This is my first read by Sandie Jones, and, man, what a ride.

* Spoiler free * The book is a mix of half murder/ mystery and half family drama/ sibling rivalry. At first glance, I expected this to be a more traditional thriller, but enjoyed the combo. One day a young woman shows up at a family dinner looking for her father after matching off a DNA website (seriously, these websites are crazy, right?), which puts a family at odds on believing (and investigating) her story. The drama and the story go deep, connecting the group of women at many levels, taking many twists and turns as who to believe and what really happened.

4/5 stars for an entertaining premise that mixes some of my favorite genres.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

Mystery, soap opera, thriller. That's the progression this story takes, sometimes more successfully than others. Throughout the novel, Jones does a good job of building questions and tension, though I have to say the end was more a fizzle than I wanted. If you want a drama filled journey of a family being torn apart, this is for you. If you want a genuine thriller, then you may want to leave it on the shelves.

I wanted to love this one, but found it fairly slow and predictable. I’ll have to try her other books, but this one wasn’t for me.

I love Sandi Jones books, and this was no different! The twists kept coming and kept me on the edge of my seat. From start to finish, it’s a thrill ride. If you love page turners, you will love this, or any book by the author!

I was intrigued by its premise, however, The Half Sister turned out to be a bit of a let down. It read too melodramatic. The fact that there is a mysterious half sister that just shows up one day was fascinating and provided much of its allure. However, the further I read into the novel, the more the sisters became caricatures. There is the older sister, Lauren, who was a wild teen and clashed with her father, then there is Kate who is the youngest and held her father in high esteem. The mysterious half-sister, Jess, isn't all she seems to be. It is a promising premise, but the execution was a little flawed. There was such a downward spiral for each of the characters because of the situation that Jess's arrival put them in, however, each of their actions were so cliche'd that it was difficult to root for any of them. Also, the author felt the need to repeat through most chapters, that each character has a right to be upset. It ended up feeling like I was being pushed to root for them. Their actions felt very artificial, so by the end, I was let down. It was easy to figure out the "twist".

What I appreciated most about The Half Sister is it being a story about a family that recently lost its patriarch, I couldn't help but identify with the subject of the grief that each character held. On that front, Sandie Jones was able to write a compelling story about loss. The character's reactions, at first, felt true.

I decided to finish this book at 30% because I was incredibly bored by it. There is absolutely zero suspense and should not be classified as a thriller. In the bit that I did read, there were multiple content warnings for infertility, death/grief, & domestic abuse. I won't be I publishing a review on goodreads or Instagram since I did not finish.

My experience with Sandie Jones was 50/50 going into this book. I really loved The Other Woman and thought it was a fantastic page turner and the ending was pretty mind blowing, in my opinion. However, her second book just left me feeling very unimpressed. I was so excited to get The Half Sister on NetGalley because I needed to break the Sandie Jones tie, for better or worse.

The first half of the book was a lot of character development and putting the pieces into place for everything and it almost lost me. I found myself starting to lose interest and not really excited to pick the book back up. Last night I started around the 55% mark and didn't stop til I finished it and when I looked at the clock realized it was 2 in the morning!!!! The last half of this book was just so full of surprises and twists and turns that I never saw coming! Sandie Jones has her finger on the pulse of domestic suspense and knows just how to play with your mind.

🌟🌟🌟🌟(4 out of 5 stars) The Half Sister had so much going on with each family member so, like I mentioned earlier, it did give it a slow start but it was worth it all!! I also really liked that she wrapped the end of the book up without leaving you wondering what happened. I'm pretty sure that's why I wasn't a fan of her second book because I was left hanging on not knowing what really happened at the end. I'm officially salivating for Sandie Jones' next book and hate that it's going to be another long year before I get a taste.

