20190212_174524.jpgToday I have a review of The Better Sister by Alafair Burke. Thank you to Harper Books for the invitation to read and review! The Better Sister publishes on April 16, 2019!

My Thoughts:

The premise of this- wow! A Manhattan lawyer is murdered, and two sisters, the lawyer’s widow and his ex, must come together again after years of estrangement. 

The sisters, Chloe and Nicky, could not have been more different growing up. Chloe, the younger sister, was in charge, a hard worker, and thoughtful. Nicky, the older sister, was a dreamer and floated through life. 

Each sister takes her own path. Chloe goes to college and lands a prestigious job. Nicky marries a young attorney and has a child. The two sisters grow apart. 

Several years later, Chloe is now married to the attorney. Her stepson, Ethan, is also her nephew, and when her husband is murdered, she allows Nicky back into her life. 

The tides really turn when Ethan is named by the police as a suspect in the murder. Will these sisters join up together to find the truth?

The Better Sister is written in Burke’s trademark easy reading, perfectly-paced style. I had my just-one-more-page thing going on and found it hard to put down. I think it’s important to know going in that this is more of a domestic suspense or mystery, so it’s not going to be full of big banging thrills. I found this an original take on a whodunnit and was captivated with the dynamic between these two very different sisters. 

Overall, The Better Sister is a murder mystery with a side of courtroom drama and lots and lots of family dynamics to unearth.  

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

From Alafair Burke—New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit, The Wife—comes another twisty tale of domestic noir. When a prominent Manhattan lawyer is murdered, two estranged sisters—one the dead man’s widow, the other his ex—must set aside mistrust and old resentments . . . but can they escape their past?

Though Chloe was the younger of the two Taylor sisters, she always seemed to be in charge. She was the honor roll student with big dreams and an even bigger work ethic. Nicky was always restless . . . and more than a little reckless—the opposite of her ambitious little sister. She floated from job to job and man to man, and stayed close to home in Cleveland.

For a while, it seemed like both sisters had found happiness. Chloe earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school and moved to New York City, where she landed a coveted publishing job. Nicky married promising young attorney Adam Macintosh, and gave birth to a baby boy they named Ethan. The Taylor sisters became virtual strangers.

Now, more than fifteen years later, their lives are drastically different—and Chloe is married to Adam. When he’s murdered by an intruder at the couple’s East Hampton beach house, Chloe reluctantly allows her teenaged stepson’s biological mother—her estranged sister, Nicky—back into her life. But when the police begin to treat Ethan as a suspect in his father’s death, the two sisters are forced to unite . . . and to confront the truth behind family secrets they have tried to bury in the past.

Have you read The Better Sister, or is it on your TBR? Have you read any other books from Alafair Burke? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR