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The Half Sister by Sandie Jones

Thriller

The Half Sister

by Sandie Jones

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Quick take

A DNA test turns a family's life upside-down in this unpredictable thriller of buried secrets and betrayal.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Multiple_Viewpoints

    Multiple viewpoints

  • Illustrated icon, Slow_Build

    Slow build

  • Illustrated icon, Family_Drama

    Family drama

  • Illustrated icon, Puzzle

    Puzzle

Synopsis

THE TRUTH

Sisters Kate and Lauren meet for Sunday lunch every week without fail, especially after the loss of their father.

THE LIE

But a knock at the door is about to change everything. A young woman by the name of Jess holds a note with the results of a DNA test, claiming to be their half sister.

THE UNTHINKABLE

As the fallout starts, it's clear that they are all hiding secrets, and perhaps this family isn't as perfect as it appears.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Half Sister.

The Half Sister

1

Kate

Kate sees the familiar nameplate on Dr. Williams’ office door and feels a knot in her stomach. She doesn’t know why, after all this time, it still affects her like this—she should be used to it by now. But every time she walks through his door she’s filled with hope, and every time she walks back out, she feels utter despair and sadness, unable to believe that fate could be so cruel.

As if he knows what she’s thinking, Matt grabs hold of her hand as they sit in the clinic’s waiting room. Squeezing it, as if he is somehow able to transfer his boundless optimism onto her.

He kisses her head as she leans into him. “I think this might be the one,” he says, over-enthusiastically, as if believing it hard enough will prove him right.

“It’s certainly the last one,” she says wearily.

“Let’s see,” says Matt with forced joviality.

“Kate!” exclaims Dr. Williams as he opens his door.

She should call him Ben, as he’s requested a hundred times. But using his first name means she knows him well, and if she knows him well, it would be admitting how long this has been going on for.

“Doctor,” she says, as she stands up and walks toward him with an outstretched arm.

“Good to see you,” says Dr. Williams. “Matt, how are you?”

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Why I love it

A top literary agent once told me that if a manuscript doesn't hook her within the first couple of pages, she’ll put it down and reach for the next submission in her pile. I understand why: Given all the terrific books out there, why force yourself to read something that doesn't thoroughly engage you? Luckily for us Sandie Jones fans, her new novel, The Half Sister, illustrates once again that she's a writer who can command our attention.

The book opens with sisters Kate and Lauren, who are visiting their widowed mother's house for a family meal. Plenty of sibling rivalry and old grievances are served up along with the roast beef and vegetables. But this family really starts to crack apart after the doorbell rings, and a complete stranger standing on the stoop claims she's the third sister.

Jones has a breezy, engaging writing style—perhaps due to her background as a celebrity journalist—and the surprise twists keep popping up like fireworks. If, like me, you’ve been desperately craving an escape, this book is the ideal prescription.

Member ratings (2,449)

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Thriller
View all
The Boyfriend
The Last One at the Wedding
Sleep Tight
First Lie Wins
House of Glass
Middle of the Night
Listen for the Lie
A Talent for Murder
Beautiful Ugly
Someone in the Attic
One Perfect Couple
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Kill for Me, Kill for You
Bad Tourists
Murder Road
Daughter of Mine
The Fury
The Other Mothers
When I’m Dead
The Soulmate
What Lies in the Woods
She Started It
The Only One Left
Dark Corners
Blacktop Wasteland
All the Dangerous Things
The Only Survivors
The Broken Girls
The Family Game
The Push
We Were Never Here
Things We Do in the Dark
The Golden Couple
The Stranger Upstairs
Gone Tonight
Too Good to Be True
The Last Word
You Are Not Alone
Rock Paper Scissors
Not a Happy Family
A Flicker in the Dark
Reckless Girls
The House Across the Lake
The Last Thing He Told Me
The Maidens
Everything We Didn't Say
The Paris Apartment
You're Invited
The Last Party
Dark Places
Pieces of Her
The Wife Between Us
Sharp Objects
None of This Is True
The Silent Patient
The Other Woman
Necessary People
The Family Upstairs
The Night Swim
Girl A
The Hunting Wives
Just Another Missing Person
First Born
The Lies I Tell
Breathless