Member Reviews
Another page turner by author Pamela Crane, if you're familiar with her books you won't be disappointed with this one and if you are new to her writings you're in for treat.
The Sister-in-Law tells the story of newlyweds Candance and Lane and sister-in-law Harper Ross as they found in a not so convenient living situation after Harper' founds her husband dead inside their home, and moves in with Candance and Lane.
To say that the two women dislike each other is a misnomer, their dislike for each other, bordering on hate, distrust and competition for Lane's attention is at times cringeworthy and uncomfortable to read, but as the story unravels we found those feelings validated.
I like that the story is told by the different point of views of the characters. Fast read thriller, where nobody is really who they portrait to be, with lies from all of the characters, it will keep you wanting to read until you get the answers to all of the questions in the book. Although the story leads you to the ending you are still shock by it.
Wow! This book was really good! It followed Lane and Harper, siblings, and Lane's wife Candace, along with Lane and Harper's mom and Harper's kids. I honestly had no idea who did it. I knew Ben's death wasn't a suicide, but I had no idea who the murderer actually was. And there were so many subplots that all got worked out, without the book feeling rushed or contrived. And I really liked the very end. 4 stars, and I will definitely be reading more of Crane's work!
Book Review- The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane
The novel has been called a rollercoaster, twisty and turny, and a crazy, wild domestic thriller. All of these are true. However, I like to describe it as a Tilt-A-Whirl because you’re getting into the groove of where this ride is going and BAM! Here comes a turn I wasn’t expecting.
The Sister-In-Law is narrated by the three main characters: Harper, Candace (or Candy depending on your feelings for her), and Lane.
They are entangled in relationships that are sometimes troubling and complicated, but I think acceptance is one of the underlying factors too.
Pamela Crane puts the “fun” in dysfunctional family with this one!
I loved everything about the Sister-In-Law! It should go to the top of your To Be Read list if you crave this genre!
I give it Five Stabbys!
Thanks to #NetGalley #WilliamMorrowBooks and Pamela Crane!
3.5 stars
The Sister-in-Law by Pamela Crane is the first book I have read by this author. It starts with a dramatic scene in which Harper Paris finds her husband Ben’s body dead in their living room, with a knife sticking out of his chest. Her immediate actions, and reactions, to his death drive the propulsive drama of this domestic thriller.
The story is told from 3 POV: Harper Paris, Lane Flynn (her brother), and Candace Moriarty-Flynn (her sister-in-law). I liked the alternating POV, giving good insight into the characters’ thoughts and intent.
The action moves forward with plenty of twists and a few good surprises near the end.
Unfortunately, I found the characters to be wholly unlikeable. The sisters-in-law were petty and unpleasant, especially to each other, and Lane seemed weak and ineffectual. The writing is very descriptive, with some extended metaphors and many words devoted to the characters’ inner voices, which became redundant at times.
Everyone in the novel has secrets, explained in infinite detail. Harper’s children are portrayed as damaged, and there are some fairly improbable developments that made this feel like a soap opera.
The author does a good job keeping the conflict between the sisters-in-law front and center. This will be a good read for fans of female domestic dramas and suspense.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.
The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane is one of the best thrillers I have read this year.
Likely HOLY TWISTS and TURNS!!!!
This was an incredible page turner from Page 1 until its very SHOCKING ending!
I enjoyed the way the story was told with altering perspectives and multiple timelines.
The writing was exceptional , perfectly paced with secrets and clues dropped here and there that reveal themselves in a perfect way.
The characters are well developed , flawed and fleshed out.
Lies, secrets, murder and family drama are the perfect mix for this excellent thriller.
Highly recommend!
I just could't get into this book. All of the characters are just very unlikable to me & though the plot is kind of interesting I just didn't buy it.
First of all, thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.. I feel that this book was well written and this story flowed well. You really did get to know the characters, although I am not sure I would want to spend any time with them because they were not likable people.. I am always amazed when an author can come up with story lines that show us how selfish and manipulative we can be as people and make it believable. I cannot say I enjoyed the book because I am not comfortable reading about people that are focused on lies and agendas, but I have to say the ending tied everything together and made the book worth reading.
