Sister

By: Rosamund Lupton

Narrated by: Juanita Mahon

Their bond was unbreakable. The truth was unimaginable. When Beatrice receives a call to say that her sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home. But as she learns about Tess’s disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life. Everyone around her accepts they have lost Tess, but Beatrice refuses to give up, embarking on a dangerous journey to discover the shocking truth, whatever the cost...

©2010 Rosamund Lupton (P)2011 WF Howes Ltd

tremendous

Gets off to a slightly slow start, but keep listening! The story is a tightly woven mystery with vivid characters (could do without the mother) and the ending is outstanding. Better writing than usual in a mystery novel...especially the ending.

A surprising twist

Not sure what to think of it at first, the author almost lost me in the last third of the book but just as I was thinking "here we go again with yet another way too predictable ending" the story spun round and got me hooked again, guessing to the very end. The narration was excellent and I'm glad I stuck with the story till its finish.

Dark and compelling.

This was a great summer read. Not because it is light and fluffy, quite the opposite, but because it is the kind of book that keeps you up very late at night to finish and it's good to be on vacation and not need to get up for work or to get kids ready for school the next morning. That is how I read it. In one night. Stayed awake til after one am to do so. Something about the way the author constructed the plot and the unfolding revelations kept me turning the pages/listening. The shifting tenses and backwards way of looking forwards ( if that makes sense) was an unusual but effective style.
I realized almost immediately after beginning this book that the blurb on the back and the phrase on the front are misleading. You find out very early on that the fate or location of Bea's sister is not in question. It's the who and why that needs to be revealed. Its a very well done, darkly imagined story with a, for me, unexpected development at the end. I hesitate to cheapen it with the twist label because looking back, clues to that development were laced subtly throughout the narrative and made me really curious to get to the end to find out what she was alluding to. I just didn't expect it to be that.
I don't have a sister, but I can imagine that if I did I'd be calling her today.

Kept me guessing and kept pulling at my heart.

I love it when there's a plot I think I've got all figured out- one where I am just listening to a nicely told tale of things I know will unfold. But this one I couldn't guess at no matter how hard I tried. I was stumped right up until the final chapter, which bothered the control freak in me. And while it's a great mystery, it's also an emotional tale that kept pulling at different places in my heart (I'm a big sister, and a mother). The characters are rich and complicated, no one is completely perfect or completely awful. I kept myself busy with extra chores so I could finish listening to it; my house longs for me to find books like this.

This is a debut novel for Ms. Lupton, and I'm looking forward to the sequel, Afterwards.

It is entirely worth a spent credit.

intriguing, mysterious, literary

This just might be the best book I've ever downloaded.

A sister dies and her sister works endlessly to find out why. The twists and turns are perfectly placed and perfectly timed. I fell in love with the characters, especially the mother. Their pain, their sorrow, their remembrances brought me to tears more than once, but it isn't just a downer...I laughed out loud a few times and might have even cheered once or twice! The story kept me completely engaged; I was on the edge of my seat by book's end.

The narration was fantastic. Fantastic.

I learned of this book through a review in the New York Times and was so glad to find it on audible.

Sad but insightful story

I ordered this book because I have a sister, a twin, that I adore and because it sounded like an interesting mystery. I enjoyed the authors writing and insight into sisterly love and connection. The story was almost unbearably sad, however. The narrator read this book well but painfully slowly. I was desperate to speed it up; not only in time but also to lighten the unbearable sorrow of the story. The sadness of it makes me want to hug my sister and I know it will take a long time to shake the story and the feeling that I'm left with.

In sixty-two years the best read EVER.

The narrator? One of the best I've listened to in a long time. It took three attempts at start

Very skillful thriller

A very well-written, well-plotted and well-narrated thriller. I am hoping for Emily Blunt and Carey Mulligan in the movie.

Good Read

Where does Sister rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I felt that this book was very well written. Good character development. Good mystery. Well developed plot. It wasn't a spell binding page turner but it was a very good read.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the story of the past was written in the present in a format of a letter to the dead sister was a unique presentation.

Have you listened to any of Juanita Mahon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Enjoyed every second of this book.

I have listened to audiobooks for years, and don't give many glowing reviews but this deserves it. The book was well written (the ending really surprised me) and well narrated. Definitely worth your time.