THE GOOD SISTER is a suspense/domestic fiction novel by bestselling author Sally Hepworth, author of The Mother-In-Law. This is the second novel I have read by this author, having loved The Mother-In-Law.

Fern and Rose are fraternal twins but completely different. Rose is short and Fern is tall. Rose has no sensory issues, but Fern has sensory-processing issues, and is hypersensitive to sound, lights, touch and smell. Rose is diabetic, but Fern is not.

Rose is protective and has looked after Fern all her life. Their mother overdosed when the girls were twelve, and they were then put in foster care, while their mother was placed in a permanent care facility suffering from brain damage.

Tragedy happened when they were younger and Rose has must never leave Fran on her own.

Currently Rose, an interior designer, is separated from her husband, Owen, based on her obsession with having a baby, finally drove him to take a job in London. Fern is a librarian and has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be ... dangerous. Naturally, Rose couldn’t go and join her husband, because she felt obliged to look after her sister.

When Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father.

This is where everything gets more complicated and Rose starts to take over Fern’s life.

The story is told from two POVs, Rose through her journal, and Fern in the present.

This book is about a relationship between two sisters. This was a well-written loving character-driven novel, that showed the good and bad between sisters. I loved it!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my digital copy.

“The Good Sister” by Sally Hepworth” delved into the topic of fraternal twins and turned it on its head. This novel was a wonderful read. I’d give it 10 stars were it possible.
The novel was expressed in alternate points of view, from the perspective of each of the sisters. That of Rose Ingrid Castle was written in a journal type of view. The perspective of Fern Castle was written in first person. Through reading about each twin, the plot, characterization, & conflict shows through each woman’s point of view. Normally, I detest journal-type of writing. I usually find it dull and lackluster. But in this instance, I was transfixed by Rose’s point of view. I was drawn into her life and amazed by her care of Fern, a brilliant, savant genius who has a sensory input disorder. Neither Rose nor Fern actually uses the term “autistic” but it does appear to the reader that Fern is “on the spectrum”. From both women’s point of view, it appears that Rose has sheltered Fern all her life, and pulled her out of untenable situations. Both sisters love eachother deeply.
Their mother Nina is envisaged as a dysfunctional, abusive woman who uses her children to gain attention and praise from others. After an apparent overdose of valium and alcohol, Nina is housed in a nursing home. She is unable to speak, and undergoes therapy to re-attain this ability. Rose has never visited her mother, although Fern sees Nina every Thursday.. Rose is married to Owen and works as an interior designer of office spaces. Their marriage is on the rocks, and Rose is obsessed with getting pregnant. When pregnancy seems to be impossible for Rose due to what her doctor calls ageing overies, Fern decides to have a baby with her new boyfriend Rocco, and give the baby to Rose.
There’s a lot going on between Rose and Fern, Fern and Nina; Fern and her boyfriend Rocco;
Rose and Nina. The reader learns about Nina and the lives the sisters had when they were children from both sisters points of view. Although Rose and Fern are twin sisters, their points of view are not.
I highly recommend this book. It was a real stunner!
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this marvelous novel.

I loved this book. I was not suspicious of Rose at first but as the book went on and the truth came out, I was surprised at each turn of events! Another great Sally Hepworth novel which I will recommend to friends.

The Good Sister has multiple layers to the story. As you peel back each layer to the sister, you have to ask yourself which one is the "good sister". Is it Rose or Fern? The way the story was written with Rose's voice always in a form of her's diary, it throws the story in a different direction. There are some instances where I wonder if Rose even existed. This is an intricately woven thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!! Sally Hepworth delivers again! This book was so good from start to finish. I read it completely in one day. I loved Fern. I enjoyed seeing how she saw the world. And Wally(Rocco),,,swoon. He was wonderful. I didn't really know how this was going to go. I wasn't sure if Rose was what she seemed or not. And the girls' childhood?! What really happened? So many twists. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen with Fern and Willow.

