Fern holds a dangerous past that her sister could not help her. She leads a super structured life in a lightly isolated state. She works in a library, she sees her sister three times a week and she avoids pretty much every other scenario. Her sister finds out that she can't have a child and Fern sees this as her chance to help. Yet her isolation has managed to remove all her social skills so finding a man proves to be more complicated then she thought.

Rose and Fern Castle are as different as twins can get. Rose is short, Fern is tall. Rose is practical while Fern is...odd...the kind of sibling who needs someone to protect her. Ironically, it’s their mother who poses the greatest threat of all. A narcissist and a sociopath, she doesn’t hesitate to punish her daughters for the slightest mistakes—most of which aren’t mistakes at all.

When Fern makes the biggest mistake of her life and accidentally drowns a boy, what can Rose do but make up a story to keep her sister safe? And what better way to repay Rose than to give her the child she can’t conceive? To Fern, who appears to have Asperger’s, the idea starts out as a logical way to make things right. She may have a photographic memory and immense knowledge, but she can be naïve—almost childlike—when it comes to matters of the heart. Fern knows she can never raise a child on her own, so it makes sense to let responsible Rose do it.

Of course, things aren’t quite what they seem, which makes The Good Sister such a fun, fast page-turner. The chapters alternate between Fern’s point-of-view and Rose’s journal entries, which her therapist suggested she write to help process her traumatic childhood. If you’ve read your share of psychological thrillers, the plot isn’t going to come as much of a surprise, despite the twists and turns. And there were times when these characters were a bit too unreal (hence the fairytale names) for my liking. . .

BUT I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in one day. I got caught up in the dramatic plot and in the sisters’ evolving relationship with each other and with their mother. I also loved the Australian library setting, the secondary characters and the humor sprinkled throughout the book. Like Fern, the book itself is…well, quirky. And I love quirky. When I got to end I couldn’t help cheering—just a bit—because I’m a sucker for a satisfying, rollicking ending.

Much thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading The Good Sister made me happy that I don’t have a sister.

First, I want to address genre expectations. This is being called a “domestic thriller.” It’s not a thriller, and even calling it suspense is a stretch. It’s much more domestic drama, with a suspenseful undercurrent.

I loved Fern’s character. She was my favorite part of this story.

I saw the direction the plot was heading early on, and I wasn’t surprised by the twists. Still, I enjoyed getting there.

In my effort to catch up on eARCs, I listened to this one on audio via Scribd. The narration is excellent. The narrator’s storytelling style and ability to capture the characters’ moods and emotions kept me engaged and totally sold this one for me.

The Good Sister is a domestic thriller that explores the relationship between fraternal twin sisters. The story takes you on a journey through this complex relationship, adding many twists and turns. I loved that Sally Hepworth made the main character have sensory issues that were completely believable.

Rose and Fern are very close. They talk on the phone every day. Several times a week they meet for dinner. Their devotion goes beyond the fact that they are fraternal twins. Both sisters suffer from chronic disorders. Rose has juvenile diabetes and fertility issues while Fern has sensory processing disorder. She cannot stand loud noises, crowds or people touching her. It's hard for her to maintain eye contact and read social cues. For the most part Rose appears to be the stronger, more dominant twin. Fern considers Rose "her person". Whenever faced with a situation she hears her sister's advice replaying itself in her head. This soothes her and makes her feel more sure of her responses. So when she realizes that Rose desperately wants a baby she decides to get pregnant for her. This is where we get to see Fern in all of her beautiful quirkiness as she tries to put her plan in action.

The Good Sister is told from alternating viewpoints. Rose chronicles their traumatic childhood in her journal. Fern's chapters are told in real time and show how she functions in her day-to-day life as a librarian.

It is hard to write this review without giving away too many secrets. I reread the synopsis after finishing the book and it means something completely differnt to me now. <i>(Sneaky sneaky St. Martin's Press. I see what you did there.)</i> What I can say is that Sally Hepworth does a great job with character development. The pace was fast without losing the dynamics of the sisters' relationship. Although somewhat predicatable, Hepworth has a few surprises in store for new readers.

Overall this was a fun read. :D Fern and Wally are so cute! Their relationship is really touching. I love the way he "sees" her. I miss them.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. As I started it, it seemed like a funny novel. And I thought, "that's weird, I thought the author wrote suspense and mystery books." But it did turn out to have that element to it. But Fern was very funny and clever. I love that she worked in a library. It tied up a little too neatly at the end, but otherwise I liked it.

