ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the bestselling author of My Husband's Wife, a new thriller featuring three girls, one accident, and a lifetime of lies.Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead.
Fifteen years later, Kitty can't speak and has no memory of the accident that's to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn't keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face.
Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She's struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence.
Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do. . .
LISTEN TO AN EXCERPT:
MY REVIEW:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blood Sisters by Jane Corry is a 2018 Pamela Dorman Books publication.
Squeaky clean school shoes
Shoulder bags bobbing
Blonde plaits flopping
Twopairs of feet. One slightly larger.
‘Come on. We’re going to be late.’
Nearly there. Almost safe.
Pavement edge.
Another pair of feet.
No!
A scream.
Silence.
Blood seeping on the ground.
Spreading and spreading.
A tragic accident left Kitty with severe brain-damage and her older sister, Alison physically and emotionally scarred.
Years pass, and Kitty remains institutionalized, unable to remember anything about the accident, locked inside herself, unable to communicate with anyone. Alison has no close relationships, barely makes ends meet, but has taken up Kitty’s passion for art. In dire need of more funds, Alison applies for a job at a prison where she would teach art to the inmates. Little did she know what the ramifications of that fateful decision would be…
This is a very ingenious psychological thriller. The pacing is a little slow at first, with only a few interesting developments that almost had me sighing in boredom for a while. I also found myself balking at the improbability of some of the situations presented to me. But I had the feeling I should play along, and would be glad I stuck around for the ending of this one. I’m glad I followed my instincts!!
This is a very well written novel- twisty, sinister, and almost darkly humorous in some ways. It is just the type of book this genre, which is in danger of becoming a parody of itself, desperately needs. I’d go so far as to say this book is one of the most unique psychological thrillers I’ve read this year.
If you know me, you have heard me complain long and loud about seeing the twist coming or guessing whodunit too early in the story, and with psychological thrillers, in particular, the plots being too similar- almost interchangeable. But, that didn’t happen with this novel- not even close.
Corry lulled me into complacency ,at first, with the deceptive pacing, but I vastly underestimated her skills, and found myself taken by surprise time and time again. The plot is much more intricate than it appears on the surface. The story is a very cleverly woven web of suspense that caught me off guard and kept me that way until the bitter end. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated and respected the author for giving my brain a real workout. I turned the last page nodding my head with approval, with a wry smile on my face, because she fooled me-she got me good, especially with that last dollop of relish on top. Ordinarily, I'd complain about that too, but the understated quality of the book kept the twist coming at just the right intervals so that it was never in danger of being too over the top. Very well done!
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sisters-Novel-Jane-Corry-ebook/dp/B0738JN6MX/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-sisters-jane-corry/1123880308
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jane runs regular writing workshops and speaks at literary festivals all over the world, including The Women's Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy. Until her recent move to Devon, she was a tutor in creative writing at Oxford University. She is also an associate member of the Royal Literary Fund.
Many of Jane's ideas come during her morning dog-jog along the beach followed by a dip in her wetsuit. (She's an all-year-round swimmer provided the sea isn't dangerous.) Jane also loves tennis, walking, reading, yoga, the 'Quiet' train carriage (a great 'office' for writing) and her family. She's still coming to terms with being an empty-nester but makes up for it with lots of long-distance nagging! Jane's second husband was a bachelor family friend who is also Godfather to her children. He makes her laugh every day although they can't agree on how to load the dishwasher!