Twisty, twisted fun! This domestic thriller starts out fast and furious and just the way I like — with a murder. Or was it a suicide? Either way, Harper’s beloved husband Ben is dead and the note left behind shows that Ben — and possibly a murderer, too — had more twisted secrets than she ever knew.
Distraught, Harper reaches out to her brother, who (in a pretty unbelievable yet still fun turn of events) suggests staging the suicide scene as a home invasion to avoid suspicion and collect successfully on Ben’s generous life insurance policy. And that’s only the beginning of the craziness. Because next Harper goes to stay with her brother and learns he has married his loony, very short-term girlfriend, Candace. Let’s just say Candace and Harper don’t exactly get along like a house on fire….although a house on fire DOES feature later in the incredibly twisted and wild plot.
This was my first Pamela Crane book, and her fast-paced, juicy, page-turning writing style made me hungry for more! If anyone has suggestions of a book by Pamela Crane to read next, please let me know in the comments!
Four stars for an unapologetically fun and crazy thrill ride by a new-to-me author. Looking forward to reading more of her books. Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, NetGalley and the author for the very fun ARC! I always enjoy reading a thriller that knows exactly what it wants to do, and goes for it!
My first Pamela Crane book - definitely won't bey last!!
Great thriller - had me guessing and then re-guessing. A definite page turner. A great summer read!
Who killed Ben? His wife, his son, his brother in law - his mother in law or someone else? The answer will both surprise you and make you wonder why you didn't see it coming!
In Pamela Crane’s The Sister-in-Law, Harper Ross’s problems are only beginning when she finds her husband dead in their living room. Harper’s brother, Lane, is there for her in her time of need and helps her deal with this extremely difficult situation. He offers her a place to stay in the aftermath and Harper gets a shock when she arrives at her brother’s house with her two children to find that Lane has married the younger woman he has recently started dating.
Candace is equally shocked to learn she and her new husband will be having houseguests and the two very different women can’t get along from the very start. Both Harper and Candace are keeping secrets and the events in the first part of this fast-paced, engaging story foreshadows a horrible event to come. I didn’t care for most of the characters in the book, but I was entertained from the dramatic beginning all the way through the surprising ending. Pamela Crane is a new author for me, but I'm so glad I had the chance to read this suspenseful thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Books, and Scene of the Crime early reads for providing an advance copy of this ebook. The book was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
Harper, wife, mother and sister, has just found her husband, Ben, dead from what appears to be suicide. Instead of calling 911, her loyal to a fault brother, Lane, helps her make it look like murder (for insurance purposes). Candace, Lane’s new wife and Harper’s ‘surprise sister-in-law’, has a secretive past and may not be who she says she is. All their secrets and lies slowly weave together in suspenseful fashion and keep you guessing.
This was a fast-paced thriller filled with trauma, lies and murder told in the perspectives of the three main characters. It was my first book by Pamela Crane and I will add more of her work to my to-read list. I thought I had it all figured out a few times, but the ending was unexpected! Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a digital arc of this book. Releases August 10, 2021.
Things get going right from the get go and it will keep you tense all the way to the end! It's told from different perspectives which makes it very interesting.
After the mysterious death of her husband, Harper and her children move in with her brother, Lane. Lane's new wife, Candace, and his sister, Harper, find themselves at odds, competing for Lane's attention. As the tension mounts and the story unfolds, we learn that everyone has secrets to hide. Allegiances change, things aren't always as they seem.
The Sister-in-Law is a page turner that kept me guessing until the end. As with many of today's domestic suspense novels, you must suspend reality a little, as some elements are a bit unrealistic. Still, a wholly satisfying read.
If you like slow burn suspense, strong female protagonists, well drawn characters, shifting perspectives, and unexpected plot twists, this one is for you.
