Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh -> Starting April 18th, 2025

[Melanie]

Two sisters on trial for murder. They accuse each other. Who do you believe?

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“My dad’s dead. My sister Sofia killed him. She’s still in the house. Please send help.”

“My dad’s dead. My sister Alexandra killed him. She’s still in the house. Please send help.”

One of them is a liar and a killer.

But which one?

[megs_bookrack]

To Pg 17: Those (view spoiler)[9-1-1 calls gave me chills. What if neither one of them did it? But yeah, my brain is running in circles already. I think Alexandra and Sofia are going to be real interesting characters to learn about! (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

To Pg 50, or Ch 6: I love that we had that one chapter from the perspective of (view spoiler)[the killer, but it didn't state which sister it was. We've gotten a small version of the story from both sister's now, and it could be either of them, I really don't know. I believe the natural inclination would be to say it's Alexandra, but I think that's what the author wants us to think, so it may in fact be the opposite. Probably one of them killed the Mom and the other one killed Dad as payback. (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

To Pg 96: I love the clues the author is leaving that could be either one of the sisters! It's such a mindf♤ck!!

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Pg 133: (view spoiler)[That was certainly an unexpected ax murder 😝😂 (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

Pg 180: OMGOMGOMG noooooo
(view spoiler)[Harper was murdered!?!? I know it's Alexandra, that witch. And she was poisoning her Dad for a while with those smoothies, wasn't she!? (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

oooh I'll try to jump in to this one in the next day or 2!

[megs_bookrack]

Trisha wrote: "oooh I'll try to jump in to this one in the next day or 2!"
You should!!! I have like 15-pages left, planning to finish it tonight. It's been sooooo good!

[megs_bookrack]

Done!!! This was such a fun case. My brain was all over the place. (view spoiler)[I went back and forth between the two sisters so many times! I loved the end of this too. I've read Book #8, so knew Kate and Eddie worked together, so it was interesting to see how they got there, and to meet Harper. I was so sad when she got killed. That was horrible. I can't wait to read more books in this series! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

okay, starting here first (since this one is #5) and then I'll start #6!

Through Part 1 / 5 chapters

(view spoiler)[ I agree, it's really hard to know yet.
It's easy to think Alexandra because she appears to have been there first - she crawled in the bathroom and called. Sofia showed up after. But the She POV gave us the odd tick of wanting to feel and taste the grooves in the table and Sofia was definitely feeling the grooves (that Eddie saw) so it could be either of them!

but what if they did it together? the perfect way to both get off is by reasonable doubt about the other one. . . .
I wonder why the dad was writing them out of the will. I wonder if he found out one of them killed the mom and the other hid it.

but just based on what the She pov gave us, the mom was really twisted and really hurt/abused them. no wonder they hurt people.

I like Eddie so far. I wonder how Kate will play into this. I hope she joins Eddie's team! lol them speeding off together seemed so much better than her crappy boss and his golden boy (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

through Part 2 / 42%

(view spoiler)[ OMG the ax murder!? Uhhhh YES! that was a shock!

I love that I can never guess with this author! lol Both sisters look equally like they did this. both run, both have the black outfits, both sets of behaviors can describe a murderer or an innocent sister.

I'm so curious what will happen if both sisters pass that polygraph!

ooooh and I'm sad. I wanted Kate to join Eddie after this case but it seems like she might actually be a very good competition to see who will win. Yikes

but i do think the sisters are still playing a chess game, sending moves to each other. That chess game still set up at Alexandra's? Definitely think it's those two playing. I wonder if they really hate each other. . .

I have no idea how this will end! lol (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

through Part 3 / 52%

ooooh no (view spoiler)[ who was the one who took the photo? and why does she need to kill them?

it's hard to imagine what could spoil it all. Is there some mark to show where she was hidden? it can't be a scrap or something left behind. (hide spoiler)]
ooh this one is keeping me guessing! lol

[Trisha]

oh and I completely forgot to mention (view spoiler)[ I'm sorry, A BITE MARK?! Um, that to me makes it seem like that sister did it. Why did she bite him? I can't believe Kate doesn't want to know the answer to that? (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

Through Part 4 / 54%

nooooo!! (view spoiler)[ Heartbroken. Harper.
I can't believe she murdered her
could this possibly be a different sister? Is there a hidden sister no one is mentioning?
I just knew that chess game was the game between them too. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

through ch 38 / 76%

(view spoiler)[ wow, the broad daylight murder was pretty brazen
and wild

could it be both sisters? Is each murder a chess move?

