This book is a quick and addictive read! I liked this book more than I thought I would. I saw a lot of middle-of-the-road reviews, but many of them cite the fact that this is not much of a thriller. That is true, it is more of a family drama/suspenseful drama kind of book. But since I knew that going in... I guess it didn't bother me as much.

The book begins with a girl showing up at a family dinner and claiming to be the love-child of the recently deceased patriarch of the family. She has the DNA to prove it. Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back for this family who is already growing apart?

I liked the characters' struggles and found the book kept me flipping pages! I was confused by the ending a bit. I don't want to give anything away, but I thought some people were a bit too forgiving. I also maybe wish that the half sister's motives were a little more sketchy and sinister then they turned out to be, but all in all it was a quick, engaging read.

MY RATING:
Characters: 4
Story: 3
Overall: 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
See more reviews @ mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com

Sandie Jones is such a good author. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the twists and turns. I did not want to put the book down. I have ordered this book for the library and I feel many patrons will enjoy this book.

In The Half Sister by Sandie Jones, sisters Kate and Lauren have had a contentious relationship for years. When a young woman named Jess shows up looking for her father – their father – the novel moves forward and becomes a page turner.

Kate cannot believe her father would cheat on her mother while Lauren has no doubts he would. The sisters had very different relationships with their father, who is now deceased.

Kate’s reporter instincts have her in sleuth mode as she searches for answers while Lauren immediately accepts Jess as her sister. While their mother may know something about the whole situation, she reveals little. On top of it all, Kate deals with infertility problems, which she keeps to herself, while Lauren puts on a false front to hide her troubled marriage with an emotionally abusive husband.

Who is Jess, and why don’t her stories about college and such check out? Why is she making moves on Kate’s husband Matt? And why is her second bedroom a nursery? These and other questions are answered in The Half Sisters.

I found the ending to be abrupt and not as satisfying as it might have been. It was the twist readers expect in a Sandie Jones novel but it wasn’t as plausible as in her other books. I also had doubts about some of the information regarding DNA being used to find relatives.

Sandie Jones created a masterful page-turner with The First Mistake, which is why I was eager to read her latest book. Jones, a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, has written for the Sunday Times, Woman’s Weekly, and the Daily Mail. She lives in London with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 18, 2020.

I would like to thank Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

This book was definitely a page-turner. Nobody was who you thought they were - - and there was plenty of crafty misdirection and red herrings. Lots of family drama and twists of mystery before the final revelation. I had guessed some of the ending but not everything. Very entertaining!

TLDR: The only decent people in this book are under the age of 6.

This is my second book from Jones and will be my last. There’s a subset of mystery/suspense/thriller authors that can’t seem to write likable (to me) female characters (Ware, Lapena, Paris, etc.) and she is joining that list for me. Kate’s mind blowing naïveté about her father as a 34 year old woman was too much to bear, and Lauren was just agency-less and spineless. Jess was a plot device up until the last couple chapters and Rose was an overused trope.

Worst of all, it was insanely predictable. I’m not even sure you could call it domestic suspense because I never felt the suspense. It was just a really melodramatic family drama sprinkled with domestic violence by one of the biggest caricatures I’ve ever had the misfortune to read and random TTC threads that never really connected to the rest of the story.

I can’t deal with plots that would unravel if people would just have a conversation with each other and that’s essentially what this was.

It all starts with a family dinner that is interrupted by Jess who is seeking her father. After this dinner, the reader embarks on a journey in which the truth is sought after and to find out if Jess is who she says she is. Sandie Jones has written another fast paced, family suspense that has you guessing and trying to solve the mystery with the characters. I enjoyed reading the story from the dual characters: Kate and Lauren. The dual voices gives the reader the opportunity to get to know both sisters, along with reminding them that we all have secrets.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I think this review will be difficult to write as I'm not totally sure how I felt about it, even after thinking about it for a few days. This book wasn't a super wild, edge of your seat thriller, but it had a couple twists that surprised me. I thought I had it figured out, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong, which I enjoyed. However, none of the characters were very likeable at all. I felt like Kate's fertility issues were a strange addition to the story, but I also thought Lauren's issues were strange and only necessary for a side-part to the story. There was a lot going on, I guess you could say, that didn't necessarily tie into the overall story of the half sister.

