The Good Sister by Jess Ryder is the ultimate, dysfunctional family, dirty little secrets kind of story. It was a bit shorter than my usual reading material, a mere 230 pages, but those 230 pages pack a punch.

It was straightforward, to the point, with little pussyfooting around. For a shorter novel, it had great character development, and I enjoyed the added touches with the Viking history.

As the title suggests, this story revolves around a pair of sisters, Josie and Valentina.

When Josie's beloved father dies, she very quickly discovers that he had a secret family. Josie is both disturbed and excited to learn that she had a half sister, Valentina.

They look strikingly similar, but that is pretty much the only thing they have in common. But Josie and Valentina couldn't be more polar opposite otherwise.

Although this is a quick read, it is still full of twists and turns. There are several "gasping" moments. And at one point, I had to go back and re-read the prologue and first chapter to look for clues I might have missed.

It is a little creepy how their lives mirrored each others from childhood. Their dad told them the same stories, called them both Viking princesses, and they even had the same necklaces. It sort of ties in with the mirrored images of the girls on the front cover.

I also enjoyed Josie's boyfriend Arun. Although he held a secret of his own (involving the sisters, of course), he loved Josie with all his heart and was such a good guy.

I teetered between four and five stars. It was such an enjoyable story, so the short length was a bit of a turn off for me. But then I reminded myself that not all good stories have to be long. Jess Ryder's The Good Sister was succinct and well told. Five stars it is.

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Jess Ryder for an advanced copy of The Good Sister. My opinions are my own.

The book has a lot of twists and turns and you were uncertain where exactly the author was going to end up. For instance, was the main character a split personality...etc. However, I had a hard time understanding one point of view from another. The chapters would switch between characters and since both main characters were female it was very hard to comprehend which character was talking till you were half way through the chapter.
The other issue that I had was that the author never clarified if the father was killed, committed suicide, or it was just an accident, that part was not cleared up.
Overall, an ok book that needs some refinement.

The Good Sister, by Jess Ryder, gets an okay from me.

While I enjoyed the twists (and there are a couple of big ones), much of the book felt very Single White Female.

It’s such an overdone plotline that I simply couldn’t believe that our girl didn’t immediately see what was going on. In fact, points to the next author who borrows that plot line and has the main character actually reference the book/movie! (If you borrow it, own it!)

I sort of liked our girl, but she was way too naïve to be believed. Any normal human being would have put a stop to much of this early on.

But, remember those twists I mentioned? While they don’t exactly move it away from SWF territory, they do add some interesting aspects to it. In fact, one of them is one humdinger of a jaw dropping twist.

I admit there was one thing in the book that simply made no sense to me. In fact, it took me out of the book as I tried to wrap my head around it. I finally just gave up, went with it, and finished the book. However, you can tell it still lingers.

An entertaining read. Not groundbreaking or particularly original, but the author does manage to play with your head more than once!

I enjoyed the dynamics between the two sisters. I would have enjoyed hearing more about Valentina's background to try and understand what was driving her. I thought it was an interesting twist at the end and I would be interested to read further books by the author. Overall, they were able to create a good atmosphere and interesting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers Bookouture for this advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to Kim Nash for organising and allowing me to be part of the Book Blog Tour for this great book!

Josie works as a legal counsellor. She has a nice life, a boyfriend, a nice flat and parents who love her. One day Josie’s father Jerry dies in a motorbike accident. It looks like no one else was involved, and there is talk that it may have been suicide. Josie doesn’t believe that her father would ever do this, there isn’t any reason for him to – loving family, good job – what would make him do something like that. Jerry worked near Manchester during the week and came home to Josie and her mother in London at the weekend. Josie feels that she needs to go and look around the house he stays in during the week, to see if there are any explanations as to what has happened. Her mother doesn’t want to do it, so Josie goes up to Manchester alone.

