I think it's quite safe to say that Ruth Dugdall likes to write about topics many authors avoid and has no qualms about covering controversial or taboo subjects. My Sister and Other Liars is a standalone psychological thriller which tells the story of 17 year old Sam who is currently residing in a hospital in Suffolk due to her anorexia. It is NOT an easy or comfortable read, but it is gripping and sympathically written. Going back and forth, Sam recounts the horrific events that lead her to being institutionalised 18 months previously. With psychological thrillers it's almost a given that there will be some twists, turns and red herrings and I will publically admit to feeling quite smug with myself when at 25% through the book I had worked out the twist. I will also publically admit that at 70% through the book I realised I had actually got it all wrong and the said smug smile was swiftly wiped off my face. This is a fabulous and thoroughly researched book which I highly recommend to fans of any suspense and thriller books.

Upon hearing the premise for My Sister and Other Liars I was desperately eager to read the novel - and the author certainly didn't let me or my expectations down.

My Sister and Other Liars is based around Sam, a teenager plunged into the world of anorexia, institutionalised in the Bartlett Hospital on the Felixstowe coast in Suffolk. It soon becomes clear that Sam's illness is as a result of a deeper trauma, and the story becomes a case of a 'whodunnit' as the book moves on.

I was impressed by the amount of research that must have gone into the novel regarding Sam's eating disorder, which is an integral part of the book, not so much a cry for help, more an opportunity to grab whatever control the young woman can in a world where everything else is taken away from her, or denied to her.
The best novels are those in which the events can and do really happen and I found My Sister and Other Liars frighteningly true to life, encapsulating events that happen all too often and are kept buried and hidden, and the reader will be left looking at their community with different eyes.

My Sister and Other Liars is a world class novel, and in my opinion it is Ruth Dugdall's best book to date.