The Good Sister
Fiction
St. Martin's Press
April 13, 2021
Hardcover/Audio
320
Purchased/Audio gifted from libro.fm
From the outside, everyone might think Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be: Rose is the responsible one and Fern is the quirky one. But the sisters are devoted to one another and Rose has always been Fern's protector from the time they were small.
Fern needed protecting because their mother was a true sociopath who hid her true nature from the world, and only Rose could see it. Fern always saw the good in everyone. Years ago, Fern did something very, very bad. And Rose has never told a soul. When Fern decides to help her sister achieve her heart's desire of having a baby, Rose realizes with growing horror that Fern might make choices that can only have a terrible outcome. What Rose doesn't realize is that Fern is growing more and more aware of the secrets Rose, herself, is keeping. And that their mother might have the last word after all.
My review:
I've been reading this author since her first book The Secrets of Midwives debuted. She never disappoints, and with this novel (her sixth) she has clearly outdone herself! The story of two sisters, this book delves deeply into the concept of what you see from the outside may not be the whole truth. Rose has always been super protective of her sister Fern, who suffers from a disability that we are never given a name to, but causes her to have certain tendencies probably most closely linked to forms of autism. I absolutely loved the way Hepworth crafted Fern, especially as the novel progresses and we see her emerge as perhaps not as hapless as her sister thinks. Also, Fern works in a library, so bonus points for that from us bibliophiles 🙂 Rose was also well crafted, and I loved the unique way we were given her story as diary entries. Given that this contains lots of twists in the plot, I'm afraid that I have to be very vague in discussing that aspect of the book. Suffice it to say, that I had no idea what to expect, and I powered through this in two days, I couldn't wait to see how it all played out.
A fantastic character study of two sisters and the lengths they go to help each other. Told in a unique format, with an ending I couldn't have predicted, this is one not to miss!