When she arrives at the house, she can’t believe her father would live somewhere like that. The house is very run down and looks unlived in. The keys that Josie has don’t fit into any of the locks so she breaks in through a window. After a quick search of the downstairs she doesn’t find anything that would suggest her dad was living there, until she goes upstairs. Upstairs she finds a woman who looks almost exactly like her, but almost completely different in personality. This is Valentina and she is also Jerry’s daughter, and Josie’s half-sister. They were born in the same week, same year, and same hospital.

Valentina doesn’t know her dad is dead, but to her Jerry was just someone who sorted her out and gave her money. Valentina’s life is completely different to Josie – disowned by her mother, she has no money and finds it hard to get a job. They are both completely stunned by the fact that their father was living a double life, but this affects Josie more. She decides to keep the news from her mother until she feels her mother is strong enough to cope with it. One day, Valentina turns up in London, wanting to know more about her sister. Josie’s life gets turned upside down with the arrival of her sister. What does her sister really want from her?

This story is told from the perspectives from both Josie and Valentina alternating between their stories. There are also a lot of references to Viking gods and warriors are Jerry believed he was descendent from them. The story begins with a bang when Jerry dies and you just know that Josie is going to uncover something from her visit to his house in Manchester. I didn’t really like any of the characters in the book, but not in a bad way – just because none of them seemed to have any redeeming qualities. Josie begins as a nice person – quiet and responsible. But as Valentina gets her black polished claws into her, we begin to see perhaps what the real Josie is like. Some parts I just want to shout at her to open her eyes and stop being so naïve, but unless we found ourselves in the situation with a long lost half-sister we wouldn’t know how far we would go to build a relationship with them. The only character I felt for was Josie’s boyfriend, Arun. He really tried his best to get Josie to see sense, which obviously fell on deaf ears.

I do think that some aspects of the story could have been explained better. Obviously I don’t want to include any spoilers, but some things just didn’t seem to get a full explanation as to what happened before or after, but it didn’t really detract from the enjoyment of the story. It was a seriously dark, creepy, twisty thriller. I didn’t guess the major twist at the end and really didn’t expect that at all!! I also liked the way the story began and ended with Jerry – that part of the story was explained perfectly!!

My first book by this author – definitely won’t be my last! Five Stars!

Oh a whopping 5 * from me.
I was really mesmerised with this story, enjoying unwrapping every layer of it. I turned the pages very quickly where my eyes were reading like an excited child. It really gripped me.

Josie lost her father to a motor cycle accident to all intense and purposes it looked exactly like that, straight forward until something was found later are the accident scene.
Did he commit suicide?
Did someone drive him to this?
Or were there other mitigating circumstances?

Josie's life wasn't too made, she had her mom, her dad and a good wealthy family background. But then her life was turned upside down

SECRETS
REVELATIONS

I'm revealing now secrets in saying that her father had another family and another child. A half sister, Valentina.

They could have been twins, only days apart when they were born from different mothers.
Josie didn't want for anything, but Valentina was brought up in a less favourable environment .
The difference between the sisters are quite immense, Josie is polite, reasonable, calm, responsible and has a great boyfriend who she hopes to marry someday soon.

Valentin is loud, curt, abrupt, she drinks, smokes, takes drugs, parties and has no money. No job.

Once these two meet up it take a huge leap for me. I could see how manipulative Valentina was, how horrid, but why was escaping me.
Is she after Josie for money?
Does she resent Josie?
Is it pure jealousy and did she know about her fathers secret before Josie learnt of it?
What was the depth of this story.
It was puzzling around my mind constant.

You really understand the emotions that Josie's mom was experiencing, she had lost her husband, what when she finds out about his 'other family'?
How will she react, what will she say, what will she do?
And.....what about Valentina's mother?

This had me up to early hours of the morning, so transfixed was I to this story that I heard the birds tweeting outside.

The ending had me gasping in awe. Truly a masterpiece.

I would like to thank Bookoutour via Net Galley for my copy.

