The Half Sister is a book full of lies, secrets, jealousy and love

Jess knocks on the door at a family dinner and claims to be Lauren and Kate's half sister.

Nothing is the same for that family from the moment on. Lauren believes her , Kate is suspicious.

Lauren and Kate are different as two sisters can be.

There is way to much more to this story than meets the eye.

Who can you believe, who you can your trust.

Twists and turns will keep you reading as fast as you can.

Then there is the final twist . I did not see that coming.

Don't miss out on this entertaining read!

Thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for a an intriguing read.

This definitely had potential but it just didn't do it for me. It was just back and forth speculation and no real substance. I was disappointed

I love Sadie Jones. I was a big fan of her book The Other Woman (a Reese Witherspoon pick). This one was decent, but I don’t see it being a Reese endorsed read. It was an easy, quick thriller but I wouldn’t write home about it (if I ever left home, that is ...).

What happens when a stranger shows up in the middle of family dinner and announces she’s your half-sister? Kate and Lauren are at odds with their reaction. Kate takes the path of denying the possibility. Her father, who has recently passed, was a good man. A family man. He would never. Lauren, has always had a less than harmonious relationship with her father, and is quick to accept the stranger’s word as truth. •



It quickly becomes apparent that this family isn’t the unit they thought they were. There are secrets. They basically all have one. Which secret will tear this family apart? •


This wasn’t a bad book. I did enjoy it. I just knew the ending about half-way through, so it made the rest of the book predictable once my suspicions were confirmed as correct. •

This is my second book by this author, the initial being The First Mistake , and while I enjoyed the suspenseful moments and cliff-hanger chapter ends in that one, The Half Sister fell short in both in it's promoted genre (thriller), and in the execution of it's synopsis.

More aptly described as a family drama, this narrative begins with an interrupted dinner to beat all others, as sisters Kate and Lauren and their mother Rose are visited by Jess, a woman claiming to be their half-sister and deceased father's third child. Dual perspectives are given to the sisters, as we follow a paranoid and disbelieving Kate, and an elated and sympathetic Lauren. Family secrets are brought to light, while long-held assumptions are put to rest. And inbetween it all, we follow a pair of woman who are struggling with the things that are all too (unfortunately) common: infertility and domestic abuse. The mystery behind Jess's appearance is just that, mysterious, and never quite ventures into the thrilling.

I want to say that I might have appreciated The Half Sister more if it had a contemporary cover, and simply promised a saga of sorts; a hidden family past that those involved wanted to keep hidden, but alas, the genre wasn't the only issue. Jones can write a book, that is not a debatable fact. Many individual moments in this narrative were fraught with the right amount of tension; with dialogue fitting to it's cause. The entire book, as a whole, was compulsively readable, but broken down there were holes too big to ignore, and repetition that had me skimming instead of reading.

The biggest qualms came in the way the triggers were handled, and the slippery way the final twist was revealed. Lauren spent the entirety of the book in a domestic abuse situation, one in which was handled too loosely and distractedly in my opinion. There was a scene in which she has chance to explain to her mother exactly what's been happening, but never fully does. I found this to be a reoccurring theme in the book as well: characters hiding things for no logical reason. By the time the big reveal arrived, there were more questions than answers, and I closed the book feeling like I missed something that I was supposed to understand 5-6 chapters prior.

With all of that said, I'll round out the trio of Jones' work by reading The Other Woman next, and will continue picking up whatever she puts out. This one just didn't work as well for me, sadly.

I have not ready any other books by Sandie Jones before, so I didn't know what to expect with The Half Sister, but based on reviews I had seen, I thought I was going to enjoy the book, but sadly I did not. I found the beginning to be very slow and kept waiting for the book to pick up. Eventually it did, but I felt when it did start to move quicker, there were too many things being thrown at the reader to throw you off of thinking you had things figured out. The ending did not shock me at all, I think I was waiting for that big oh moment of hoping my guess all along would be proven wrong, but sadly it wasn't.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really liked this one! I enjoyed the authors other two novels so I was very happy to receive an ARC of her latest novel and I found this to be a very riveting family drama with a very twisty last 1/4, especially the epilogue which I liked a lot

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the story of sisters Lauren and Kate, who still have Sunday family dinners with their mother and their families. One Sunday, there's a knock at the door and a young woman, Jess, is standing there asking to see Harry (their father who has been dead for almost a year)...she is his daughter.

As one can imagine, this throws the whole extended family into turmoil. Truths and lies and omitted facts are tossed about throughout the entire book. There are plenty of twists to keep the reader engaged. I found the ending pretty satisfying, although I don't know why they continued to keep Jess in any kind regard.

I struggle with how much trust Lauren puts in an absolute stranger, including asking Jess to babysit Lauren's 3 young children. I also have a teensy problem with the DNA test showing that they share a father. At best, it would list them as close family or cousins and maybe you could guess half-sister.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A compelling read! Family ties are tested when a stranger -- a woman named Jess claims to be a family's late father's daughter. What takes place is the eventual unraveling of family secrets that have laid dormant for 20-plus years.

A suspenseful, and engrossing novel that will keep you guessing until the end.

Four solid stars -- I really like it. Keep Sandie Jones on your radar.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t resist starting (and ultimately finishing)
Sandie Jones’ upcoming book #TheHalfSister (out June 16) Spoiler Alert: I loved it and pretty much inhaled it. In true Jones fashion, there’s family drama, murder, secrets and lies that will have to turning pages QUICKLY. I have been a huge fan of Sandie’s writing since her debut #TheOtherWoman and she continues to impress me with her writing. I know this one isn’t out yet but I’m already looking forward to what she comes out with next!

