What a great and engaging book from a new author to me. There is little to add to the reviews of others but the cat and mouse between two women and one dead husband kept me guessing with lots of twists and engaging characters. I whizzed through reading it and will be looking for more books by the author. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

The Sister-In-Law is a book about the psychological twistedness of a cat-and-mouse game between two women after one woman's husband is killed in a wreck on a cold rainy night.
Joanne Ryan has written this book in such a way that I felt personally involved. While the ending was nothing like I imagined.
Brilliantly written and I'd love to see this in a movie.

Joanne Ryan is a new author to me and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed when I read The Sister in Law. This is an extremely fast paced read going back and forth between the two main characters. It is a well written psychological thriller and I highly recommend this book.

Megan is devastated when her husband, Rick, dies in a car crash. She is not sure how she will manage to get through the funeral without falling apart, but, Elaine, a close friend of Megans deceased mother is on hand to help her through it. After the funeral, she sees a very pregnant young woman at the wake, who she does not know. The woman approaches Megan and explains she is Ricks estranged younger sister, Emily. Megan knew Rick did have a sister who he had not seen in years, but he had not spoken much about his family to Megan.
Megan and Emily begin to get closer, but Elaine has her doubts about Emily. Megan brushes aside Elaines warnings that Emily is not all she seems, and soon Emily has moved in with Megan.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written, each character giving their perspective of the situation. Some of it was a little repetitive, but was a great read, and the ending was unexpected. I had not read any of the books by this author before, but will look out for them now. Highly recommended.

another addictive read from this Author. Megan wakes up in a hospital bed she has been in a car crash her husband does not survive. Elaine her mum's friend and husband help her with everything. it's the day of the funeral Megan is just about managing a woman approach says she her husband's sister Emily is heavily pregnant. Megan feels sorry for her and asked her to move in this story is so good lies deceit greed so recommend.

This was a decent read that got better as it continued. The story centers on Megan and Emily and is told in alternating POVs. Megan has lost her husband Rick in a car accident and Emily shows up at the funeral, claiming to be Rick’s sister. The two end up getting to know each other better in the subsequent months but they both have secrets they are hiding.

The dynamic between the characters is interesting because it’s clear something is off but the author slowly draws the reader in to what each is thinking. I did feel that the narrative was a tad repetitive, as often the same incident is described by both characters. I was wary in the first part of the book as to why the characters did some of the things they did, but I really liked the second half of the book where things became more clear. There were some good twists in the book, most of which I did figure out, but some that were surprises. The end was ok for me- I didn’t expect it to go that way, which I appreciated, but I didn’t totally love it.

Overall, I ended up enjoying this book and thought it was a unique take on a common storyline. Despite being a little repetitive, it was an interesting and fast-paced story. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meghan is mourning the drowning death of her husband Rick when his estranged sister, Emily, whom Meghan has never met, surfaces at his funeral. She is pregnant and running from her abusive partner so Meghan invites her to move into her home while she gets her life together, but Emily isn't telling Meghan the truth.

3.5 stars.

This was a quick read that was a little better than ok. There were some shocking moments for sure, and I appreciated those, but I didn't love how things played out. Nobody really figured much out, the characters just told us what they had perpetrated. I also felt that the structure where points of view alternated between Meghan and Emily caused a lot of repetition. I felt like some of the chapters were just a rehash of the previous chapter from the opposite perspective. On the fence about reading more from this author.

Compulsive reading, I could not put this novel down. Twist throughout. Joanne Ryan really knows how to set the scene and how to build an excellent plot line that keeps you totally engrossed.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

I really enjoyed this read. I love the way you are reading from the perspectives of the two main characters Megan and Emily. A lot of twists and turns. The ending I was not expecting.

WOW what a story!! I have never been blown away by so many twists and turns before. It was certainly a page-turner and i managed to devour it within 24 hours. Great characters, amazing writing, thoroughly enjoyable. Will definitely be searching for more books by this author.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for my open and honest review. As always, my reviews will also be posted on Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones and interaction on Facebook and instagram where possible.

I really enjoyed this read. I loved narratives that are told from different perspectives as i can really get to grips with everything the story encompasses. Really enjoyable

An easy enjoyable read, I didn't love the characters but although a little predictable, the ending had another unexpected twist. Parts of the story are repeated from different perspectives which can be a little repetitive at times but all in all this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this gripping e-ARC.

Megan's world shatters when her husband, Rick, dies in a tragic car accident. While grappling with her grief, a pregnant stranger named Emily appears at Rick’s funeral, introducing herself as his estranged sister. Distraught and seemingly vulnerable, Emily claims she has nowhere to go, prompting Megan to invite her into her home.

But as the days unfold, Emily’s presence begins to unsettle Megan. What starts as an act of kindness spirals into suspicion and tension, with secrets lurking beneath the surface of both women’s stories. Is Emily who she claims to be? And how well did Megan truly know her husband?

