A Sorrow Called Sarah

I didnt put this book down until I read the whole thing.
It was fast paced, twisty, tension filled.
It was sad too at times.
I guessed a few of the plots, but then they got turned right on their head when the "why's" came out.
Builds up to an explosive final, that left me thinking it could not have turned out better.
Great entertainment.

What?!! What the what??!! I did not expect that! Whoa! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, serial killers, mystery, and some crazy twists and turns and a Crazy shocking who done it! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I was blown away with the ending! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

A Sorrow Called Sarah
by Charlotte Roddy
This was an intense novel. So many red herrings you think you know who did it until you don't. Everyone has secrets, they mount fast. It was insane how you have to know The ending had my head spinning. A twisty book that will guarantee you will not see the ending coming.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Layers of Mystery Keep the Pages Turning

Where is Sarah Hopewell’s body? This is the fifteen-year-old mystery that Sarah’s crime reporter younger sister is obsessed with solving, as she enlists the help of a convicted serial killer, in Charlotte Roddy’s debut novel, A Sorrow Called Sarah. As the protagonist delves deeper into uncovering the truth, however, she begins to question whether she really knew her sister at all. At the same time, it seems the San Francisco police have their hands full trying to track down a new potential serial killer, whose victims are all hauntingly similar in appearance to Sarah.

A brief, albeit creepy, journal entry, author unknown, sets the suspenseful tone of this novel from the first page. These private entries, offered up only to the reader and not to any character in the story, are peppered between chapters. They add an extra layer of tension and intrigue, inviting the reader to play detective, which is something I do enjoy.

At the beginning of this novel, I got vibes of the blockbuster 1991 movie, The Silence of the Lambs, when the protagonist (Clarice Starling in the movie) interviews the serial killer (Hannibal Lecter in the movie) in hopes of gaining pertinent information. This similarity, for me, is a positive takeaway from the novel, as I found that film diabolically riveting and high on my creep-o-meter scale. Like Lecter, Roddy’s convicted serial killer, a decidedly well-groomed and refined Bradley Stanfeld II, wants to strike a deal (a little quid pro quo) with his interviewer, in exchange for the information she is seeking: specifically, the whereabouts of her sister’s body, whom Stanfeld was convicted of murdering, 15 years ago.

Roddy’s skilled use of simile and metaphor, particularly in the descriptions of various settings throughout the novel, add elements of colour and texture. The story moves along at a good pace, offering up more details about our protagonist, particularly her relationship with her sister Sarah, her family members and other significant people in her life, all of which either act as clues to help our protagonist on her quest, or foibles that add to the mystery. All the while, those cryptic journal entries become increasingly disturbing, and more dead bodies keep turning up in Golden Gate Park

I would rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 and would recommend it to lovers of the thriller/suspense genre, with a caveat: Some content is sexually explicit and graphic, as it deals with violence against women. At times, reading these scenes made me feel uncomfortable, and I wondered if they could have been dialled down a notch. Also, I do wish the protagonist had a name, as there are areas where I felt the use of “she” gets repetitive. Lastly, although I am no detective, I found myself questioning how realistic a certain part of the story that deals with police investigation, would be. Regardless of those critiques, I thought this was a decent debut thriller, with unexpected twists that kept me guessing right to the end.

On the whole, I think Charlotte Roddy wrote a solid, tight story with a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading her next thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Wow, A Sorrow Called Sarah by Charlotte Roddy was just a creepy story. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting as I grew up in the area. The author did a great job of providing false clues, suspense, and page-turning drama. I had no idea what was going to happen next.

Sarah Hopewell had it all—popular student, loving sister, and her parents’ favorite child.
Until weeks before her high school graduation, Sarah vanished from her San Francisco home. An infamous serial killer was convicted of her murder. Justice was served. Or was it?

Fifteen years later, Sarah’s younger sister embarks on a dangerous mission to finally confront her sister’s killer. But as she begins uncovering secrets that threaten to tear her world apart, the bodies of young women start turning up in Golden Gate Park.

This book is by a first-time author; I hope there are more. I would rate this a 4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded to 5).

#ASorrowCalledSarah #NetGalley @LPOBryan

Thanks to Netgalley for this book in exchange of an honest review. I can't believe this is the author's first book! I'd been in a thriller slump for a couple months and this definitely pulled me out of it. At first I thought the killer was obvious but the author left you guessing until the end and it was great even through the last line. I am already looking forward to the author's next book.