This is, more than anything else, a story of family. It deals with the relationship between two sisters that has slowly deteriorated through the years and when their late father’s illegitimate daughter shows up, everything finally comes to a head.

I found myself waffling on this book. For most of the story I was okay with the basics. I liked the plot and the writing well enough. My problems were with the characters. I liked the younger sister, Kate, and thought she was feisty and engaging. However, I really disliked the older sister, Lauren. For much of the story she was so depressing to read about. Since the book was told through alternating viewpoints, it was very easy to just put the book down or be tempted to skim or skip when I got to her chapters. My strong dislike of this character made it hard to get through the book. I also found some of the secondary characters, such as their mother, Rose, and Lauren’s husband, Simon, to be rather one-dimensional.

There was a mystery driving the story and it was interesting, but not terribly suspenseful. This was a family drama, not a psychological thriller.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

I loved The Other Woman by this author, and I was so excited for this book. It fell short of my expectations sadly. The characters were very unlikeable and there was no crazy plot twists. It felt like there were fake reveals that went back and forth and it just confusing. I guessed the ending about halfway through. I really wanted to love this but was disappointed.

I really loved this book and finished it in 24 hours. Real page turner, good mystery with lots of twists and dark family secrets. Did not expect that ending! My only issues were I found the relationship between the sisters very childish and whiny and would have liked to seen a chapter devoted to Harry's perspective. But I thank you for the opportunity to review the book

I'm still processing how to feel about this story. I finished it quickly, which is good, but it felt at times that there was quite a lot going on, to the point that at times I had to scrunch up my brow and say "what?" That could just be me being easily confused so one shouldn't let themselves be deterred from reading this. Overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to others.

Thank you for the advanced copy. I'm especially grateful in these difficult times that I constantly have access to amazing books and authors.

I love books that send you on a roller coaster and this one doesn’t disappoint. I originally heard of Sandie Jones through a friend, and decided to try out My First Mistake and immediately knew I was a fan of hers. When I saw that The Half Sister was available to read, I jumped all over it. Imagine a random woman shows up on your door step looking for her father, who happens to be your father, who just passed away! & she DNA results to prove it! I stayed up last night reading it and could not stop reading it. If you like a good twisty turny book, this one is for you!

The Half Sister is the first book I've read by this and it won't be my last.
This book has suspense, drama, intrigue-- it has it all!
The Half Sister grabs your attention and leaves your heart pounding/beating fast to see if your prediction is right (was correct).

The Half Sister is written in multiple POV"s and is an amazing thriller! I couldn't put it down.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me get a copy of this book to read/review.

#TheHalfSister

I was able to read this title in one sitting; it’s a quick read with fairly short chapters. My only issue with this book is that’s it’s a very slow-burn and lacks any sort of twists that qualify as thriller-worthy.

*I was provided an ARC via Minotaur Books & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After the loss of their father, two sisters continue to have Sunday dinner with mom, their spouses and children. During one dinner a young woman arrives seeking her father, who she claims is their father. One sister swears her dad would never have had an affair while the other is convinced the new woman is really her sister, too.

Sub plots involving the desire for children by one and the bully husband of the other take the sisters on different tracks to determine the truth with conflicting info and denial from the mother.

The story was interesting, but the drama was over the top. No character was really likable and I just wanted it to be over and find out the truth. Yes, some twists and turns exist to make you hang in there, but all in all, not enough to be called enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book did not disappoint! There were many different twists and turns that kept me guessing. Domestic suspense where everyone has a secret. Chapters were short but kept a good pace that kept me reading. If you enjoyed Sandie Jones’ other books you will love this one as well. Thank-you to NetGalley for my advanced copy! On sale June 16th!

Sandie Jones, what happened?! I loved The Other Woman, and The First Mistake was good... but what was this? You lost me halfway through the book. It started out with promise, but became so repetitive that I had to bow out. Don’t disappoint yourself like I did. I would just skip this one altogether.

This was my first Sandie Jones novel and I really liked it up until almost the very ending. I read it in 3 days which is saying a lot considering I have two children 5 and under plus my job. The last 25% of the book got too chaotic for me but the ending was a pretty good twist, but unfortunately, I figured it out before I could be shocked by it.

The story is told in the alternating points of view of two sisters, Kate and Lauren, who are total opposites that don't understand each other's lives anymore. One sister is successful in her career but yearns for a child (Kate) while the other sister is successful in motherhood but envies her sister's high powered career (Lauren). Every Sunday, they gather with their family for a meal even since their beloved father passed away. One fateful Sunday a knock at the door will alter their family gatherings and their lives forever. A young girl- Jess- has arrived to declare herself the (other!) daughter of their late father. Jess is looking for Harry- their father- only to begin the fracture of the family unit that will tear this family apart.

We find out Lauren has deep dark secrets of the past and the present, an unexpected situation in her own family unit. We dive into Kate's relationship and infertility issues. We dig into Jess' past- but she could have been better developed. And we learn that the parents of all these women have secrets that must soon come to light. How they are REALLY all connected will come to shock some readers The ending was twisty but slightly predictable. Would I try another Sandie Jones novel? You bet! I rate this one 3.5 stars!