Another fast-paced mystery from the author of; Hollywood Homicide, and Hollywood Ending, Detective by Day stories. Grad student Lena Scott is estranged from her half-sister, reality star, and social media influencer Desiree Pierce. Lena didn't care much for Desiree's partying lifestyle, but when Lena is told that her sister was found dead at a playground of a drug overdose, she refused to believe the cause of death - Desiree is afraid of needles! Lena knew Desiree was no angel but, the story didn't make sense. Fearing that the police are too quick to believe that Desiree is just another celebrity strung out on drugs, Lena risks her own safety as she seeks to uncover the truth about her half-sister's death. Her search for clues leads Lena to Desiree's associates as well as her wealthy rap artist father Mel Pierce, also known as Murder Mel. This story is a little darker than Garrett's Detective by Day mysteries, however, the author still maintains her quirky comical use of metaphors throughout the book.

Lena Scott’s half-sister, former reality tv star Desiree Pierce, is dead. At first glance, it looks like an accidental overdose, but Lena is not convinced. You have to root for Lena. The book is told from her first-person point of view and she’s smart, tenacious, funny, and sassy. The other characters are well-done too, from Desiree’s best friend to Mel, the hip-hop producer father. And they each of secrets they’re not telling Lena. There’s a lot about Desiree’s life that Lena doesn’t understand and she doesn’t know who she can trust.

It’s a very contemporary mystery. A lot of the clues are on Desiree’s phone, contacts, messages, photos, her Instagram account. It had twists and turns and I was nowhere close to guessing the killer. It all made sense in the end though. The story kept me riveted to the page. I was invited into a world that I don’t usually visit even in books, with rappers and “influencers” and $400 bottles of water.

This was such an incredible mystery book. This book is about the murder of a black tv star who is declared death by overdose and her half-sister decides to solve her murder. I think this was my first adult mystery read and I enjoyed it. Garrett is an incredible writer and knew how to keep tension and dark vibes onto the pages. There were many twists and turns with family betrayal and secrets. The pacing was perfect and once the story starts, it's just easy to read. The story plotline was very well structured and I was shocked throughout the whole book.

The main character in this book is Lena who tries to find out her hall-sister's murderer even though they haven't spoken in 2 years. I really enjoyed her character as she was trying to find out the truth behind her family. She had a great character development and her relationship with her family reminded me of Gossip Girl (2021). I also enjoyed the involvement of many side characters in this book. I guess it is needed just because it's a murder/mystery but I really enjoyed how it wasn't just random characters but family and friends. This books talks about the levels of complicated family issues and I think Garrett did a wonderful job with bringing it on the pages.

The ending was great but I have to say that it kind of dragged in my opinion. Other then that the story was greatly written. It has a black female lead for a murder mystery which we need more of as for all the ones I have read they are white Americans. I totally recommend this book as it has great twists and turns that you will be shocked from. This is perfect for fans of Gossip Girl (2021) but with murder.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Like a Sister is a murder mystery thriller that follows the story of Lena Scott, the daughter of a big name in the music industry. One day, her younger half-sister Desiree is found dead right after her 25th birthday. While the police conclude that this is a case of an overdose, Lena rejects this conclusion and decides to figure it out all by herself. She will investigate the death of her sister no matter the dangers she will have to face. She believes there is more to it than what the police and media say.

I was interested in this thriller because I wanted to read about a black female protagonist that is strong and has the guts. I wasn’t wrong. Lena is exactly what I thought she will be. She is a very brave character and during her investigation, the reader will feel that about her. I think her character is one of the main highlights of this novel.

The concept of the story is what attracted me to the novel. Many real-life cases of death due to drug overdose are reported and concluded, but not in all the cases that will be the actual cause of death. Could it be a homicide case and the inclusion of drugs is just a plant for the case to be closed? Possible. And that is what Lena felt here too about her sister. The more she dug into the evidence the more she was convinced that what she was doing was the right thing.

The first part of the book felt slow for me. Things do pick up from the second half though. For a murder mystery thriller, I usually prefer a faster pace. The other point I want to make is that as a reader I was not emotionally attached to the victim because through the story we don’t get to see much of her. This did not make me too compassionate with what happened to her. But I did understand the anger and the frustration of the main protagonist. The reveals were pretty good and realistic for such a story. I know I would have enjoyed the story more if it was not for the repetitiveness and some dragging through the middle.

