About the Book:
Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be…dangerous.
When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.
Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.
My Review:
“There’s only been one time that Rose couldn’t stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Can a book be a romance, thriller and a romantic comedy?! YES! Sally Hepworth is utterly captivating!
Sisters Rose and Fern have only had each other to rely on their whole lives as their mother was emotionally abusive and apparently mentally unstable as well. Where Rose anguished over every sudden move, every eviction and every mood swing of their mother, Fern saw things quite differently. Fern is neurodivergent and processed their tumultuous childhood events very differently.
As an adult, Fern loves her job as a librarian and manages perfectly well on her own, Rose is very, very protective of Fern, as she has been their whole lives. When Fern learns that Rose is unable to have a child of her own, Fern hatches a scheme to finally help Rose.
Woven into this wonderful domestic drama is a terrible event that occurred when Rose and Fern were children. Will this secret eventually come back to haunt Fern and Rose all these years later? This tension, and what really happened with the girls’ mother, is perfectly balanced out with the warmth and humor with which Fern navigates her personal life.
I loved this book so much that I am now going to read Sally Hepworth’s backlist including ‘The Mother-in-Law’. I loved Wally and Fern’s relationship here and literally could not stop listening to the audiobook! Barrie Kreinik is outstanding, infusing just the right balance of innocence, humor and tension in her narration. Her Australian accent is spot-on.
Trying to figure out who is unreliable is part of the fun of this book. Of course, things turn out to be very different than they seem as first, and all the unexpected twists and turns are incredibly engrossing. Fern is a wonderfully endearing main character that I won’t soon forget. Add ‘The Good Sister’ to your must-read (or must-listen) list! You’ll love it!
(Thank you to the publisher for an advanced listening copy provided in exchange for an honest review.)