Author: Claire Douglas
Publisher: Penguin UK
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Domestic Thriller.
Year of release: 2024
Release date: 19/03/24
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis
A burglary gone wrong, a mistaken identity …or something far worse?
Tasha has always felt in the shadow of her older sister, Alice. Alice is married to wealthy entrepreneur Kyle and has a high-flying career, Tasha is married to her childhood sweetheart and lives in a Bristol suburb with their three-year-old twins.
When Alice realises that Tasha is struggling she suggests she come to look after the twins for a week, so Tasha and her husband can enjoy a week away.
But a few days in, it all goes terribly wrong. Tasha receives a phone call to say Alice is in hospital and Kyle is dead after an intruder broke into their house. A burglary gone wrong, surely. Until a note arrives saying It was supposed to be you…
Review
Bristol England, Tash and Aaron Harper are childhood sweethearts who haven’t spent quality time together since before their twins were born thus ensuring the pair feel chained to the rhythm of everyday life causing tension in their marriage. Tasha’s older sister Alice is made aware of the struggle her sister is having she offers to make the trip to Chew Norton from London to baby sit her beloved niece’s whilst Tash and Aaron pack their bags for a romantic week away in Venice.
After just a few days away on what was a promising trip to rekindle their romance however, things take a dark turn for the worse, Aaron and Tash find themselves in danger, Tash was already apprehensive about leaving her 3-year-old twins home for the first time but this has just confirmed her fears; Aaron and Tash agree they should return home, they’ll be safe there at least.
It doesn’t take long for the couple to realise their home isn’t all that safe and perhaps the family is in grave danger…
 Every once in awhile social media provides this blogger with a recommendation for a book The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas was that book, and social media was right about this one! It ticks all the boxes turning this book into one of my favourite Domestic Thriller titles.Â
Details used to introduce the reader to Alice and Tasha’s mum Jeanette and her backstory felt incomplete in this reviewer’s opinion making the details itself feel unnecessary as it goes nowhere and doesn’t add to the character or the story.
The Wrong Sister plotline has me recommending this book to other readers however when it comes to the characters used to tell the story I wasn’t as connected to them as I had hoped I would be, they aren’t unlikeable in any way and there were times when I felt sympathy for them, but I wasn’t able to form an attachment. I can appreciate Claire Douglas’s skilled writing when it comes to bringing this story to life on the page.
The Wrong Sister will have the reader eager to sit down and devour the novel at speed and at no time does the story lose momentum, but more importantly it gains the full attention of the reader from start to finish making it almost impossible to put down. Never fear even if you must put the book down you won’t need to refresh your memory the details remain fresh making this read easy to pick up where you left off.
Upon starting this book, I was concerned it would be a touch predictable thus my enthusiasm would waver making it a slower read then I was hoping for thankfully this wasn’t the case, this aspect is the reason behind my 5-star rating.
If I had to describe the book to someone, I would say it is punchy, fast-paced, surprising, heavy on suspense, and sometimes very tense. The author describes the locations and the characters effortlessly without being over the top with descriptions making feel like a joy to read rather than a chore.Â
Sub plots + tropes included in The Wrong Sister:
- Misjudged deathÂ
- Death of a spouse
- Tight knit familyÂ
- SiblingsÂ
- Mother/daughter relationship
- GriefÂ
- SecretsÂ
- Historical crime
- Lies Â
- Unassuming suspectÂ
- Multiple murdersÂ
- Detective team up
- Light-bulb momentÂ
- The big revealÂ
- Surprise ending
Even if I struggled to form a connection to the characters, I would say the plot twist in The Wrong Sister is epic and one that will stay with me for a long time, the author breadcrumbs the reader but not enough to reveal the ending far too early.
Although the ending does feel somewhat like whiplash as the reader feels as if they are still coming to terms with the big reveal and the story abruptly concludes, but nothing feels unfinished nor forgotten.
Whilst The Wrong Sister didn’t have me reaching for the tissues it does pull at the heartstrings, the family’s past trauma could potentially be any readers current circumstance making it feel a little uncomfortably raw and real.
I highly recommend The Wrong Sister to a mature audience and readers of the Mystery, Thriller, Suspense genre will no doubt have heard about the hype surrounding this novel or other titles by this author, this is my first novel by Claire Douglas, and it certainly won’t be my last.