Review for The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister

 

The Good Sister by  Gillian McAllister 

 

Paperback, 400 pages

Published June 11th 2019 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

 

An electrifying novel about the unyielding bond between two sisters, which is severely tested when one of them is accused of the worst imaginable crime.

Martha and Becky Blackwater are more than sisters--they're each other's lifelines. When Martha finds herself struggling to balance early motherhood and her growing business, Becky steps in to babysit her niece, Layla, without a second thought, bringing the two women closer than ever. But when Layla is found dead one morning, at only eight weeks old, Becky is charged with the unthinkable: the murder of her sister's child.

Nine months later, Becky is on trial and maintains her innocence--and so does Martha. Unable to shake the feeling that her sister couldn't possibly be guilty, Martha sets out to uncover exactly what happened that night, and how things could have gone so wrong. As the trial progresses, fault lines between the sisters begin to show--revealing cracks deep in their relationship and threatening the family each has worked so hard to build. With incredible empathy and resounding emotional heft, The Good Sister is a powerhouse of a novel that will lead readers to question everything they know about motherhood, family, and the price of forgiveness.

My Thoughts...

I am a little late in reading and review The Good Sisters.  The book has been on my shelf for quite some time and I just was not ready to read it.   The subject of a young baby (8 weeks old) being found dead is not something I can read anytime.  Yet, for some reason, I decided to start it in November of 2020, and I could not put it down.   I could not stop reading and I cannot stop talking about the book. 

 

The subject of a dead baby is never easy, but this story is about so much more than that.  It is a story of sisters that are best friends.   They are so in tune with each other than just a look can say a thousand thoughts.  While Martha weighs the evidence, again and again, she keeps coming back to believing Becky’s innocence. That is what I would call sisterly love and support.  Martha also knows that something happens to her baby and she goes about putting together her own clues to see where they lead her.  I followed her thoughts and hoped that she would find the answers she was looking for.

 

The ending… PERFECT!   I had hopes of where the story would go.  Hopes that Martha would find the answers she would need to be able to continue with her life.    Gillian McAllister is so talented as an author.   She took a tough subject, a loving family, and put it together in a wonderful thriller of a book.   I highly recommend picking up your own copy.

**Thank you Ashley Hewlett from Penguin Random House for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

 

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