Another thoroughly enjoyable book by this author, who brings a style of her own to the genre. The setting was perfect - stuck in an Italian villa with your in-laws and then your brother-in-law turns up with a new wife nobody knew anything about. And what a bitch Ella is! Don't we all love a bitch to hate in a story? The dialogue crackled with put downs and snidey comments, feathers were ruffled, secrets were uncovered threats were made. Things got very, very uncomfortable and I could not stop reading! Fantastic stuff.

Really enjoyed this book, loved the suspense between all the characters. Great style of writing. Will be keeping an eye out for further books from Sue Watson.

This is an interesting marriage of chick-lit and psychological suspense.

Let me set the scene. This is the annual family vacation at a villa in Amalfi with the parents, older son and his family and the younger unmarried son. Into this placid scene comes the impossibly beautiful, svelte, rich and knowledgeable new sister-in-law who quickly sizes up the power base of her new family and quickly seizes control. Her hubby is the playboy son who simply trots from one exotic locale to another, supported by his parents. He seems to be in awe of his bride and willing to do (or not do) anything that she wants.

The older son is having marital difficulties with his wife due to his unrestrained infidelities. The wife, who has had a fling of her own, is a full time RN working in a hospital, but also taking care of their 3 young children and maintaining a website for the family real estate business.

The real power behind the throne is the mother who is most assuredly the matriarch of this circus – think Downton Abbey.

And of course, there are the requisite “lies and secrets” and backbiting and jealousy and distrust and fighting ultimately resulting in downright blackmail.

The suspense is, of course, that the reader knows there’s much more than meets the eye and the further suspense is why, on earth, can’t the characters see beyond the surface. The readers know that something sinister is afoot and the author, quite deftly, keeps the reader on the edge.

Bottom line is that I didn’t like any of the characters and I really didn’t like the ending. So I guess I’d have to conclude that if you are a fan of chick-lit (which I’m not), you’ll probably enjoy it. For someone who enjoys psychological suspense (that’s me) or stories with believable action (me, again) or stories with sympathetic characters (me), this is not your book.

Well written for what it is. I appreciate receiving the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture, in exchange for an honest review.

Sue Watson has once again triumphed with her latest psychological thriller.Sister-In-Law is a cracking read based round the Taylor family,parents the domineering Joy and husband Bob and sons Dan who is married to Clare and Jamie who turns up at their holiday villa with a new wife in Ella,and Ella wastes no time in getting under Clare' s skin through trying alienate her from the rest of the family.It is all played out under the hot sun of the Amalfi coast and as the temperature rises so do Clare and Ella' s dislike for each other,Clare has a secret she has kept from everyone for a few years but now Ella claims she knows what it is and threatening to tell.Full of twists and turns this book is a must read for those of you who enjoy this genre,it is a delight with an ending I certainly didn't see coming ! A superb psychological thriller yet again from Sue Watson.What else but a massive 5 stars from me?
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I was really excited to read this book when i pre-ordered it, so i was really glad when i was aproved to get an early copy. Loved it from the start, the prologue just draws you in and makes you want to keep reading. Ella was dislikeable from the very start, and very manipulative. Red this throughout the day and couldn't put it down! would highly recommend it to all fans of psychological thrillers. can't wait for the next book!

This was a great quarantine read. Most of the story takes place during a family vacation to the Amalfi coast and provides a wonderful escapist backdrop to this fun, easy reading novel.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51192924

Wow, wow, wow! Serious book hangover commencing!

This had me captivated from the prologue... what an absolute cracker of a novel.

An amazing psychological thriller that had me constantly guessing throughout, I honestly thought I'd worked it put and then BAM it was all up in the air again and WOWZERS, the ending was 100% unexpected.

Very faced paced with an amazingly strong storyline and I really enjoyed the whole social media aspect, so relevant in this day and age.

The main character Clare held her own the whole way through, showing both her strengths and weaknesses. I liked the fact that she had flaws and was 'real'. I think being a mother of three myself I could really put myself in her shoes which helped me sink into this book even more.

I hugely enjoyed the whole one upmanship and feuding aspects throughout, whether between Clare and Ella, Clare & Dan or Joy with everyone!
I've got to admit I don't think I've ever disliked a character as much as i did with Ella, what a self righteous, self obsessed, manipulative b*tch she was.... fantastically written!