I really have no idea and I STILL think the bite mark is the deal breaker lol

I'm glad he and Kate are maybe working together now too. none of them are safe.
and for sure there is going to be a bombshell at some point
but who will it point to?

and the judge and DA are just gross. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

and done!

I read book 8 and did not remember anything about it so I'd completely forgot/didn't know (view spoiler)[ about Kate but I am so so glad they are all working together now.

and yes, I kept going back and forth. The bitemark is still really weird. So we assume Sofia actually bit him and the expert was just really bad at his job? huh. But I loved how much it kept me guessing and wondering who it was. I really thought it was both sisters. (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

Trisha wrote: "okay, starting here first (since this one is #5) and then I'll start #6..."

Yessss, hahaha, I read book #8 first! and then 5 and the 6. LOL -- I definitely want to read them all now, I'm so hooked. I loved how well the author set up (view spoiler)[the two sisters, like it could be either one of them, or exactly as you said, both of them. Maybe they're pretending to hate each other, we have no clue! (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

Trisha wrote: "oh and I completely forgot to mention [spoilers removed]"

I know I was seriously surprised (view spoiler)[we did get a scene where she was grilled about the bite mark, that would be the first thing I would want to know from my client! (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

Trisha wrote: "Through Part 4 / 54%

nooooo!!..."

RIGHT!? OMG, this absolutely (view spoiler)[gutted me. I did not see this coming. It was so scary when like Harry thought someone was outside, and Harper at her house was hearing something too, I didn't want it to be real for either of them, but man, the author really upped the tension with the way he set all that up. It was impressive! Talk about gripping! (hide spoiler)]

[megs_bookrack]

Trisha wrote: "and done!

I read book 8 and did not remember anything about it so..."

Yeah, the (view spoiler)[bite mark, I don't feel we ever got a real conclusive explanation of that, and I'm wondering if that's how the author wanted it, because in a real murder trial, you don't really get final answers on a lot of things. You're presented with the evidence, the expert testimony and then it's up to you to decide whether it's good enough or not. It's definitely the hole in this for me, but also, it was made clear from the beginning that Sofia is a biter from when she bit a chunk out of her wrist in the beginning, but really they probably both were since their Mom used to bite them both as punishment. Yeah, wild book so fun. I think it was really well written and compelling. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

I agree, so fun when I can't guess what's going on and I keep flipping back and forth.

[Melanie]

Started this tonight.

Chapters 1-14
(view spoiler)[
This is really good so far. At this point my theory is that Alexandra is the one who killed her father. I almost feel like Sofia's background with the rehab and everything else is a ruse to get you to suspect it's her. It's interesting reading this one after reading book 8 not that long ago since I know Kate will end up working for Eddie and Harper is going to die. So now I'm wondering if she dies in this book or one of the next two.
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Chapters 15-28
(view spoiler)[
Oof, I knew Harper was going to die but it was still rough seeing her killed like that. I do still think Alexandra is the killer, she's too controlled about everything going on. I really feel like Sofia's mental health problems are just a ruse. The prosecutor started with a pretty strong opening statement. That photo of the victim is going to stay with the jury.
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Chapters 29-42
(view spoiler)[
So far Kate and Eddie are doing a good job with the trial making it so their clients don't look guilty. I do think it's hilarious that Eddie discredited the hair analysis using Harry's dog. At this point I'm still convinced Alexandra is guilty. So many people have been killed during this book, I wasn't expecting it.
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Finished.

Chapters 43-56
(view spoiler)[
Well damn. I got played just like Eddie did, it was Sofia all along. I did not see that coming. After the whole fake journal thing, I was sure Alexandra was guilty and it was all part of Sofia's master plan. This was very well done and I loved all the twists.
(hide spoiler)]