Member Reviews
A rollercoaster of an novel, my first Alice Hunter book will read the previous book. Plenty of twists and turns thought I had figured it out almost right. Good characters well plotted. A good page turner.
I received this book from Avon books and Netgalley for a review.
Ooh I absolutely reccomend this book. I couldn't put it down. Great plot and well thought out characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ARC of this book.
Really enjoyed this book. The characters slotted together nicely and you always wanted to read the next chapter to see what would happen next and when it finally did it wasn’t as expected all along. I don’t normally like chapters that keep changing , then and now, but with this storyline it really worked.
Not sure that the title is absolutely the best as I’m not sure that I would pick it up off the shelf but it is certainly worth reading. Look forward to the author’s next book.
I’m afraid this book did nothing for me and I quicky lost interest. The writing was just about OK but very simplistic, I didn’t like any of the characters, and I found the whole story far-fetched to the point of being silly with nothing in the plot that I found exciting or thrilling. I had to force myself to keep turning the pages, and was happy to get to the end. Sorry, but thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.
And suddenly it's 8am...
I stayed up all night reading this. What a ride!
I received a free ebook copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've since slept and can say with a clear head that this book is utterly engrossing. Originally, I thought I had figured out the twist, but it turns out that was one of many. It was very much worth the sleepless night.
After reading the first two books from this series, I couldn't wait to read the third and it did not disappoint! There was suspense, guessing, shocks and edge of your seat moments, right up until the last page. Just when I thought it had all unravelled, there was one last shocker on the last page. Please read, you won't be disappointed!
Oooooooh this was a good one! Gripping, fast-paced, scary and disturbing, and some great twists and turns! Everything I want in a book! It was so nearly a 5 star but the final reveal just left me a bit “Huh no!” And had me trawling back through the book in disbelief. And that’s not what I wanted! Anyway, I’ll come back to that.
The story centres around Anna Lincoln, a woman who has overcome a lot of trauma and disadvantage to carve out a great life for herself. After a hard start in life with a negligent mother, Anna and younger brother Henry moved into a children’s home, where things didn’t get much better. Now, in her 30s, she has a nice life for herself with husband Ross and a teaching job she loves.
This all comes crashing down when the police knock on her door one day to say her brother Henry is wanted for multiple murders and they seem to think that she might be next.
We then bounce between the present day manhunt for Henry and flashbacks to Anna’s time at the children’s home, and the events leading to her and Henry making a promise to keep a secret hidden forever.
I loved the writing style and the amazing amount of tension - I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t wait to find out how the story would resolve.
Towards the end there was a great twist that I did not see coming! I loved that. I then had a thought about something else that might end up happening, but dismissed it because I thought it didn’t add up. This did end up being the final twist - hence my “huh? No!” because I’d already thought it didn’t work. Anyway I went back over a few chapters and realised it DID of course work - but I just wanted to be left feeling stunned and delighted rather than a bit baffled. There were things that still didn’t really add up with this twist - and some other things that I felt still needed explaining - some coincidences that were introduced and then just left hanging!
So that is why it wasn’t 5 stars, but it was close! I will definitely be reading some more of Alice Hunter’s books now!
The first book in the series was great, the second ok but I found this one borrowing and the plot was dragged out. The depth of characters was lacking and the plot was somewhat simplistic. Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC.
I would like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Serial Killer’s Sister’ by Alice Hunter in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Anna Price is happily married and doing a job she loves, teaching at the Seabrook Prep School, but the day that DI Walker turns up as she’s about to leave for work changes everything in her life. He says that her brother Henry is a serial killer and although she remembers how spiteful and manipulative he was when they were together at Finley Hall Children’s Home she can’t believe that he would kill and that she could be his next victim. Anna has no alternative but to solve the riddles Henry is leaving for her although there’s every possibility that the secret they promised to keep could be revealed.
‘The Serial Killer’s Sister’ is a dark and chilling psychological thriller that’s had me gripped from the beginning as Anna solves the clues bringing her one step closer to finding her brother. This is a story of suspense with a tension that builds page by page and an abundance of twists and turns till the very last page, the final one taking me completely by surprise as I really didn’t see it coming. I got so involved with what was happening that I was walking around with my Kindle so I could read just another page and finished it in under twenty-four hours. I have no hesitation in recommending this thriller which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Anna has made a good life for herself after a childhood in the care system but it's all about to tumble because her brother Henry is a suspect in five murders. The police need her help which she's willing to give but it's hard, very hard, and dangerous. This is disturbing and twisty, It's also a page turner, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC,
If you’d talked to Anna Price before the policemen showed up at her door, she would have told you that it is indeed possible to move on from one’s past. After a rough childhood, Anna broke contact with her brother, found love and threw herself into a great career. She appeared to have 'survived' her past. However, after the detectives’ visit, she’s not so sure if she ever really moved on. It seems as though her brother has found her and is taunting her by pulling her into a game that she wants no part of. Unfortunately, to survive this time, she has to play his game and win. Can she do it? Does she want to remember? Does she have a choice?
Despite not reading book 2 of this series, I was still able to enjoy book 3. The same tension and build-up I loved in book 1 were still there as was the exploration of the human mind. I appreciated Anna’s point of view and the flipping between the past and present in an attempt to understand Henry’s past and understand his motive/actions. However, this time I found myself having to suspend disbelief…and I didn’t enjoy it. I also didn’t care for the details of the killings, although this is a personal preference and understandably part of a book with such a title. It has no bearing on the author’s ability to pen a great thriller!
