This is a fascinating book about sisters. It explores how far we will go for a perfect family and the intricacies of these bonds. I really enjoyed it.

This is a pacey domestic noir page-turner with a compelling title that completely delivers. A fantastic premise with a potentially tricky narrative to navigate authentically, but which Alison Stockham achieves. I was desperate to find out how the story could end...

This is a fantastic debut. An emotional read that pulls you in all directions where you can't decide who you're rooting for from one chapter to the next.

Maggie is struggling as a full time mum to two young children and has lost her identity with little support from her workaholic husband Stephen. After an accident at home, Maggie flees to Scotland, realising she is unable to cope and her mental health is suffering. She believes she can no longer safely look after her children and that they deserve better. As a reader and a mum your heart breaks for this all too real character.

She believes she is leaving her daughter Emily and son Elliott in the capable and loving arms of her sister Rose, who she hopes, will assist Stephen in taking care of them whilst she gets better.

What starts with Rose filling in for Maggie slowly becomes the norm with the children relying on her. Rose falls in love with family life, consumed with love for the children and a growing attraction for Stephen she believes Maggie will not return and has implanted herself as their mother and wife.

When Maggie returns it becomes a fight for what is rightfully hers and what Rose refuses to let go.

I found myself seeing both plights equally, feeling for Maggie obviously but also for Rose too. Very well written, I was absorbed from the first page.

This book comes with a killer hook - what would you do if you entrusted your children to your sister and she slowly but surely began to muscle in on your place in your life? It's a brave, compelling book that slowly reveals how a person's moral compass can be swayed off course. As in life, changes happen incrementally until they build up and Maggie's sister Rose goes beyond the point of no return. Sibling relationships, post-natal depression, marriages with cracks that turn into fissures and the nature of friendship are all explored via a pacy storyline. An impressive debut from Alison Stockman and I'm already looking forward to seeing what she writes next.

I’m going to be honest, I was triggered by the premise of Alison Stockham’s debut. I have a sister and I remember the childhood squabbles over her stealing my barbies, and my clothes. But the idea of my sister trying to steal my hypothetical husband and children? Noooo! It’s a nightmare scenario, no matter how you frame it, but somehow Alison Stockham writes the characters of Maggie, her sister Rose and her husband Stephen with such nuance that neither of them is in danger of slipping into pantomime villain territory.

The Cuckoo Sister starts with Maggie in the middle of a crisis with her children. We immediately see how alone and desperate she is due to the pressure of caring for two young children. Her husband Stephen is too busy with work to be much help: “He hadn’t seen her desperation, desperation for some space to breathe. He hadn’t seen her drowning.”
The pressure results in Maggie leaving and her younger sister Rose, who’s always envied Maggie’s seemingly perfect life, steps in to help.

Unfortunately, the longer Maggie stays away, the more Rose, Stephen and children Emily and Elliott have time to get used to the changing family dynamics. The fallout of Maggie’s disappearance and return was heart-breaking to read as both women are forced to reckon with the changing dynamics. When I started reading this, I was immediately on Maggie’s side and I loved this quote: “we all wanted you to be something for us. A wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend.” Circumstances have meant Maggie’s never had the time to figure out who she really is. However, we also realize the same is true of her husband Stephen. I think the tragedy of this story was their reluctance to communicate with each other until it was too late.

The relationship between Rose and Maggie was fascinating to read as obviously they love each other, but there’s also that resentment that each one suspects the other of living the dream. Although Maggie’s disappearance gives Rose what she wants, she also realises that dreams are just that...dreams, and a happy ending is a constant work in progress. Overall, this was a beautifully written debut that handles a difficult subject matter with a delicacy that makes me excited to read whatever Alison Stockham writes next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Maggie never intended to have children but now she has two kids and a marriage that really should have never been. When an accident sends both her children to the hospital because of something she caused, she feels like it's better if she just leaves. When that occurs, her sister Rose takes her place and starts raising the kids with Maggie's husband. This is everything Rose has ever wanted, to have a family to care for, but what if Maggie decides to return?

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a page-turner and the characters were written so well! I feel for all of the characters and what they are going through and the twist at the end really surprised me. Highly recommend this book!