The Good Sister is delightfully twisty domestic thriller about fraternal twins that also manages to pull at your heartstrings.
What I loved: Not knowing who the good sister is throughout the story, having an unreliable narrator (which will be a turn off for some), all the secrets, lies, and deceit. The short, journal type chapters help keep you guessing and make it feel very fast paced. I especially enjoyed the exceptionally well written characters. One of the sisters has a sensory disorder and Hepworth nailed it. As someone with a sensory disorder, it never felt cringy at all, it felt like she has a true understanding of what it feels like. I hope reader’s will get a better understanding of just how difficult it can be under everyday circumstances.
The only thing I didn’t care for was the ending. It was satisfactory, but it just didn’t live up to the rest of the story.

Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers with unreliable narrators, alternating timelines, and POVs.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for digital galley

4 stars
This was a very entertaining book from start till the end.
Fern & Rose are fraternal twins – Fern is dependent on Rose for some parts of her life, but she also senses that there are 2 Roses – the Rose she can rely on and the other Rose. When Fern notices that her sister is trying to have a baby with some medical help she decides that she can have a baby and Rose can be the mother. Fern thinks she is not fit to be a good mom, because of what happened when she was a kid – Fern did something terrible when she was a kid.
Fern works in a library and meets Wally aka Rocco, she starts dating him. She likes having him around, he understands her better than others. The story is told from two points of view – one from Fern in the present and then there’s some bits of past and some extracts from Rose’s journal.

I was so excited to see a new Sally Hepworth novel, and this one did not disappoint! The questions about the dynamic sibling relationship between Fern and Rose made the plot enthralling, and there was a fantastic twist at the end. Would make a great book club pick!

The author, Sally Hepworth, has done it again! She never fails to deliver a story with twists and turns that pack a punch and leaves you stunned. You will start turning the pages as you are sucked into the story and believe things as they are presented … especially through Rose’s diary. However, are the facts being manipulated? As you travel through the story, you will begin to have doubts as to who it telling the truth. I fell in love with Fern and was cheering her on as she lives life from the view of someone who is on the spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome. And when Rocco becomes a part of her life, you can’t help but be entertained by their interactions. I love books that take you on a trip that has you gasping in shock at each twisted revelation. Amazing book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

3.5⭐

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

I found this book quite slow to get going. Being Autistic myself, I connected with Fern and a lot of how she felt and behaved.

The book had a good ending and good twist.

My favourite quote:
"It is most strange, seeing my second chair hosting a guest. Normally, it is simply a storage space for my unread books."

I absolutely adored reading Fern’s chapters. She was such a likable character. I also liked that Rose’s perspective was told through journal entrees. This was a quick read, but I felt it lacked a lot of suspense and I wasn’t surprised about the ending.

Not what I expected! Really liked the alternating POV between twins/opposites Fern and Rose. Although a little unbelievable at times (as with most thrillers), thoroughly enjoyed.

This was one that I couldn't get into and I greatly dislike the trope of using mental illnesses and neurodivergence as plot devices. Autism, Borderline Personality Disorder, etc. are not formulas and the people who have these are still fully fleshed out people with good and bad traits and interesting, full personalities.

3.5 rounded up

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

The Good Sister was an interesting take on family drama. It has 3 different POV, Fern, Rose, and Rose's journal entries. From the get go, you can kind of tell things aren't as they seem, and you are questioning certain things and events. Fern has sensory sensitivities, and Rose is a manipulator, which all come in to play as things start to unfold.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Fern and Rose are the type of sisters who have spent their whole lives making sure the other is the primary person in their life, at least that is what they both say but their interactions lead the reader to think otherwise. When Rose wants to have a baby but can’t, Fern decides to help. This not-so-little choice unravels both of their lives.
The Fern/Rose dynamic immediately pulled me in. In the same way as the previous book I read by Sally Hepworth, she does an excellent job of capturing families and their relationships in an authentic way, then throwing in the crazy thriller twists I adore. This book is a fun read, even when someone of the relationships made me stressed. I cannot wait to read more of Sally Hepworth’s books!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Such a fun thriller and super exciting. I really enjoyed how atmospheric this was and the author did such a great job with the setting. I loved how well the author writes and great characters developed.

There have been some scenes that have stuck with me because this book was really fun and entertaining. It captured me from the very first page to the ending.

Highly recommend this one for a fun and thrilling read - such a great book.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
Another edge of your seat creepfest by the queen of family drama with a twist. Who is the unreliable narrator and will good triumph over evil? Read it and see.

Once again, Sally Hepworth has delivered a story that drawer the reader in from the very beginning. I have found lately that I have struggled to be interested in books but The Good Sister drew me in from the start and I found that I was going back to it.

This is a dual point of view story and a dual timeline story based on twin sisters, Fern and Rose. Just when I thought that I had figured out where Hepworth was heading with the story, she turned the tables on me and left me guessing.

If you are in the mood for a good mind bending story, this is the book for you.

I am hesitant to say much more because I don't want to give anything away.

This thriller had components of mystery and family drama that hooked me early and kept me guessing.. Bonus points for the realistic public librarian character! We definitely don't read books all day, even though I would have liked to read this one straight through! Fans of mystery in general and other Sally Hepworth books will eat this one up.

This book was a DNF for me just because it was really unsettling. I'm a fan of thrillers by authors like Liane Moriarty and Lisa Jewell, so if you're looking for something even creepier than their novels then this book is for you. It was well written and I love the characters and how the perspective keeps changing back and forth between the sisters. But the descriptions of child abuse (physical, verbal, and emotional) started right away and just kept coming. I really empathize with Rose and Fern. I would love to see what happens to them, and learn what really happened that night at the river. But I'm okay with reading someone else's spoiler-filled review.

I really love the story teller that is Sally Hepworth. Although I was able to see where the story was headed, I was still flipping pages, unable to put the book down.

Sally writes families in such a believable and relatable way. The sisters in The Good Sister were no exception.

She’s a must read and so is The Good Sister.

The story of Fern and Rose kept me guessing the whole time! Such a good book with an in-depth look at the different dynamics and viewpoints when mental health is involved.

This thriller follows two twin sisters Fern and Rose. Their story is told from both their POV and a set of flashbacks. Fern is neurodivergent and works in a library, she is very dependent on her sister Rose. Their story reveals itself throughout the novel and takes you on a ride. Fern comes to her own logical conclusion that she should have a child for her sister since she cannot conceive on her own. Through this process, she finds a romantic interest in the lovable Wally/Rocco and that some facts she has taken for granted might not be correct.
Loved this thriller!

I hadn’t read a book in two weeks (which is unheard of for me) before I decided to give this one a try. I read it within two days because it was just that engrossing! Mostly I think the character of Fern kept me flipping the pages. I just loved her so much & couldn’t wait to see how things played out for her. It really made me dwell on my own relationship with my sister & how sometimes we can’t stand each other and then other times we love each other fiercely. Definitely would recommend this to other suspense lovers.