Overall, a great read and exploration of what ‘surviving’ really means. I loved the thought-provoking moments where I questioned the concept of Karma and the ability of our mind to close out the past to help us move on.
I was gifted this copy by Avon Books UK and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Having got off to a rough start in life Anna Price has put her past behind her and is happily married and working as a teacher in a private school. For Anna life could not be better.
Then one morning a police Detective knocks on her front door and turns her world upside down. Anna is told her brother Henry is wanted and is a serial killer. Anna cannot believe what she is hearing and struggles to take it all in.
Things go from bad to worse for Anna as she struggles to keep her composure. She is suspended from her job and soon finds out her husband is having an affair and is expecting a baby.
Anna then starts to receive brown envelopes on her door step. Henry is drawing Anna into a game they used to play as children. A game Anna never hoped to play again. Anna knows that she has no choice but to play along with Henry and his games, but Anna is keeping a secret, one she hopes no one will ever find out. Anna is faced with a tough choice play the game and risk her secrets being exposed or let her brother murder another innocent woman.
I love the serial killer series and am desperately hoping there will be another book coming soon. Even though this is book 3 in the series I would say it could be read as a stand alone thriller; however I found I did benefit from reading the previous 2 books and I think having read them it made this book much more thrilling and exciting for me, especially book 1.
I was hooked right from the very start of this book, there were plenty of twists and turns along the way. I really felt for poor Anna who seemed to have everything thrown at her and I wondered if she would ever catch a break. I also loved the twist right at the very end of the book. Literally the very last sentences I did not see that coming at all and for me that really added a wow factor and I found myself wishing I could give a higher rating than 5 ⭐️ very cleverly done and I loved it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Anna and her brother Henry are sent to live at Finley Hall Children’s Home. Anna befriends Kirsty Briggs and in doing so alienates Henry. To keep him occupied, and help him with his social difficulties, Anna creates a game called The Hunt, where she sets him tasks within a rhyme.
Years later, she has lost touch with everyone, including Henry. Married to estate agent Ross, she teaches at a local private school. One morning she receives a visit from DI Walker, from Devon and Cornwall’s Major Crime Investigation Team. They have been looking for her in connection with her brother Henry, who they reveal has murdered five women, one each year on a specific date: the 13th May, which is in four day’s time. DI Walker needs her assistance with the case to try and avoid another murder. Shocked and stunned at the news, Anna makes her way to work, only to find herself in more trouble. Suspended from her job, she is forced to return home.
As Anna’s world begins to fall apart, the first envelope arrives. A rhyme which will take her to locations where she will retrieve clues in exactly the same format as The Hunt. Together Anna and DI Walker work to decipher Henry’s notes, hoping that they can stop him before he kills again.
Narrated in first and third person, the story moves between past and present as Anna tries to cope with personal difficulties as well as decipher the trail of clues Henry has left. It’s fast paced with many twists and turns. At the end there is one huge twist which I guessed, but then there was a final surprise that I really didn’t see coming. A gripping read.
My thanks to Avon, Alice Hunter and Netgalley for an ARC of The Serial Killer’s Sister in exchange for an honest review.
I found the start hard to get into and about halfway through I got interested. I loved the ending This is a genre which really appeals and it was a good read and a good way of spending the afternoon - will look for more by this author but as I said get over the start and then it will be good.
I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.
I really enjoyed the previous two books in this series, and was looking forward to reading this one. however, for me, it was the least enjoyable of the three. I like Ms Hunter's style and her page turning writing but I'm a bit fed up with novels featuring graphic violence against women as a major plot point and I guessed the main twist long before Anna, so spent a lot of time waiting for her to catch up! I was also unconvinced by the ending which came with a lot of questions about how that fitted with the rest of the plot.
Having said all that, I am hoping for another serial killing relative and a return to form for the author.
Thank you to netgalley and Avon books for an advance copy of this book
Absolutely loved this!!
Read it in one sitting - a great follow up to the first two serial killer family books.
The game element with the riddles was creative and creepy.
Loved the twist at the end!
The third in the series but able to be read as a standalone.
Anna and her brother Henry didnt have a very good start in life and spent most of their childhood in a children's home. Anna made a friend but Henry remained a loner.
Having not seen her brother for 15 plus years Anna is surprised to get a visit from DI Walker, and even more surprised and shocked to hear Henry is the main suspect in 5 murders and the police need Anna's help to try and catch him.
So follows a fast paced thriller with Anna trying to work out the clues Henry is sending her, at least for 90% of the book. Other readers/reviewers have mentioned the twist, and yes there is one that I certainly didn't have an inkling for but in my opinion wothout giving spoilers it almost bordered on the ridiculous.
Having said that I did enjoy most of the book and feel that this is the best one so far
I have read the previous two books and enjoyed them so I knew I would enjoy this.
This time it was about the sister of a serial killer and how she hadnt been in touch with her brother for a long time but he was starting to build up and get closer to her.
You see how it affects her life and how she deals with what is fast approaching.
I love the twists in this story, it really made it a lot more interesting.
This is a predictable story but fast paced with a few twists along the way. I would recommend though and is a enjoyable read
2.5-3/5.
Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This had an interesting premise but very quickly fell short for me. The book dragged, the relationships seemed to change on a whim based on what was most useful for the book, and the twists were solely to shock the reader, but not to make any actual sense? I particularly felt this with the epilogue - I felt like the author was going to do a reveal in this nature, but the way it was done was completely nonsensical. When you think about how that impacts the rest of that book it doesn’t make any sense, and you would have to wonder why the main didn’t reveal that information willingly in the final act.