josie's and Valentina's relationships with their father, with each other, and with themselves. A top-notch story of family secrets and lies. 



Galleys for A Good Sister were provided by Bookoutre through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Twisted and suspenseful are the very first words that come to mind when I think of how to describe The Good Sister. At times difficult to follow and even more difficult to comprehend, The Good Sister is Jess Ryder's latest novel about two sisters who have no idea the other exists. The loss of their father causes their chance meeting and begins the downward spiral of their very new relationship. It's a stunning novel, a thriller in every sense of the word that will leave you questioning everything. With unreliable narrators, The Good Sister is the kind of read that leaves you uneasy, you never know what to expect with each turn of the page.

"We are black and white, yin and yang, form and shadow. She is the girl I want to be, yet am afraid of becoming."

Valentina and Josie are sisters; they look alike, they share a father, but everything after that is different. They dress different, they have different personalities, and their sense of self are completely opposite. Valentina sees herself as a product of upbringing, a crass woman with few morals and little hope for life gratification outside of the bottle. Josie is a good girl, her father's easy child, with a study career, a long-term relationship, and a fairly normal family life. Building a relationship between them is impossible, especially with a father like theirs. A believer in all things Viking, he's managed to keep their lives a secret from one another with his cleverness. He's taught them everything they need to know about the warriors, about themselves, leaving them to figure out what to do with that information. I was astounded at the things their father did, but even more so with how the girls each dealt with the information. Their father's lies opened up holes inside each girl, their anger boiling over, their actions no longer thought through. I couldn't put the book down, each tiny reveal sucking me in.

"If I concentrate really hard, I can do it. I've got the props and costume; all I have to do now is be the character."

I loved that The Good Sister wasn't just based on the father's secret though, but more so on each sister and how they are as individuals. The changing POV's, but unidentified chapters, made reading interesting as I tried to sort out which girl's head I was in. As time goes on both begin to read as eerily similar, their lives intersecting too much. For every twist I saw coming, there was another I didn't expect. Jess Ryder feeds you tiny truths in every chapter, leaving the final explosion amidst a sea of tiny bombs. I speculated what the real truth could possibly be from the moment I sensed things were not right. Who really is the good sister? Is either really all that good? Who else knows something? Do they even know the truth? Everything I discovered left me surprised, but satisfied. The Good Sister is so good, because Jess Ryder gives you proof and answers for everything. There are no lose ends, the ending is firm in its conclusion, and the impact the book has on the reader is significant.

If you're look for a good psychological thriller, Jess Ryder has delivered with The Good Sister. Dramatic and unique, it's the kind of book you start and don't put down.

The Good Sister is a fast-paced (totally) psychological thriller by Jess Ryder and it is her second novel. The book was an excellent read cover to cover. While the chapters alternate between first person narrators, sometimes you aren't quite sure whose viewpoint you are reading until you get further into it. The chapters provide you with a sense of each sister's thoughts, behaviors and true personalities as the story unfolds.

There's a short prologue that sets the story line going for this book. It piqued my curiosity as it was dark, ominous and mysterious. Right from there, the story picks up and as readers move through the chapters, the author reveals the decades of lies and deceit and a double life, all that have destroyed two families while leaving both sides with nothing but unanswered questions.

The women who learn they are sisters - Josie and Valentina - are polar opposites. Valentina is forced to relocate so she moves closer to her newly discovered sister. Both sisters experience threats from unknown people. There's even a semi-threatening note left at their father's crash site leaving both sisters with even more questions, so they begin to investigate their own truth of what truly happened to their father.

Of course, there's the other theme moving through the story: Valentina desires to have a life more like her sister, Josie's, except she wants to keep her sense of thrill and adventure, living life to the fullest without thinking about consequences as she uses, betrays and walks over and through people's lives.

As the story progresses, the sisters become closer and the lies continue to build. People continue to warn Josie to stay away from Valentina and forget about the whole story behind their father's double life. Josie disregards the warnings because she hopes that something good will come out of the awful situation. The sisters begin to spend more time together while Valentia has more and more influence over Josie. Josie begins to fall apart because she doesn't see what is actually happening as Valentia manipulates her to the point where it actually too late.

