This book just didn’t work for me. Experienced readers of the mystery/thriller genre have read every permutation of family drama, secrets, and lies, and are expecting something new and inventive - this book did not deliver this novelty. For most of the book, at least the first half, it reads more like a family drama than anything, with sisters Kate and Lauren disagreeing on just about everything and navigating the difficult but ultimately boring circumstances of their lives. Adding in this mysterious half-sister brings some suspense, and there were some twists about three-quarters of the way through the book, but ultimately, this book is long and doesn’t pack a punch. It felt like a bit of a slog to get through it and the final payoff ends up being rather predictable. I would recommend Jones’s other hit, The Other Woman, much more over this one.

Wow! What a brilliant read! Enough twists to keep you entertained till the end.

Imagine the following scenario: you are having a family lunch....the doorbell rings and a strange woman appears who claims she is your half-sister? Your dad is not there anymore to clear this up. What do you do and who do you believe?

This is the dilemma Kate has to deal with. She fiercely believes her father would never have had an affair but on the other side is her sister Lauren who believes Jess's story. Does she know more than what she is letting on?
This is a story about many lies. Its a story about a family and how each experienced their family life differently. Its a story about how far you would go to protect your perfect family and it shows you that sometimes its better to let sleeping dogs lie.

I found it a fast read and thoroughly entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley and St, Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m a big fan of Sandie Jones. If you haven’t read her other books, The Other Woman and The First Mistake, I highly suggest adding them to your summer thriller list. She writes fantastic domestic suspense, with developed female characters, twists and wit that’s pairs perfectly with a nice glass of wine. ⁣
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Her latest novel, The Half Sister comes out on June 16 and you don’t want to miss it !⁣
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Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. ⁣

This book is addictive! I read it in one sitting and could not put it down. ⁣
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Sisters Kate and Lauren aren’t very close. And after the death of their father, they fall further apart. One day, a girl named Jess shows up at their family home, claiming she’s their father’s daughter. This sets off a whole chain of events that expose family secrets and show you how little you can know someone you love. ⁣
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It’s no secret that I love domestic suspense and this book delivers. I liked the dual POV structure and particularly liked Kate and how her character developed. Jones spends time on her characters, contrasting the lives of the two sisters and developing them, instead of just throwing in twist after twist (though there are plenty of those!). As someone without sisters, I always find these relationships fascinating to read about. ⁣
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I’m a big fan of Sandie Jones’ s writing style and I think she does a great job at slowly teasing out bits of the story, with lots of red herrings along the way, leading to a big reveal at the end. And this book has cemented my decision not to do an online DNA test.
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I recommend this book to readers who enjoy domestic suspense with a focus on family drama. I can’t wait to see what Jones does next!⁣

The Half-Sister
Still grieving the loss of their father 10 months ago, his family, wife Rose, and daughters Kate and Lauren, along with their families, have started a tradition of getting together every Sunday for dinner. Kate and Lauren are vastly different. Kate is happily married and trying desperately to get pregnant and was close to her father. Lauren is married to a real jerk; With three small kids, she stays home and is close to her mother. At one of the dinners, a knock on the door startles everyone when the young lady there wants to speak to the father, claiming to be his daughter. And now the fun begins! So, Lauren had gone on one of the ancestry sites and gave her DNA, and Jess, the half-sister, showed up as her relative! She is a step ahead of everyone else and befriends the girl. Kate, on the other hand, doesn’t believe the father she knew and loved could ever have cheated on his wife, had a child out of wedlock, and then allowed her to be adopted.
There are lots of secrets exposed, lots of twists, and while there is a lot a drama, I’m not sure I would classify this book as a thriller. I think it would be an enjoyable read for a day at the beach, and if you enjoy family drama, this is the book for you! Thank you to #NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy of The Half-Sister.

Weekly family dinners at their mother's have been a little strained since their father passed away less than a year ago, but sisters Lauren and Kate try to make the best of it. Kate, a high-profile journalist, is jealous of the domestic life her sister leads, while Lauren, a stay-at-home mom, is jealous of the freedom Kate has, but both are content to never discuss their jealousies with the other. Their complacent lives are turned on end when a knock on the door during a family dinner reveals a young woman claiming to be their half sister. Is there any truth to her claims? And, if so, why is she showing up now?

I've enjoyed everything I have read by Sandie Jones, and this book was no different. Who doesn't love a good domestic thriller? The story was told through alternating third-person POVs, and, out of the two sisters, I felt like it was easier to connect to and relate to Lauren. Kate was indignant most of the novel, which, honestly, was a bit obnoxious. I understand having a hard time coming to terms with finding out hard truths about your parents, but there were parts where you're just like, enough, Kate, as she runs around, screaming, "Not my father!" despite DNA proof. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The pacing of this story was great, like the author's previous novels, and there were twists and turns that had me doubting what I thought was going on. If you are a Sandie Jones fan, you'll enjoy this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A suspenseful novel that begins with a knock at Kate and Lauren's mother's door, during a weekly lunch after their father's death.

Jess introduces herself as their father's daughter, based on DNA tests.

Lauren is hesitant at first, but takes Jess under her wing and wants to find out the truth.

Kate is in denial and will do what it takes to protect her father's name.

This book goes back and forth and there's a twist that you don't see coming. Very suspenseful!

More of a family drama and has quite a slow start (actually the first half), but really picks up in the second half with lots of family secrets revealed. I really enjoyed the book from 50% forward and wanted to pick it up and see what surprises were coming.

And there are surprises and twists that entertained me quite a bit. My expectations were low after reading lots of meh reviews, but it made for a entertaining domestic drama with a bit of edge towards the end.

I do feel that some editing would have helped the pace overall and kept it engaging throughout, but it had a great weekend, lifetime movie feel with some added twists.

I would recommend if you enjoyed her previous novels. I know I did and this one was along the same vibe.

Thanks to NG and Minotaur for my advanced copy. Available on June 16,2020

Another great thriller from Sandie Jones!

Family secrets with twists along the way made this unputdownable for me. This author is quickly becoming a favorite. A new half sister that appears out of the blue!? What ?

Well written, fast paced and likeable characters made this a page turner. Sandie Jones is an author to watch out for and I can't wait to read her next book. 5 stars! Keep them coming Sandie Jones!

A big thank you to St..Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Wow.

I had a hard time getting into this one. Mainly because I couldn't keep track of which sister was which and which husband was which, along with the name of the mom and all three kids and Jess, on top of it all. But once I finally got that down, I was able to truly enjoy the book.

I honestly didn't see that ending coming and I'm not sure that I necessarily liked it. It couldn't have had a good ending, I guess, but my heart feels for the grandkids, as if these were all real people.

However, don't let my review, thus far, stop you from reading this because it is good. Once I figured out the characters, I finished the book in a day. It has twists and turns, right after one another but they never really feel like too much. It feels oddly like real life and how you never really know those around you, who you would claim to know the best in your life. It's an eye-opener for sure, with fantastic, well rounded characters, set a pace that won't let you put it down!

The Half Sister is not quite a thriller (until perhaps the last 1/4 of the book). It is more of a family drama. Lauren and her sister Kate both live in the London area with the husbands. Their father passed away in the past year and their mom Rose now lives alone. One day when Lauren and Kate are at their mother's house a young woman, Jess, shows up claiming to be the daughter of their dad. The ladies are shocked to hear that they may have a half sister that they never knew about. Lauren is more accepting of the idea, but Kate, who is a journalist is suspicious and begins digging around. It turns out that Lauren submitted her DNA to a genealogy website and that is what put them on Jess' radar.

The story alternated between Kate and Lauren's perspective. The sisters become estranged after Jess shows up. They didn't ever really see eye to eye but things get worse. Both sisters envy the other's life. Meanwhile, Kate is desperate to have a child and is undergoing IVF...while Lauren hides that fact that her husband is cruel and mean to her.

If you go in thinking of this as a family drama vs. a thriller you will probably enjoy it more. The story itself was interesting but the pacing was a little slow. The pace picked up in the last 1/3 of the book when all the skeletons started coming out of the closet.

Kate & Lauren meet at their mom's house every Sunday for family lunch. It isn't the same since their dad died, especially for Kate who was closest to him. Then one Sunday everything implodes when a young woman shows up during the lunch claiming to be their half sister, and saying she has a DNA test to prove it. From there, relationships are tested, marriages begin fracturing, lies start coming out, and everyone realizes that they don't know the ones closest to them as well as they thought they did.
I am a huge fan of this author's books. This one I have to admit is not my favorite. It was good, don't get me wrong. But the beginning started out a little slow, and the end wrapped up so quickly I had to read it twice to get what it was saying. I liked how Kate and Lauren both knew details about Jess that if they had just actually talked and shared what they knew, things could have gotten resolved a lot quicker. If you like a fast-paced thriller with a lot of action and suspense, then I think you would like it.

Last year, I read “The Other Woman” and loved it. I was excited to start “The Half Sister” which is my second book by this author. “The Half Sister” is told from the points of view of sisters Kate and Lauren after their father passed sic months earlier. Lauren is married to Simon and has 3 kids. Kate, married to Matt, has not been able to conceive a child. Traditional Sunday dinners are spent at their Mom, Rose’s, house. One Sunday night, a knock at the door changes their lives forever. Jesse, a 22-year old, is looking for Harry.





“The Half Sister” was extremely predictable and lacked the suspense that I would expect from a thriller. I would classify it as a drama. There were some suspenseful parts but overall I struggled with the pacing of this book. Lauren had a side story that I felt was unnecessary to the plot. I did love the ending and felt it tied the book together well.

