Ella is recovering from her mother's death and is clearing out her things. In her wardrobe she discovers that she has a sister, Coleen, who was born 5 years before Ella. Excited at the prospect of having a sister, she sets out to find her. Her husband, Greg, a lawyer, urges caution.

Meanwhile Colleen has issues with her adoptive mother, and has only recently been told she's adopted. She is keen to find her father.

Eventually the pair meet up but Colleen is not at all as she had presented herself in emails. Instead of being happily married, she has actually left her controlling husband who seems to be stalking her.

This is an easy to read story where the reader needs to suspend disbelief and just go with it. From that point of view it is quite a good page-turner. But if you prefer your stories to have some depth to their characters, and being based in reality, then you'll be disappointed.

A good thriller. Fast paced and easy to read. I really enjoyed the alternating points of view between the sisters. Highly recommended

The Secret Sister is a quick paced family thriller. The ‘secret sister’ is discovered quickly and we’re thrown j to the story. The sisters are polar opposite. Ella is stuck in a routine. She has the typical husband, child, and job. She wants more from all three things but she isn’t making much of an effort to change. Until finding out about Colleen.

Colleen is escaping her abusive husband. She is scrappy and wary of the news of a new sister. Colleen is a drinker and bitter.

Both sisters are using this new revelation to escape their lives.

The first half of the book before the meeting is solid. I could not put it down. Once the sisters met I could feel the awkwardness. Mainly from the writing. The tone and flow totally changed. Instead of the typical unreliable narrator trope, we’re introduced to unreliable writing.

My rating is 3.5/5 stars. I’m putting 4 to be fair. I did finish the book but mainly to just finish it.

This was a very good psychological thriller told from the point of view of 2 sisters who only met after the death of their mother. It was a very easy read but at the same time one in which I didn’t want to put down.

What a wonderfully gripping read from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the secret sister. It was a well paced thriller

Still reeling from the loss of her mother, Ella is thrilled when she discovers a secret sister - her mother’s first child, born from a relationship 5 years prior to Ella’s birth. She immediately sets out to find her, but she soon learns that family isn’t always what it seems, and some secrets are best left hidden...

Right from the beginning, I struggled to connect to either of the two sisters. Ella is this preppy cheery woman who approaches the news that she has a secret sister by mentally rewriting the past to make her childhood as an only child all sad and lonely, and to become very possessive and obsessive over this random stranger and the wonderful idea of having a sister. But then the reality isn’t so great, and she immediately begins to backtrack. Plus, she is selfish to the extreme. When she finds out about Colleen, her husband had to stop her running off to tell her dad about his dead wife’s first child who he might not know about. She couldn’t even comprehend that news like that could affect a man still buried in grief. Just a very unlikeable woman.

Colleen was more likeable, but still not very realistic. I don’t want to ruin anything, but there was a huge contradiction between what her personality was, and what she was meant to have lived like for the past 10 years. It just felt like lazy writing, as the two halves of her story just never felt true. Speaking of the writing, I also found the tone very uneven and inconsistent. It veered from domestic drama to psychological thriller, whilst also throwing in a level of cheese that seemed straight out of a hallmark film.

Now, I know this sounds like a really bad review. Honestly, the book isn’t bad! It’s just not great, and unfortunately I’ve read too many lacklustre thrillers lately to really commit to this one - I ended up skimming most of it, and on that basis it sadly isn’t one I can recommend.

A fast paced tale of secrets and lies that hurtles along, pulling the reader into the messed up life of Colleen and the perfect life of Ella. When their mother dies, Ella discovers that Colleen is her secret sister, given away at birth. The sisters are polar opposites and it's compelling reading as the secrets start to unfold and we start to see everyone's true colours.

Thanks to netgalley, the authors and publisher for the arc. Ella finds out that she has a secret sister she never knew about. She wants to meet her sister, but sometimes its not all sunshine and roses.... Recommended.

When Ella Matthews looses her mother she is devastated but determined to be strong for her family; then she discovers a long hidden secret and begins to question everything she thought she knew. Ella has an older sister she had no idea existed and she wants to find her, much to husband Greg's dismay.

Colleen is down on her luck, alone and desperate, she is searching for her father but hiding at the same time and her only friend is the cheap bottle of vodka she buys far too regularly. When her sister contacts her she sees a way to escape and reaches out not realising the danger about to descend on her.

