Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Feb 13, 2012

prettybooks rated it:

Sister is a psychological thriller from the viewpoint of Beatrice. Beatrice communicates to her missing sister Tess through a letter or diary-like entries. The plot is centered around her attempts to find out the truth about Tess's disappearance.

I loved this book. Another reviewer described it as a "crime fiction novel for people who don't like crime fiction" and I agree with that description. I've read a few crime fiction novels and really enjoyed them (e.g. the Millenium More...

1 comment like (12 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2011

Amanda rated it:

This is a great summer read. Not because it is light and fluffy, quite the opposite, but because it is the kind of book that keeps you up very late at night to finish and it's good to be on vacation and not need to get up for work or to get kids ready for school the next morning. That is how I read it. In one night. Stayed awake til after one am to do so. Something about the way the author constructed the plot and the unfolding revelations kept me turning the pages. The shifting tenses and back More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

This book was astonishing. The blurb does not do the book justice and from what I read on the cover, it was certainly not what I expected. From the start, the book was quite a page turner and it was filled with intrigue. I thought that the way it was written - through a letter/conversation with her 'lawyer'/sister - was very different and effective. The realisation of what the message was and who Beatrice was talking to all along was incredible and quite shocking - The concept of this book is am More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Richard rated it:

I'm no longer taking Amazon's recommendations for suspense novels. I was recently disappointed by A Discovery of Witches, and now Sister is getting a big push. Two more boring "thrillers" are hard to imagine. Sister follows snobby, racist Beatrice as she investigates the disappearance and possible murder of her free-spirited sister. Actually, Beatrice has already solved the crime, and is telling the story to a policeman in a series of sessions - which is as annoying a narrative structu More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2011

Diane D. rated it:

This book is a debut novel by the author. That said, all I can say is I will definitely be reading more by her.

This book was a gripping page-turner, with some of the most heartfelt writing I have come across in a long time (I really can't say enough about her writing!). Phrases that made me catch my breath. For example: "being depressed would be so welcome compared with the pain of bereavement"; "I'd rather feel guilty for the rest of my life than for her to have fel More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2011

Heather rated it:

Wow. Just...wow. What an intelligent, interesting, heartfelt, and classic mystery and copious examination of relationships during a time of grieving. Bee's sister disappears and later turns up dead. The medical examiner rules the death as a suicide, but Bee doesn't believe her sister would ever take her own life. Bee digs deeper and deeper unearthing more and more about Tess's final months/days. This story, written as a letter to her Bee's dead sister, allows you to tag along as Bee experie More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

Jenny rated it:

Beatrice returns to England after hearing that her younger sister, Tess, has gone missing. Before long her body is discovered in a toilet block. But rather than a hunt for her murderer ensuing, Tess's death is ruled a suicide and it's left up to Beatrice to prove otherwise.

This story is a narration by Beatrice to her sister outling her emotions as well as her actions leading up to the identification of Tess's killer. I enjoyed this style of storytelling very much. Not only is it well w More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2012

Chris rated it:

Beatrice Hemming investigates her sister's apparent suicide, refusing to believe that the Tess she knew, pregnant with her first child, would ever take her own life. Bee follows any potentially suspicious acquaintance she can discover, finding along the way that she isn't as different from her younger sister as she always thought. Bee has always been very careful, choosing the safest path through life while Tess lived by "the sacrament of the present" - living in the here and now and More...

0 comments like

Feb 08, 2012

Monique rated it:

Hmm still wavering on how to rate this book and my thoughts on this part epistolary novel, part thriller, part mystery and part love proclaimation to the wonder and beauty of sisterhood are still unclear...Pause for a moment to reflect on the last part, the way this book describes and highlights the passion, the quirks and the immeasurable sense of love and envy embodied in sisterhood is truly commendable...I felt as if I were reading of me and my own beautiful, successful and bossy older sister More...

