Cover Image: The Sister-in-Law

The Sister-in-Law

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Member Reviews

“Now you and I both know each other’s secrets. If You don’t tell mine, then I won’t tell yours.”

CLARE: the wife, is SO ready for the Taylor’s annual summer holiday- this year in a wonderful villa on the Amalfi coast.

After all, her HUSBAND, Dan, owes her for all that he has put her through, with his indiscretions.

She, Dan and their three children will be joining her father in law, Bob, and her mother in law, Joy.

Having lost her Mum early, Clare enjoys sharing meal preparation, gin and tonics and gossip, with Joy. It will be a wonderful summer...

Rounding out the group will be Dan’s BROTHER, Jamie, the prodigal son, who is often traveling abroad but plans to join them a day or so later...

He usually arrives by 🚕 taxi...laden with gifts and good cheer..but this time he arrives with something else...

WHO is that emerging from the passenger side door?

YOUNG, GLAMOROUS and INFLUENTIAL, Ella appears-the new SISTER IN LAW-nobody knew was coming.

She is everything that Clare is not. A woman who self describes as one who wants to move into stuff that REALLY matters-photography, blogging, and saving the planet!

Nobody knew he had gotten married!

And she arrives armed with a SECRET has the power to break the whole family apart.

A secret that seems to have something to do with Clare...

But has she met her match?

I loved “Our Little Lies” by Sue Watson, so I couldn’t wait to grab a copy of this book!

It proved to be just as good, if not even BETTER, as I kept wondering WHO was outwitting WHO?

Twists? YES...and they were twists that I could buy into...these dirty, little secrets were FUN!

And, can’t we all use some FUN, right about now?

4.5 ⭐️!!

Thank You to Bookouture, Sue Watson and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for a candid review!

And, to Kim-It’s All About the Thrill for buddy reading this with me!

This will be out SOON! April 30th, 2020-preorder NOW!

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Sue Watson is able to elevate a domestic noir into a literary novel more than the average author. We are used to reading several POV’S in a thriller but this one was purely from the viewpoint of Clare, the wife of Dan, one of the two sons of Joy and Bob who keep a tight rein on both sons and the family business. On the annual holiday in Italy, Clare meets Ella , the brand new model wife that Jamie, the younger son springs on the family.. As we see tensions escalate between Clare and Ella, we find ourselves either hating or pitying Ella depending on the next revelation. I liked Clare all the way through though. . Novels abound with secrets and deceit in families - this one is far superior with heartwrenching discoveries and whiplash twists. It was easy to dislike almost all the characters but Watson makes them realistic and at the end you see them they way they really are while not necessarily forgiving their roles. Definite page turner that kept me reading into the early hours. Excellent!

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This was a decent read that I'd describe as a low-key thriller. It centers around Clare, a mother of 3 who joins her husband's family on vacation in Italy. Her marriage is in the rocks and she is feeling low, so she doesn't take it well when her brother-in-law, Jamie, shows up with his brand-new wife, Ella, that no one knew about, who is young and gorgeous and seems to have it out for Clare.

There was a slow building tension throughout this book between Ella and Clare. Both have secrets, but as the book goes on, you find out that everyone else has secrets too. The last 20% or so of the book is when everything comes together, and there are many surprises that tied the book up nicely.

The issue I had with the book was that I really didn't like Clare and didn't feel that I could relate to her at all. I found her to be insecure, immature, and petty and it was hard to root for her. Even as she had some self-actualizing moments as the book went on, I was irritated with her for the most part. There were things she said and did that I thought were the wrong things to say and do, and many things she DIDN'T say that I thought she should have. If she had acted in a way I' could relate to, some of the conflict could have been solved, or she at least would have had more people on her side.

All in all, it was an interesting story with a twisty ending I didn't see coming, and a pretty quick read, but with no relateable characters from my point of view. I think it's probably worth the read for fans of the domestic suspense/mystery genres. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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THIS! This book was just what I needed during this stressful time of being inside and “homeschooling” kindergarten to my 6 y/o. This was the most amazing escape to the Amalfi Coast to a beautiful house with a beautiful pool.
It got even better when it got to the back stabbing goodness!
Oh Sue Watson, Thank you for such a twisty family tale. I couldn’t put this down. I loved our main character Clare.
I’m not going to spoil this amazing mystery for you. You need to read it to believe it!
Thank you for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. 10 Stars!!!

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Clare, her children, her husband, Dan, and his parents are vacationing in Italy. As they eagerly await the arrival of Dan’s brother, Jamie, it’s evident that there has been some rough patches in Clare and Dan’s marriage. When Jamie arrives, with a new wife named Ella, who none of the family knew about, the vacation takes a turn for the worse as Ella treats Clare terribly (while befriending everyone else) and finally telling Clare that she knows a major secret about her...and isn’t afraid to spill it.

