This is the book that led to me devouring every novel by Alafair Burke!! I love sibling squabbles & this goes to the nth degree & then some. I’m supposing the author is make, going by the name. I most always prefer female written books, especially with a female protagonist but I can’t throw shade here! Mr Burke’s story couldn’t have been conveyed a bit better.

Nicky and Chloe are as different as sisters can be and don't have much in common....other than the fact that they have both been married to the same man. Nicky was always the immature one, a little wild and carefree. It seemed surprising when she married a promising young attorney and gave birth to a son, Ethan. However, the marriage soon ended when Nicky proved to be too wild for Adam. A few years later, enter ambitious sister Chloe. Intelligent, focused, and hard-working, she appears to be the far better pick for Adam. They marry, and everything seems to be going smoothly....until the day when Adam is found murdered in his home.

Chloe's world is completely blown apart, especially when the police begin to suspect that Ethan, Chloe's stepson and Nicky's biological son, may be responsible for the murder. Nicky soon shows up, determined to protect her son at all costs. It is then, as Nicky and Chloe also reconnect for the first time in years, that they begin to talk about the past, and how it may have ultimately played a role in their present situation. Was Adam the man that they thought he was, or was he presenting a false image to the world?

This book had a couple of decent twists, but I found the characters a bit unlikeable, and the book a little slow moving at times. If you have not yet read any of Burke's other novels, start with "The Wife." You can't go wrong with that one.

Chloe Taylor seemed to have it all. A prestigious job as a writer at a woman's magazine and fame for her series on sexual harassment. A successful attorney husband. A stepson she had raised from the time he was two and whom she considered her own child. A Manhattan apartment and a house out on the coast. What more could anyone want?

But under the surface, things are not as enviable as they seem. Chloe got her marriage and stepson by marrying her sister's ex-husband after taking his side in the marriage breakup. Her sister, Nicky, was taking drugs and drinking and had endangered her son's life in the backyard pool. Chloe and Adam had cut Nicky out of Ethan, the son's life after that. Chloe's job is high stress and she's been getting a lot of negative press and social media lately. Adam seems to resent her success and money and hates the job he took to make more money to compete with her. Now Adam and Ethan seem to be caught in a typical teenager stormy relationship that fills the house with tension.

But when Chloe walks in on Adam's lifeless body at their beach house, she knows things won't ever be the same. There's no way to avoid the negative press, especially when the police focus their efforts on Ethan and arrest him for the murder of his father. Chloe must reach out to Nicky after years of estrangement as they fight to free Ethan of the charges against him. Who killed Adam if Ethan didn't?

This was my first Alafair Burke novel. There were lots of twists and turns and a main character that I had a hard time relating to. As the reader progresses, more and more secrets are revealed as Chloe's perfect life is peeled back layer by layer. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Really good and entertaining. This book was a lot of fun. Some good twists,not so great characters (which is how I like them!) It's my first by this author and definitely not my last!

The story of two estranged sisters and a murdered husband, The Better Sister is a intriguing domestic suspense novel that I enjoyed very much. I look forward to reading more from Aafair Burke.

The Better Sister is a fast-paced book. I found the characters and storyline very intriguing. I liked Alafair Burke’s writing style and will definitely be reading more books by this author.

3.5 stars.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Two sisters. The older Nicky is a loser and bad mother and wife, who lost her marriage and her only son. Younger Chloe is a successful journalist, one of the heroines of the MeToo movement - and wife of Adam Mackintosh, the former husband of her sister Nicky. And a stepmother to Adam and Nicky's son Ethan.
Then Adam is murdered and angry teenager Ethan is accused of his death. And his two mothers start to fight a fight for him.

The pluses of this story are: the unreliable narrator, the wise use of the red herrings (among them the past and present secrets) and very interesting topic of the past (known and unknown) patterns of behaviour of the victims of domestic violence and abuse. I would love for the last aspects to be played even more, because the psychology of the unknown reasons of behaviour is both one of my pet peeves and also one of the believable reasons for murder for the age where everything is OK - thus the reasons to kill are less believable. And the dynamics of the sisterhood - is blood thicker than water?
Cons - the plot/s for murder are quite weak in reality. And the police work is laughable here.
And what about the morals of the story?