I almost gave up on it. It felt like a struggle to force myself through it. While the overall story ended up being pretty good with some surprises, there was a lot of unnecessary story lines throughout, I felt. I wished the characters had a few redeeming qualities so I could have liked them, but they all felt weak to me. This entire book could have been avoided if everyone had just spoken to one another. I was a fan of the last Sandie Jones book I read, so I will pick up another, but this one wasn't my favourite.

Really liked this book it was a first read from this author but it won't be the last I loved all the twist's and turn's just when I thought I had it figured it out thing's took a turn in another direction..

I finally finished The Half Sister this morning and I really, really loved it! I love a book that has fun twists and turns. I went into reading The Half Sister without knowing much about the plot or story and I was so pleasantly surprised. I love Sandie Jones writing and I am definitely going to keep an eye out for her future books as well. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this before it's release date!

Another huge HOME RUN for Ms Jones with this novel.She just keeps getting better and better.

It came out yesterday, and if you haven't tried Ms Jones in the past, now is a good time.

Like her prior novels, Ms Jones writes female centered novels with a what you see(read - ha ha) isn't always what you get.

Intrigued?

You should be. The Half Sister is that good.

I will admit that I didn't immediately get into the book from the first few pages, as I wasn't exactly sure what to think but that quickly changed (very quickly).


I highly recommend this fast paced smartly written novel. It's a pay attention type of novel and I saw most of what was coming...(hint: BUY THE BOOK😊)

Sisters Kate and Lauren couldn’t be more different. When a total stranger shows up at their mother’s house while they’re having lunch, their world’s are turned upside down. The girl claims to be their half-sister, with a DNA test as proof. Suddenly secrets that have been buried for decades are revealed, secrets that threaten to tear the family apart.
The Half Sister is told in the first-person, alternating between the perspectives of Kate and Lauren. I found myself identifying more with Lauren and I’m not sure why.

When I first read the synopsis of The Half Sister, I had no idea how the story was going to unfold. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the twisty thriller that presented itself. The pacing was significantly slower than Jones’ last book The First Mistake, but it was still a quick read, and thoroughly more plausible. If you like twisty, domestic thrillers, The Half Sister is for you. It will keep you guessing right up until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

What a story. I should have learned from past experience with a Sandie Jones story that what you see is not always what you get, but I got sucked in just like always. You think you’ve figured it out, you know what has happened, is happening and will happen. You think you’ve identified the heroes and the villains and can just coast along until the end. But then you realize these characters are so well developed and nuanced that you really don’t know them as well as you thought. So you really don’t understand what’s going on, and you certainly can’t predict the future.

The Half Sister is full of almost-likable people. This is another thing author Sandie Jones does oh so well. You sympathize with them, feel sorry for them, and at times are even bored with them, but then they act in a way that isn’t all that nice and you realize you don’t like them very much. As layers are peeled back and more and more is revealed your loyalty and allegiance shift back and forth.

Kate and Lauren are sisters. Lauren and her mother Rose are close and always have been, or so it seems to Kate. She was closer to her late father, and still misses him terrible. Kate thinks Lauren has the life Kate wants. Sure, her husband Simon is a bit of a jerk but she’s got those three beautiful children. Lauren thinks Kate’s life is the one to envy – successful in business, not tied down with kids, no money problems, living the easy life with her husband Matt. But Kate and Matt have been trying for what seems like forever to have a child. This is their last attempt. Their mother Rose almost fades into the background. Just another widow adjusting to life without her husband. And then Jess shows up claiming Harry was her father and demanding to be accepted into the family. And Lauren has a chance encounter with her old boyfriend Justin. So how could anything be the same from that point on?

I was quite annoyed with most of the characters initially. Everyone seemed to be lying, hiding something, mean-spirited, with a hidden agenda and not caring who they hurt in their attempt to get what they want or feel they deserve. And then I realized that was author Sandie Jones’ whole point – there is so much going on under the surface and behind the scenes that I was soon riveted, couldn’t stop reading.

A Sandie Jones book is not a book you pick up, read a couple of chapters, and put down and walk away for a day or so, and The Half Sister fits the mold. Plan to spend some time because once you start you’re hooked. You’ll be sad and angry and happy and wary and confused. But always unable to put it down, unable to stop turning pages as fast as you can. And satisfied with the ending.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The Half Sister for my hones review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it without hesitation.

Another great book by Sandie Jones!

