Ultimately this book was not for me. I do not like books where the narrator is essentially lying to you, going beyond just being an unreliable narrator like Theo Decker in Donna Tartt’s the Goldfinch where the misleads come from being drunk and Theo not being aware of things that occurred while drunk. I also was full of anxiety the entire time, another thing that I don’t like in books is when characters are falsely accused and it felt like where this book was heading. I understand what the Wills was trying to do with this book I just feel it was messy and the characters were so unlikeable even though this was intentional and purposeful, it was hard to get through.

Really just horrifically clumsy. Also there were, very occasionally, completely made up words that sound an awful lot like a word that would have made contextual sense, leading me to believe the author really didn't know the difference. It read fast though, so that's something.

An excellent book although not super great. Still, an engaging read and a shocking surprise ending. Definitely enjoyable

Beginning and ending were good but the middle of the book was problematic. Mara, kidnapped and held hostage for 19 years suddenly “escapes”. She narrates parts of the tale, but is very evasive with talking about her ordeal. Her older sister, Lucia, has long felt guilty that Mara was taken and not her. She is now married with two children. Her husband, Damian, is the narrator for much of the book.The premise of the book Is good but it’s execution left gaping holes where the reader is left wondering what happened or who is telling the truth. None of the characters were likable. 2 1/2 stars. My thanks to A J Wills, Cherry Tree Publishing and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read His Wife’s Sister.

I would like to thanks Netgalley for giving me an ARC of His Wife's Sister' by A. J Wills. It is a psychological thriller based on the story of a girl Mara Sitwell, who was abducted when she was only 11 years old.
Mara Sitwell has an elder sister Lucia who is married to Damian. One fine day after nineteen years Mara was discovered Lucia and her husband Damian are shocked when was found. Mara was found alive in a very bad state malnourished, beaten, weak and wounded.
Lucia is thrilled to have her back. Damian is the only person who suspects that there is more to Mara's story. The story is told from the perspective of Damian, going back, and fourth.
Overall I fund it an average read not as good as I thought it was going to be. I felt that some of the questions were not answered. Maybe it is not my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

His Wife's Sister was an enjoyable read for me despite the critical reviews. I liked the way the book started, compelling me to read ahead. The plot was good but went all psycho crazy towards the end. The characters were for the most part good. Of them all, I think Damian was the one I found the best & I enjoyed reading the chapters from his POV. Lucia was a bit of a cliched character & I suppose she was made to behave the way she did intentionally. Nonetheless, she was infuriating & there was nothing unique about her or the way she behaved appearing uninterested &/or defensive for the most part. Mara too was OK. The scenes involving Damian & Mara were good & always filled with a lot of tension. Also, all characters had their own quirks & flaws making it interesting to see their interactions with each other. I really liked that about the book.

I think I would have enjoyed the story better if I was presented with the alternating POV's instead of the first 85% being Damian's POV & the last 15% being Mara's POV. The book was really good for the most part but then went all freakish & strange towards the end. I was hoping for a big twist at the end - & sure as hell there it was, but a bit OTT for me. This was a good one-time read for me.

Thank You, NetGalley, Cherry Tree Publishing & A J Wills for an arc!

Loved the beginning of the book, and the premise is awesome. Damien and his wife, Lucia have two children and a wonderful life together. That is, until Lucia's sister turns up after being abducted 19 years previously. Right away, I was hooked, and enjoyed all of the mystery surrounding Mara's (the sister) abduction and escape. However, towards the final 1/3 of the book, I felt like the plot twists seemed a little strange and the character's actions were unbelievable and hard to follow. The ending seemed crazy and rushed, but I did have a lot of suspense throughout, and wanted to finish the book to see what happened and what the "real" story actually was.

3 out of 5 stars for His Wife's Sister by AJ Wills. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I didn't hate this book but did feel like it was rushed and kind of thrown together. Unfortunately, I guessed the secret pretty early on and kept reading to make sure I was right. I was but that doesn't make me happy. I can't say I would recommend it.

One of the creepiest books I have read this year and one of the most difficult to rate because I still cannot say whether I liked it or not.