The Good Sister is a novel which keeps you guessing right from the very beginning, up until the very last sentence. It carries an air of mystery which becomes increasingly sophisticated as the characters of Josie and Valentina are explored to their full potential through their designated chapters. I loved the unique backdrop of their Viking heritage in explicating the actions and thought processes of the main characters, particularly Jerry and Valentina who appear the most influenced by their historical cultural connections.

Without giving away spoilers - which is tricky as each chapter and development of the plot heavily rested on the twists and turns of the narrative! - I found myself becoming increasingly protective over Josie and Arun, and wishing that Valentina got the psychological help she so desperately required. However, this added to the power of the book, as I found myself both despising Valentina for her unjustifiable actions, but also feeling increasingly sympathetic towards her less-than-normal upbringing and the lack of support she had from both family and therapists.

Overall, The Good Sister exceeded my expectations and kept me gripped from the outset. It was powerful, thought-provoking and shocking, and has made its way onto my 2017 favourites!

After her father dies, Josie discovers her father had another life, with another wife and child in that life, so Josie has a sister. Josie is the nice, sweet girl and Valentina not so much! A terrific psychological thriller, which will have you reading long into the night

Absolutely loved this fast paced page turner. If you enjoy books about secrets with great characters that are flawed to a degree... this book is for you!

Josie was shocked to discover that her father was leading a secret life when he died. He had another wife, another house, and another daughter. Josie and her half sister, Valentina, were born the same week in the same hospital and even look remarkably alike. They are actually very different. Josie is a nice, sweet girl with a happy but ordinary life. Valentina is the exact opposite. She is used to getting what she wants, but what she wants now is Josie's life, and she won't stop until she gets it.

The Good Sister is fast-paced, full of suspense, and hard to put down. I also enjoyed the author's earlier novel, Lie to Me. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Josie is shocked when she found out her father died while riding his motorcycle very early one morning. Why was he out so early? Where was he going? When Josie went with her Mother to identify her Father’s body they discovered he didn’t even have his wallet or a form of ID on him, just a set of keys which Josie’s Mom assumes are for the flat they own in the city where her husband would stay during the week and then would come home and spend the weekends with her.

But when Josie goes to the apartment, she learns her Father, whom she loves and had a fantastic relationship with was keeping a secret, he had another family. Imagine discovering you have a sister who could be your twin, you look so identical and you were born only days apart, same Father but two different Mothers. Josie and her half sister Valentina never knew the other existed or that the Father lived a double life with two family’s, one he lived with during the week, and another he lived with on the weekends. While Josie is overwhelmed by what she has learned, she is excited to get to know her sister Valentina. So why does everything start going wrong after Valentina becomes apart of her life and why did she receive a text message to stay away from her?

This was a great read with twists and turns as you try to figure out who is lying and what other secrets are being kept? This psychological thriller will keep you guessing until the end and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read this electronic ARC.
When Josie’s beloved father dies, she is destroyed once more when she discovers that her father led a secret life, complete with another woman and a daughter that he had kept secret from her. When Josie’s sister, Valentina, reaches out to Josie, Josie immediately develops a relationship with her, ignoring the cautions from everyone in her life that Valentina is dangerous and manipulative. Valentina slowly begins to infiltrate Josie’s life, and the only one oblivious to the obvious deception is Josie herself. When Josie finally realizes this fact, she must take on her own sister in a fight to save her own life.
Having read Jess Ryder’s other novel, I was excited to get the chance to read this one and it did not disappoint. I actually anticipated “The Good Sister” to be predictable and similar to “Single White Female” however I was pleasantly surprised when it did not turn out that way! The twists and turns in this novel are top-notch, and Ryder definitely pulls a reader in right from the start, and keeps their interest until the end.
“The Good Sister” is told from the viewpoint of both Josie and Valentina. At the beginning of each chapter, it is not revealed which sister is doing the narrative which helps to solidify the plot without being confusing (as the chapter does eventually tell us which sister we are listening to). I ran the gamut of speculations throughout this story (”Which sister is actually the bad sister? Is it actually Josie and we have been fooled all this time?”) and was extremely satisfied at the ending, which not only provided a concrete solution to the plot but also was unexpected and surprising.
This novel surprised me in all of the best ways possible. Ryder is definitely an author to watch.

