Today, I’m excited to share my stop on the blog tour for Two Sisters with BCB & More!
Title: Two Sisters
Author: Kerry Wilkinson
Publisher: Bookouture
Date of publication: June 23rd 2017
Format: Digital Review Copy
Source: NetGalley
Number of pages: 350
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half
They told us he had been missing for nearly two days, that he probably drowned. They told us a lie.
Megan was ten years old when her older brother, Zac, went missing among the cliffs, caves and beaches that surround the small seaside town of Whitecliff.
A decade later and a car crash has claimed the lives of her parents.
Megan and her younger sister Chloe return to Whitecliff one summer for the first time since their brother’s disappearance. Megan says it’s to get her parents’ affairs in order. There are boxes to pack, junk to clear, a rundown cottage to sell. But that’s not the real reason.
Megan has come to confront her family’s past after receiving a postcard on the day of her parents’ funeral. It had a photograph of Whitecliff on the front and a single letter on the back.
‘Z’ is all it read.
Z for Zac.
A totally gripping psychological thriller that will have fans of Louise Jensen, Sue Fortin and The Silent Child absolutely hooked.
Dysfunctional family doesn’t even begin to explain the dynamics of this one. Chloe and Meghan lost their brother ten years ago, their parents died in an accident just a few months ago. But this is only what you get from the papers. The reality of it is darker, more painful, and pretty disastrous.
Like I often say in my reviews, I love reading about siblings relationships. I have come to realize that this bound between two or more people has its rules and its differences. Chloe and Meghan only have each other now, and despite growing up in a very particular way, they managed to connect and make the best of what they had. They say blood is thicker than water, and sometimes, it is true. I loved discovering both young women and try to understand the balance on which their bound lies on. What makes a sister your best friend or your worst enemy? Does a family link forgives everything, meaning you can get away with whatever you want? How do you grow up with someone so close in genetics but who is also their own person with desires, dreams, a personality, their own way of dealing with life. This was particularly well explored in the book, through each girl’s mind and habits, forte and hobbies. It made me long for such a relationship, without the sorrow attached to that family!
But what about a stolen brother? Meghan takes the decision to come to Whitecliff to find answers regarding the disappearance of her brother Zac ten years before. The author did a wonderful job at descripting fading memories, yellowed images, fragments of souvenirs. Meghan was ten at the time, which means there is a gap between the little girl back then and the young woman now, like a scar that time did not heal, a small question mark at the back of her mind. Why is she so adamant about finding out what happened to Zac, who she wasn’t really close to? Why can’t she move on and start afresh now that the world is hers to take? Meghan has demons to face, some are tangible, others not. I thought the way the author managed to mix and combine everything that makes this book was exceptionally spot-on. Tackling tougher subjects in such a realistic and convincing manner added a touch of authenticity to the characters that helped me feel for them. Still, I had issues warming to either girl, without being able to exactly pinpoint why.
When she receives a mysterious card, Meghan can’t help the curiosity, especially since her parents weren’t the most open people in the world! I believe I would have taken the same decision! Kerry Wilkinson having scattered enough information about the whole family for the mystery to feel too strong to resist. Little words here and there, small pieces of childhood you can’t help but wonder about.
Zac is all around the story, following his sisters on Whitecliff’s roads, dirty paths, beach and cobbled streets, but this book is about Meghan. I felt that in addition to answers, she was looking for an escape from the past, from herself, from the grip of the years of her childhood. The story’s mystery is the background to a dangerously gripping study of what motivates people and the damage they do, intentionally or not. I couldn’t stand some of the things I read, but I can only agree there are all sorts of people in the world, including the bad ones.
If you thought Whitecliff sounds like a wonderful holiday destination, think twice! The vivid and colorful images sent to my brain by the wonderful descriptions of the author quickly became ominous and foggy, as if the place itself was cursed. I’ve read about more welcoming places! The village itself is a character, dealing the cards the inhabitants and vacationers are given. Asking questions always disrupts small communities and is never a good idea, but no one knows better! Until the very end, I couldn’t fathom the connection between all the hints I was given. The only thing I could never truly feel was the tension ratcheting up. I was too curious to pay attention to the threats.
The ending was as surprising for Meghan as it was for me! Never ever would I have thought some people would were able to go this far… Now you’re curious, right? :p The mystery itself felt a little flat for me, as I had experienced the book as if it were a soufflé, only to see it collapse slowly. A tiny bit too simple for my taste, it did keep me wondering until the very end and involved more than I had anticipated! I think if the focus would have been more on Zac and “the lie” from the parents, the denouement would have had more effect on me.
Two Sisters is a slow-paced story perfectly balanced to offer its readers a gripping but painfully living picture of a broken family, a cry for life, and a glimpse into the darkest corners of the best postcards villages!
I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You can now find the book on Amazon UK and Amazon US !
Kerry Wilkinson is from the English county of Somerset but has spent far too long living in the north. It’s there that he’s picked up possibly made-up regional words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’. He pretends to know what they mean.
He’s also been busy since turning thirty: his Jessica Daniel crime series has sold more than a million copies in the UK; he has written a fantasy-adventure trilogy for young adults; a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter and the standalone thriller, Down Among The Dead Men.
Find Kerry:
Don’t forget to check out the other stops on the tour!!
OH I love reading about siblings relationships just as well – these are my favorite kind of relationships to find in books, especially when they are complex. I really like how there seems to be such a particular atmosphere to the small town as well here, I always like this little tinge of mystery in the surroundings!