This was a strong debut. An excellent thriller that kept me guessing to the very last page. The ending was so surprising because I could've sworn I had it figured out.

This debut novel by Charlotte Roddy was a fantastic page-turner. It follows the story of a woman reopening the interest of how her sister disappeared 15 years ago. There are so many secrets amongst her family that are revealed throughout the book. I got spooked a few times and had to put it down and come back to it, but I loved the ending! This gave me Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Silence of the Lambs vibes. I was for sure I knew where the ending was going but there are so many twists and turns I did not see coming! Highly recommend this book if you want a fast read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is the first book by this author and wow what a book.
Loved the ending and the twists was amazing.
Hope to read more by this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"A Sorrow Called Sarah" by Charlotte Roddy is an excellent first novel and such a page-turner. This book is full of "Silence of the Lambs" vibes, investigations of past mysteries and wondering if current events are tied in. There's a lot of characters, suspicion, red-herrings and hidden secrets that slowly get revealed. I'd suspected some things but not others. Definitely not your average thriller... I'll be on the look out for future books by Charlotte Roddy.

I can't tell you how many times I thought I had this one figured out. Roddy just kept throwing twists that I didn’t see coming up through the last page. I do wish the main character had a name. I went back after finishing and reread looking just to make sure I had not missed it. It was hard for me to relate to her with no name.

An incredibly tense, creepy and memorable thriller story. The background story as well as the characters managed to affect my emotions. The storyline was neat, and made me explode until the end of the story. I was hypnotized while reading this book. The plot was perfect, although it felt fast but wasn't rushed. The execution of the story was unexpected and extraordinary.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
4.5 stars (rounded up)

I do this thing where I request an ARC and then completely forget what it's about by the time I read it, but I honestly love that because I just go where the story takes me instead of expecting certain events to happen.

"A Sorrow Called Sarah" takes us on a journey of a woman weeks away from getting married, looking for answers on her sister that went missing years ago. A body was never found yet she was expected to move on. But as she is about to enter a new chapter of her life, she is hoping to get closure on the last one. While searching for answers on this case, bodies are beginning to turn up in Golden Gate Park.

I truly loved how the book was broken down into sections of different characters who had been keeping secrets for years that our MC was finally unveiling.. The book did slow down a little in the middle for me, but my goodness the end had me in a death grip and would not let me go. There was twist after twist after twist and they were all crafted perfectly.

I'm a huge fan of Roddy already and I can't believe this is a debut. I so look forward to reading more from her.

If you like cold cases, unreliable narrators, serial killers, and domestic thrillers all wrapped into one - this one is for you.

A book as crooked as a bag of snakes, this really had me gripped. There is a nod to Silence of the Lamb;, Bradley Stanfeld is the notorious serial killer behind bars who may know more than anyone about what happened to Sarah Hopewell. Chillingly he may be the only one who is telling the truth as we are introduced to one of the most dysfunctional families I have read about recently.

Ok, it's far fetched and there are some small plot holes, but hot damn! when a story is this entertaining and gripping who am I to grumble?

Secrets are revealed, betrayals are unearthed and no-one is who they seem in this debut novel by Charlotte Roddy. I'm already eagerly anticipating where her next book will take me.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

An easy to read mystery, a journalist tries to find out what happened to her sister, first by interviewing a serial killer, who is suspected of killing her. This leads down a twisty path to many clues about her past and is there anyone she can trust, including herself. Interesting take

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the copy of A Sorrow called Sarah by Charlotte Roddy. Why is there another serial killer in San Francisco killing women that look like Sarah? Was the right suspect convicted in Sarah’s disappearance?
Warning!! Set aside the time to read this book, because it is so enthralling that once you start it you won’t want to stop reading because the writing just drew me into the characters and the story. I was shocked to find out this is a debut novel because it was so well done.
There really wasn’t one really likable or sympathetic character in the whole book, but they were all so well-drawn it didn’t matter. (I did wonder why the sister never had a name, but it did add to the mysteriousness of the story.) I really didn’t expect to get so invested in Sarah’s story, but she and her sister felt so realistic I couldn’t help caring about them. The story was really intriguing and full of breathstopping twists. I only saw one coming, but was still shocked at the depth of the reveal. If you love twists, you should read this book. If you love great writing, an enthralling story and convincing characters, you should read this book.
Just know that there are some explicit sexual situations that may be uncomfortable. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Review Date: March 25, 2023
Publishing Date: April 18, 2023


OMG! I am speechless! This is by far the best book I read this year! Once I read a couple of first pages I was hooked!
This is an excellent thriller that’s written in different POVs. You get to learn about each person involved in the story and form your own opinion about them. That’s when you start coming up with ideas what happened to Sarah and who is involved. But don’t get too confident that you have this all figured out. Oh no you are far from it because you just don’t know what twist the author with throw at you NEXT. This is not a smooth sailing book! This is a crazy ride with twists, secrets, surprises, ups and downs. Brilliant!
I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a well written, fast-paced thriller.

