A Sister's Shame

by Carol Rivers

London's East End, 1934. Eighteen-year-old twins Marie and Vesta Haskins work at the local shoe factory to bring in a few pennies for the family, but they've never given up on their dream of treading the boards in the West End. When a brand new East End club opens its doors, the girls audition for the show and are over the moon to land two nights a week with their cabaret act. But little do they realise that the villainous Scoresby brothers are using the club as a front for a very different line of business.

Genres: Historical Fiction

432 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

I’ve been fortunate enough to have made my living by writing and I’ve enjoyed a long and harmonious relationship with my publisher, Simon&Schuster. But in recent months I can only stand in awe of the growing and robust numbers of Indie authors whom I admire so much and who have revolutionized the publishing industry. There is fire in the belly of this movement, giving a whole new aspect to the accepted norms in the publishing world. I’m mind-blown at the variety of genres born of digital technology and I’ve made many friends in the Indie world. On-line life for me has become rich and diverse with tales of Indie adventures and successes that are simply staggering. This is mouth-watering stuff and I feel privileged to be here on Goodreads. If you want to know more about my East End novels, with their tough, rough, but warm-hearted Cockney characters, then perhaps you’d like to visit my website at www.carolrivers.com where you’ll gain an insight into the Rivers novels and their history.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill]

Really enjoyed this book. Recommended.

[Pauline Haycocks]

Very enjoyable.

[Megan]

Me and my Nan have always been a huge fan of Carol Rivers, so I was really looking forward to reading her latest book, A Sister’s Shame.

Set in London’s East End, twins Marie and Vesta have big dreams of a life on the stage. The very talented girls soon land their dream job doing their cabaret act at the club run by the Scoresby brothers. Marie soon catches on to what the Scoresby brothers are up to, but Vesta, blinded by her own ambitions and under the spell of the Scoresby’s right-hand man Teddy, refuses to see what her family does as she is too fixated on fame, and is at risk of leading not only herself, but her entire family into trouble and danger…

Carol Rivers once again effortlessly transports the reader to East End London, making the streets come alive with her detailed and accurate descriptions of life in that era. The descriptions and writing were so wonderful that I could picture every scene clearly in my mind and whilst reading I honestly felt that I was living in London with the characters, I could see the sights in my mind and hear the sounds, everything jumped from the pages and Carol brought the story to life for me.

The characters were very well-developed with so much depth and personality to them. Sometimes in books I read about a character and I feel like they’re very 2D, that they’re ‘flat’ and I don’t know them as well as I’d like to. Well in the case of Carol Rivers this is the complete opposite! Carol provides so many layers and little details about each character and throughout the story I felt as though I knew Marie and Vesta on a personal level, as though they were my best friends. The Scoresby brothers were brilliantly written, wow. They especially seemed very realistic, very dark and had me desperate to read more.

The story as a whole is gripping. There is Marie and particularly Vesta who have big dreams of stardom and a wonderful life, then that is contrasted with the Scoresby brothers and their lifestyle. I was hooked from the first pages and I was up late reading in bed because I was so involved in their story that I could not be parted from the book!

A Sister’s Shame is a captivating, addicting story that will transport you back in time to the streets of London, keen to discover the next part of the book! Carol Rivers has again created a compelling book that readers won’t be able to put down! Loyal fans will love this, and new readers will be equally gripped by the story.

[Kazimiera pendrey]

what more can i say ijust did not like this book at all

[Joanie]

Carol Rivers has constructed a dramatic and involving plot in a detailed and atmospheric setting. There is an undercurrent of menace throughout and my fingers itched to reach inside the pages and give Vesta a good shake as, blinded by love and ambition, she threw herself headlong into the new life everyone warned her against.

The book is peopled with well-rounded characters and, for me, one of its joys is the attention given to the supporting cast to ensure their personalities are as distinct and believable as those of the main players. I especially liked wise, no-nonsense Elsie and gentle, honourable Wippet.

This is also a tale of relationships in various forms – the bond between twins; long-lasting friendship that turns friends in family; and romance, both real and imagined, one leading to lasting love, the other to a relationship based on control.

[June Jones]

After a slow start, the story set in 30s London, twin girls, who crave fame and fortune, but who are very different, Vesta, spoilt, selfish, and very ambitious, whilst her twin Marie is the opposite, and how their lives pan out. Would recommend.

[Nicola Louise Ankers]

I have started reading books from this age a while back and I love them. This One I couldn't put down at all.
I loved the sisters in this stories and their backgrounds

[Andy Hacking]

Good easy read

Nothing to dislike. Brill book good words
Great easy read
Friends and family
Hope there is a book two
Brill

[Diane Miller]

Nov 22

[Marie Clydesdale]

absolutely loved this book, I found myself really caring about the characters , and totally got engrossed in the story, another winner from Carol

[A]

Easy read. Quite good. Enjoyable

[Mahnoor]

A very mature and serious book. But very well written.