Thank you NetGalley for early access of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book excited me with its premise and the twists were very interesting. However, I felt like some chapters were monotonous and spent more time repeating the same thing as the chapter before but from a different character's perspective. Overall, this was a fun read but I could have done without some of the repetitive chapters.

This one started out quickly. I like that in a book. The middle was a little slower and then Bam! the ending.

For me the ending was the best part. I liked all the intrigue along the way also.

The characters played their parts well and were also described well.

Although the ending wasn't a complete surprise, I still liked how it was presented to the reader.

Thanks to netgalley and Boldwood Books for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Megan & her husband Rick are involved in a car accident and Rick doesn't make it out alive. While at the funeral, Megan sees a very pregnant woman who introduces herself as Emily who is Rick's estranged sister who has been looking for Rick for years to try and reconnect. Megan is wanting to get to know Emily and her unborn nephew and when she finds out that Emily has no place to go she invites her to come live with her until she gets back on her feet. Parts of this were like "really" who is this stupid to let this stranger into their home and help her out. As the story continued to move along, things became a little more interesting and when the final twist is revealed that is when my rating jumped to 4 stars. Enjoy!!!

Megan loses her husband to an accident, at the funeral, she encounters his estranged pregnant sister. she invites her to stay with her. things are not as they seem. keeps you guessing.

When Megan’s husband Rick dies in an accident, she finally meets his estranged sister at the funeral. She’s pregnant and running away from an abusive boyfriend, so Megan offers her a place to stay for a while. Megan has no idea that the sister is really her husband’s mistress. Or does she? A great twisty read!

3,75 stars, This was a bit of a slow-burn thriller. It kicks off with a bang and ends with an even stronger ending, but the middle is a bit slow at points. However, I'm ultimately so glad I read this! The last chapter - WOW.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC!

Double twist!!
A really enjoyable book. Just as I thought I'd found out the twist in the story,along came another. Really well written.

This book hooked me from the beginning. For the most part I enjoyed it- but found some parts repetitive since their viewpoints weren’t that different. However, the plot twist at the very end really got me

Megan loses her husband Rick in a tragic car accident after heading home from dinner one night when their car went off the road and plunged into a river. Megan survives and spends her time in a bit of daze on the run up to the funeral. When that finally comes around she meets a heavily pregnant woman who claims to be Rick's estranged sister Emily....having never met or seen photos of his sister Megan takes pity on her and invites her to move into her spare room.

Emily has her own motives to get close to Megan and it isn't because she is Ricks sister - she in fact his lover! We are met with this information really early on and her reasons for getting close to Megan become clear - money. She spends her days snooping around the house and discovers that Megan is going to come into a lot of money from Ricks live insurance and Emily plans to take that money for herself and her unborn child.

Told from the dual POV from both woman, we are treated to one hell of a ride, Megan is sharper than Emily gives her credit for and far more sneakier than even I gave her credit for.

4 stars

Megan's husband Rick dies in a car accident. Megan feels so lost and alone that when Rick's estranged sister turns up, heavily pregnant with seemingly nowhere to go she welcomes her with open arms but is all as it seems? Can Megan trust Emily?

Strong start, seemed to have all the elements I look for in a good thriller but after a while I started to lose interest. It felt like the plot of 2/3 different books I have read before mashed together and the end result was underwhelming.

A very interesting story, and it had a lot of twist. I liked the plot, and I liked the story line! It is definitely a book worth reading!
It was my first book by this author and I would definitely read more by this author. The one thing that I did not like and don’t like in any books, is the shift in character views. For me that just makes a book harder to read.

3.5 stars

This book started interesting with a very interesting premise. Though I was interested it was not a book that I had to keep reading. It was definitely a slow burn.

It is told in multiple POVs and sometimes I found this a bit repetitive since we’s hear the same story from both characters and there wasn’t enough difference between them for that to always be necessary.

The ending of this book was not one I saw coming and it was very satisfying. The last 20% of the book did not drag and really helped the story along.

Overall, this was a quick and interesting read. If you are a fan of thrillers I’d give this one a go!

I felt this book took a long time to "get going"! Very little narrative, mostly descriptive passages which had to be read to understand where this tale was taking us! I persevered and was glad I did as the ending is not what the reader would think!
Very cleverly done but I feel that there was far too much descriptive passages, lots of which was repetitive and unnecessary. A good story none the less but can only award 3 stars due to long windedness of some chapters.
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing to read and review this book

The Sister-in-Law by Joanne Ryan is a chilling and suspenseful psychological thriller that explores the complexities of grief, trust, and the hidden secrets within families. After the sudden death of her husband, Rick, Megan is left to pick up the pieces of her life, feeling utterly alone in their shared home. Her world is upended further when a stranger, Emily, appears at Rick's funeral, claiming to be his estranged sister. With a sob story and a baby on the way, Emily quickly works her way into Megan's life, moving into her home and filling the silence left by Rick's death.

