One of the best thrillers I've ever read, I stayed up til 3am to finish this novel. I was utterly engrossed by it and immediately bought Dionne's previous novel The Marsh King's Daughter.

Rachael Cunningham has voluntarily been locked in a psychiatric facility for almost half her life, believing herself to be guilty of a terrible crime. But when new information comes to light she must confront some very dark secrets from her past to save her present. Set on a rural homestead in Michigan, near the border with canada and mixing in elements from fairy tales and flashbacks to the past, this novel had everything for me. Utterly enthralling, complex characters, incredible worldbuilding that was so evocative and a plot that was both devastating and ultimately uplifting.

Absollutely loved this book!

4-5 stars

Wowza! This is a Grimm's Fairy Tale that’s got some grim characters that’s for sure and I’m not talking Disney here. So take a deep breath, gulp and strap yourself in for a rollercoaster read. Rachel Cunningham has been in a mental hospital for fifteen years believing she killed her parents Jenny and Peter. She disappears after their deaths and is found catatonic two weeks later with no memory of what happened. Her experiences at the hospital are at times traumatic and you question the extreme measures used. Through an interview with Trevor, a trainee journalist and brother of Scotty a fellow patient, Rachel realises that she cannot have killed her parents when he shows her the ME’s report and that she is innocent. So, that leaves the remainder of her family - older sister Diana and Aunt Charlotte. Why didn’t they tell her the truth? What secrets do they hide? The story is told in the past by Jenny and the present by Rachel which works effectively. Jenny’s fears for her daughters are conveyed well although you do question their parenting skills as they prevaricate too long until it gets to the point where they can no longer control events.

First of all, I love the setting of the Upper Peninsular, Michigan. Jenny and Peter are wildlife biologists and so the flora and fauna are key to the storytelling, especially bears and ravens. The descriptions of the area are vivid, the area is remote which is important to the family and conditions are harsh in winter and plays a key role in events. The unfolding story uses animals in a very magical way and I love this element. Rachel’s affinity with all animals especially bears, ravens and even spiders is almost ‘Dr Doolittle-ish’ although there are some very shocking incidents featuring animals although I hasten to add this is never gratuitous and is used to demonstrate a characters psychopathy. The novel has a definite feel of an unsanitised fairy tale with the huge family lodge resembling something on the scale of a castle surrounded by forest and briar with wicked queens, enchanted princesses, hunters, wolves and so on and it’s very twisted sister. Of particular importance is the story of Hansel and Gretel and there are some powerful scenes when you see the bottomless pit of black despair that Jenny feels and the danger around them. At least two characters are emotionless, brutal, dangerous and very cruel and in some events you could cut the atmosphere with a knife it’s so tense. As the novel reaches its climax it has a Romanesque ‘let the games begin’ feel and it’s scary! As Rachel’s memory returns there are some jaw dropping and breathtaking revelations.

My only reservation about the book is the confrontation at the end which seems a bit convenient and is a bit of an anticlimax in my opinion. However, I did like the optimism of the final part.

Overall, this is a well written, terrific read. It’s full of twisty twists, tension, shocks and powerful drama which is mind blowing at times. There’s magical originality and some stunning images and descriptions. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Group for the ARC.

Description


She thought she'd buried the past. But what if it's been hunting her this whole time?


For a decade and a half, Rachel Cunningham has chosen to lock herself away in a psychiatric facility, tortured by gaps in her memory and the certainty that she is responsible for her parents' deaths. But when she learns new details about their murders, Rachel returns,  in a quest for answers, to the place where she once felt safest: her family's sprawling log cabin in the remote forests of Michigan.

As Rachel begins to uncover what really happened on the day her parents were murdered, she learns - as her mother did years earlier - that home can be a place of unspeakable evil, and that the bond she shares with her sister might be the most poisonous of all.

My thoughts


Up until I requested - and was approved to read - this ARC, Karen Dionne wasn't a writer I had ever read (or heard of), so I wasn't sure what to expect with The Wicked Sister. What I got was a thrilling read about family, fractured relationships and figuring out the truth. 

Like Nothing Can Hurt You, The Wicked Sister wasn't a genre of book I usually read but - that being said - I really enjoyed it. Dionne not only introduced us to compelling characters, she also described the landscape in such a captivating, vibrant. I've never been to Michigan but, as the narrative unfolded, I felt as if I was in a familiar place.

I liked how Dionne wrote her characters. Rachel was strange, but also kind and incredibly determined, and the moments in Jenny's narrative between Jenny and Rachel made my heart swell at times. Then you had Jenny's narrative in the past, which was equally interesting, and it enabled me to piece together the story (both obvious bits and things I hadn't thought of initially). 

My only problem with this book was the ending. After the thrilling cat-and-mouse between the two sisters, and the mystery of who the aforementioned 'wicked sister' is, I kind of felt like things - though they ended a lot better, and nicer, than I anticipated - fizzled out at the end. The excitement that had gripped me from the first page just wasn't there at the end.

Regardless, The Wicked Sister was a thrilling read full of twists and turns, as well as moments that shocked and excited (and sometimes completely freaked me out!), and I would be interested to read more of Dionne's works in the future.

As with all my other ARC reviews, I want to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group (UK) for the ARC.

The Wicked Sister will be published on 4th August 2020.

A great read by an author I haven’t encountered before. I haven’t been able to put this one down and will be highly recommending this book to other readers.

#TheWickedSister #NetGalley
Twists at their best. Highly recommended.
I just picked it up and really I was lost in its pages. Its so brilliant.
Rachel Cunningham has chosen to lock herself away in a psychiatric facility, tortured by gaps in her memory and the certainty that she is responsible for her parents' deaths. But when she learns new details about their murders, Rachel returns, in a quest for answers, to the place where she once felt safest: her family's sprawling log cabin in the remote forests of Michigan.
As Rachel begins to uncover what really happened on the day her parents were murdered, she learns - as her mother did years earlier - that home can be a place of unspeakable evil, and that the bond she shares with her sister might be the most poisonous of all.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book UK Sphere for giving me an advance copy.

spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars

The title somewhat gives away who might be the bad guy in all of this.
Interestingly told over two timelines,where we know from the start who is dead,and can't help but think it's partly their fault they are.
By the time we were a good way into the book,it felt like a real cat and mouse game between the two sisters,with lots of revelations to come.
For me,I wondered why nobody picked up on Charlotte earlier.
The whole thing kept me turning pages speedily and was a one sitting read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read and the two timelines were executed brilliantly. I had a theory as to what happened but the unexpected twists gave and edge to the story and did make me wonder what was going to happen next. I will definitely be purchasing this book when it is released.