This Just Read; Sister

This Just Read: Sister

Sister by, Rosamund Lupton
Mystery/Suspense. By Piatkus. © 2010

The blurb from Rosamund Lupton’s website:

“Nothing can break the bond between sisters …

When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life – and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.

The police, Beatrice's fiancé and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her.

So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the
cost.”

My take:

I rarely read mystery books. I’m not even sure that’s the proper term for them. My sister was always the mystery lover and still is, as far as I know. But the title of this book caught me first, because I have sisters. And, while the description might not have pulled me in initially- the writing did. And isn’t that what really counts?

I did have an ulterior motive though, I must confess. It’s because of a comment that Nike Chillemi made on a critique she gave me once. It had to do with the pacing of my chapter. And I thought, duh! Of course! I can’t just read women’s fiction or I’ll just sound like everyone else. I need to be reminded of the delicious pace of a good thriller. So, in the hunt for my next good read- I decided to give this a try.

You should know that part of my hesitance in reading mysteries is because I tend to be a control freak. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on. I don’t like to be the last one let into the loop. But I decided to hang up my control freak hat and just enjoy this. Not that it didn’t stop me from trying to guess what really happened.

It’s a story about sisters (obviously) but also about the layers of knowing. We can be duped into thinking we know someone really well and later find out we didn’t have a clue (and not always because the other person meant to deceive- it’s often because of the blinders we keep). What I loved about this book was that in the unveiling of all those layers of knowledge, we discover beautiful things and ugly things. None of Lupton’s characters lack depth. I love that the main character is able to rediscover and reprioritize herself along the way. And I love that Lupton takes the self-righteous, judgmental older sister and has her be surprised, repeatedly, at how much she underestimated her little sister. That hit home for me.

I don’t remember any specific glorious word pairings, but I do know that the pictures Lupton painted have stuck with me. Which I think is a harder trick to pull off. Unlike literary novels, where I think- ooh, that was a yummy phrasing. In this book, I found myself surrounded with pictures in my mind just as rich, but without the pause over a poetic pairing of words. The setting is subtle but vivid.

The story is set in England and uses a lot of English colloquialisms and terms, but it won’t be enough to lose the American reader. In fact, Lupton pokes fun at it since the main character is coming back to England from America.

The ending- without giving it away- has an interesting twist to it. I was caught off guard, in a good way. I will say it felt like I was left dangling off the end without a lot of resolution, but I think it’s purposeful, as there’s a sequel due out soon.

All in all, it was a good book and a good read, and it’s reminded me of some things to keep in mind while I write, like: a good hook at the end of the chapters, keep the pace moving at a good clip, and create full characters (even the characters that were on the fringes in this book were well-developed).

I’d recommend this book, but do so with a little head’s up for readers who would be offended by language and sexual scenarios. Neither the language or sexual scenes are gratuitous, but I still noticed them. And it’s definitely not a book for younger readers.

If you’re in a rut with your own writing and can’t seem to break out of writing the same thing- I’d recommend genre jumping. Maybe try out a fantasy novel or a spy thriller. You might not find everything helpful, but I bet there’ll be few nuggets you can take away to help make your writing better.

Happy Reading,