Highly recommend this book to everyone! Sally just keeps getting better and better.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

5* Intriguing Stars

Every book I have read by Sally Hepworth has been a well deserving 5 Star Read. Her writing is engaging and compelling. Her latest novel The Good Sister did not disappoint. I read it in one sitting unable to put it down!

This is a story of fraternal twins, Rose and Fern who are as close as sisters can be. They had a rather rough upbringing with their unstable mother, experiencing homelessness and spending vast amounts of time in the local library as shelter.

Fern who is a librarian suffers from sensory processing issues and relies a lot on Rose to guide and take care of her. Fern is just the most wonderful, beautiful person. l loved everything about her and her awkward ways. Fern being Fern with her issues, was so real and true to herself. She did not have a nasty bone in her body and when she discovers that Rose cannot have a baby, she decides to fall pregnant and gift the baby to Rose as this is the least she can do for her after everting Rose has sacrificed. So begins the quest to find the sperm donor who can impregnate Fern. When Fern meets “Wally” (she named him this as he reminded her of the character in Where is Wally) there is a connection she has not felt before and decides he is the perfect candidate for helping her fall pregnant. I loved reading about their interactions and take on life and love. Wally was so adorable, kind and attentive to Fern and understood her needs as he had also suffered some trauma in his life.

There were many laugh of loud moments as well as some anxious moments where I was holding my breath waiting for the outcome. The story will take you on a journey filled with mystery, psychopaths, lies and intrigue. I loved this book so much and highly recommend this fabulous read. It is a definite re-read for me as I cannot get enough of these quirky interesting characters.

Another big, bold Wowza! This book captivated me from the first moment I started to read the intriguing opening and for 5 long hours, I pulled the plug off myself, rejecting to connect with outside world, ignoring my husband dearest who kept asking me why he didn’t have any clean shirt and how I achieved to burn takeout leftovers.

I didn’t hear my partying neighbors who recently turned their home into Airbnb circus or blaring German words from TV( Husband dearest decided to watch Dark’s last season without me as a punishment) I just kept reading and I have to admit: THIS IS THE BEST BOOK OF SALLY HEPWORTH! And FERN IS ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING CHARACTERS I’VE EVER INTRODUCED.

The story is told by twin sisters: Rose and Fern, not only sharing a womb and awful childhood memories, but also sharing a big secret.

After her fertility problems and troubles of her marriage, Rose starts seeing a therapist and she is advised to keep a diary to pour out her bottled up feelings she has been keeping since her childhood. The twins’ story start with her diary pages tell us something tragic happened when twins were little. A boy was drowned. It seems like Fern is responsible of boy’s dying and Rose saved her sister from being held behind the bars by keeping her mouth shut.

And from the POV of the diary we realize their mother has sociopathic tendencies, targeting Rose ( because she takes the blames to protect her dear sister) by mentally and physically abusing her. Then after being overdosed, the sisters find themselves at the rusty wheels of foster care system.
When we read the parts of Rose, we start to empathize with her and we think how adorable, protective sister she is.

But when we read Fern’s parts, we cannot help but root for the character wholeheartedly. She is on the spectrum of Asperger’s syndrome, sensitive to light, voices, touch (when she has to attend a gathering at the crowded place she has to wear googles and earpods to protect herself), an efficient librarian: because she is highly intelligent, focused on details and the libraries were always her favorite place since her childhood. She also has abrupt, inappropriate social approaches but her emotional side, her directness, straightforward honesty makes her unique.

She loves her sister and sees she cannot conceive a baby so she decides to get pregnant and give the child to her sister. She meets Rocco at the library (but calls him “Wally” because with his hat and loose pants, he truly looks like the character from Where’s Wally) who is intelligent computer programmer, suffering from Autism as like her and her intention to give her sister baby and have sex with a stranger turns into an intimate romantic involvement.

As we continue to read both sides of stories, we start to question what if Rose is not who we think she is. Is she really a protective, caring, adorable sister or is she manipulative, controlling, irritating bitch who wants to turn her life into hell?

Or Fern has also secret sociopathic tendencies like their mother and harm people without thinking a second?

Read and enjoy each impeccably written characters to find out!