I literally zoomed through this book, it had my interest piqued the whole way through and I'll be recommending 100%

Huge thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Slow burner domestic thriller that held me captive!

The last 5% is epic! I knew something big was coming, but damn, that reveal got me good.

I can see this playing out on the silver screen 🤞🏼

That’s all I’m giving away-if you don’t have this on your TBR, add it, you won’t be disappointed.

ARC provided by NetGalley

What a great psychological thriller! This book kept surprising me and trying to figure out the ending the entire time, but I was wrong! Very fast paced enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more of her books. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book had a very interesting premise and maintained my interest throughout the duration but when unexpected plot twists happened, I didn’t feel that climatic build up and didn’t feel that shock I wanted to. I feel like the writing just didn’t match the plot.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up.

The Sister-in-Law is a gripping psychological thriller by Sue Watson. It is an entertaining read that I found hard to put down!

The story starts with Clare and her husband, Dan on their way to their holiday villa in Italy with their three children. The Taylor family spends their holidays together every year because Joy, the matriarch of the family strongly believes that family needs to be protected at all costs. Dan's younger brother, Jamie arrives at the villa with an unexpected guest—his wife. Ella is gorgeous and flawless and Clare hopes to get along with her sister-in-law. The only problem is that Ella seems to detest her right from day one. And so begins a battle between the two—as the rest of the family are blinded by Ella's perfection, Clare comes across as being jealous of her sister-in-law's beauty. When Ella reveals that she knows Clare's dirty secret, Clare is determined to figure out what the woman who seems to live her life solely for Instagram is hiding and thus prove to her family that their beloved Ella is not what she seems to be.

None of the characters are likeable but Ella was absolutely frustrating. I COULD NOT STAND HER. It was so convenient that everyone else ignored her snide comments to Clare and only seemed to react when Clare did the same. The hints that were dropped a few times helped me guess the 'dirty secret' before it was revealed but that did not diminish my reading experience in any way because a lot of drama followed.

Joy's 'boys will be boys' excuse for her son's affair; her husband, Bob's comment on how the 'Me Too' movement is 'political correctness gone mad' and Dan's 'A man can’t say or do anything these days without some woman threatening the police', subtly show how the idea of not holding men accountable while blaming women for speaking up has been ingrained in the minds of the members of this family which is really sad because it's a reflection of what some parts of society are like, even today.

I liked that Clare was a flawed character who was strong and independent but almost constantly had an inner conflict about her decision to stay married after Dan was found having an affair. Struggling to raise three kids while holding down a full-time job and having to deal with that family—Phew! What a nightmare.

The Sister-in-Law is a fun and fast read and I really liked how it ended. So I would definitely recommend it and I'll be sure to look into Watson's other works.

[I'd like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for this ARC.]

I zoomed through this book quickly because it kept my interest. Clare and her husband are joining his parents and brother at a villa on the Amalfi coast of Italy for their annual summer trip. They are surprised when his brother arrives with a new wife, who turns out to be a thorn in Clare's side. The interaction between women in this book is especially fascinating. The men, frankly, are somewhat stereotypical. Nonetheless, I kept on reading to see how this would end! And, it was quite an interesting ending. A good summer read!

"Introduce someone new into the unit and dynamics change, allegiances break, secrets are spilled - and people get hurt."

If I could rate this book in parts. I would rate it 3/5 for the beginning and 5/5 for the second half.

Until some incidents happen in the book it is just endless ranting go on and on about some secret. But after that the book grabs you by your hand until the very end.

I am a big fan of Sue Watson and the Sister-in-law has done nothing to diminish this. I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and Sue for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy of the book. I really appreciate it and have enjoyed the tale immensely.

The book opens somewhere on the Amalfi coast with the close knit Taylor Family, mum, dad 3 children and grandparents all spending their annual 2 week holiday in a beautiful villa, cooking, relaxing and generally enjoying each others company all looking forward to the arrival of Uncle Jamie the younger son/brother/ fun uncle to arrive from his travels across the globe. What no-one expects is for the wayward Jamie to arrive with his beautiful but cunning new wife Ella.