This was a gripping thriller that made me anxious and angry with the way some characters treated others...and this was all before some unsuspecting plot twists that raised the bar. The only thing holding me back from 5 stars is that I found the last 15% of the book a bit slow compared to the rest. There were still revelations going on, but I found myself not minding if it had wrapped up at that point. Plus, I really didn’t care for the way it ended.

Still a solid and suspenseful read, and I thank author Sue Watson, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an ARC.

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This book was quite suspenseful. The charterers, were a bit unstable, in the sense that you never knew what they would say or do next.
I liked the thrilling/suspense aspect of the book, but the characters soured the book for me. They were just plain mean and manipulative, that it made me like the story a bit less.

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The sister-in-law’ had me from the synopsis:
Exotic location, toxic family relationships, dark secrets....
The story didn’t disappoint. Mother of 3, Clare, is on a family holiday with her in-laws, hoping to mend fractured relationship with philandering husband, Dan. Clare’s brother in law, eligible bachelor, Jamie, surprises everyone by turning up with his beautiful new bride, Ella. It quickly becomes apparent that Ella has no intention of bonding with Clare and, though charming to the rest of the family, is openly rude to Clare when they are alone. Just who is Ella? Why is she so unkind to Clare? All becomes clear!

I enjoyed this story and felt it was written well with good character development. At times I found the lengthy exchanges between Clare and Ella to be a little repetitive, but there was a lot to like about this story so it wasn’t a deal breaker! Definitely recommended to fans of a good psychology thriller!

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more from this author.

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I absolutely loved this book! The Amalfi Coast is described so well that it is easy to immerse yourself into the author's depiction of such a beautiful location and observe the dynamics of this superbly dysfunctional family. The Taylor's dream holiday switches from luxury escapism to a claustrophobic nightmare as the characters manage to bring about the demise of their own family.

I like how Sue Watson manages to create an oppressive atmosphere in a subtle way, building tension gradually and then taking it to another level until everything comes to a head. Family dynamics and toxic relationships between members are described brilliantly and some of the characters in this book will elicit strong feelings in you. I found Joy to be dreadful and frequently felt annoyed on behalf of Clare, the protagonist and narrator. At times it was hard to believe that some-one as strong and independent as Clare would allow herself to be knowingly manipulated by Joy and go along with her mother-in-law's whims but the overall story is so good that I was prepared to overlook this.

I highly recommend this book and shall be taking a look at Sue Watson's other works. The Sister-in-Law is the first one of Sue's that I have read but it was such a pleasure to read that I would like to see more. Thank-you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this advanced copy.

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Watch out Clare, Ella has her sights on you....but why?

Clare, Dan and their children are off for a holiday with the family, a lovely summer to get their relationship back on track and work towards the future. When Dans brother shows up with a new wife Ella things don’t do to plan...

I was hooked on The Sister-in-Law immediately. The synopsis intrigued me and it didn’t take long for the wonderful writing to take hold! I was shocked at Ella, what a nasty piece of work. Honestly I was amazed with everything Clare put up with. If I’d been on that holiday Ella wouldn’t come back!

The conflict is the best part of this story, it’s juicy and written so well. This is a 2029 must read!

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I found the blurb for this book intriguing and requested it, I'm glad I did as it kept me gripped to the end. Joy is the one holding the family together and manipulates and tells them especially Clare what they need to hear to achieve it. The ending wasn't what I expected, I had a few different ideas to what was going to happen and I didn't come close. I would definitely recommend reading this book and would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased

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I have to say a juicy domestic thriller is my all time favourite genre, I love nothing more than the drama and dynamics that can unfold between a family as well as secrets, betrayal and deception.

Claire alongside her husband Dan and their three children go on their yearly vacation with Dan's parents, This year is extra special as Joy and Bob are retiring and Dan is due to take over the family run business, Claire is really looking forward to relaxing on their holiday in Italy and celebrating her inlaws retirement and is also hoping to get her rocky marriage with Dan back on track. Their long awaited holiday is soon turned pear shaped when Dans brother Jamie joins them on the trip and to their surprise he brings along a bombshell beauty named Ella who is infact his new wife after eloping together days before in Italy.
From the get go Ella is instantly hostile and rude towards Claire, throwing sneaky insults and sly digs when no one else is around, flirting with Claires husband Dan and also undermining Claire in front of the family, Claire can't understand what Ellas problem is and why she is being so hostile, after all Claire has done nothing wrong to hurt Ella and has no secrets....

Or does she?

I really enjoyed and adored the way this rollercoaster of a thriller unfolded the tension built up until an explosion of a finale I couldn't foresee happening! I had to pick my jaw firmly up from the floor when I sadly finished this fantastic novel, I started reading it on Friday night and couldn't take myself away from it until the wee small hours.
I was captivated from start until finish and enjoyed how realistic the plot felt.