Just as your family is sitting down for lunch there’s a knock at the door, when you open it there’s a woman standing there you don’t recognize her but she is looking for her father, whose also your father! The issue your father has recently passed away. The father who was still married to your mother when he died , the same man whose the father of your other sister not the woman standing in front of you. To add more shock she says she has a DNA test. Your mom screams and tells her to leave. Sister Lauren and Kate are shocked and surprised even with a DNA test as proof is this woman telling the truth. Kate is a journalist and she decides to dig into this woman’s past, could this woman whose name is Jess have an ulterior motive? Lauren seems to be more accepting and agrees to talk more and get to know her, but Kate feels there’s something off. As Kate and Laurie go about this whole situation differently Kate feels something is off and feels her mother is hiding something. Soon Kate begins to uncover hidden family secrets and she questions everything about her childhood she thought she knew. I feel this was more of a family drama than a thriller. It was a quick read and I recommend as a beach read!

Loved the premise of this book, a long lost "sister" shows up to a family dinner unannounced and the father is deceased and no explanations given. As you can imagine chaos ensues from there. I did feel that after that 1st initial shock the book slowed down.

I liked this author’s writing style but the plot of this story just did not work for me. And I just could not get on the same page with the characters. I just did not like them.

The Half Sister is told from alternating perspectives of sisters Kate and Lauren. A knock on the door during Sunday lunch - a DNA test and a woman claiming to be their half sister turns everything upside down. From there the story unfolds...

I would have loved much more from both Harry (flashbacks perhaps as he's deceased) and Jess's characters. A thrown in chapter or two told from their perspective would have been really satisfying.

Overall this was a quick read, I just feel I craved more from certain aspects and the story ended very abruptly. I also didn't get the mystery/thriller vibes but more of a family drama feel.

I loved The First Mistake and enjoyed The Other Woman ... unfortunately this one was just ok - with that being said I will still be adding Sadie Jones future work to my TBR.

Huge thank you to St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books & Netgalley for my review copy!

The Half Sister tells the story of a family whose lives become unraveled when a woman shows up claiming to be the daughter of two sisters late father. This is a very entertaining family drama - fun and fast paced! Even when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was wrong.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Half Sister by Sandie Jones is much more a twisted family drama and not so much of the thriller I thought it was suppose to be. Major let down. There was a big mystery but thriller, yeah not so much. Having recently read The Other Woman by the author I had exceedingly high expectations for this one. That book I simply couldn’t put down. However, this book fell short for me unfortunately. I wasn’t ripping through the pages. It lacked any sort of big riveting plot twist that would qualify this as a thriller. It’s still an enjoyable book just wasn’t her best.

2.5 stars, rounded down
The Half Sister deals with family secrets and how so often we don’t really know our parents or siblings. Jess shows up on the doorstep announcing she is the third daughter of Henry. Henry, deceased these past 10 months, is in no position to confirm or deny.
This book never engaged me. The first half just crawled along, as Lauren and Kate disagreed about everything, especially this new arrival. It finally picks up in the second half as everyone’s lies (real and of omission) start to come out. But I had figured out the big twist at the end well before it was revealed.
The characters didn’t feel real. For a smart woman, Kate seemed extraordinarily naive about her father. And I didn’t find Lauren sympathetic. I couldn’t believe that the sisters were so oblivious about each other’s lives.
So, this one just didn’t ring any bells for me.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Sisters Lauren and Kate are living what each other would classify as perfect lives, and are silently envious of the other sister.

Kate is a reporter and travels on luxurious trips and interviews glamorous people, but her only dream is to become a mother. Lauren is a married mother of three who seems to be living the life Kate can only dream of, but her marriage isn’t as it seems. The sisters begrudgingly spend Sunday lunch together with their mom, especially since death of their father. One day there’s a knock at the door and someone on the other side with paperwork from a DNA test claiming she is their father’s child.

Kate’s reporter instincts and adoration of her late father immediately begins trying to disprove the news of a half sister. Meanwhile, Lauren’s motherly instincts and feelings of resentment towards their late father prevents her from believing that this is anything but true..