I would of loved to have seen some flashbacks in Harry’s point of view since it would have added to the development of the plot.


If you like fun light sit back in your chair stories, this book is for you. Thriller readers might not enjoy this book as much.

The book starts off slow and I wasn’t sure I was going to love it. There was a lot of background information that seemed extraneous, but it sets up a perfect slow burn. About a third of the way into the book, I realized that I didn’t want to set it down and once the surprises start coming, they don’t stop. I was sure I knew what was happening at least three or four times only to be shocked by the twists. Sandie Jones is a master of her craft.

This is my first book by this author.

I do however, have at least one book by her that I have yet to read. I promise to read it now.

BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD.

I only have one problem with it, but we’ll get to that later.

So I read this while I was recovering Wednesday from my surgery. And I honestly forgot what I was reading, all I knew is that it was good and I wanted to keep reading it.

Fast forward to a day later, and it wasn’t my pain medicine that made me think it was good. It really was!

It was so fast paced! It only has two perspectives and it’s between 2 sisters. I think their voices are different enough that you can tell when it’s switching perspectives, but the chapter will also tell you.

It also takes place in England, which is one of my favorite settings honestly. And the book kind of comes across as like a domestic what’s going on book. And then the ending sort of comes as a shock? I guess the ending will depend on if you can figure it out. I figured it out, but I still enjoyed the book.

The problem I have is with the character that comes to light but I honestly can’t say more about this problem until someone else reads it so someone read it so I can talk about it 😂

3.5/5 stars!

Everything is about to change for Kate and Lauren. A stranger has shown up at their door with shocking news. The woman standing before them, Jess, is their half sister. She has the results of a DNA test, which prove that they share the same father. This secret will open the door to many more that the family has kept close to the chest for years.

THE HALF SISTER is a domestic drama surrounding a family that believes themselves to be the epitome of average and normal. With the arrival of Jess and the revelation that she’s their half sister, Kate and Lauren, lose all trust between them. The secrets continue to unravel and soon trust is lost not just between two sisters, but between their mother and their spouses. This is the kind of popcorn, binge read that is perfect for a day at the beach or by the pool!

Sandie Jones has a real nack for being able to take relationships between her characters and crush them beneath secrets. This is something I say with love! I really enjoy the dramatics that come with every Jones story. I know the minute I open the pages to one of her books I’m in for something entertaining and THE HALF SISTER delivers just that! With two sisters, Kate and Lauren, at the forefront of the book, the reader is able to watch their reactions to the situation at hand. In addition to their reactions to Jess, we also watch as they slowly reveal their own set of secrets to the reader and eventually themselves.

THE HALF SISTER alternates perspectives between Kate and Lauren, which keeps the reader clinging to the pages to get back to each character’s narratives. I love when authors do this! In addition to alternating narratives to keep you engaged, Jones also gives the reader short chapters that are easy to make their way through. While you won’t find anything out of the ordinary in this book, what you will find is entertainment. It’s the perfect book to cleanse your palate or if you’re just looking for something fun to read!

Sisters Kate and Lauren are crushed to have their supposed half sister show up at their door one day. This would mean their late father was cheating on their mother and the girls cannot understand why he would do that. As they both take stands on who Jess really is and why she showed up at their door, all of their lives are forever changed.

While the first half starts a bit slow the back half had me hooked! I wasn’t sure where you could take a simple premise like this but it turns out, things can go off the rails! I always love a family drama like this one because it feels like it’s a treat. Every piece of information you learn fuels the addiction and with this one there was lots of drama plot lines to follow.

There were several parts at the start when I did feel like my God, communication between the characters was needed! So much could have been resolved! But at the same time, that’s what made it so entertaining. No one was ever truly truthful which made The Half Sister a quick read to enjoy!

There was nothing really remarkable about this one. I kept waiting for the twists and payoffs but it felt like the ones I got weren’t that shocking. The end of course was the big twist but I figured that already. The “big twist” could have been fleshed out more and would’ve been interesting.

I absolutely loved this new release by Sandie Jones! She has become a go to author for me and I can't read to see what she releases next!

Focused on a lot of family drama, mainly between two sisters, I wouldn't exactly say this was a suspenseful novel as it's labeled to be. Infertility, domestic violence, sibling rifts and much more will keep your mind racing as you try to unveil the secrets that the sisters are attempting to learn as well.

This one is definitely a page turner as you try to figure out what will happen next. I had a small issue with the scientific part being a bit unrealistic, but overlooked it because I loved the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This definitely wasn’t the book I thought it was going to be based on the plot summary. I thought I was going to read a thriller, but unfortunately it was more a dysfunctional family drama. The story was easy to read, and somewhat predictable. I liked the story but it just needed more interesting characters to keep me invested. Overall basic premise and ending. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book reads more like a plate of spaghetti than a mountain road. So many twists and turns that overlap and merge keep the reader guessing in this engaging story.