Because I'm tapping my fingers waiting for the next instalment in the Jessica Daniels series, I thought I would request a pre-publication of this stand alone book by the same author.

Just as a creepy psychological thriller should, you are slowly drawn in. Unravelling an array of characters who all play their part with the twists & turns in this intriguing plot.

I thought this book was really well written. I really enjoyed the different directions the story went in knowing something was not right, but being unsure exactly what it was.

Praise to Mr Wilkinson for only temporary stopping my fingers tapping (hint hint).

Thank you Kerry Wilkinson, Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to review this book.

Well that was fun.....a little unbelievable but so addictive!

This novel drew me in from the first page. Megan and Chloe have come back to the family cottage near Whitecliff three months after their parents were killed in a car accident. It's also the place where 10 years previously their brother Zac disappeared. On the day of their parents funeral Megan received a postcard of Whitecliff with one letter on the back...'Z'.
This book seemed to present little snippets of information throughout. Megan and Chloe are 20 and nearly 17 respectively but Megan seems so much older and Chloe so much younger. They have never been close as they spent their schooling years at different boarding schools. While Chloe is a vegan, it appears that Megan is obsessed with calories and carbs and it was really interesting reading Megan's self talk on this, so I was wondering where it was all leading to. Megan has come to the cottage with Chloe on the pretence of clearing it out to sell but she ultimately wants to know what happened to Zac and we follow her obsessive journey. There was always a menacing undercurrent throughout, I thought I had it figured out 2/3's of the way in but I was quite wrong and the last few chapters were heart in mouth for me. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read and review.

Mind shattering book! Enjoyed it all the way to the end!

Megan and Chloe are no strangers to tragedy. Their brother Zac went missing when they were 10 and 7 respectively and now 10 years later they have lost both of their parents in a car crash. Under the guise of clearing up their parents affairs Megan arranges for them to stay at the holiday cottage in Whitecliff where they were staying when Zac vanished. But she had an ulterior motive. She has received a postcard from Whitecliff, the back signed Z....Z for Zac..Megan is determined to find out the truth about her brother but Whitecliff isn't a town that gives up its secrets easily.

So this is my first Kerry Wilkinson novel (shocking I know). He's been on my radar for awhile but by the time his Jessica Daniel series came to my attention he was about nine books in. Generally now if I'm not in at about book 3 I shy away. I still haven't got over the trauma of reading my first Inspector Banks and realising it was part 16. It's that moment of "Oh God there topples my TBR pile". I do have a point to all this rambling (I promise...well sort of). So seeing this standalone novel I thought it was an ideal starting point. And a part of me was hoping this would be crap because then I wouldn't want to read any of his other books. Well all I can say is damn you Mr Wilkinson, you only went and wrote a darn fine book. Humph.
So what I like about this book most of all is Megan. She's sarcastic and bitchy, grumpy and short tempered but even with her obvious issues I really warmed to her quickly (not sure what this says about me). The fact is this is a slow burner of a book which, in the hands of another writer, might struggle to hold some people's attention. But because our narrators voice is as compelling as it is it holds your attention, it even provides a few laughs at the beginning. But as the book progresses that slow burn turns to a build up of growing tension, so very quickly you find that you just can't put this down. There is a list of supporting characters but the other star of the show is the town itself. We've all been to a town like Whitecliff, a small seaside town that wants your money but not your company. Whitecliff is best described as a particularly unfriendly distant (inbred) cousin of Broadchurch. They've got more secrets than the CIA.

A great place to start your Kerry Wilkinson journey, a dark and moody thriller that will wile away some very enjoyable hours this summer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mysteries begin in the first few pages. On being told her parents have been killed in a car crash Megan doesn't react as you'd expect even allowing that people react differently. The second mystery is where is her brother Zac who disappeared a decade ago. Megan and Chloe return to their inherited parental cottage home in Cornwall - no TV, phone or Wi-Fi signal. Nightmare!!!! Megan is like a dog with a bone trying to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance and met with an unfriendly, wary response from the villagers. The book has a very modern take on youth in its dialogue, thinking and fashion. I can just picture the author grinning away to himself as he wrote this book. It's packed with humour with some very engaging one-liners and analogies. In contrast it's also tense with the underlying mysteries, cliff hanging chapters and I certainly wasn't prepared for the killer-type ending. Thank you for letting me read it. After publication I shall put a review on Amazon and my blog. I have already commented on Facebook to whet people's appetite to read it.

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Denise Crawford's review Jun 17, 2017 · edit

Whitecliff, a strange little seaside town where the locals and the summer people antagonize each other during the season. Megan and Chloe Smart return to the family cottage there after the sudden death of their parents. Neither had been back since their older brother, Zac, had disappeared from the place 10 years previously. There were no clues, but the sisters had been told that he had probably drowned. "They lied."