Many thanks to the publisher Mulholland Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book!

I enjoyed Lena as a character but the storyline and pacing didn't really feel like a thriller to me. I think maybe if I lived in NYC I would have felt slightly more connected to the whereabouts and such.

Great writing though!

Garrett’s terrific new thriller Like A Sister may be darker and more complex than her ‘Detective by Day’ mysteries, but it also pulses with rich veins of sarcastic humour and explores ideas around fame, race, and celebrity.

Like a Sister is a superb, twisty domestic noir where the death of black reality TV star Desiree Pierce sparks gossip but is shrugged off as an overdose, a tragedy rather than a crime, by everyone except graduate student Lena Scott. Desiree and Lena shared a father, hip hop mogul Mel, but little else. Nevertheless, Lena’s determined to find justice, wherever that leads.

After bringing a new view and fresh perspective to cosy mysteries with her 'Detective by Day' mysteries, Garrett does the same here with psychological thriller. Domestic noir with an urban rather than suburban feel. This a masterful tale, tense and page-whirring, dark yet dosed with humour. Quaffable storytelling.

Loved this terrific mystery novel showing the dangers of reality TV and the fight of a comma to find those responsible for her sister’a death, no matter the cost to herself.

Garrett’s first line hits you like a freight train and captures perfectly the story to follow. The tight first person POV made me wonder a few times if Lena was an unreliable narrator. As she is operating through her grief there is definitely an element of that going on. Garrett knocked it out of the park with this one.
4.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but I was distinctly bored. The synopsis intrigued me a great deal, so I went in with hopes it would be a decent read, but it wasn’t really my style. I felt it was too slow, too long, far more convoluted than it needed to be for no good reason, and had really uneven pacing.

That being said: I enjoyed the characters a great deal on an individual basis. Their personalities were clear and distinct from one another and so well-developed I almost wished it was an entirely different novel just so we could have books about their lives. My favorite was Erin, who was as clever as she was pretty. I’d read an entire book just about her.

If you don’t mind your suspense mysteries moving a little slower than others in the genre and enjoy a diverse cast of characters, you’ll probably enjoy this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. As per my personal policy, this review will not be posted to social media sites due to the 3 Star review.

I'm at Chapter 8 and I'm giving up... Maybe it's just not for me. But there seems to be CONSISTENT and CONSTANT filler and no essential info that moves the story along! This is supposed to be suspenseful and a murder mystery, not a play-by-play of Leena's day, and frankly I just can't be bothered. I promised myself I wouldn't waste my time on books I'm not enjoying - not anymore. Thanks, but no thanks.

Still love u Netgalley and publishers!! You make my day better and brighter 😗

I never really got into the story… it was pretty repetitive and I did not find it very thrilling. 😬 It’s a no from me, dawg. 🤷‍♀️

A little slow to start but I liked Lena so I stuck it out and am glad I did.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Lena and Desiree are estranged sisters who used to be close, but currently haven’t spoken in years. Then one day Desiree shows up dead, in Lena’s neighborhood. Lena finds herself going back to the past as she uncovers what really happened to her sister. This was a fantastic debut. The writing is excellent, the story is engrossing, and the characters are interesting and real. This is a solid thriller that doesn’t have to use over-the-top, wild twists to make the story better. I really enjoyed this one,

LIKE A SISTER is a well-plotted mystery with a side of family drama.

Lena hasn't spoken with her sister Desiree in two years, but when Desiree's found dead, Lena just knows things are not as the police assume them to be. She's clearly grieving but also becomes driven by finding out what happened to her sister -- who may have wished her harm? What happened in disgraced reality TV star Desiree's final days?

The author explained that she "wanted this book to really examine the Strong Black Woman label we tend to put on ourselves (which is different than the Angry Black Woman label folks try to give us.) And how Lena being conditioned to always be a Super Black Woman can be both good and bad." Additionally, Lena has a frayed relationship with her (rich, famous) father. And has long been jealous of Desiree's friend, the one who was bestowed with #LikeASister in Desiree's social media posts.