Overall: I loved the twisty, riveting, high tension, breathtaking pacing, well crafted characters. Fern and Wally stole my heart! No more words, I’m giving five gazillion stars! I just reviewed one of the best upcountry thrillers of 2021! Yayyyy!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this incredible ARC with me in exchange my honest thoughts and review.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE GOOD SISTER by Sally Hepworth in exchange for my honest review.***

Fern decides to have a baby for her fraternal twin Rose as thanks for Rose’s looking out for her. What could possibly go wrong?

Told from Rose’s journals and Fern’s present day points of view, I was clear that both women couldn’t be reliable narrators. While siblings can have different experiences growing up in the same family, certain facts are indisputable. From that beginning, I assumed Fern was on the autism spectrum and I empathized with the challenge that must have give Rose. Because autistic people are generally more literal, I assumed I could rely on her POV more. That said, I enjoyed Rose’s journal and perspective more.

Sally Hepworth is a fantastic storytelling and character builder. She finds nuance in personality and relationships in places few writers delve. I haven’t yet read all her books and am excited to do so.

My only criticism, which other readers might not have, is that I found Fern extremely annoying and difficult to empathize with, even understanding that her neurological challenges caused her to behave the way she did with others.

THE GOOD SISTER is a must read for those interested in complex sibling relationships and dysfunctional family dynamics.

One of the best books of the year. “The Good Sister” is a a layered and beautifully written novel. It is at once a lovely but completely non-sappy romance, a fantastic psychological thriller, and a love letter to the beauty of neurodiversity.

I think the less said about the actual plot details the better, because it is so much fun the way everything unfolds. But at its heart this book is about a relationship between two sisters. It has one if the most unique and loveable protagonists I’ve read about in a long while. I absolutely adored Fern.

For about the first half or so of the book, I was not sure if I was reading a thriller. But this wasn’t a bad thing as I was totally caught up in the plot. Some books currently marketed as “domestic thrillers” are slow on action at the beginning and are just dwelling on soap opera style details like who slept with whose husband. Not the case at all here! The first half of this book is totally necessary to setting up the thriller that is coming, and is also necessary for you to get to know and love the wonderful character of Fern. So as you’re reading the first half just know the thriller is coming - and once that bomb gets dropped it’s unstoppable!

This book is also wonderful in that it has a non-traditional protagonist with what her sister describes as an “intellectual disability” (she considers it differently) - but we also get to see her through her own eyes and mind in her first-person narrative. Learning how her mind and heart work and identifying with and loving her is much more fun than I’ve had reading a main character in a long time. It’s also just a great thing to have neurodiverse characters (more than one!) at the center of a thriller and romance, depicted so well and with so much dimension and love instead of the cliches you often see about these characters when they are mentioned at all in psychological thrillers.

For my fellow thriller fans, in order to love this book as much as I did you’ll have to go along for the ride in the first half (which Hepworth makes really easy to do) and you’ll have to trust me that all the things we love are coming: Murder, thrills, intrigue, unreliable narrators, psychopaths....all are here! But it takes a little while to get to that part. In the meantime I think you’ll love what else develops. I became so invested in Fern that I felt actually devastated when bad things happened to her, like she was a real life friend or family. Side note, I am not a person who reads a whole lot of romances but I absolutely loved the romantic part of this book.

Thrilling, heartwarming, scary and unputdownable. Hepworth just keeps getting better. I gave Mother in Law five stars, and would give this one ten if I could. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

With big thanks to St. Martin’s, Sally Hepworth and NetGalley for the ARC - I absolutely loved this story. Wish I could read it all over again for the first time tomorrow!

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is another excellent read from an author who, for me, can do no wrong when crafting a twisted domestic thriller that will have you greedily turning the pages. I had high expectations for this latest offering as Ms Hepworth has raised the bar so very high, and I am thrilled to say that I was not in any way disappointed. Add this one to your summer TBR list immediately.