Each chapter of the book begins with a short narration of Viking folklore, which I found very interesting. It didn't seem to relate to the story at first, but then I realized how it really did. As the book progresses, it became more relevant and made more sense.

Overall, I would say that some of the story was relatively predictable, but by the end of the book, having been woven through the many twists and turns, the readers are left with the very shocking conclusion.

I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers and suspense. I received this as a free e-ARC from the publisher by way of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Jess Ryder and Netgalley for a copy of this book.
I read Jess Ryder's first book Lie To Me and I have to admit to giving it 3 stars. It was good but just a little something missing.
Well The Good Sister gets 5 stars from me!!!!.
What a concept, what an interesting idea that turned into a devilishly twisting and turning tale of family. I started this book in the afternoon and could not put it down until the whole sordid tale was done.
The blurb for the book had me confused and I constantly went back to it and argued with myself that I was missing something big, then a few last twists happened and it all made sense.
Jess Ryder what a twisted mind you have. Please keep it up.
I highly recommend this book.

The story starts with Jerry Macauliffe receiving threatening messages on his mobile and so heads out on his motorbike to try and clear his head and has an accident and dies. Jerry is a university lecturer and has been working in Manchester while his family stayed in London and so when his daughter Josie goes to clear out his house in Manchester she gets the shock of her life.......there is another girl living there who is the spitting image of her!

Valentina has always thought it strange that her father disappeared so much for work......but now it has all become clear so what should she do about this sister who has everything that should have been hers in life!

A great story with Josie clearly being the good sister, unsure whether she should tell her mother or not as it might cause too much hurt and Valentina with her sinister motives, but who was sending the text messages to Jerry and why is Valentina now getting them? With so many twists and turns it is definitely a page turner that is well worth reading

There are enough twists and turns in The Good Sister to hold your interest from start to finish! Jess Ryder was a new author for me, so I was looking forward to seeing just where she would take the story. I really enjoyed it. The fast pace moved the story along quickly and kept you guessing.

This is a tale with so many twists my head spun. It is brilliantly written and with such an amazing plot line it is one to read and recommend.

When Josie's father dies she doesn't think she could possibly feel any more devastated. But then she finds out he had a secret life away from her and his wife, a life complete with another daughter, her half sister Valentina.

To look at Josie and Valentina could be twins but the similarities are only skin deep. Josie is hard working, settled with Arun her partner, a sweet and reserved girl. Valentina is wild and fun but also manipulative and dangerous. Valentina begins to install herself in every aspect of Josie's life, leading her straight laced sister into a darker world. But as Josie's life begins to unravel and she learns just how many people have lied to her she begins to wonder who she can trust and who she should fear.

This book is just a mind bogglingly enjoyable read. It's got it all, lies and secrets, families so dysfunctional Jeremy Kyle wouldn't touch them, affairs, double crosses and triple crosses that would make Cersei Lanister applaud. It's told from the point of view of both sisters but cunningly it doesn't always tell you who's point of view you are reading. I have to be honest I thought this was some sort of oversight at first but quickly realised it's an excellent plot device to add further confusion. A tricksy move on the authors part but it works really well and added to the enjoyment of the read. I really liked Jess Ryders debut Lie To Me (a good dozen of my friends and colleagues have read this on my recommendation and it's been all good feedback so far) so was really looking forward to this but I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I can't wait for her next book.

I received this from Netgalley and Bookouture for an unbiased review.

Brilliant! So much so I read it in one sitting. I tried to put it down three times during the night but inevitably picked it back up and didn't stop until it had finished! Needless to say I was exhausted the next day but it was worth it!

The story is told in the POVs of the two sisters however the chapters are not labelled and it was quite confusing trying to figure out which sister was narrating in some chapters. Normally this would annoy me but in this case it added some mystery which I enjoyed.

The depth & length of some of the Viking descriptions bored me slightly but I just skipped over some of it to get to the good parts!

For me this was a vast improvement on her debut novel Lie To Me for which I only gave 3 stars (sorry!) but I am looking forward to her next book

Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW WOW WOW! I loved this book. It was well written, fast paced and got my heart racing. I was second guessing myself the whole way through - was I right about the characters? Who was good and who was bad? Is it all as it seems? Fabulous twists and turns the whole way - I stayed up late just to get to the end. Thank you for the chance to read and review - one of my favourite books of the year so far!