0 comments like

Jan 21, 2012

Georgia rated it:

Where did I find this book recommendation? Here? Unsure, but crime fiction is not a genre I usually read. The two central characters are Bea, the older sister, and Tess, the younger, who has been found dead, supposedly suicide. Bea insists her sister would never commit suicide because she valued life too much, in spite of her somewhat quirky lifestyle. About half way through, I was ready to set the book aside, but by then, Bea has peeled back the layers and gotten to DNA research, genetic t More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

Pingwing rated it:

This was a very well-paced, well-written book that I couldn’t put down. I wanted to read as much as I could at a time in order to find out what really happened to Tess, and the mystery was very well done, with a good build up and satisfying reveal.

Bee lives in New York, but returns home to London when her mother calls to inform her that her younger sister, the free-spirited Tess, is missing. Bee’s fiancé stays behind, as she expects to return to New York in a few days, certain that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2012

K rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Nov 24, 2011

Kathy rated it:

Very readable book. I read it pretty quick because I wanted to find out whodunit. Ultimately kind of disappointing in some ways, though. Bee kept flitting from one suspect to another, which I guess is realistic for someone who just stumbles upon a mystery as opposed to being a professional detective, but it made the story feel kind of random. I'm a very orderly person: I like a mystery where the clues build and at the end you think, "OH! Of course!" Also, the ultimate motive of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 14, 2011

April the Cheshire Meow rated it:

This is quite clearly a literary novel which is about sisters who do not misunderstand each other no matter what. Their love for each other leads to a justice that would have been impossible without the certainty of understanding another human being so intimately as only close sisters can. It is also a murder mystery that explores the inner life of a family changed by the tragedy of the death of a young brother a decade before, which initially leads to a slow distancing as time and lifestyle ch More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 27, 2011

Mari rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Erin rated it:

For sporting such a pithy title, this book sure packs some seriously flowery prose. Initially, the writing style made me set the book aside after the first paragraph. On my second attempt, the book was set aside because the flowery prose became so very British I could not handle it. It was like being punched in the face with Britishisms. Third time was a charm. I read the entire book in one sitting the third time through, and was completely engaged in the story. The characters were develop More...

2 comments like

Oct 17, 2011

Nancy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2011

LitAddictedBrit rated it:

I don't normally read thrillers or 'proper' mysteries because, like I've said a lot, I'm a wimp. This was recommended to me, though, as "something a bit different" so I gave it a try one unpleasant and windy afternoo...and was unexpectedly hooked! And it was dark and tempestuous without being too scary - winner!

As I think I might have said when I started reading this book, everything about it is raw and jagged. The novel is told exclusively from the perspective of Beatrice in More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 16, 2011

Edith rated it:

What rating do you give a book that definitely holds your interest and keeps you reading any time you can snatch a chunk of time, however small, yet leaves you disappointed and irritated when it ends? Which is more important - constantly being kept pulled into a story or coming away at the end of the book a satisfied reader???

I do not recall where I read the review that led me to queue up for this book at the library (and the line was long, believe me), but I noticed that most of th More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2011

Sheila rated it:

Beatrice receives a phone call from her mother, her younger sister is missing. She decides to travel back to England to see if she can help locate her. When her sister's body is discovered and the police are convinced Tess committed suicide, Bea believes they are wrong and sets out to try to discover the truth. The book is written as though Bea is writing to her sister but retelling her adventures of her search for the true murderer to a lawyer, Mr. Wright. Everyone believes Bea is having diffic More...

0 comments like

Sep 04, 2011

Helen rated it:

I originally rated this book two stars, yet added a last minute star because at times I was incredibly captivated by this book. There are moments of writing which are very beautiful. The author conveyed Beatrice's grief in depth and with understanding, though some might complain too in depth, I don't personally agree. The novel is centrally about the relationship between sisters, and having faith in that relationship.