A big thank you to netgalley for a copy of this fantastic book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

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#TheSisterInLaw #NetGalley #BookReview
Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with Arc and this is the third book in raw they send to me and i appreciate that.
This novel is so good, twisty and fast reading to me, i can't put it down.It's well written and i enjoyed it, this is the first novel to me by Sue Waston but not will be the last.
I hate Ella character so hard, she is a frivolous and foolish , she has no sense of responsibility, she represents most of the girls of this generation who have an unreasonable obsession with social media and the desire to bring in money by exploiting others naivety but i know she is psychologically ill and this makes me forgive her.
I loved Clare character so much , she is smart , brave and don't want to put her head in sand and continue this mesrable life, she know how to play tricks with Ella, i loved the way she love her children so much.
I hated Dan character so much , he is disgusting and pathetic and mummy boy and i swear to god that i know that Ella dead sister will be one of his mistresses.
Bob character is surprised me specially in the last chapters.
The cover is amazing, i always love water as a sea or a pool, anything that related to water admire me.

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What a fantastic book , very well written and interesting family dynamics . Great setting location on the coast of Italy and you could almost feel the heat radiating through . Great twists and turns just how I love it . This is my favourite Sue Watson book to date . Fast becoming one of my favourite authors .

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This book is about a stranger coming into the established family unit of the Taylors, and how it upends the summer vacation. Additionally, it sets the stage for the conflict between Ella and Clare.

What worked for this book was how at first, it looked like the characters were these ideal characters but then as the book developed, we found that they were not as they seemed. It created an intriguing characterization of them. Additionally, I do like how the storyline included the problems of our current society and how it reacts to situations.

Although the book had a strong storyline, what could have made it even more intriguing is having a point of view from multiple characters, creating an insight without giving away the ending and really understanding the characters.

Overall, it was a good read, and the set up of the storyline and setting makes for an interesting one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

#TheSisterinLaw #Netgalley

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Not bad! I really enjoyed reading how this story unfolded. I’m not sure it was “utterly gripping” (book marketing: can you all stop with that phrase? It’s incredibly overused) but it sure was entertaining.

I think most seasoned readers of this genre will figure out Clare’s secret early on, but I don’t think that’s necessarily bad. I think the “why and how” are more important than the “what” in this case. My favorite part of the book was the setting; great idea!! It was a nice escape.

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Wow!!! Where to begin?! First and foremost, this was a book that I loved reading from the very first page. There was never a dull patch or time when I was ready to put the book down. I’m so thankful to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in advance.
As an avid reader in this genre, I had my suspicions from the beginning but somehow, this author found a way to drop my jaw anyway, which I LOVED!!!
There were some parts that made me cringe and I wanted to yell at the protagonist but I guess that’s what makes for even better reading, right?
I didn’t want the book to end and I even went back and read the last 50 pages again today just to enjoy the revelations!
This was my first time reading a book by Sue Watson but now I want to read everything she’s written.
I very highly recommend The Sister-In-Law if you want to be intrigued, on the edge of your seat, and captivated!

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This is a quick read. Initially it felt like more of a beach read than a thriller. I could figure out pretty early on what Clare’s secret was so there wasn’t much of a ‘plot twist’ moment when it was revealed around the 60% mark in the book. However that is where I was wrong. The next 40% is where the action is and where the plot twist does come up. The who, the why, the how are surprising. It’s for this part that you must read the book. The family is a very dysfunctional and Ella was extremely unlikable. She fits the typical ‘bitch’ mold and seems very vengeful and annoying. In fact at times she is so rude that I’m surprised that no one actually says so to Jamie or her! Dan seems like a spineless misogynistic character and Jamie like a baby of the family who never grew up. Clare is too weak for her own good and Joy is the matriarch trying to hold everyone together. She also seems very manipulative. Bob is just feckless. I had a problem with a lot of the things Joy said and did but I also had a problem with Clare. She figured out how manipulative Joy could be yet he wants to stay in touch for child care and advice??! Why would you want advice from a person like her? I have to say as you read along you slowly start seeing a different side to some of the characters and that is very enjoyable to read and discover. I initially rated this book a 3 but as I read along to the end I upgraded it to a 4. Sue Watson has written another good book and you should definitely pick it up

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Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for kindly giving me a copy of this book, in exchange for my review. This book had me glued from beginning to end. The story was incredibly engaging and addictive. This was an exceptional thriller, just the way I like them! I loved the story and the narration style. I look forward to more books from this super talented author! What a complicated character Joy was. She was my favorite character in this story.

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Everything from the cover to the synopsis had me hooked for this psychological thriller and knew I had to pick it up.

This was the first thriller that I've read that wasn't set in the UK or US and the Italian summer setting was absolutely divine, what a juxtaposition considering the chilling story-line.

Such a fast read like most thrillers so certainly did not disappoint. The characters and plot were superb, would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for approving me for this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. It had me hooked right from the start. It was really well written and the tension steadily built page by page.

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