Josie learns of her dad’s death in a motorbike accident where she finds a mysterious. Soon after she discovers that her dad led a double life and she has a half-sister Valentina , who could be passed off as her identical twin and was born just a few days apart. Where Josie is calm, collected and leads a stable life, Valentina leads a troubled life involving drugs , booze and no job . Valentina turns up at Josie’s workplace and insists on building a relationship with her sister. Is Valentina just trying to know her sister better or does she have an ulterior motive in following her sister?

The book is narrated in alternating chapters with both sisters POVs and a lot of reference to Viking gods and their lifestyles. There were a lot of twists and turns with a surprise ending that I did not expect. Even though I felt something’s were left unexplained in the book it still was a very interesting read and I will look forward to read more by this author.

Many thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

This review is written with thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of The Good Sister.
When Josie's father, Jerry, dies in an accident, she is understandably devastated. But while sorting through his things, Josie discovers that her father was living a double life: spending his weekdays with another woman, and her half sister, Valentina. Josie and Valentina were born days apart, and the resemblance between them is so striking, they could easily be mistaken for twins. However, their personalities couldn't be more different. As Josie gets to know more about her half sister, she finds herself dragged into a web of lies and secrets. What are her family hiding from her?
Jerry's specialist subject was the Vikings, and he passed his enthusiasm to his daughters. Each chapter of The Good Sister begins with a fact about the Vikings, that is usually pertinent to the events in the chapter that follows. These facts were clearly well researched, and I enjoyed learning about the Vikings in this way, as I felt they added an extra layer to the novel.
The majority of The Good Sister is written in first person, alternating in perspective between Josie and Valentina. This gives Ryder the opportunity to demonstrate their contrasting personalities, so that the reader can learn more about the characters. In some ways, I found this very effective, although at the beginning of some chapters, it was difficult for me to be sure who was narrating. My natural instinct was to sympathise with Josie, the "good" sister, but Ryder's references to Valentina's mental health issues does make the issue a little less black and white. Valentina's diagnosis is not explicitly stated, and I would have liked this to have been explored in more detail.
The Good Sister is a thrilling rollercoaster ride, and as the plot gathered pace, I found it difficult to stop reading! There are so many secrets and lies, not just from the sisters, but from all the supporting characters too, and I frequently had to question which parts of the novel were true, which made it particularly gripping. There are several twists and turns along the way, particularly towards the end, and I could not swipe my Kindle fast enough to discover what was happening.

A unique story, unfortunately the writing did not live up to the plot. I ended up abandoning it half way through,

The story begins with the death of Josie’s father. Soon afterwards, Josie discovers that her father had a secret family and she has a sister. The two ladies look very alike. However, they lead very different lives. Valentina is on the wild side with her all black outfits and love for the party life. She is jobless and basically surviving on handouts from friends and family. On the other hand, Josie comes from a good, stable family. She lives with her boyfriend Arun, has a great relationship with her parents and has a good job. How different can two sisters be?

This book is so full of twists. Everyone had a secret. And just when you think that the revelations have ended, a new secret comes up. I was knocked off my feet/seat a couple of times and kept screaming, ‘Whaaat!’ at each reveal. The twists were that good. Other times, I was just screaming at the characters. It was frustrating how trusting one of the sisters was. One of the characters just annoyed me with her crazy antics. Yes, I was that emotionally invested in the narrative.

The story is told through alternating chapters narrated by Valentina and Josie. Each chapter starts with a Viking fact which I really enjoyed. Some of the facts set the pace/tone for the chapters and hence heightened the excitement of getting into each one. The chapters are not labeled using narrator names so you have to read-on to find out who the narrator is. Towards the end, chapter narrators remains a mystery until later on. I had my suspicions about the narrators but I still enjoyed the reveals.

This book is brilliant and Jess Ryder created a masterpiece psychological thriller. I loved everything about it, the mystery, writing, twisted characters and all the secrets. The final scene was epic. Seriously, it was! If you haven’t read any books by Jess Ryder, you really should. She does seem to like the themes of lies, secrets and deceit which she tackles masterfully. Okay, just read this book.