I was a little thrown off by how similar Lena's voice sounded to Dayna in Garrett's Detective by Day series, but I imagine that's mostly because I read those in the past six months (and because all three are narrated by the great Bahni Turpin). It also may be because they're all highly voice-driven books. But I daresay Garrett really hit her stride with LIKE A SISTER.

Like a Sister
by Kellye Garrett
Pub date: March 8, 2022
Mulholland Books
A twisty, voice-driven thriller for fans of Megan Miranda and Jessica Knoll, in which no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead in the Bronx—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.
Thanks to the author, Mulholland Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
For some reason, I had a hard time getting into the story. I think I would have benefited from getting to hear the audiobook since I hear the narration was excellent.
I cannot recommend this book at this time.
3 stars

When a woman’s sister is killed, she’s supposed to do something about it. It doesn’t make any difference what you thought of her. She was your sister, and you’re supposed to do something about it…. OK, Lena Scott isn’t Sam Spade, but the sentiment remains the same.

Lena is a grad student in New York who has issues with her family. Her father, Mel Pierce, is a bigwig in the music business, but Lena wants nothing to do with him. Lena used to be close with her half-sister Desiree Pierce despite their differences in personality. Lena shuns the spotlight that comes with being Mel’s daughter, but Desiree embraced it to become a minor celebrity thanks to reality TV and her Instagram account. Desiree’s party lifestyle also included the usual bad habits, and after one close call too many, Lena had enough and cut off all contact with her sister.

When Desiree is found dead all indications point to an overdose, but Lena is sure that there’s more to her sister’s death then that. Following a trail of clues from social media as well as her personal knowledge of her sister, Lena starts trying to learn the truth as she deals with cops, music stars, Instagram influencers, reporters, and her own father.

I loved a lot about this one, starting with the character of Lena herself. Naturally she’s got guilt and thinks that maybe she wasn’t there when Desiree needed her. However, she’s also being incredible stoic and refusing to show her grief which she calls “…putting on the Super Black Woman cape” as she puts on a brave face to deal with both the practical matters one has to deal with when a loved one dies as well as doggedly chasing any clue about really happened to Desiree.

Through the first-person narration we follow along as Lena seems to set everything aside to bluntly deal with whatever is in front of her in the moment even as we know how torn up she is by all of it. Despite the dark circumstances, Lena can also be a very funny narrator at times with sly observations and a dry wit, and there were several laugh-out-loud lines.

The mystery of is also handled in intriguing fashion. This isn’t a murder that will be solved in the drawing room of an English mansion or the mean streets of New York. Instead, Lena uses her sister’s Instagram account to track Desiree’s activities before she died and figure out who might have the answers she’s looking for as well as using social media to research and track suspects. Trying to find Desiree’s phone becomes a critical piece that Lena desperately wants to find because she knows that her sister’s whole life revolved around the device.

The plot has a lot of twists and turns to it, and I was fooled at several points as to where the book was going. None of the red herrings seem like cheats though, and when all is revealed, you realize that even the misdirects mattered. It’s a solid story that plays fair with its clues and ends in a satisfying fashion.

Kellye Garret did an admirable job of writing a mystery that mixes heart and humor and has a great lead character you can’t help but like. It’s also a solid template for how to do a 21st century whodunit.

It's super hard to put down. She pulls you right in from the first page and I had a hard time pulling myself away. So many twists and turns and red herrings. It was messy but in a good way, The characters were flawed but layered. I loved this. Five stars.

Really good story involving sisters and also I felt like I could relate to the MC because of the family dynamic she had too.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5

• twisty meets whodunnit meets social media/pop culture
• captivating characters
• unique writing

I loved the tense family dynamics and Aunt E was my favorite!! This book is suspenseful with some wit and sass thrown in as well. The story pulled me in from the very beginning and as the revelations began, my jaw kept dropping. Definitely check this one out!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @mulhollandbooks for the opportunity to read and review this book via eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

The storyline is intriguing. A woman is found dead and her sister wants to know what happened to her. The cover captures your attention with its bright red color and the necklace. This book has strong language that will not be for everyone. I enjoyed the book as her sister investigated the murder.