Thank you Netgalley, BooksGoSocial and the author for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow!
One of the people that I follow on Goodreads sparked my interest to try this debut author on Netgalley with 14 GR reviews. I haven’t read a book with so many twists and turns in a long time….and it was a debut?! I’ll say that it had some predictable aspects but the unpredictable creativity surpassed it immensely. For some, this book might be ‘too much’ but for me it was an absolute reading thrill!. This one is going to stick with me and I hope she writes another soon!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

The writing style reminds me greatly of the series Inventing Anna and CSI, which are two shows I loved watching. It also reminds me of another greatly written suspense-thriller book, Verity (the suspense while reading is really great). The build up is wonderfully written and the author keeps you guessing on what really happened and who killed Sarah.

The twist and turns of the plot are like riding a roller coaster blindfolded, you can feel yourself heading up, but you can’t tell if you’re going to fall or just be swung to the side. Reading this got me excited and scared at the same time and that’s exactly what you want to feel from a great suspense-thriller book.

The big reveal for me didn’t feel like “fireworks” enough (something that would have you go “OMG I did not see that coming). I guess I just wanted more build up before this big reveal, since this was the thing that kept me guessing the whole entire book.

Overall, I loved the book and would greatly recommend this to any one who’s looking for a great suspense-thriller book.

A very well written suspense. I throughly enjoyed the plot and the well developed characters. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

“A Sorrow Called Sarah,” debuted by Charlotte Roddy, is a thrilling novel. Consequently, this exhilarating novel is full of detrimental secrets, mazes of deceptive lies, gnarling twists, and covert deceit. As a result, this is a story of intertangling whodunit.

Who murdered Sarah? Who murdered the young women in San Francisco who resembled Sarah? If you desire the answers, please read this debut novel that you will not be able to put down.

This novel is recommended to those who love mystery, psychological thrillers, whodunit, and a book you just cannot put down!

Thanks to NetGalley and Charlotte Roddy for an ARC to read and give an honest review.

Creepy, serial killer mystery with a journalist tries to find out what happened to her sister.

Slow in the middle but excellent ending. Still not sure if I enjoyed it!

Thanks to Net Galley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read and review.

I can't believe this is a debut novel. It was so well written - the characters were great, the plot was excellent, and I loved the twists and turns throughout the book. There were a lot of parts to Sarah that the main character knew nothing about. I liked how the book was broken down into parts, mainly focusing on a particular person in Sarah's life that has been keeping secrets. The ending was a shocking surprise that I didn't see coming.

This book manages to stand out of the very populated serial killer market, by adding genuine heartfelt writing and managing to transport you in to the book. Filled with twists, turns and shocks this book doesn’t give up any pace until the last word.

Such a brilliant read that will stay with me.

Bradley Stanfeld is a known serial killer who’s incarcerated for killing several women with long black hair and stunning blue eyes. Sarah Hopewell matches this description and since she’s disappeared without a trace 20 years ago, her sister is destined to find out what happened, even if it means to talk to Bradley in prison.

Her father, a retired police officer, urges her to stop digging into Sarah’s disappearance. She can’t, she needs to find out what happened before she gets married.

Bradley denies killing Sarah and tells her to talk to the police officer that handled the case. She doesn’t want to believe Bradley but when more women with long black hair and blue eyes turn up dead in Golden State park, she begins her own investigation and what she finds is shocking!

There’s multiple POV’s and we follow Sarah’s sister, who never had a name in the book, as she investigates each person. It’s crazy how much information she digs up from people that have been keeping secrets for 20 years. The chapters were short but twists and surprises lurked throughout them.

The ending was a little far fetched and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it but I can’t believe this is a debut novel! This was one of my favorite books this year and I can’t wait to see what other novels Charlotte Roddy comes up with.

I could not put this book down, I loved it! I liked the characters. I sympathize with these characters because their backstories are well written and explained. Although I had my guesses about the end that were true, there were still twists that I absolutely was not expecting.

