A quick but feisty read with a whole lotta depth, don’t miss Sister of Mine by Laura Petrou.

The plot:

The Grayson sisters are trouble. Everyone in their small town knows it. But no-one can know of the secret that binds them together. Hattie is the light. Penny is the darkness. Together they have balance.

But one night the balance is toppled. A match is struck. A fire is started. A cruel husband is killed. The potential for a new life flickers in the fire’s embers but resentment, guilt, and jealously suffocate like smoke.

Their lives have been engulfed in flames – will they ever be able to put them out?

It’s difficult to put down and intrigue definitely takes over

I expected this to be a thriller from the synopsis, but it wasn’t toooo thrillery. It definitely had moments where your heart was racing, but it’s got much more to it than your standard thriller.

Sister of Mine is an extraordinary debut from a new author you need to keep your eye on. The writing is stunning, with lots of imagery and references to other parts of the book – it’s definitely a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ type of read, and I often found myself having to re-read parts to take it in (my fault, not the books’).

The concept is interesting and clever, and well done by Petrou, pulling at your heart strings whilst also working your brain to see how the story will develop. It’s shocking in places, but not how you would think. I thought I knew how it was going to play out, but Petrou is one-step ahead.

For me, the best part is seeing how the tone of the protagonist (written from one of the sister’s point of view) changes as the story goes on. At the beginning, you hear more of her opinions and history, but as Sister of Mine peaks, there’s lots of short, quick sentences to fit the goings-on. There’s a big enough change in personality and thought-processes for you to notice, and I applaud this small but important detail.

As a relatively short read, I was surprised how it still felt lengthy and all the questions were answered, but also being quick and snappy, feeling like it got straight to the point. There is some repetition, but this all adds to the depth of the story.

Lots of you were asking whether I did ‘burn through this in one-sitting’, like the cover promises. I did. At this length, it’s difficult to put down and intrigue definitely takes over.

For fans of Laura Pearson or books which revolve around family and secrets.

Sister of Mine, Laurie Petrou, RRP £7.99 (paperback); Book Depository 

Pages: 251

Publisher: No Exit Press

Genre: Fiction