Verdict - I willread more from this authoress because of the abovementioned pluses. Fingers crossed for more wise plotting in the future!

The fact the Burke is a former prosecutor and knows her way around the legal system plays heavily into her novels, and I can appreciate that. Although I was able to suss out the killer fairly early in the book, it was so well written that that fact didn't really make a difference in how much I enjoyed reading it. Burke is obviously extremely talented, and I found this book riveting. Definitely an easy-to-recommend work.

Chloe Taylor appears to have it all. She is at the top of her career, has a handsome, successful husband. Adam, and a wonderful teenage son, Ethan. What isn't known is that Chloe is obsessed with her critics on internet websites, her marriage isn't as solid as she wants everybody to believe, and Ethan is really her step-son. His mother is Chloe's sister, Nicky. Chloe is receiving a major award and while she loves the attention it gives to her ThemToo movement, she just wants to go home. It is late when she heads out to their second home out on Long Island, but she knows that it will just be Adam at home because Ethan is at a sleepover. When she finally gets home late that night she finds her husband has been stabbed to death. And just like that her carefully crafter world has collapsed. Ethan is arrested for her husband's murder and the sister she has carefully kept out of their lives comes crashing back into their lives. Chloe and Nicky are forced to deal with the secrets of their rocky past in order to be there for the teenage boy they both love beyond measure. Will their combined efforts be able to keep Ethan from being convicted of murder?

The Better Sister was an incredibly fast and engrossing read. Chloe is an absolute "Type A" personality who likes to have control over her life. Even though she was Ethan's aunt, she played the role of his mother for years. And that is the way she wanted it. Ethan seemed like a well-adjusted young man who had a good relationship with Chloe and a decent relationship with his father. Even the reader believes that their lives are perfect because that is what Chloe wants everybody to believe. It is slowly revealed that their lives were less than perfect. First, Adam is really tough on Ethan. Then a big secret is revealed about Chloe. I wasn't all that surprised with the "whodunit" but I was surprised at the why, that secret was one that was kept tightly under wraps. The end of the book was a satisfying relief. It truly felt like they were going to get a "happy-ever-after." -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - Alafair Burke is one of those authors that has a way of taking her readers on a wild ride. With the revelation of each secret, you are on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what else is waiting for you around the corner! All of the trademarks of a talented author.

Details:
The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
On Instagram
Pages: 336
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 4/16/19
Buy it Here!
Thank you to Netgalley for the free book in exchange for a review.

This was the first @alafair.burke books I had ever read... and led me to read almost every other book she’s published solely (although I’ve picked up several of the ones she’s co-penned with @mary.higgins.clark and they are all neatly stacked in my endless TBR!) This book was phenomenal! As was her Ellie Hatcher and Samantha Kincaid Series— which made me homesick for Portland!!) if you haven’t read any of her books... add them all to your list!! I wish I would have know she was in Oregon when I lived there... we could have been besties!!) Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsus for the #arc and the weeks that followed of binge reading almost everything she’s written so far!!

This book starts fast, and really doesn’t stop. I guarantee you won’t see the twists coming until they smack you in the face. What I liked about The Better Sister was the dynamic between Chloe and Nicky. Their relationship was strained because of Adam, a man they both were with (yes you read that right). I liked that Burke played with the idea of expectation versus reality. Chloe seemingly lived a perfect life... but not really. Nicki clearly was self-sabotaging her life... or was she? ⁣
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First discovered Burke through her team-ups with "The Queen of Suspense," Mary Higgins Clark. With Clark as a guide, how could Burke's solo works disappoint? And they don't!

Alafair Burke is one of the few authors that I can pick up one of his books without knowing anything about the story except that it's an Alafair Burke book so it will be good. He has taken a very twisted story of two sisters and given us an excellent mystery that will definitely keep you trying to figure out exactly what just happened? The story takes leaps that have you certain you know who killed the sisters' husband...yes, two sisters, one husband. I'd read this one all over except I know there has to be another Alafair Burke book out there that I haven't read yet. Read this book, you will not be sorry.