This was my first read courtesy of NetGalley so firstly, a big thank you for the opportunity. Overall I think this book had great potential however it was a bit of a letdown. I found that the story jumped one from one thing to another, it was quite inconsistent and at one point I know I went back a few pages just to see if I had somehow missed a chapter. It didn't flow. The remaining pages felt rushed, and I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by the whole thing. It was a little messy which is a shame as I felt like it could have been quite a good physiological thriller.

The book is simply about two sisters, one of whom is kidnapped (Mara) at the age of 11 and then 19 years later she suddenly re-appears. Queue, what we are made out to believe is a jealous sister who finds the fact her sister Lucia has moved on with her life, got married and had children all whilst she was left behind. We are made to think that she hates her sisters husband, Damien and that she will do anything to cause issues within their relationship. Damiens character is hard to work out, he craves the attention from the media when Mara turns up, much to the point of feeling disgust that he would want his wife, Lucia to go through all of that once more. The book is written predominately in his point of view and then towards the end, it changes and turns to Mara, it is a bit unexpected and it doesn't feel quite right.

Ultimately the book left you with a lot of unanswered questions, more so than when you first start.

This book certainly was not how I imagined to be! It was dark, moody, full of emotion. Is Damian as much of a nice guy as he seems at the beginning? What about Mara? Is she hiding something? I felt sorry for poor Lucia in the middle. The story is for the most part seen from the perspective of Damian. There is a massive twist and about turn 3/4 through the book as Damian's possible true personality comes to the surface. The end of the story is a huge rollercoaster of fast paced twists and turns and you find your sympathy switching sides! A great read.

Welcome to my review of His Wife's Sister

My thoughts

Rating: 5

Genre: Psychological thriller

Published May 9th 2020

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes



First off I wanted to thank the publishers Cherry Tree Publishing as well as NetGalley for letting me read and review it, because by the title alone I would have picked it up to read anyway. Right from the very start your throwing into the story and after that you don't want to stop reading .

Its fast paced , great character development, good plot. And will i didn't like any of the characters they brought the story to life with their lies and secrets .And it'll put you through the ringer with the ups and downs the author mixes in with this one story.

I somewhat enjoyed this book. I liked the premise of the book and the twists the story took. My only problem with this book is that I didnt like the characters at all. They were just not likeable and ruined the story for me. I had hope that it would get better but idk, if I liked the characters it would be a different rating.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was far better than I had expected. It's a domestic thriller about an 11 yr old girl, Mara, who is abducted and held prisoner for nineteen years. When she finally escapes she is reunited with her sister Lucia who in the meantime has married and has two children. Lucia’s husband Damien is not happy when Mara moves in with them sensing something is terribly wrong. From there everything starts to spiral out of control. There was such a great twist near the end that had me gasping and rereading the chapter twice..I just couldn't believe the author had fooled me so cleverly. Very good thriller I would recommend without hesitation.

The book is like an accident you pass by. You just can't look away. The story line is interesting. What happens when a lost child is found? 19 years of captivity and suddenly she is found. Often the book is about the life while being held. This book is about life after she is found. What a twisted tale. I didn't warm to any of the characters but Damian and Mara were rather awful. I liked the book, just not the characters.

This book was a bit all over the place. Slow burn,, unorganized. The plot had potential given it centered around two sisters that were eventually reunited after one was kidnapped. The characters were not well developed and it was difficult to get drawn into the story..
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review His Sisters Wife.

I’m going to give this book 3 stars rather than two just because it’s an incredibly fast read, however the turns made toward the last third of the book left me scratching my head and curious as to the turns this one took.

It started out suspenseful and landed in WTF.

Mara was abducted whilst sleeping in the garden with her sister, Lucia and was never found . 19 years later a pale waive of a lady wanders back claiming to be Mara. Lucia and husband Damien take her in. Dark things start occurring and Damien isn’t convinced she’s as innocent as she make out.
Addictive and dark thriller. Great read .

Sadly for me, this didn’t perform. The characters weren’t relatable and really quite odd. I struggled to finish it-but to my surprise, I was compelled to keep reading. Unfortunately, the ending packed no punches and I was left quite disappointed.

Disappointing last quarter
I really liked most if this book and was really excited to see what developed in the story and kept reading intently. The issue came when the narrator changed to be Mara and it seemed like it was a completely different author, I thought it was a disappointing last part of the book and the ending was weak. An ok read but could have been so much better with an interesting topic