As a fan of the Jessica Daniel novels, I've read 5, I was hoping for the same type of gripping psychological thriller that I've come to expect from this author. This was a standalone, and unfortunately was not as good as I'd thought it would be. I couldn't relate to the main character, older sister Megan with her anorexia, nor to any of the other characters in the book. There was not much suspense or tension and I merely plodded through finally reaching the end -- which seemed anticlimactic after all the intended build up. I just couldn't make myself care too much about the plot. At first I thought this might have been one of his first novels repackaged, but no, it is due out shortly in the US. Anyway, I finished it. All I want to do now is read more of the JD series. Maybe it was the age of the characters that I found so hard to identify with -- this read more like YA or New Adult than I like.

Having read some of Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniel series, I knew the guy could spin a good yarn. So when I heard that Bookouture were to publish a stand alone novel, Two Sisters I absolutely couldn't pass up on the opportunity to read it. The story opens as Megan Smart is being informed that her parents have been killed in a car crash. No messing, no preamble, much like the officer's relaying of the news we launch straight in. Now Megan and her sister Chloe have not been especially close to their parents, both packed off to boarding school as soon as possible and living largely separate lives, but it still comes as a shock, if only because of the cryptic postcard Megan receives just before the funeral.

It is this that leads Megan to drag her sister to the holiday home in Cornwall that they haven't visited since the fateful summer ten years ago when their brother Zach disappeared. She knows that somewhere in the small village are the answers she longs for. Little does she know the startling chain of events that she is about to unleash by simply asking a few questions. Someone in the village knows something and it seems is willing to do anything to stop the truth from coming out.

Now compared to Kerry Wilkinsons' usual police procedurals, there is a marked slowing of pace in Two Sisters. To be fair, this suits the sleepy and remote village location perfectly, and lends itself to the sense of foreboding and ill feeling that starts from almost the moment that the sisters set foot in Whitecliff. There is a complete lack of trust for outsiders from the locals, often typical of a small village location, and although the girls' parents had a home in the village, very few people seem to have known them. Those that do are mysterious and aloof, and there is an air of dishonesty about each of them.

As this is a suspense rather than an out and out thriller, characterisation is key and the author has done a sterling job of creating the authenticity of the small town community, a village full of people who have known little other than Whitecliff for their entire lives. There is also an honesty about Megan who is battling more than the need for answers. Her fractious relationship with her mother has taken a toll on her personally and the nature of her condition appears well researched and represented. She is suffering from an eating disorder but this is not glorified or glossed over in any way. It is just represented, in Megans's own voice, as they way that it is. She is acutely aware of what she is doing to herself but also that she cannot stop. There is no self denial, just an acceptance of who she is.

Chloe is a completely different character to her sister. Younger, she is shy and uncertain, but there is an honesty about her which is appealing. In fact both sisters are very likeable characters which is good as it is through Megan's eyes that we see the majority of the action unfold. This complements the narrative as the reader is taken in by the same lies as Megan believes, and feels the suspicion that she feels. There is also that eeriness, the sense of menace, which accompanies the movement in the shadows, always just out of Megan's, and our, line of sight. That spine tingling moment of doubt and apprehension as some of stark warnings to the girls first start to appear.

With all the dishonesty and the strange, sometimes violent, goings on you can feel the tension slowly building. It is quite fitting that the traditional Burning Boat celebration within the town should signal the start of the most nerve wracking sequence of the whole book. You know something is going to happen, but you cannot prepare yourself for the moment when everything reaches its shocking conclusion.  There are so many suspects for what happened to Zach all those years ago littered throughout the book, so many people who appear guilty and could be trying to force Megan to leave, that it simply could be anyone. So much duplicity, so many lies. You will think that you know, but you really won't.

If you like an intriguing and suspenseful read, full of duplicitous characters and mistrust, then you should absolutely give this a go. Fans of Kerry Wilkinson will not be disappointed.

This book. This book kept my attention. I was trying to determine the ending as I read and fortunately for me, very unsuccessful. I was able to be surprised and it was a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

Good story dealing with difficult subjects. Very descriptive of small village life and how outsiders can be treated ,with nasty undertones.

I really liked this book, it had you wondering the whole time. I could have done with out the whole anorexia thing,I dont feel like it really mattered and it was brought up like every 5 min. It didnt really add to the story. Its about 2 girls who parents died and they try to find out what happened to their dead/ missing brother 10 years ago. They end up in alot of trouble and no is who they seem.

Great book! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

Wow neve saw any of it coming. Excellent read keeps you on your toes

Megan and her sister are alone after the death of their parents. They return to the family holiday cottage to deal with the estate, but also because Megan is convinced someone will know what happened to her older brother when he went missing ten years earlier.
This is a small town, full of secrets, and sometimes secrets have a way of coming out.