Sarah Hopewell was the golden child - her parents' favorite, popular, smart, creative...or so it seemed - until one day she goes missing at the alleged hands of a convicted serial killer. Fifteen years after her disappearance, Sarah's sister is a journalist still tormented by the mystery and hopes to get Sarah's body back for closure when she begins visiting the serial killer convicted of her death. Yet, Sarah's sister begins to uncover and realize that Sarah wasn't quite what she seemed as secrets begin to unearth of who she truly was. Meanwhile, someone else is murdering women who happen to look like Sarah.

Told from the POV of Sarah's sister (who remains unnamed throughout the book, which annoyed me at times, but I get what the author was doing...), some chapters as articles the sister writes about the present-day murders, and some chapters are anonymous/disturbing journal entries. The book was also split into different parts that highlight men who are in the sister's life, but also potential suspects. This was filled with twists and turns of the two parallel mysteries: what happened to Sarah's body (if she was murdered) and who is currently killing women and dumping them in Golden Gate Park?

The serial killer interviews with the sister-journalist give Silence of the Lambs vibes and plant the seed of doubt in the sister's brain of who Sarah was. As the story continues, readers learn about the dysfunction of the Hopewell family, the growing number of people on the suspect list and how they all seemed to have a motive. With how much detail there was throughout the book (and even some of the article chapters seemed repetitive), the ending felt a bit too quick with the revelations spaced within a short span of each other. As long as you can get over the nameless MC, which caused some annoying syntax moments, some odd stilted dialogue, and a couple plot holes...this book threw me for a loop and I couldn't put it down once the ride started. Overall, a twisty book with a full cast of untrustworthy and, at times, despicable characters, Solid 4 stars!

This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. The voice was like a mix of true crime and your standard murder mystery/thriller. I also appreciated that the whole book was told from one character's perspective instead of jumping around.

Although certain aspects were predictable, I didn't see the ending coming and the storyline was so well written. It is hard to believe this is the author's fist published novel. I cannot wait to read more from Charlotte Roddy. I will be recommending this book to every thriller lover I know.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, BooksGoSocial, and the author, #CharlotteRoddy, for providing me an electronic advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Sorrow Called Sarah by Charlotte Roddy is a gritty, dark psychological thriller.
Set in contemporary San Francisco, a city I know well, it grabbed my attention with powerful early chapters, and the rich, complicated POV of Sarah’s sister, a true crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.
Sarah has been missing for 15 years, a serial killer is on death row for multiple homicides, including presumably Sarah’s, and her sister wins a series of interviews with the manipulative prisoner to dissect and reveal each one of the murders. But there is more, as another series of victims is being discovered in Golden Gate Park right now, and they all have dark hair and blue eyes, like Sarah!
Thus this story takes off, revealing, in 5 parts with short, staccato chapters, details of the past events, present murders and the major players—Sarah’s sister, her brother Robert, her SF police detective father Patrick, his one-time partner Detective Hayes, and the sister’s fiancé, William.
The characters are well fleshed out in past and present, and the twists unfold in surprising ways!
I really enjoyed the descriptive writing and skillful use of metaphors to illustrate everyday situations and memories.
No spoilers here—this book is so skillfully written and plotted that it makes for an immersive, edge-of-your-seat read, and a stunning debut novel!
I highly recommend this to readers looking for intelligent, if dark, storylines with strong character development. I look forward to more works of suspense from this promising author!!

Thank you to Charles Port Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Everybody loves Sarah! Sarah Hopewell, the golden child, her parents' favorite, popular, smart, etcetera etcetera… and then, Sarah is gone… the victim of a serial killer. It’s 15 years after her death and now we focus on Sarah's sister who is a journalist and to this day, is tormented by the mystery of her sister’s death. Her greatest desire is to locate her sister’s body in order to bring closure. Thus, she begins visiting the prison housing the serial killer convicted of her death. As she digs for information, she learns her sister was not what she appeared to be on the surface. No Sarah was a bit of a bad girl type. Weirdly, now someone else is currently murdering women who happen to look like Sarah.

This is a intricate story filled with twists and turns of the two parallel mysteries. One, what happened to Sarah's body and two, who is currently killing women and dumping them in Golden Gate Park?