Rose and Fern are fraternal twins who share a close but complex relationship. Told from the alternating perspectives of each sister, we learn of a relationship that has been fortified by a tumultuous relationship with a single mother. Rose has always looked out for Fern, who has significant sensory issues, and continues this role into adulthood. Rose, in fact, has always been Fern's person, so when she learns that she is unable to conceive, Fern decides that having a child to give to Rose is something that any good sister would do.

I absolutely loved reading Fern's take on events, and I believe that the author did a commendable job of conveying her issues with sensitivity and understanding. Full of twists and turns, this is one that is guaranteed to have you shirking all responsibilities until you discover how it all unfolds. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book was well written and pulls you into the characters. Great story line and the way it uncovers the past.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book.

Told from the alternate perspectives of fraternal twins Fern and Rose, what at first appears to be a mutually loving and supportive relationship reveals itself to be something much more complicated. I got hooked from the first few pages, and finished the book in less than 24 hours. Fans of family drama and domestic suspense novels will love this one.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Twenty-eight-year-old fraternal twins Fern and Rose have always been close, have always had a special bond. But they couldn’t be more different. Fern, a librarian at Bayside Public Library, is tall, fair-haired, and suffers from a sensory processing disorder; she’s very literal and finds social situations awkward. Rose, an interior designer, is petite, dark-haired, and strong; she’s her sister’s protector and knows how to help Fern calm herself when a situation becomes overwhelming for her.

Rose has recently discovered her difficulty in becoming pregnant is due to a condition called premature ovarian aging. When Fern discovers Rose’s problem, she considers the issue and decides that there’s a simple solution to the problem: she could have a baby and give the infant to Rose and her husband, Owen to raise. After all, Rose has always watched over Fern and protected her. Fern decides she could do this to repay Rose for everything she’s always done for her.

Fern sets out to execute her plan, but nothing goes quite as she expects, leaving Fern confused and Rose worried. Can Fern do this one thing for her sister? And can Rose let her do it?

This compelling family tale alternates between Fern’s present and the sisters’ past as relayed through entries written in Rose’s diary. These remembrances slowly create an often-startling picture of the girls’ tumultuous growing-up years. The characters are well-drawn, nuanced, and believable although, at times, readers will find it easy to dislike one sister or the other.

The story is quirky and humorous yet filled with warmth; the devotion the sisters have for each other is heartfelt. However, there’s a slowly-building undercurrent of uneasiness warning readers that not everything may be quite as they believe. And as the unfolding narrative takes the story in unforeseen directions, readers are sure to find themselves surprised by the unexpected revelations in this impossible-to-set-aside tale of dark family secrets.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#TheGoodSister #NetGalley

Sally Hepworth does it again! Another page turner that kept me up into the night. Twins with a cruel mother that share a special bond throughout. I absolutely love Fern’s character. A librarian who performs not only the daily mundane tasks, but truly is a good human. Grab this one... ten stars!

The Good Sister is a must read thriller. Two sisters connected by a twisted childhood and one tragic event now explore what it means to be connected as adults.

Once again Sally Hepworth does not disappoint! Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down! Hepworth kept me guessing until the end! I really loved how Hepworth was able to adeptly capture the emotional trauma of someone with special needs, giving the reader a much better vantage point of where the character is coming from. Written in the perspectives of both sisters, it was clear about half way through that someone wasn’t who she seemed. In the end, Hepworths conclusion was the perfect ending to a fast paced read!!! Thank you for the advanced copy!!!

Hepworth writes such amazingly twisty unreliable female narrators. This new book is no exception. You always have access to the inner workings of a sociopath. Fascinating. She is a great storyteller.

The Good Sister is the latest book from Sally Hepworth. I've previously read two of her more current releases, and when this one became available via NetGalley, even though it's almost a year before publication, I had to grab a copy. Sometimes books just line up at the right time, as I had a few free days between reads... then this popped up. Hepworth's novels have made it to the top of my must-read, newly published list of authors... although, I still need to get copies of her earlier novels so I'm fully caught up. A solid 4.5 stars for this one.