This book is like nothing that I have read before and this is mainly because of Fern. How I loved this character! Right from the start, it was evident that Fern was going to be an endearing character despite anything bad she might have done (as implied by her twin sister). She has sensory processing issues, is sensitive to light, voices and touch. Fern doesn’t go out in crowds but when she has to, she wears goggles and EarPods to protect herself. She is a wonderful librarian, highly intelligent though she cleverly avoids any work issues that she doesn’t like such as dealing with complains about the computers and printers. Fern had me smiling so many times throughout this book.

Right from the start, it was evident that there was something sinister about the sisters’ relationship. Rose details her childhood memories through diary entries which illustrate a difficult upbringing. It is through the diary that we also find out that she is struggling with infertility. Nevertheless, the sisters seem to have a nice relationship with Rose being Fern’s care-giver and defender but clearly, all is not what it seems.

The character development is amazing. Both sisters are so deftly crafted that they feel like real people. Other support characters such as Wally and the librarians that Rose worked with were all were developed. This book had so many likeable characters despite the menacing undertones.

I enjoyed this twisty, well-written, entertaining narrative and I am so glad to have met all the characters.

This is a story that has my heart! Anytime there is a unique character, well loved and represented, I'm all in. Rose had me all in. Part family saga, part unforeseen romance, with a side of cryptic half revealed memories and suspicious deaths, I loved every page!

This is my first book by Sally Hepworth and added this to Lovely Books "Top 5 Summer Reads." I was so thrilled to share this tremendous book with my listeners!

(Not a) Spoiler Alert: I was a huge fan of this one. "The Good Sister" explores the relationship of Fern and Rose, twin sisters whose bond has taken them through a lot -- including a mysterious event of their youth that forever cast Fern as vulnerable and Rose as her protector. Fern is a quirky librarian who sees the good in everyone, while Rose is the responsible architect who is devoted to her sister. But when Fern decides to help her Rose finally become a mother by having a baby, all their secrets - both past and future - are forced into the light and their relationship will never be the same.

It's not often that a suspense novel serves up both a page-turning plot and such compelling characters. I read this whole book in one sitting and I'm not sure which I loved more - the mystery of it all, the twists or the lead characters. I'm still thinking about over two weeks and ten books later, and I've recommended it to everyone I know, and now I'm recommending it to you, too. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for my e-ARC!

What a fantastic journey this book was. Read this on one sitting. A perfect escapism read. Thank you for my early copy. A new auto-buy author for me.

The Good Sister is a psychological thriller revolving around fraternal twins Fern and Rose. The sisters have always been one another's "person." Since childhood, Rose always felt the need to protect Fern from their mothers emotional abuse. When Fern decides it's her turn to help Rose and make her dreams come true, secrets are uncovered and you have to ask.... How well do you really know the person you trust most on the world?

I give this book 4⭐. I really enjoyed it. The back and forth format between the 2 sisters made for a gripping page turner. Each chapter left me curious to know what's going to happen next and wondering if either sister are truly reliable. This was my first time reading Sally Hepworth and I look forward to reading more by her.

Loved it! Twists and turns kept me turning the pages! I fell for it completely and loved the ending. I rate this book a 4.6

This was the first book by Sally Hepworth I've read, and overall I'll say it wasn't my favorite thriller/mystery but I know I'm definitely in the minority with this opinon. I'll for sure give her other books a try!

What I liked
-It was pretty fast paced
-I was largely intrigued from the beginning
-For a majority of the book I had noooo idea where the plot was going

What I didn't like
-The "twist" felt rather anticlimatic and ended up being predictable by about the halfway point
-Overall felt like it was missing depth

This was kind of just a meh read

What a great thriller! I have not had the pleasure of reading a Sally Hepworth novel before this, and boy am I impressed. This creepy story checked all the boxes on my preferences: Great writing, a believable storyline, and shocking twists. Fern and Rose are twin sisters, twenty years old, and leading two very different lives. Rose is married and is an interior designer and is obsessed with having a baby. Fern is a librarian and on the spectrum. The book is mostly narrated by Fern, with excerpts from Rose's journal interspersed throughout. Both were raised by a sociopath (their unstable mother) so they have learned to take care of themselves from a young age. Rose takes advantage of Fern's innocence, but what she doesn't realize is that Fern is smarter than she gives her credit for. I thought Hepworth did a good job building the personas of each character, even the minor ones. Fern was so endearing, and her relationship with Wally was so cute. But that is only one side of the story. There are sinister things happening. When Fern gets pregnant, Rose convinces her to give her baby to her. As a reader, I knew this would end badly but I couldn't stop reading. If I had one complaint it would be that I figured out the twist earlier than I would have liked, although, I wasn't completely sure so it kept me reading. This was a fantastic thriller and I would happily recommend it to anyone who likes family dramas with a little mystery thrown in!