Megan who is ten years old and her shy little sister Chloe, aged six, travel with their parents to join their teenage brother Zac, who has spent his summer holiday at their seaside cottage, high up a steep hill and surrounded by woodland. The small town of Whitecliff with its beach are down below their hilltop eyrie and they spend their summer together playing with each other and enjoying the beach. Then one day their parents tell the girls that Zac has gone missing, never returning home two evenings earlier. The family return home with just four in their car when the search for Zac is called off and he is declared missing, feared drowned.
Ten years later Megan and Chloe are left orphans when their parents are tragically killed in a car crash. Megan receives a mysterious post card that summer, the cliffs and beach of Whitecliff Bay on the front of it and the sender signing off with an enigmatic ‘Z’. Could it possibly be from Zac? The two sisters have been left all of their parents worldly goods, including their holiday cottage, so they agree to drive to Whitecliff with the remit of clearing out the cottage and perhaps even selling it on. Chloe is oblivious of the existence of the post card as Megan has kept the secret of it and the mysterious sender to herself. However she is determined to try to find out what happened to her older brother a decade earlier.
The villagers soon know who Megan and Chloe are and are not very welcoming. They are vague in their recollections of Zac although they admit to remembering his disappearance and the ensuing search. It seems that nobody really mixed with him or could help Megan with answers to her questions. Chloe understands their reluctance to talk about the event. After all their businesses rely heavily upon tourism and they do not want this event to cast a shadow over their lives. But Megan will not let it go and that is when the real trouble starts, placing the sisters in mortal danger.
“Two Sisters” by Kerry Wilkinson is a mystery story of a determined young lady trying to uncover the truth of her brother’s disappearance from her dysfunctional family. Damaged, full of demons and lacking in self esteem she undertakes a heartfelt investigation with nothing but hindrance from the townsfolk. Even her sister Chloe urges her to ‘let it go’, not fully understanding the importance of finding out the truth to feisty Megan. She is driven forward by the knowledge that her brother may be alive and that he wants to be reunited with his siblings. Piece by piece she collects evidence that she cannot understand. Strange things happen and spook her. Has there been a cover-up? Who is involved? Have her parents lied to the two sisters? She literally cannot rest until she has discovered the truth and all of her questions have been answered.
This story is told mainly from Megan’s point of view. I did not like her character very much. She was rude and damaged, verging on the very tip of self destruction. The buried secrets of the past tormented her and will not leave her alone. There are so many secrets being kept in this story, even by her sister. Sometimes people are not who they seem to be and this leads her astray.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. This was a good read, enveloping me in a feeling of menace throughout every page. Never in a month of Sundays could I have guessed the satisfying, but disturbing outcome.

Two Sisters was a tense psychological thriller that was gripping from start to finish.

Megan and Chloe's parents have recently died leaving them a fortune. They travel to their parents' holiday cottage and start unravelling the disappearance of their brother ten years ago.

Megan is anorexic and the descriptions of her struggles when presented with food sounded realistic but made me feel uneasy throughout.

Another great standalone book from Wilkinson....

Megan and Chloes parents are killed in a car crash and so they return to WhiteCliff, a small seaside town, where the family have a holiday home.

Chloe thinks they are just clearing the house before it is sold but Megan has deeper reasons for being there - she has received a postcard from the town containing just the letter Z.... Z for Zac... their brother who went missing presumed dead when Zoe was just 10.

So is Zac send the postcard? Is he still alive or does someone know what happened? Megan is determined to find out whereas Chloe thinks the past is best left in the past.

No spoilers here but Wilkinson once again does a great job creating characters who are so real and believable. The reader is not just drawn into the story of Zac but also the personal stories of Megan and Chloe - Chloe as she deals with her parents death and her realationship with a sister she has never been given a chance to know. And Megan as she tries to deal with her parents death, taking on the guardian role of a sister she doesnt know whilst she desperately searches for the truth. Megan also clearly is dealing with her own personal demons in the form of an eating disorder.... I love the fact that Wilkinson does not make this as a main part of the story but an underlying theme which affects how Megan faces herself and the world.

Wilkinson creates a whole world of characters - a town facing battles between holidaymakers and the locals who resent but rely on the vistors cash to keep the town going. I come from such a place and this environment is EXACTLY right... Wilkinson does well to capture the conflicting emotions.

Another great read.... cant wait for the next book :-)

Megan is at school when she gets a visit from the police which she knows can’t be good. They have come to inform her that her parents have been involved in an automobile accident and did not survive. Megan is speechless and doesn’t know how to take the news having barely known her parents with always being sent off to schools, camps or anything to get her out of the way over the years.

