Review: Sister - Rosamund Lupton

Nothing can break the bond between sisters . . .

When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister Tess is missing, she boards the first flight home to London.  But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding Tess's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.

The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess, but Beatrice refuses to give up on her.  So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.

Visit Rosamund Lupton's website for more information

Review:
After receiving a phone call to say her sister Tess is missing Beatrice immediately drops everything and flies back to England to search for her.  The sisters have always been close but as Beatrice starts to investigate Tess's life she realises that she may not have known as much about Tess as she thought she did.

Sister is a fantastic debut novel and one that has me very excited to see what Rosamund Lupton comes up with next.  I don't want to go into the plot in too much detail because I would hate to give spoilers, the story is one that needs to be savored and I want others to enjoy peeling back the layers to uncover the mystery for themselves.  I have already read over 100 books this year but Sister blew my mind and was by far my favourite read out of all of them.  I was gripped from practically the first page and resented the fact that I had to put it down even for a few minutes.

The story is told from Beatrice's point of view in the format of a letter to her missing sister and we gradually find out more about both of them and Beatrice's search for the truth about what happened to Tess.  Beatrice isn't the most sympathetic character at the beginning, I felt her fear and grief for her sister but didn't particularly like her.  She is quite uptight and definitely snobbish, looking down on her sister and her friends because they don't live up to her high expectations.  In a lot of ways Beatrice and Tess are complete opposites but they always loved each other and were very close.  As the story progresses and Beatrice spends more time following Tess's footsteps you start to see a real change come over her and she becomes much more likable.

Rosamund Lupton managed to pull me completely into the story so I felt every emotion Beatrice goes through as if it was my own.  As the plot unravels I was pulled in so many different directions never quite sure where the story would take me next and the twist at the end just about blew my mind.  It was a bit like watching the film The Sixth Sense for the first time, not because the endings are similar but because the ending makes so many other things throughout the story suddenly become clear.  Sister is a beautifully written emotional journey that I wish I could erase from my mind just so I could have the joy of reading it for the first time all over again!  A highly recommended read and one you shouldn't miss out on.

Source: Received from Piatkus in exchange for an honest review

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