In this book, two sisters in their late twenties are somewhat co-dependent. Fern is tall and willowy, and she has intellectual / relationship boundary issues. Rose is shorter and told ‘she's round’ by her mother, yet she is married and seeking to have a child. Chapters alternate between their points of view, mostly through journal entries on Rose's part. Fern is more the leading character between the two. Through memories of their childhood and the way their mother introduces men into their lives, both sisters have had somewhat traumatic experiences. In contemporary times, Fern works at a library and Rose looks after her on the sidelines. Something bad happened years ago, and Fern is responsible... but it takes almost half the book to discover the secret. And even then, there is more to it than we initially know. I won't say much more as I don't want to spoil anything... as the surprises are lovely and haunting.

In the last decade, there have been a lot of books focusing on the relationship between sisters, particularly those that urge the reader to decide which one is telling the truth and which one is lying. At the beginning, I worried this would be another re-telling of semi-average nature... but quickly, the story becomes more and more fascinating. The strength and beauty of this novel is in the character development, specifically Fern's. Fern is such a treasure, a wonderful compilation of all the things people face in small increments; yet Fern has all the issues at once. People make her nervous. Noises frighten her. She thinks she is a horrible person. She trusts no one. She says things that come across as mean but she doesn't mean them that way. The entire time I'm reading her sections, I found myself enamored with how complicated and troubled the young woman is, but at the same time how innocent she must be.

Reading this book just to see Fern's evolution is definitely an option. Though the mystery and drama is intriguing, I found myself more focused on whether she and Wally would get together. Wally is her love interest, a man who lives in his van despite having some money, and who showers in the library because it is free and available. He's equally adorable, because like Fern, they suffer from some trauma in their past and never had the proper guidance to learn how to deal with the repercussions. Hepworth's handling of these two characters is wonderful. She could've tried to play on our sympathies by having strangers or even friends treat them both poorly because they were intellectually challenged, but that's not the case. Everyone is kind to them, a little apprehensive at times but mostly generous and friendly. It is in the innocence of how they live that readers will fall in love with their connection.

Rose, on the other hand, is frightfully peculiar. From the very beginning, I knew something else was going on... and I don't think Hepworth is trying to hide it. She's careful to drop the clues so readers think they know what's going on, but there is a blend of history that's not yet come out. That's when we meet their mother, who for some reason I'd suspected was dead. She's not. And this also isn't a spoiler because it's something pointed out that just wasn't a central point. This is why I like Hepworth's novels... well... that and because when I look up to check the time, thinking I've read 10% and a half hour has passed... I learn I'm halfway down already. It's so simple to read yet full of complexity in the words and imagery.

In the end, I really enjoyed this book. It's less about the plot and more about the character development. You want to see Fern and Wally succeed, but can they? Is this a story where you are meant to think she's the bad or the good sister? Does Hepworth want you to find your silver lining in the end, or is this about saying "I told you all along, she did something bad." Phew... I kept waffling because it was too obvious and too murky at the same time. I'm quite happy with the way it culminated, not because of which sister is good, bad, or a combo of the two, but because I felt like the story truly wrapped up everything that had happened over thirty years, and I understood so much of the tension and fear along the path.

The Good Sister is such a exquisitely crafted thriller. As I was reading, I was trying to figure out Rose and Fern and was pulled into their sisterly bond, all they layers of it, good and bad. A story that will keep you guessing and will leave you very satisfied. An excellent read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. This is my honest review.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is as brilliantly woven as all her previous novels. Once you start, once you take that first bite, you can’t stop!

The premise of the story sets an intriguing narrative: Rose can’t have a baby, so Fern will have one for her. Sounds like a mushy tear-jerker that’ll leave you feeling good all over. IT’S NOT! It dark and twisty and will have you picking sides very quickly!

The story is told from both character’s point of view, which contributed well to the evenly paced and balanced character development of both Fern and Rose. I did love Fern immediately though. Although on the face of it she seems to be a difficult person to deal with, she’s quite adorable and I would like to have her for my friend. I also loved watching how the relationship between Fern and Wally developed.

If you’re a fan of Ms. Hepworth, you’ll love this! And if you haven’t read her books yet, well, what are you waiting for?

#netgalley #sallyhepworth #thegoodsister #stmartinspress