When her beloved father dies, Josie is devastated to uncover a secret life he has led with another family: another house, another woman and a half-sister, Valentina. Born in the same week, in the same hospital, they look so physically alike they could be mistaken for twins. But the similarities end there.

I liked this book a lot. There are so many twists and turns you start to question every character. Who else is lying? What does everybody know? Are we sure Josie even has a sister? At first I was annoyed that we weren't being told who's perspective each chapter is from and it can get quite confusing at times as to who is speaking, but once you get farther into the book you'll understand why the author felt the need to do that. Most of the characters felt well established and defined.

The only con I had with this book is it is set in London so I wasn't familiar with some of the slang.

Would definitely recommend this book to friends!

Thank you to Netgalley/Bookouture for the advanced copy!

A real roller coaster ride, couldn't put it down. Characters are well developed and the plot moves along nicely

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* Jess Ryder's 'The Good Sister' is a gripping novel, full of intricate characters and lots of twists and turns as we have come to expect from this genre. The story focuses around Josie, whose world begins to crumble after the unexpected death of her father. She soon discovers that her mild mannered professor father was living a whole other life, with a mistress and a daughter the same age as her, called Valentina. As the father had been an expert in the ways of the Vikings, each chapter begins with a little snippet of information about the Vikings, which is a really nice touch and adds to the mood of the story. A thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Jess Ryder's first book but it was not as suspenseful as it was made out to be. This book was different and totally lived up to its description. It is a nail biting, roller-coaster ride. I absolutely loved it!

The story is about two sisters. Josie's father has been leading a double life. He is married to Josie's mother but has been having an affair with another woman and they have a child together. Her name is Valentina. Josie and Valentina find out about each other when their father passes away. The two sisters are almost identical but the similarities end with their looks. Their personalities are completely different.

The story is told by both sisters but the author does not mention which sister it is. Initially, I was a bit irritated as you first had to try and figure out which sister it was, but I realised afterwards that this adds to the suspense throughout the novel. This book really had me gripped and I could not put it down.

There were a few completely unexpected twists which left me absolutely shocked (I really didn't see that coming) and the ending was really jaw-dropping!

I highly recommend this book. Well done to the author, this is a winner!

The Good Sister Jess Ryder

This may be a short book, at 230 pages, but it packs more twists and turns than a Himalayan Mountain track.

When a University Lecturer dies, speeding down a country lane on his motor bike, nobody could expect the secrets that are about to be revealed.

Two women, that could look like twins, born five days apart proclaim to be his daughter.

They could not be any different.

Josie “A boring young fogey, the easy-care daughter”

Valentina “wild, daring, spontaneous, unrestrained”

Both living completely separate lives, but one of them has been having dreams for years that she has a sister, and that she was hurt by her, badly.

The story sees both girls getting to know each other. The wild Valentina causing chaos in the quiet reserved life of Josie.

The family of both girls dealing with the death of the man, who called himself their dad, but did either family know about the other.

Threatening text messages, from a mysterious person who watches every move Valentina makes.

From the posh houses of a London suburb, to the squalid existence of a derelict pub; from a leafy Derbyshire Cottage, to a run-down student terrace in Manchester the plot unfolds.

Jess Ryder wrote the story in the first person, alternating chapters from Josie’s point of view to Valentina’s. That is what makes this story so good; because at times you don’t know which sister is carrying the narrative. Then oh it’s her, really?

There are times when I thought, is there only one woman and does she have a split personalities.

Then I wondered if one of the sisters was imagining some of the things that were happening to her.