I think the plot is gripping and I agree with others this is the ki More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 03, 2011

Melissa rated it:

I received this book through a First Reads giveaway. I was really anxious to read it because of all the buzz it was getting on GoodReads.
The premise of the book is this: sister, Tess goes missing. Older sister, Bee returns to London to find her. Bee is sure that she wouldn’t just disappear without telling her where she was off to. Tess is found dead and is said to have killed herself. Bee knows that that would never happen.
Bee throws herself into her sister’s life to try and find More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Claire rated it:

This book was hard to put down. I wouldn't call it a straight out mystery or thriller, though both those words are accurate. I'd characterize it more as a family-driven drama with a thriller angle.

Beatrice flies to London when she gets a call that her sister Tess is missing. The sisters are very close and Beatrice is intent on finding her sister. When Tess' body is found and her death ruled a suicide, Beatrice is certain that the police are wrong. The story is told by Beatrice as if More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 14, 2011

JChipol rated it:

My mum always describes mediocre films and books as ‘quite entertaining’ or ‘diverting’. This book quite simply sums up both these statements; it was ‘ok’ and it did keep me entertained for a couple of days, but it is no great work of fiction.
The story revolves around Beatrice who, once she discovers that her sister has gone missing, flies to England from New York in order to find her. When her sister, Tess, is found dead, Bea is certain that there is far more to the case than at first mee More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Betty-Anne added it

Written in the form of a letter to the narrator’s missing sister, Rosamund Lupton’s debut novel Sister is wonderfully written and very captivating. It works remarkably well on two separate levels. On the one hand, the book is a solid, fascinating thriller which kept me hooked as I tried to unearth the mystery. On the other, it is a beautiful, touching account of loss and the bonds of sisterhood and family.

The narrator is Beatrice or ‘Bee’, who is living in New York, with a steady corpo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Another overhyped, miscategorized book. You really can't trust online reviews anymore. Amazon reviews are a joke. To label this book a "thriller" is a joke. This book is a long, long, looooonnnnggg depressing inner monologue by an older sister describing her long, long, looooonnnggg dull-as-ditchwater "investigation" of her younger sister's death. There is no "twist" at the end. You'll probably figure out what happened as soon as the scenario is first alluded to ear More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Emily rated it:

An absolutely brilliant page turner that will keep you flipping the pages.
Two sisters--best friends. But how much do we really know about our siblings, our families, and the lives of other people?
When Tess, Bee's younger sister, is reported missing in their native London, Bee crosses the pond and begins to investigate her sister's disappearance on her own. When Tess is found five days later in a Hyde Park bathroom, the police rule it suicide, caused by post-traumatic psychosis--Tess r More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 02, 2011

Sloane rated it:

Others have gone into great detail about this book's plot so I'm not going to rehash it here except to say that the entire novel is a one-side conversation with the main character's sister. That, and the fact that it swings back and forth in time sometimes caused disorientation in the reader. It was definitely a page-turner; I very much wanted to find out what happened with the sister and the entire book is about the character's obsession with solving the mystery of her sister's disappearance.
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 20, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

"...Grief is love turned into an eternal missing."

Upon turning the last page of this book, I felt as though I got the wind knocked out of me. Sister: A Novel by Rosamund Lupton is flat out powerful, riveting, and an emotional wallop of a read.

From the first page, I was plunged into Bee's despair and rage over her sister's death. Unlike what the synopsis might indicate - and although Bee does attempt to uncover her sister's killer, even when those around her doubt s More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jun 19, 2011

Jo Anne rated it:

2.5 Stars

This book is written in an atypical format by Beatrice telling her sister Tess about her quest to prove that Tess did not commit suicide but was murdered instead. I didn't really like the writing style or bond to Beatrice. It just seemed too contrived not genuine. It was supposed to be heartfelt and was meant to tug at the reader's emotions but it did neither for me. I enjoyed the mystery, suspenseful elements because that kept me interested in finishing the book, if for nothi More...

0 comments like