Inevitably, the story unfolds twenty two years of family secrets. Sandie Jones does a great job keeping the family dynamics interesting. I really enjoyed all the layers of this story. I found the book to be a lighter suspense novel—with a somewhat predictable ending—but it kept me engaged and was a quick read. This book proves the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. This was my first novel by Sandie Jones, but I will be picking up another soon.

Thank you to Sandie Jones, Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The author, Sandie Jones, has done it again! I loved her other book, The First Mistake and was so excited to get the opportunity to review this book. I loved it. It kept me guessing, changing allegiances, second guessing my thoughts on who is right and not sure who to believe. It is so great when you connect with the story and the characters.. It’s a story about two sisters, Kate and Lauren, who aren’t as close as they could be and aligned with one parent over the other. Kate identifies with her father and his passing almost a year earlier is still quite raw. Lauren is close with her mother Rose who is also grieving and trying to hold her family together. Kate and her husband Matt are trying to have a baby and have not been successful with her IVF treatments as our story begins. Lauren’s husband Simon is difficult and emotionally abusive and she reflects on her lost love Justin, who she still loves after all this time. Enter Jess, the potential half sister to Kate and Lauren. Is she who she says she is? Lauren believes she is her father Harry’s daughter, but Kate wonders if she isn’t Rose’s daughter. Jess has intertwined herself in their lives and seems to be everywhere they turn. She wants the truth about her birth parents and seems to want to be a sister, if they will accept her. The story has wonderful twists and turns and the characters are flawed in interesting ways.

Summary:

Kate and Lauren tragically lost their father a year ago. Every Sunday they go to have a family lunch with their mother. One Sunday, a woman shows up at her house to tell them that she was their half sister after doing a DNA test. After she appears, the lies and deceit begin throughout their family, and Kate is determined to find out the truth.

My Thoughts:

I’m a big fan of the past novels that Sandie Jones published. This novel was a bit more chaotic and confusing and leads the reader through many different twists. At the end, I had to go back and re-read a few parts to actually realize what was going on. It was a good book, but it wasn’t her best.

I revived this free book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was easy to read.
The intial couple of chapters were great. They had that suspense and that "are you serious moment." After that everything was transparent. You know what the ending is going to be pretty much from the start, but you keep reading hoping for that not so obvious ending. That maybe there would be a huge twist. Nope! Not there. So disappointed by this one.

Kate and her sister Lauren each had their own relationship with their father. Since his death, their relationship is strained for a number of reasons; Lauren is happily married with children while Kate and her husband are trying desperately to have a child. Sunday lunches at their mother's house have become uncomfortable and are about to be changed forever by a stranger's knock at the door. Who is this young woman and why does she claim to be their half sister? Kate doesn't believe her story and yet Lauren begins to recall inconsistencies in her parent's past. Did their father have a child by another woman? Does their mother know?

I put everything on hold when I sit down to read a Sandie Jones novel. I am lucky enough to get an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and want to enjoy every minute of it. The Half Sister does not disappoint. At some point, I thought I had it all figured out and was prepared to be smug about the ending. Was I ever wrong! Very entertaining and surprisingly enough, the second psychological thriller novel this week that I have read about half sisters. (Sister Dear by McKinnon) Each unique and equally entertaining. Jones gets better and better with each book and is a master at building the suspense and then-- that added twist. I look forward to future novels and recommend this one.

Through the first few chapters of this book I felt as though I had read it before; it gave me an odd sense of deja vu. TIt's natural that not all families are close, there are kids that have a stronger bond with one parent and it can be hard to see your parent(s) as less than perfect if you've grown up with such experience/ideals. That being said, there were times when if felt like the push and pull between the sisters and their views of their "favorite" parent was too much and seemed to be over the top contentious. As for Jess, the animosity she sparks between the sisters and the 'secrets' Jess has dragged on in the middle. I think the plot could have done without some of the drama and back and forth, moving quicker and the reader wouldn't have missed out on anything. That being said, this was a quick and easy read that pulled me in and left me shocked at what really happened all those years ago!