The Other Sister by Elle Croft
Publisher: Orion
Publishing Date: 18th October 2018
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley, thank you!
Number of pages: 304
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Buy the Book: Kindle | Paperback
Synopsis:
How far would you go…
Gina Mills is desperate to be a newsreader, but her boss – the director of the struggling Channel Eight, won’t help.
Walking home one night, Gina stumbles upon a dead body, and after calling the police, she makes the split-second decision to report the murder live.
When questioned by the police, Gina can’t remember specific details about her discovery, but these memory gaps are explained away as shock.
…to uncover your family’s deadly secret?
But when Gina finds a second body, it’s clear she’s being targeted. But why?
And how is this connected to the death of Gina’s younger sister so many years ago?
Fans of Friend Request by Laura Marshall, Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear, The Mistake by KL Slater, The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland and The Angel by Katerina Diamond will love The Other Sister.
Rating: 
Gina Mills dreams of being a newsreader but right now she’s stuck at her PA job at Channel 8. She has reconnected with her brother, Ryan, after many years of radio silence, following the death of their younger sister Cassie. One night Gina walks home and comes across a body of a young woman. Yes, she does what’s required, calls the emergency number, but also logs into Channel 8 Facebook account and reports the murder live online – this must please her boss, right? But this decision is going to change her life in many different ways, and both good and bad attention comes her way. And then she discovers another body… Is it accidental? Or is someone targeting her? Is it connected with the events from her childhood?
The characters in this book are deeply flawed. They’re not likeable – you may feel pity or sorry for them but I don’t think it’s possible to like them. They’re full of dark secrets, they lie and are putting the blame on other people. But they are wonderfully, brilliantly complex and not straightforward, they are challenging and this is how I liked them to be. The story is told from a few points of view, those of Gina, Ryan, their mother Sharon, and also Adam, the police officer investigating the crimes. Our main character Gina is a very colourful one, and she made me feel confused many, many times. I really wasn’t sure if she’s honest, if she’s playing, or if she really has such a bad luck, and I really liked this, her not being straightforward but complicated and complex. The story jumps between 1996 and the present and the pieces of information are scattered and slowly – but not too slowly – being dosed to us to eventually show us a picture that I’ve never seen coming.
I think I’ve never before came across this method of murder – to be honest, it made me feel such disgust, and even more so when the author, in a very detailed way explained the motives of those murders. Yes, I can probably see that this modus operanti may rise an eyebrow or two but let’s be honest, finally it was something different, something totally unique and unexpected, and it worked for me.
The writing style is captivating, flowing so seamlessly and effortlessly, in a great and compelling way peeling off layer after layer, slowly putting the puzzle together, until we reach the finale. On the one hand, I wanted more from the ending, on the other it was great end that – please don’t judge me – made me smile under my breath. Sure, this story could be better in some aspects, there were moments it felt too far – fetched and some of the events and things happened just too conventionally but it kept me hooked and this is what counts.
For me personally this book was better than “The Guilty Wife”. It was a real page – turner that I couldn’t put down – well, I’ve read it in about eight hours, continuing deep into the night and all the time repeating “only one chapter more”. It was dark, twisty and unpredictable psychological thriller. The author has managed to pull wool over my eyes to be honest – I was extremely sure that I know who’s the killer and why and I think I don’t have to mention that I was wrong. Very wrong. I somehow guessed the “why” but not the “who”. I adored the way the author has made her plot so complex, throwing suspicions on different characters, once making them vulnerable and scared and in the next moment adding a red herring that would change my mind about them. There were so many questions: why does someone murder the women? Why is it always Gina finding them? Is it a coincidence? Is she the target of the killer? What’s going to happen??? It was full of tension and suspense, secrets and intrigues and a totally surprising outcome.
I’ve raced through the pages, literally. I was totally engrossed in this compelling and gripping story. It was not only the pace that made me read so quickly, it was the plot, the characters , the changing moods and this feeling of uncertainty, of something bad that was going to happen, of simply wanting to reach the conclusion as quickly as possible. It was twisty, but not in your usual psychological thrillers way, Ms Croft has twisted her plot in the most clever, compelling and original way. It was very dark and also very literal, some of the descriptions may be putting off, but just close your eyes and read further. “The Other Sister” is a book that’ll make you want more and more, to see more and more, to hear more. You’ll feel disgusted but also, in a teasing, sadistical way it won’t be enough for you. It was so refreshingly original, captivating, addictive and be warned – it’s going to chew you and spit you out and yet you’ll still want more and more. Highly recommended!
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