The whole family appear enraptured by Ella, everyone that is except Clare who feels that something is off with her new sister-in-law, they seem to get off on the wrong foot and Ella appears to really dislike Clare and so the holiday begins.......

I may have mentioned this already but I really enjoyed this book with its one up manship and feuding between the two women. As we found more out about the family dynamics i found myself growing less fond of all the characters except Uncle Jamie, the 3 kids and Bob the mild mannered grandad.. I found Clare to be whiny, Joy/Grandma manipulative, Ella rather bits by and Dan the dad to be everything you wouldn't want in a husband. Of course this is just how it should be!

I don't want to spoil any surprises so will just finish by mentioning that the end was unexpected with a twist in the tail and several secrets exposed along the way with all the loose ends nicely wrapped up - just the way I like it! Deliciously intriguing, 5 great big stars from me! This is one to take on holiday and devour.

Thank you to Sue Watson, Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC.

Holy crap. This book sucks you in right at the very beginning! This was an amazing domestic thriller about a family just trying to enjoy their vacation in Italy. As soon as Ella the sister-in-law showed up, I knew this was going to be an exciting read. Ella creates so much drama and tension with Clare over Clare's "secret", and Ella's general fakeness. I loved it! I didn't see the ending coming, which made this read all the more exciting.

I can't wait to read more by Sue Watson!

Summer for the Taylor family follows the same pattern. Matriarch Joy books luxury accommodation on the Med and son Dan and his family and younger son Jamie together with her husband Bob spend a relaxing fortnight. This year they are on the Amalfi coast and Dan's wife Clare is looking forward to a relaxing holiday with their three children away from her pressurised nursing job. There are marriage issues too but she is sure time in the sun should help smooth out the problems they have been experiencing. Younger son Jamie travels the world. He's footloose answering only to himself so when he arrives with the glamorous Ella and introduces her as his bride everyone is stunned. Ella is certainly determined to ruffle feathers, particularly Clare's and her actions gradually turn what should be an enjoyable holiday into a nightmare for everyone.

I couldn't put this down. I was involved from the first page and as the story progressed couldn't wait to see what Ella, subtle but as destructive as a fox in a hen house, would do next. There was always this question 'Why?' but it soon becomes clear there were secrets within this family which certain individuals wanted kept quiet. A total page turner. Thank you to NetGalley for a ARC.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did — WOW. The tension between the sisters-in-law hits almost immediately and keeps building. Clare's frustration was so palpable that I found myself getting defensive for her, which makes for the kind of book I don't want to put down. (I almost had to hide away to finish the ending without being disrupted!)

My favorite part was seeing how cleverly Sue Watson placed her characters in situations that let them engage in power struggles. When I thought a character was backed into a corner, she delivered the perfect slice of dialogue to keep the plot moving.

I wish the ending would have packed a little more of a punch, but the middle of the book was so fast-paced, I still really enjoyed it. It's the kind of book you open when you want to be pulled into a story.

There's nothing like a shelter in place that makes you hunker down and read. Luckily, The Sister-in-Law kept me entertained and holding on for dear life! I don't think I've ever met a character who so got under my skin like Sue Watson's Ella. Especially as a new mother myself, I was watching this house of cards biting my nails.

Clare and her in-laws are taking a much need vacation to the Amalfi coast, when they meet the younger brother, Jaime's, new WIFE. Clare tries to play nice, but Ella, this gorgeous and young sister-in-law is rude, snippy, and a little light on the details of her personal life. What happens next made me feel so bad for Clare and hate most of the other characters. This is a clever and gripping tale that kept me on the edge of my seat. While I was able to figure out the ending it took some time to get there, making me begin to doubt myself!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for letting me read this roller coaster of an ARC for my honest review.

I received an eARC of The Sister-in-Law by Sue Watson from Bookouture and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I give this book 5 stars, hands down! What a fantastically written thriller! I COULD NOT put this book down...holy cow. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen- PLOT TWIST! I highly recommend this fast-paced thrilling read. You will not be disappointed!

Wow wow wow I have no words for this book, I could not put it down! A gripping, on the edge of your seat page turner! Sue Watson does it again, fantastic read. I felt like my blood pressure was up the whole way though this! Thank you netgalley for the copy of this book in return of an honest review, it is absolutely my pleasure! Out 30th April, I highly recommend adding this to your list!!