Sisters getting together with their mom for their Sunday family gathering, a knock on the door changes everything for them. Kate and Lauren are faced with the fact their deceased father had another daughter or whose daughter is she actually? Kate having a reporting background starts to dig into Jess's past. Is she really who she says she is? Did her beloved father really have an affair like their mother says he did? For Lauren, who has a secret and what is her role for putting her DNA on a site and being matched with Jess? What role does their mother play in all this? What is it she's trying to hide?

I really liked this book, just when you think you have it figured it out, another twist is thrown in. I look forward to more books by Sandie Jones.

This story is about two sisters with completely different lives.

When I first started this I figured I wasn't going to like it and I was correct. The whole story was just very boring to me..The characters were annoying and very dull. This book felt like it had no real mystery, no real plot, and no real point. This was more of a family drama vs a mystery/thriller. Very predictable. I was very bored throughout the story.

I enjoyed one of the characters dealing with IVF but that is about it.

I will not be buying a copy of this book. Thank you NetGalley & St. Martins Press for this copy!

Everyone said this was a page turner, but I felt like it was SO slow until the very end, when it picked up crazy fast in the last 30 or so pages. I also didn’t connect to the characters very much and felt like they were dull and very two dimensional. I thought the plot was also very predictable, despite the attempt at a lot of twists and turns.

I appreciated the use of DNA to connect the sisters and how that small piece played a part all the way to the very end.

Less of a thriller, more a family drama, this book is about two sisters, who have very different views of their parents. The older sister, Lauren, connects more with her mother, and has done since childhood. The younger sister was more connected with her father. After their father's death, another woman shows up and claims to be their half sister, it throws the entire family into the past, and has them questioning everything they thought they knew. A slower burn, the last fifth of the book really picks up, although I saw the ending a mile away. I'd say this is a very solid, entertaining but predictable read.

Sandie Jones is awesome so you know that when you start reading one of her books you're in for a great treat. This book is so good. Imagine a stranger knocking on your door claiming to be your half sister. You know massive drama is going to ensure. And you know as that drama gets bigger and bigger other things are going to start popping up. Edge of your seat reading. Needs top spot on your TBR stack. Happy reading!

Addictive domestic suspense. The story is to.d in alternating POV from Lauren and Kate. While having lunch with their mom Jess shows up at the door claiming to be their 1/2 sister. Is she or is she not? As Lauren and Kate begin to learn more about Jess skeletons are definitely coming out of the closet. Maybe the family wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Sandie Jones weaves anothe twisty domestic suspense novel.

This particular book focuses on a secret sister that just shows up one day and destroys the perfect family picture that everyone seems to have of this particular family. The woman who drops in unannounced, claims to be a secret daughter of the patriarch of the family, who is already dead. He can't defend himself, and his other daughters are on the opposing sides - one thinks it's a ruse, and another wants to make this new sister part of the family.

Everyone has secrets in this family, and little communication, as years of pent up anger has built walls. This new person came in and starts unraveling everything. Will the family fall apart or become stronger when all the secrets come to light?

The book is told from the two POVs - the two sisters fighting about this half sister. It's a great example of "you can't see the full story from one perspective." Both of the sisters need to sit down and just talk it out, but the domestic tensions are derailing that. Each perspective kept twisting things for me, the reader, going in circles and it was frustrating and seemed a bit disjointed as a story as whole. It kept jumping from one theory to the next.

It was however a fast read. Engaging as the drama kept unfolding. I like these kinds of books to have all the secrets just blow up in everyone's faces at least convenient times. And this delivered.

Fair warning TW just in case: Simon is abusive. As a character he was very stereotypical macho man, that needs to prove himself.

Overall not a bad domestic suspense novel. It wasn't as shocking, with all the go around of twists.. in the end it didn't surprise me. The first novel, with a crazy mother in law is still my favorite of Jones' novels.

Wow having a half-sister myself, whom we don't even speak, I was interested just by the cover and title! But boy, was I wrong. I'm sorry this book didn't work for me on many levels. So sorry, a little far fetched with the whole DNA thing going on. This book, I didn't like for other reasons as well. The characters I could not relate to, it dragged, and I'm sorry, just predictable.

I just could not relate to this book at all. I guess if you're into family drama, this one's for you. Sorry Ms. Jones, this is a least favorite of mine

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.