Joanne Ryan masterfully constructs a suspenseful, layered thriller. The dual POVs of Megan and Emily add depth and intrigue, revealing the motivations and hidden truths of each character. The twists are perfectly paced, with revelations that kept me glued to the page. Emily’s manipulative charm is both chilling and fascinating, while Megan’s vulnerability makes her journey deeply relatable.

This isn’t just a tale of deception and mistrust—it’s also a poignant exploration of grief, identity, and the lengths people will go to protect their truths. The final twist was jaw-dropping, rounding out a rollercoaster of a story.

The Sister-in-Law is a psychological thriller that fans of Lisa Jewell and Freida McFadden won’t want to miss. With its sharp writing, unpredictable plot, and richly drawn characters, this is one you’ll want to devour in one sitting.

Thanks again to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advance copy.

🏡📚 The Sister-in-Law by Joanne Ryan 📚🏡
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: 321 pages
POV: Dual
Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2025
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the e-ARC of this novel. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Synopsis:
Megan has only been married to her beloved husband, Rick for one year, when a tragic auto accident takes his life. At his funeral, Rick's estranged sister, Emily, shows up devastated by this loss. At 30 weeks pregnant, she has nowhere to go, and Megan takes her into she and Rick's home to stay until she gets back on her feet and/or the baby is born.

As time progresses, Emily has really made herself at home and something doesn't seem right, and Megan's neighbors also began to smell a rat...

Opinion:
You find out pretty early in the book what is going on with Emily (the sister-in-law), and without spoiling it for anyone, I also had my suspicions before it was revealed. However, this book was extremely fast-paced, going back and forth between Megan and Emily's POVs, which made it fun to see what each one was really thinking. There was a bit of a twist at the very end that I admit I saw coming, but it didn't make my enjoyment of the book any less. This is a great book for a quick, thriller read, and I couldn't put it down!

I love crazy, twisted stories like these so this novel was a no-brainer for me! When Megan's car crashes into the river during a rainstorm, husband Rick is killed. Although they'd only been married for a year, they had a life insurance policy so Megan will be comfortable. But suddenly Rick's sister, Emily shows up, pregnant and needing a place to stay, Of course Megan, feeling guilty about his death, invites Emily to stay and the plot thickens as more characters are introduced and twists throw everything we thought we knew into an unbalanced picture of craziness!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Yet another book starting with a woman who has survived a car crash....I must have read at least three during this Christmas period that they're all melding into one...anyway, the woman in this particular accident is Megan. She survives, her unfortunate husband Rick does not. She is heartbroken, obviously, wandering about in a fog whilst her mother's old friend, whose name I can't even remember, organises everything. Megan's mother is also recently deceased, so she's not in just any old ordinary fog, but a real pea-souper. Anyway, out of the fog comes a woman who claims to be the deceased Rick's sister. Now Megan has never net any of Rick's family, but accepts this woman at face value and very quickly forms a close relationship with her. Well, she's Family, isn't she! Isn't she?


Oh, yawn, another one that is as transparent as a piece of cellophane, but not as interesting. Maybe I'm jaded from reading so many “psychological” thrillers, that fail to thrill, but I found this so predictable I didn't finish it. How far did I get with this one? Ah 23%, further than I thought, but that's it. I'm not interested enough in any of these characters to invest any more of my time.

When Megan loses her husband Rick in a car accident, she takes in a pregnant woman, Emily, who says she is Rick's long estranged sister running from an abusive relationship. Little does Megan realize, however, that Emily has other tricks up her sleeve to have Megan take care of her and her unborn baby.

I liked that in the middle of the book, Megan reveal herself to be something the reader does not expect. I also was intrigued that a third person, a woman who has taken care of Megan all her life, intervenes at the end to change the ending of the story.

The plot twists and character twists make this a very good suspense read.

When Megan loses her beloved husband, Rick, in a tragic car accident, she feels like it’s her own life that has ended. She feels too young to be a widow. Walking around the house that had been their home – so quiet without him – nothing feels the same.
But at his funeral, she sees a face she doesn’t recognise. A heavily-pregnant young woman, with a sweet heart-shaped face that is somehow a little familiar. This stranger introduces herself as Emily, Rick’s estranged sister. She explains how she’s been searching for her brother for years, but – as she bursts into noisy sobs – she knows she’s too late now.

I enjoyed this. It’s an easy read and has a big twist at the end which I didn’t see coming. It’s well written and the plot flows along nicely.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. A gripping psychological thriller that was full of mystery and unexpected surprises. The story is told from different POV’s but flows brilliantly and flawlessly. Joanne Ryan never disappoints and this new book is just as entertaining as her previous books. A well written domestic thriller that had me hooked from the start. Highly recommend.

A slow build up to a gripping story, this is the great thing about Netgalley that it introduces the reader to new authors and I will be checking out other books by the author, so back to this one, none of the characters were particularly pleasant but that added to the storyline and the ending surprised me as I could see it finishing differently. A definite 5 star rating for me.