At first, Megan is drawn to Emily’s vulnerability and the shared connection to her late husband, but as time goes on, unsettling feelings begin to emerge. Emily’s presence starts to feel less like a comfort and more like an intrusion. Megan finds herself questioning how much she really knows about this woman, her motives, and her connection to Rick.

Ryan masterfully builds tension as Megan's growing unease mirrors the reader’s suspicions, creating an atmosphere of psychological complexity. The author weaves in twists and turns that keep you guessing about Emily’s true intentions. Is Emily really a grieving sister, or is there something more sinister at play?

With well-drawn characters and a plot full of suspense, The Sister-in-Law is a page-turning, thought-provoking thriller about the dangers of trusting the wrong person. Ryan's writing will keep readers hooked from start to finish, offering an emotional and thrilling journey into the dark side of family relationships.

As always with Joanne Ryan's books I was hooked immediately and the suspense / tension kept me reading.

The Sister-in-Law by Joanne Ryan
Would you invite a stranger into your home?
When Megan loses her beloved husband in a tragic car accident, she feels as though her own life has come to an end. At such a young age, she struggles with the reality of being a widow. Walking through the house they once shared, everything feels different without him; the silence is overwhelming.
At his funeral, she encounters someone she does not recognize. A heavily pregnant young woman introduces herself as Emily, her husband's estranged sister. Emily explains that she has been searching for her brother for years, but now, as she bursts into loud sobs, she realizes that she is too late.
Megan, feeling compassion for the sister-in-law she has never known, begins to welcome Emily into her life. Emily soon moves into the spare room in Megan's house, bringing a sense of companionship that makes the place feel less empty—at least for a while.
As time passes, Megan begins to doubt if she can truly trust a stranger, even if that stranger is family.
Another compelling, well-written thriller comes from the author of The Double, One Night and Don't Let Her In.
Joanne Ryan has penned another complex, captivating, and emotional thriller that is genuinely unputdownable. It is filled with lies and deception, featuring numerous twists and turns, all set against a suspenseful atmosphere that permeates every page. The main characters, Megan and Emily, are well-developed, engaging, and realistic.
The story unfolds from Megan and Emily's perspectives, thoughts, and actions.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and was impressed with the outcome. I highly recommend this book; it's well worth taking the time to read.
I want to thank publishers Boldwood Books, author Joanne Ryan and Rachel's Random Resources for providing a copy to read and review.

The story starts with a fatal accident and we’re quickly introduced to recently widowed Megan and her pregnant, estranged sister-in-law Emily, bonded by grief. But is all as it seems?

I enjoyed this book. The well thought out characters and unique plot kept me turning the pages. The one-liners Keith shot at Emily made me howl.

A compulsive and addictive read. I stayed up late into the night to finish it.

An act of kindness puts Megan into mortal danger in this compulsive readable thriller by Joanne Ryan, The Sister-in-Law.

The bottom had fallen out of Megan’s world when her husband died in a tragic car accident. Far too young to be a widow, Megan feels alone and as if her life has ended along with her husband. The house echoes with the silence and absence of the man she loved with all of her heart. At her lowest, Megan doesn’t know how she can go on without her husband, so when she meets Emily at his funeral, she feels as if she has found a friend just when she needs one most.

Emily was Megan’s husband long-lost sister who had been searching for him for so long. Although it’s too late for Emily to reconnect with her brother, Megan cannot help but be moved by her plight and taking pity on her invites her to move into her house and to become a part of her life. However, has Megan been too hasty in inviting a virtual stranger to live with her? Can she trust Emily? And is Emily who she says she is?

Who has Megan let into her home? And will she live to regret letting Emily in?

Joanne Ryan sure knows how to chill her readers to the bone with her thrillers and The Sister-in-Law is a creepy, terrifying and tension-filled read I struggled to put down. Tightly-plotted, propulsive and twisted, The Sister-in-Law by Joanne Ryan will keep readers desperately turning the pages late into the night!

I spent the first part of the book outraged on behalf of Megan.
I thought she was very naive and gullible and way too trusting.
Emily was a nasty piece of work and I couldn’t wait for her to get what she had coming.
Keith was skeevy and creepy.
But my outrage turned to laughter as I realized the clever characters was outfoxed by an even more clever person.
I did enjoy the insults Keith fired at Emily.

This book is interesting. There are two POVs in this story, and I think you can guess who one of the characters is. We meet Megan, our FMC, and she tragically loses her husband in an accident that she was a part of. She continues to struggle with his loss. However, a stranger shows up at his funeral claiming to be his sister. Once you read the book, you'll understand why Megan takes to liking Emily. Emily brings her comfort when she needs it the most. She soon realizes that it might've all been a huge mistake. This was a nice slow thriller, and it definitely hits a twist that I wasn't sure I was expecting. I'm not sure that I would've figured it out on my own midway. The plot was good, and for the most part, this book had good bones when it comes to a psychological thriller. However, there was a point that it felt a bit repetitive, but that was fine; it didn't bother me so much. I would definitely pick up another book written by this author.