Pamela Crane has written a domestic thriller that tops all domestic thrillers. The Sister-In-Law starts out with a bang and ends with a bigger bang! This is a fantastic story about the bond between a sister and brother and the sister-in-law that tries to break it! This thriller is filled with murder, suspense, secrets, lies and betrayal. It is highly entertaining and starts out good but gets better and better as you read it! There were some predictable areas but when you get to that ending…..It is so highly unpredictable and not what I thought was coming! Crane will take you on a dark and twisty ride so buckle up and hold on, you will not want to get off!! I highly recommend this intriguing book, you will not be able to put this one down!! You will read this one way past your bedtime!
Thank you NetGalley, Pamela Crane, Scene of the Crime and William Morrow Publishing for a copy of this exciting and entertaining book in exchange for my honest review.
#thesisterinlaw #pamelacrane #williammorrowpublishing, #netgalley #arc
I like to try a suspense/thriller from time to time for my online book club so I appreciate getting the opportunity to try the Sister in Law. However, this one was too much for my romance loving heart.
Thank you @Netgallry & @williammorrowbooks for the opportunity to read early!
"Houseguests were like fish—they were only good for about three days. We were officially past the expiration date."
"Empathy was for the weak because compassion requires trust, and trust got you killed."
Ah! What a crazy ride full of dysfunctional unlikeable characters. This book hooked me in from the start. There is a lot that unfolds in such a short amount of time because it was hard to stop reading! We have triple POVs. Harper, Candace and Lane. Harper comes home to find her husband's dead body. Candace is the sister-in-law. She is very mysterious and pretty blunt. Lane is Harper's brother. He doesn't play a main role in the book, if anything he is a bit of a doormat for the two ladies to squarrel.
There is a lot to unpack here. I had a great time but as I kept reading some things either didn't flow or match up. I had trouble finding the true motives for the character's actions. There was almost too much going on. I was not a huge fan of the ending. With all of that said, would I recommend? I'd say yes because it is a bit twisted. Not my favorite psychological thriller though. I have to add that Harper has a little boy that sees the dead and he puts the creep in creep factor. Just saying, I would pick up the book just for that alone.
This book goes through three points of view - Harper (the sister), Lane (the brother and husband), and Candace (the sister-in-law). After Harper's husband is discovered dead in their home, Harper relies on Lane to keep her life together and become her accomplice. Harper is forced to move in with Lane after her assets are frozen due to police suspicion around her husband's death, but her sister-in-law is not having it. Candace and Harper go back and forth over who is in charge of the household and Lane is forced to choose sides over and over again, and as Harper and Candace begin to look into each other's past, they realize both of them have a lot more of secrets than expected. Who will hit a breaking point and win Lane over once and for all - sister or the sister-in-law?
Harper arrives home to find her husband dead. There is a suicide note, so expectantly it looks like suicide. Harper doesn't work, hasn't worked in a very long time, so if her husband is dead-she has no money BUT the life insurance policy. Only the $3 million life insurance policy won't pay out for suicidal deaths.
Harper calls her brother, Lane. He comes over and helps to stage the house as a murder, but when he's leaving afterwards he notices there was actually a break in. Was this truly a suicide or in fact a murder?
Later Harper moves in with Lane and his new wife, Candance, while the murder investigation continues and the plots just thickens.
This was my first Pamela Crane suspense novel and I was really impressed with the writing and POV's. Many twists and shocks that keep you hanging on!
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow & Custom House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book creeped me tf out! I didn't see any of the twists coming and couldn't stop turning those pages! I loved the character building and the way Pamela Crane wrote this story. Will be back to buy every book she's ever written.
SO much drama! Harper's husband Ben died, leaving her bereft and confused so she, and her kids, moved in with her brother Lane. One problem- Lane has recently romanced and married Candace. Two very very different women both competing for Lane. Oh, and a creepy kid. The thing is, Candace has a secret and so does Harper. Who will Lane protect? All three of these people have good points and bad points and they turn them on each other. It's very twisty and entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I read this inside on a. rainy dreary day but it would be an excellent beach read.