Reading her interviews with the killer Bradley Stanfield felt like the Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector scenario. Her,(she remains unnamed throughout the book), father is a retired police officer, and urges his daughter to stop digging into Sarah’s disappearance. She can’t, she has a strong compulsion to find out what happened before she gets married. Bradley denies killing Sarah and tells her to talk to the police officer that handled the case. She doesn’t want to believe Bradley but now more women with long black hair and blue eyes are turning up dead in Golden State park, so she begins her own investigation and what she finds is shocking!

The resolution of the two mysteries came so fast and furious I could hardly wrap my head around it all.

This is a marvelous debut novel. Get ready to be shocked by the ending.

🗯️ "Monsters should have to pay for their sins."

FMC is a crime reporter who wants to locate the body of her big sister, who went missing 15 years ago. She starts by interviewing the serial killer who was convicted for the death but quickly discovers she needs to be interviewing the people closest to her if she wants answers, because nobody has been honest.

This is one of those types of thrillers where you 1. could try guessing the whole time what is going to happen, or 2. sit back and just enjoy the rollercoaster of a ride the author takes you on, and you'd enjoy the book either way you approach it. My brain was working overtime trying to figure out the twists before they happened; when I thought I had something solved I was only halfway right because there'd be another twist piggybacking off that one.

With fairly short chapters, flashbacks, and newspaper articles about the second serial killer at large this was really easy to digest and picked up momentum with every revelation.

Our FMC (and unreliable narrator) is never named, which I thought was genius since the whole novel is about her living in the wake and shadow of Sarah. Keeping the MC nameless emphasizes her own belief Sarah is more important.

I loved this book and it being a debut makes it that much more impressive to me. If you enjoy psychological domestic thrillers, dark family secrets and sleuthing don't miss this one.

This story centres around the question: why? Why was Sarah Hopewell murdered, and why did Bradley Stanfeld do it (after all, he’s been convicted and in jail), but why does he keep denying killing Sarah, while at the same time admitting to a handful of other murders? And why now, after fifteen years, did he agree to tell Sarah’s younger sister where he left the bodies? Why is the family not talking about Robert, the brother?
A lot of unanswered questions and there are even more secrets. The tension builds up with every page, every twist and turn, everything we learn and even more, everything that we do not know yet. This one would do very well as a mini-series too. I can hardly believe it is a debut and I’m very much looking forward to reading more of this outstanding author.
Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this review copy.

A Sorrow Called Sarah by Charlotte Roddy was Soooo good I ended up reading it to the very early hours of the morning. This was an excellent thriller and a great page turner, that will have you hooked from the very beginning especially as it was full of great twists and turns throughout and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat!
One of the best books I have read this year.

I highly recommend this book especially as Charlotte is a new author and what an excellent first book A Sorrow called Sarah was.

I loved this book cover - very clever.

Big Thank you Netgalley, BooksGoSocial the publisher and the author for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The unnamed narrator is the sister of Sarah, the popular, outgoing sister who the MC looked up to as a child. As an adult, the narrator/true crime reporter interviews Bradley Stanfield, a serial killer and the presumed murderer of her sister. In true Silence of the Lambs fashion, he toys with her, offering up information if she will visit him on consecutive days.

But there's a twist (you knew that was coming !) With the serial killer in jail, bodies of women who look just like Sarah are surfacing in Golden State Park. Did the police get it wrong? Is Sarah's killer still out there? And why is Stanfield intimating she should dig deeper, while her family says leave it alone? The final reveal will answer all of your questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this interesting debut novel from Charlotte Roddy.

I've enjoyed navigating through the constant plot twists and the complex relationships of the various characters.

There were so many moments when I thought I knew who it was. Then, a page or two later, I'd change my mind entirely 😅.

While it did take me a few chapters to understand the structure of the storytelling, once I got there, it made the experience a lot more enjoyable.

The only negative I really have is the ending. While It did reveal everything and pieced all the threads together. It did just end... like...is that it? What happened next 🤨 that last chapter could have gone on for a bit longer to leave a real cliffhanger for a sequel.

Overall. A thrilling read with a roller coaster of emotions and plot twists.

Wow!! What a twisty ride that was! I love a book where you find it hard to figure things out. These days reading many thrillers, it gets harder to be surprised? Maybe it’s just me. But this book was everything you want a thriller to be. I was hooked and had no idea what was coming next. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this amazing thriller!

Sarah disappeared as a teenager. Her younger sister struggled with the fact that Sarah was never found, so decided to get answers. During her search, her world is turned upside down as she begins to untangle the web that surrounds Sarah and the truth of what was really going on around her that she was shielded from her entire life.