I felt empathy for Josie, then I felt empathy for Valentina.

I liked and hated both women equally through the story. It’s a testimony to Ryders writing that my loyalty swung from one to the other all the way to the end of the book.

The twists in the plot are brilliantly penned with the last twist coming right at the end; and I didn’t see it coming.

It’s hard to write too much about this book without giving plot spoilers. So much happens in such a short space of time.

All I can say is READ IT!!!!!!!

I promise you’ll love it.

When you make your mind up which is the “Good Sister” let me know; because I still can’t make my mind up.

Pages: 230
Publisher: Bookouture
Available to pre order on Amazon
Publishing Date: 16th August 2017.

This fast-paced psychological thriller is Jess Ryder's second novel, and it is an excellent read. The chapters alternate between first person narrators, giving you a sense of each sister's thoughts and personalities as the story unfolds.

The short prologue sets a dark tone for this novel. It catches your attention, an ominous scene full of mystery. From there the story picks up in the present, about 25 years after the prologue. Decades of lies and deceit are uncovered, a double life that has now destroyed two families while leaving both sides with nothing but unanswered questions.

The two sisters, Josie and Valentina, are polar opposites. When Valentina is forced to relocate, she chooses to move closer to her long lost sister. However, she soon starts receiving dark and threatening text messages. In fact, both sisters experience threats from unknown people. A cryptic note left at the crash site leaves the sisters with even more questions, and they set out on their own to investigate the truth of what really happened to their father. Meanwhile, Valentina yearns to have a life more like Josie's, except she wants to keep her sense of thrill and adventure, living life to the fullest without thinking about consequences.

As the sisters become closer, the stack of lies continues to mount. Everyone warns Josie to stay away from Valentina and forget about their father's double life, but Josie is hopeful that something good will come out of the situation. The sisters begin to mesh into each other's lives, causing Valentina to have more influence as Josie begins to fall off the rails. Josie doesn't realize the level of manipulation that Valentina is capable of until it is too late.

The story comes full circle around 80% into the book. All of the lies and deception are laid bare as the truth begins to unravel. Each chapter of the book begins with a short narration of Viking folklore. At first this seems somewhat inconsequential, but it makes more sense and becomes more relevant as the book progresses. Some parts of the story are very predictable. By the end of the book, through many twists and turns, you are left with a shocking conclusion that is as brilliant as it is devious.

I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers and suspense. I received this as a free ARC from Bookotoure on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Josie's father has died ..riding his motorcycle. Was it suicide? Or an accident? Under any other circumstances, she would never have even questioned that it was anything other than an accident.

But that was before she learned his secret .... he had another family. Another wife . Another daughter... Valentina. Valentina and she could have been twins. Both were born in the same year .. same month ... just a few days apart.

Josie was raised with her parents in a home of some wealth. Josie is quiet, responsible, and she has the perfect boyfriend ..someone she's thinking of marrying. In other words, Josie has led a wonderful life.

Valentina was raised in different circumstances. Same father ... but Valentina drinks, smokes, plays around with drugs, has no money and is now living in an abandoned building with others who are no better off.

Once they meet and start comparing their lives, Valentina only knows one thing ... she wants Josie's life and she's willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

This one hooked me from the very beginning. There are lots of twists and turns that kept me reading long after lights should have been turned off. The chapters bounce from one sister's voice to the other's. There were times I wasn't quite sure who I was hearing, which kept me that much more compelled to keep reading. THE GOOD SISTER is a psychological thriller that the reader won't forget easily.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Oh wow! What a story! Amazing! I just couldn't put it down, was up most of the night reading it! Can't stop thinking about the characters! What a spectacular story, riveting and addictive, with so many twists, all of which I absolutely did not see coming! I loved this brilliant author's debut, but this book, wow, it is perfectly executed, fabulously well written, a stunning, page-turning masterpiece. Loved this SO much. One of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year!