3.5 Stars, rounded up

Another domestic mystery/thriller from Alafair Burke (The Wife) that’s full of twists and turns.
A man is murdered in his East Hampton beach house causing two estranged sisters – the dead man’s wife and his ex-wife –to come together to try and stop their son from going to prison for the murder. That alone is intense! However interesting the premise may be, it fell a little short. I wanted a bigger twist at the end and more about the sisters strained relationship.

Overall, The Better Sister is an okay read but it seems like the book market is being flooded with domestic thrillers (or maybe I’ve just read too many lately).

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The Better Sister by Alafair Burke.

Chloe, a feminist author for a well known publication, seems to have everything. A high powered attorney husband, and teen step son. Life isn't perfect, but it definitely seems to be on the outside. But truth surfaces when her husband, Adam, turns up murdered, with everyone looking at her step son, Ethan, as the main suspect. The real kicker? Adam was previously married to Chloe's sister, Nicky. And Nicky is Ethan's biological mother.

This is a fast paced domestic drama with lots of intrigue. It's readable, exciting, and the characters are well written. My only complaint is how overdone it felt at times. I'm sure that there are cases where people have married their ex-spouse's sibling, but c'mon. It was a bit messy.

Chloe found happiness with Adam and his young son, Ethan. To the outside world, they were the picture perfect family of three. But all families have secrets, some of which are hidden in plain sight.

When Chloe finds Adam murdered in their beach house, she is horrified when the police suspect her stepson as the prime suspect. For Ethan, Chloe is forced to reunite with Adam's ex-wife and Ethan's biological mother, who happens to be Chloe's estranged sister, Nicole. Did Ethan kill Adam? Can the ADA prove his case with no weapon? As the secrets unravel, the more tarnished Chloe's world becomes...

Thank you Netgalley, Alafair Burke and Harper Collins for sharing this twisted novel in exchange for a review. I enjoyed this book so much! It was one of those books that was hard to put down. It is filled with twists and turns that leave you breathless until the very end.

3 ½ stars

Chloe is a successful editor , married to her sister Nicky’s ex-husband Adam, stepmother to her nephew Ethan, and estranged from her sister. Now Nicky and Chloe are forced to come together after Adam is murdered and Ethan is the prime suspect. When the sisters finally reconnect they are forced to confront their past to prove Ethan’s innocence and secrets come tumbling out

The Better sister by Alafair Burke is a domestic thriller which starts off strong with Adam’s murder.A little slow in the middle it picks up pace later with the courtroom drama and with some twists and turns in the end , some of which I wasn’t expecting made it an interesting read.

I would like to thank Harper Collins & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This is the second book I’ve read by Alafair Burke, and she’s turning out to be a favorite of mine in the domestic thriller/suspense genre. I loved “The Wife” and I’m looking forward to reading “The Ex” which I purchased and is on my to be read list.
I thought the story was unique about two estranged sisters, Chloe the good sister that is an over achiever and college educated. And Nicky, the bad sister that is troubled and has drug and alcohol abuse problems. Both sisters were at one time married to Adam. From the very beginning the story took off with a bang and sucked me right in and kept my attention throughout the book. It was an unusual story line that held my attention. I loved how the author leads you down a path and slowly reveals information as the story unfolded. Including a surprise ending I didn’t see coming. Loaded with drama, including some courtroom drama, which I haven’t read for a long time and really enjoy. Good writing and story. I really liked this book and look forward to future books from this author.
I Highly recommend The Better Sister to anyone who enjoys a good domestic thriller/suspense book. I read this book, and purchased the audible version so when I couldn't read, I could listen to it being read to me. I recommend both versions.
*A very special thank you to HarperCollins via NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review* I also purchased my own audible version*

I loved Alafair Burke’s book The Wife, and here she’s written another great domestic thriller. One of the best in this genre of which there are so many.

Loved the twists in this book! I felt like I was able to guess a few and then a couple took me by surprise. I also enjoyed the multi-faceted two main characters.