The story does involve some topics that were tough to read, specifically, due to the ages of the characters at the time the events occurred. However, the events sets the second half of the book up for the domino reaction that comes after, which continues to keep you guessing until the very last page.

Chapters were short and quick to read but kept the story interesting. The storyline had many layers to keep you guessing, but not overly complicated to the point of forgetting details or characters.

If you’re looking for a book that is completely unexpected, this one checks that box, for sure!

Almost a 5-star read, "A Sorrow Called Sarah" had me hooked from the start. Charlotte Roddy's psychological thriller had a twisted plot with unexpected twists. However, the ending felt unbelievably weird and didn't quite work for me.

The abundance of characters occasionally became confusing, but the protagonist's strained relationships were relatable. While the suspense was maintained, the resolution was off the wall and left me puzzled.

Despite this, I still recommend "A Sorrow Called Sarah" to fans of this genre. The writing was excellent, and most of the twists were well-executed. I look forward to the author's future works.

Oh hell. The twists and turns in this book gave me whiplash! This is a tension filled thriller that did not let up. Will be following Charlotte Roddy closely to see what she churns our next. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Sarah was a bright young woman who was viciously murdered right before her high school graduation. A serial killer was convicted for her murder, but her younger sister isn't convinced that the police caught the right person. When more girls who look just like Sarah start to disappear, she is determined to uncover the truth once and for all.

I liked this book! It's a great psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes. I recommended you give this a try if you like crime/serial killer thrillers!

fast paced thriller that i couldn't put down

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy for review

Book Review:
Title: A Sorrow Called Sarah
Author: Charlotte Roddy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

I can't believe this is a debut novel! Well done! This book had me hooked! That's a great accomplishment for a new author! Very suspenseful and so many twists... but good ones! These twists make it hard to put the book down!

Sarah Hopewell vanished when she was weeks away from graduating. Her body was never found, but serial killer Bradley Stanfeld was convicted of her alleged murder. Sarah's sister, who was only 13 years old at the time of her disappearance, isn't convinced that her case is truly closed. Especially when the bodies of multiple women start turning up locally. And they all resemble Sarah. Stanfeld might not, in fact, be responsible for the disappearance of Sarah, but he might know who really is. An incredible psychological thriller!

Published: April 18th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley, and @booksgosocialgroup for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced and thrilling read that I read in one sitting, I didn't want to put it down. It was twisty and unpredictable, I loved it

Phew! A Sorrow called Sarah is an intense, twisted book to say the least. Many times I thought I knew where this was headed but right up until the last sentence I was so wrong! That ending so twisted and honestly a bit outlandish but so compelling. And a tad bit confusing too. I can't help but think how one individuals actions affected the whole family even years on. But what I couldn't grasp was how disassociated the ending turned out to be. However, this book is unique and the plot is gripping. I was very interested in knowing the details of the case that drew me in - the disappearance of Sarah Hopewell but it was from different POVs. There was no closure for me in that aspect. But all things considering this was a page turner and I enjoyed the story!

Thank you NetGalley, Booksgosocial & Charlotte Roddy for this arc!

"The oldest secrets are the deadliest.
Sarah Hopewell had it all—popular student, loving sister, her parents’ favorite child. Until, weeks before her high school graduation, Sarah vanished from her San Francisco home. An infamous serial killer was convicted of her murder. Justice was served. Or was it?
Fifteen years later, Sarah’s younger sister embarks on a dangerous mission to finally confront her beloved sister’s killer. But as she begins uncovering secrets that threaten to tear her world apart, the bodies of young women start turning up in Golden Gate Park. All of them have dark hair and blue eyes. All of them look just like Sarah".
This book had so many twist and turns, great characters, their are some uncomfortable spots in the story but not to explicit. Fast paced, kept attention through the entire story, First time author, would love to read more of her books.
Thanks to Charles Fort Press, Netgalley, and the author in an exchange for an honest review.
Published April 18, 2003

The title and cover were the first things that drew my attention, and the actual story did not disappoint me. I loved the mystery that was at the centre of the plot and i was glued to the pages to find out what happened next. There was so much tension and plot twists and it was hard to keep up sometimes! I’m excited to read more from this author in the future.

Great book! Had you wanting more great story great characters! Well done! I will be letting people know about this book and recommending it .

I finally got around to reading this and Holy crap. Every few chapters there was a twist. I never knew who was guilty, who was implicated next, and I was genuinely shook at the ending.