This was an easy read, written from both Ella and Colleen's point of view it flows well and has believable characters whose lives are about to collide in a world where there are some slightly iffy coincidences as well as original moments of jeopardy. I enjoyed it and would definitely read more in the future by these two authors.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys family drama with a twist, good mystery and a satisfying storyline.

This was a decent read, though I didn't think that the plot synopsis did a good job of describing what the book was actually about. It centers on both Ella and Colleen, with chapters that alternate between the 2 throughout the book. Ella's mother dies and Ella finds out that Colleen is her sister when cleaning out her things. Colleen, in the meantime, is leaving a bad relationship and trying to track down her father, the timing of which lined up well when Ella reaches out to her. They make plans to meet (and this part of the book was not super interesting to me), but after meeting, Colleen disappears and the book turns into more of a psychological thriller. I liked that part, and the twist at the end surprised me.

The primary issue I had with this story was around getting to know Ella and Colleen- I don't really feel like I did. Ella seemed a bit self absorbed to me- she wanted to meet Colleen because it was cool she had a sister, but didn't initially like what she saw and never really considered anyone else's (including her husband) point of view. Colleen also confused me- I had trouble reconciling her personality with the "stepford wife' type marriage that she was leaving after over a decade. It just didn't ring true for me that this person could have been that person not that long ago. I also found her unnecessarily mean in some of her conversations with Ella and others, and just didn't feel like I "got" her.

All in all, this is worth a read, if only for the last 3rd of the story and to see the relationship between the sisters evolve. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wicked read. From the moment I opened the book I was hooked. I could not put it down. It was a fantastic read. It was very well written

Thank you to netgalley, the authors and publisher for the arc.
Ella finds out she has a sister she never knew about when her mom dies. She is determined to find and meet the sister Colleen. Part family dynamics and part mystery. Overall a good book.

This was a book that held my attention to the very last page. Two women, after suddenly discovering they are sisters, decide to meet and then the novel turns into a psychological thriller that was enthralling and a fast paced read. While seeing the bond develop, I grew to like both of them, well- meaning Ella and the street-smart Colleen. Plus a really good twist at the end I didn’t see coming. Stayed up late to finish and now it’s 5.00am!

A story that drew me in from the beginning.Well written involving kept me turning the pages.#netgalley#hqdigital

So so. The description sounded really good. It was a little slow moving for me in the beginning, but as more unraveled about Colleen's past, the suspense picked up. Good ending.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. The beginning was a little slow for me waiting for the sisters to meet. The ending was good-didn't see that happening! Overall, not bad.

A well developed story with good characters that held my interest throughout and I can thoroughly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I highly recommend reading The Secret Sister. It’s intense, quick-paced, has well developed characters, & a plot that’s full of twists. Once I started reading, I could not put it down!!

I definitely enjoyed this one but unfortunately it got way too crazy at the end, at least for me. I'll still give it four stars because I liked it

Ella is sorting through her late mother's possessions and realizes that she has a half sister, Colleen - who is 3 years older than her. Ella's life is happy with her food photography, her husband, Greg - a lawyer and a sweet 4 year old daughter, Maisie. Ella and Colleen share the same birthmother, but not their fathers. Colleen, on the other hand, ran from her (abusive?) husband, Jake, and is literally hiding out from him. As all things must eventually boil down to money, As a recovering alcoholic, she falls off the wagon. Colleen tries to get in touch with her father, Reagan, who last corresponded with her when she was 5. Now, at 33, Colleen needs her estranged dad. for safety, cash and a place to stay. Yet, Colleen also sees Ella as a possibility for a place to stay and fill her needs.

Colleen spots her father after they finally agree to meet. He makes a phone call as he sees her and leaves the planned place before they even meet. As luck has it, Colleen (through Ella & Greg's generosity) meets Ella and her family at a hotel. Even this does not seem to go too well. And the lies Colleen spews may be hard to remember...

Excellent plot, characterization, and even a twist! The characters were strong (even if you do not like them all).
5 Stars for the story and the writing!!!

RECOMMEND

Many Thanks to HQ Digital/HarperCollins and NetGalley for a truly fine read.