Wow, this story was so different than I thought it was going to be when I first heard about it. Twin sisters Rose and Fern have a very narcissistic and manipulative mother. They have a rough life growing up with their unpredictable mother and eventually end up in foster care. Rose has always taken on the role of the caretaker of her sister Fern. Rose is married and is an interior designer. Fern is unmarried works as a librarian at her local library and is on the autism spectrum. I really loved the character of Fern and I think the author did such an amazing job of showing a character with autism in the story. The story that Ms. Hepworth has crafted featuring these two sisters is so cleaver, unique, and fabulous. I read it in one weekend, because I wanted to know what was going to happen. This reminded me of something Ruth Rendell would have written. Some authors can just get inside the characters and make them so real and plausible. I really enjoyed the relationship between Fern and Wally. I was so glad he was there for Fern, because even as a reader, I wanted to protect Fern.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is a 2021 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Fern and Rose are fraternal twins. Yet, Rose is stable and mature, while Fern is on the autism spectrum. After a tumultuous childhood, Rose looks after her sister, who works at a library. Because Fern once did something really, really, bad, and because Rose’s marriage has hit a rough patch, Fern wants to make everyone happy again- and she knows just what she can do to make that happen.

While Rose is away, Fern sets her plan in motion…

What could possibly go wrong?

I breezed through this one in record time. For a little while I was not exactly sure where Hepworth was leading me and sat nervously on the edge of my seat waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Obviously, some terrible things have already transpired as we get a glimpse into the twins’ childhood. We also know that the girls were directly involved in a disquieting tragedy as children, and now it looks as if trouble may be brewing again. What is so alarming is that we don’t know WHO will strike, or when, or how…

The only downside to being a lifelong crime fiction loyalist, is that original plots are often far and few between. The good/bad sister trope is hardly original, having been done six ways from Sunday.

Once it became clear which direction the story was headed, the wind went out of my sails a little, but I was so concerned about the characters, I kept turning pages at warp speed. Turns out that although I knew- and I suspect, once most readers reach a certain point in the book, they will have caught on, as well- what the big plot twist was, there were a few stunning developments I did not see coming and the last chapter was truly psycho!!

Once I had a little time to think about the story, I realized that, in hindsight, it was much more cunning than I had originally given it credit. Still, the cleverness is in the well-drawn characterizations, without which, the doubts, concerns, and suspense, wouldn’t have been possible.

This is only the third book I have read by this author- but this one is a little different, having an edgier quality, utilizing another form of suspense from what I was expecting. Some of the emotional depth and relatability were lacking here, but overall, this was an absorbing, twisted little page turner!!

Every new offering from Sally Hepworth gets better and better! I enjoy all her books. This book was a fun and engaging read. Highly recommend.

Fern & Rose are twins. They don't look alike or even act alike, Fern is tall, thin and has a sensory disorder. Rose on the other hand is short, chubby and has diabetes. Rose is the protector. Being raised by a single mom who was mean with her children, Rose felt she needed to look out for Fern, protect her. She will even cover for Fern when young Fern does something that will ruin Fern's life forever.

I really enjoyed this novel. I got sucked right into the story with all the characters. Wondering what Fern really did that was so bad and what is Rose's agenda with her sister. Rose is very protected of Fern. To me she is very possessive and manipulative and I really didn't like Rose from the beginning.
I love the character development of Fern and her new friend "Wally". Both are quirky and their personalities fit together so well. The author does a great job with having the reader feel and understand what Fern is going through with her sensory issues.

I can't wait to read more by Sally Hepworth in the future.
I would give this novel a 5 stars! I had a hard time putting it down and was said to see the story end. I will miss Fern & Wally.

downloaded for my mother to read not my type of book. I will never read this type of book, not for me, no thank you

I loved The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth and have recommended this to many people so was really looking forward to The Good Sister. Unfortunately, for me, this just didn't quite succeed in the same way. It wasn't really a thriller and it was easy to guess where things were going. I'd put this in the "easy page-turner" category.