Another book of dysfunctional families! I'm on a roll--lol!! After Josie's father dies unexpectantly, some secrets come out. One of them being a sister that Josie knew nothing about. (This happens very early on so not really a spoiler) As the two of them realize that they're sisters, they get to know each other. Of course, Josie realizes that she might not have known much about her father after all. Only she wants to explore what really happened with him. Valentina makes her way more into Josie's life, whether she likes it or not. One is good, the other.....well, not so much. As always, one sister had a better life than the other. And one of them just isn't too happy about it. A lot happens between the sisters. I did like some things that happened but I felt that one girl cannot be that naive but I guess you never know. I also, enjoyed the Viking facts/lore at the beginning of each chapter--very interesting. This is my 2nd book by Jess Ryder and she's got a lot of potential, so definitely will look out for her next book.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had some conflicting emotions after finishing this book. There were parts of it that I loved, particularly the surprises revealed at the end, and then some parts that I thought were a little bleak and depressing. I do realise the tone of this book is not upbeat and happy, but there were times when I found myself shaking my head wondering if all of the characters had to be so depressing.

I liked some of the characters enough to care about what was happening in the story, so that helped me push on and read until the end even during the parts I didn't find as appealing. I really think the premise of this story was excellent and the writing was top notch, there were just some portions of the book that didn't agree with me.

If you like reading mysteries that never quite go the way you expect for them to, then this book is one that you will most likely enjoy. I have to say, the ending was such a surprise, I couldn't have guessed what was going to happen.

Give it a try--it will probably keep you up at night.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced copy of The Good Sister from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review....

Josie and Valentina grew up in very different homes. But they shared much more than either could ever have imagined. Like their revering for their father. In their eyes, he was a free spirited viking hero. Each child had father/daughter relationship that seemed irreplaceable and impossible to replicate. Yet, they slowly learn through their father's death just how little they truly knew about their hero or of one another. The lies unfold and slowly so do their lives after the unexpected departure of their beloved father.

This was an addicting read. From the start, it just unfolds in such a way that leaves you not wanting more, but actually needing more. On the day I finished the book, I had around one hundred pages to finish. The night before, I slept like trash and it was a long Monday at work followed by a birthday celebration. Moral of the story, it was a long, tiring day, yet I stayed up until the sucker was done. No regrets. Time and sleep weren't even an object or thought, just the need to see how it ends. As well, I was pleasantly surprised by the big revelations int his novel. The entire story, I thought I had known exactly what was happening and who had done what, yet the twists weren't as predictable as I anticipated. Another bonus to a delightfully entertaining tale.

One thing that I must talk about with The Good Sister was Ryder's ability to evoke quite a bit of emotion out of me. She had me slamming my nook into my knee, WTFing out loud to my dog in pure frustration. Many a times while reading, I just screamed at certain characters for one reason or another. She had me in a tizzy quite a few times over the happenings. And for this, I am offering a great deal of praise because I absolutely believe this was done intentionally by the author. She captured the reactions of the situation in a realistically frustrating manner. While I was undeniably pissed at points, I know that this was the intent. Very nicely done, Ryder!

Lastly, I found the Viking history tid bits at the beginning of each chapter rather unique and original. Ryder's facts were often related or associated with the happenings of the chapter in some minor way which brought a little something extra to the story.

All in all, it was a really good and fun read. Be prepared to be ticked, but in a delightfully, enjoyable way.

Wow I really enjoyed this book! I've been burnt out on the so called "psychological thrillers" or basically any book that compares to "Girl on the Train" but I couldn't put this one down. It was a fairly short read but it kept my attention. The chapters are quick and alternate between the viewpoints of each sister, but they are not labeled. This confused me at first, then I realized that it was meant that way; it was part of the mystery. Each narrator was revealed in the chapter but it was neat how the author did this - I was also frustrated at time, but I do like how it turned out. Since this book was shorter than most, I was worried that my questions would not be answered, or they would be rushed, but I think the story played out well. I really did enjoy reading this and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a thriller/mystery. Thank you NetGalley for providing me this read!

A brilliant read. I loved the story told by both sisters. Cleverly written that at times you need to figure out which sister is speaking. Lots of twists that I did not see coming. I thought I knew where this was going but I was so wrong. Excellent, satisfying ending.