Lovely review, my sweechie 🙂
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It’s so much more difficult to write a true and spot-on sibling relationship than just the teen hate you but will protect you, or adults who don’t know each other.. This one was complicated and felt right! The small town is not a place I would send you to!! Thank you my Sweechie ❤
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Great review – I love how detailed/well-explained they are! It really allows me to assess whether I need to add it to the tbr or not lol
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I admit I write all reviews the way I like to read them, haha, but I always find they are messy and unhelpful! Thank you for reading it 🙂 This book was a nice one, maybe for a holiday when you don’t want your brain to think too much!
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“A holiday” – that’s a foreign concept to me, I really need one though 😂
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Haha, I’m enjoying it as much as possible now as I won’t have any between September and next July! You need a holiday!!
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Why did I think the author was a woman? I was almost shocked when I saw the picture ;-). Anyway, too bad the ending wasn’t really satisfying to you. I do like that the sisters are really bonding this time because the sibling relationships are usually with one good, one bad sister :-). The whole idea of Zac out of the picture and the reasons why make my little grey cells already start working. Great review again!
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OMG I assumed this too!! I was so sure the author was a woman until I found him on Twitter! The sibling relationship was nice, there was some development and it was great to see, but I was disappointed the Zac case did not take more room into the story! Thank you my dear!!
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The creepy looking cover with the kite in the tree, and the Z for Zac makes this book look good already, but paired up with your review, it sounds like quite a read. Although I prefer thriller books to be a little more fast paced than this one sounds, it does sound like a good read.
Great review Donna.
Amanda.
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The pace is indeed on the slow side, and the mystery takes the second place in my opinion. Still, it was a good book to spend a few hours with! 🙂 Thank you!
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The other reviews Ive read are quite similar so I think Im going to pass on this one, but your review was amazing 😀
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Yeah, taking into account the size of our TBRs, this one doesn’t have to be included, or maybe not yet 🙂 Thank you doll 😀
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I was SO sure I had visited this post, but I guess it might just have been that reviews of this one have been popping up everywhere during the last few days haha. Awesome review as always! I had difficulties warming up to the characters as well so you weren’t the only one… But like you I was impressed by the character development in general and writing style.
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It happens to me all the times with hyped up books!! They’re everywhere so it’s hard to know what you’ve read! It wasn’t a bad read, I was just hoping for the mystery to be more on the front!
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Yeah I would have liked that better as well… Then again, I’ve discovered I like my psychological thrillers fast-paced in the first place. 😉
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I am struggling with scenarios centered around missing persons right now. I have hit a point where they all feel vaguely familiar. Maybe I have not picked up the right booK? Yet, I am intrigued by this. What would you say dropped this from 4 to 3.5 stars for you personally? Love the review!
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Or maybe you’ve read too many for the moment? I know I have to take breaks or I become jaded with the same scenarios seen all over the place. I think I was disappointed that the disappearance and the mystery of Zac’s situation was not the main subject, because I felt it was more about the sisters growing than the case of the brother.
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That makes sense and yeah, maybe it was time to step back from them for a bit 🙂
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Ahhh, fantastic review as always Donna! Sibling relationships are definitely quite fascinating. Even when they come from the same parents (most of the time), so much can happen and make these people soooo different from one another! I like that the setting felt like a character at some point. That sounds like a nice plus, and something that would make this story that much more mysterious and scary. Glad to see you enjoyed this in the end. 🙂
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I am so curious about what makes two people from the same background different! Only child issue, I guess xD The setting had a lot to do with how much I enjoyed the story, it was really well described and felt so alive!
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Great review for this book Meggy. 🙂 It sounds like an interesting one so it’s a little bit of a shame you couldn’t connect with the characters easily in the beginning and that the ending was a little bit of a let down as well. It sounds like a lot of this story is character based, following Meghan around Whitecliff, which I guess makes the issue you had warming to her character a little more of an issue you know? Still three and a half stars is still a very good rating for this one! 😀
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This was a good book when it came to getting you claustrophobic, haha, and the sense of mystery was definitely there, I just wish the potential would have been pushed a little more 🙂 I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be so character-driven! Thank you for reading this review! xx
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Well it seemed like you enjoyed it at least. Did you like the fact it was a character driven story after a while? Or would you have preferred it develop the potential more than the characters? That’s all right! 🙂
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I only wished the mystery had more room in everything, I felt I was a bit deceived regarding the genre, and that Zac’s disappearance was only an excuse to explore the sisters’ relationships and Meghan’s character 🙂
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So I take it the blurb must have been a little misleading as well then, because based on what I read I would have though Zac’s disappearance would have played a bigger part in the story as well.
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Exactly! That was the bad point of the story.
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Very well thought-out review as always, Donna! This one doesn’t sound like quite my style, but I enjoyed reading your thoughts on it! 🙂
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Thank you for reading it, despite the story not being your style! 🙂
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Of course! Your posts are always so well articulated. I always enjoy reading them. 🙂
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Aw *blushes* thank you! ❤
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Thoroughly enjoyed reading your review- it completely manages to make me want to read the book. I like the sound of settings written right and keeping the mystery up until the end.
I always find such mysteries kind of weird.. not in a bad way. I mean, the blurbs and plots are always so simple- something happened. duh! 😀 But it always blows me away how each author manages to put their own stamp on things- characters, places, twists… in a way they’re like stories that have already been told and yet they’re not?! 🙂
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Yes, and yes to this comment! What makes a story good is how the authors put their personal ideas into it and turn it into something special and original, even when it sounds like you’ve read this kind of books a hundred times from the blurb or the general idea!
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okay first off I agree with the person above- I was totally shocked that this wasn’t a woman (don’t know why!) Anyhoo, this subject really fascinates me!! This sounds great- and I have to say that even if the book only gets 3.5*, the review definitely gets 5*- incredible as always!!
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I KNOW!! I would have bet $100 it was a woman writer!!! THANK YOU love!!! This book was a good read, but not strong enough for more stars!
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haha!! that’s fair enough!
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