Ten years before the family had been closer and were spending time at their cottage in the small town of Whitecliff when Megan’s brother Zach had disappeared. There was never a body found but it had been assumed that Zach had drowned. Now after her parents deaths Megan receives a postcard from Whitecliff that is signed with a simple Z. Needing to visit the house that she and her younger sister now own Megan gets her sister Chloe and they pack up for a visit to Whitecliff after all these years hoping to find some answers.

The first thing I would want to mention about Two Sisters is that Megan seems to suffer from an eating disorder. There wasn’t a mention of that in the official synopsis so if this would bother some readers I thought it should be brought to their attention. It became fairly obvious in the book when Megan showed a compulsion to checking calories in everything around her and continues throughout the book but isn’t really addressed.

Now with the mystery in this book I would have to say that part of that reveal I had actually guessed fairly early on in the read but this is because it reminded me of a television show I had watched. Even with guessing some things though I still enjoyed Megan’s investigating and found there were several twists and turns that added to my guess and made this an interesting read in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I always have a weak spot for a good psychological thriller and I was drawn to Two Sisters as soon as I saw the cover and blurb. My first impression wasn't wrong: this story without doubt delivered. Two Sisters isn't just another well written suspense story with an intriguing plot and a mystery to unravel though. Why? One of the main characters (the older sister, Megan) has an eating disorder and her struggle is present throughout the story. Besides the fact that it was really interesting to see how she deals with this on a daily basis while also being exposed to very stressful situations, her situation was very well described and added a whole different level to this story. I'm not sure I actually liked her character (or most of the others), but the development of the characters in general is very realistic and they feel genuine. The writing style is very engaging and makes it really easy to enjoy this story, and the many many plot twists will keep you guessing about what is really going on until the very end. Trust me, you won't see the final revelations coming! In short, Two Sisters is a well written psychological thriller with a healthy dose of mystery and suspense that also manages to incorporate a very important topic (eating disorder) realistically while adding an original touch to the story at the same time. There are lots and lots of plot twists as well to keep you busy and all in all it's a great read!

Oh how do i review a book that I am so ambiguous about??
The story goes like this; two sisters Megan and Cloe, lose their parents to a car accident, they inherit everything and come to their vacation cottage at Whitecliff, Cornwall. It starts with Megan receiving a postcard from Z. Is Z their long lost brother, Zachariah /Zac.. Is he alive?? Is he safe?? Where has he been in all these years?? That starts the ball rolling from London to Cornwall.
Megan, at 20 yrs of age, is a difficult person to like, she is brash, abrupt, rude at times. She is a little disturbed, dealing with anorexia and her mother's words ringing in her ears in every situation, does not help her condition or her mental status. But she will do anything to know the answer to her brother's disappearance. She takes chances, risks, some of them do pay off.
Cloe, on the other hand, at 17, is quiet, easy going and does not want to know what happened to her brother because sometimes truth is scarier than pretense.
The relationship between the sisters is sometimes warm but mostly strained and awkward as they have never lived together. They have kept in touch via the social platforms during their boarding school phase. So, seeing them interact was both refreshing and painful. There is loyalty yet a strange distance between them.
There are other characters who make an appearance throughout the story : neighbors, Alison and Dan (didn't they have a son??? Where is he??), the bar owner Pete (what's his secret?), his fisherman son Scott (is he a bully??), Scott's wife, Chris's ie (what's her connection to Zac??). Surfer boy, Luke, vacationer kids like Brad, Mia, George and other locals like Vee, Gwen play their part in surrounding the village in mystery and intrigue. There is a strange pulsatile darkness emerging from all of them. The more Megan pushes with her questions, the harder the village residents resist till her back is to the wall. Then there are only two choices; run or fight. Chloe wants to run...
What does Megan do, does she run or fight? Is her need for answers more important than her sister?? That's what the latter half of the book answers.
Kerry Wilkinson writes well. There is mystery and suspense. He takes a flawed young adult, filled with attitude and resentment, puts her right in the midst of an unfriendly village and then settles back, to see her finding her answers. .. She is quite a swashbuckling hero in the last few pages, with lots of action... Its a good book overall, with a great plot line but oh, so difficult to like the main character.

One of the best, if not my top read this year so far. It's not only that the mystery is compelling, the resolution surprising or the twists unexpected, it is Megan that really blew me away. Her twisted point of view is simply fascinating. She is very damaged, has serious issues, can be nasty (in her mother's words, she can be a b!tch) and yet, I liked her so much that I was really rooting for her. After the death of their parents, Megan and Chloe go back to their summer cottage, where their brother disappeared 10 years earlier. Megan thinks that she can find out what happened. Her resentment toward her parents (especially her Mom) colors everything she thinks, feels and does. So she gets obsessed and won't listen to reason. All the characters are very rounded and complete and the plot is addictive. I can only recommend it to anybody who can read.