Not the most realistic of mystery stories, but still a very good telling of what, I think, we'd like to see happen. A setting straight of facts. Is it right that a child is believed or not believed just because they're seen as sulky and difficult? Is she an attention seeker or a victim?

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Easily my favourite so far of the brilliant novels by Gytha Lodge, featuring two unforgettable sisters and offering up a twisty, clever and devilish mystery for our team to solve.

It was hugely engaging throughout and you just don't want to put it down once you start reading. The characterisation is excellent, the plot taut and unpredictable and best of all you get real talent in the writing. It also has thought provoking elements about the care system and a lot of emotional resonance.

Overall really excellent. Well deserving of a 5* rating.

I thought this book was good & I will be recommending it to other. Thanks for the opportunity to read & review this book.

DCI Jonah Sheens is enjoying a cold pint in a sunny beer garden when a girl emerges from the neighbouring woods covered in blood. Reported missing from a children's home the previous week, Keely has obviously been involved in something terrible. And worse, she went missing with her little sister Nina, who is nowhere to be found. Thus begins a race against time as Keely narrates her tale...

Well, I just loved this. The perfect example of how a police procedural (still my favoured genre of crime & mystery, despite firmly believing in police abolition - go figure) can be as gripping as a thriller. Having read and enjoyed the previous Jonah Sheens books, they just get better and better. Little Sister will work well as a standalone, though, for those who haven't read the rest of the series.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

This is a well written, carefully constructed book but be prepared for s story which is uncomfortable in its content. Two sisters, Keele and the younger Nina, along with a boy Callum are being fostered and claim to be suffering abuse. The social work investigations come up with no evidence but the disappearance of Nina means a police investigation. Keele is a bright but complex character who uses the orchestrated disappearance of her sister to lay clues leading the police to discover the truth. It can be a complicated story at times but there are always twists to keep you reading. The sad fact it demonstrates is that the story is often not fiction but happening for real. I recommend the book.

Could there be any more twists and turns in this book? Whenever something seems straightforward, it inevitably turns out not to be and these shifts in the storyline keep going right to the end. The alternate chapters which reveal the truth of the abuses are harrowing.

2 Sisters Keely and Her younger sister Nina, their father walked out in the very early years then their Mum died, not the best start to life.

But this isn't a morbid book far from it the subject matter will be an eye opener to some the story is gripping addictive plus very much edge of your seat at several points. It has some great twists the characters, at the station the team leading the investigation are great, The girls swing from one thing to another as the plot turns you may not be sure how to take them, well Keely seems hard to love but how is it she's been damaged that basically is the question.

I was enthralled with this novel and didn't want to put it down every page felt important to the plot I didn't want to miss a word so I didn't. I believe this is 5 star read and am very happy to give that as my rating. I'm sure you will agree as I say the subject matter the life these girls have lived and there foster brother Callum is possibly not nice but did they or is this an elaborate tale of revenge for another reason. You will be kept in the edge of your seats to the end, there is plenty to challenge your thinking you will not be bored.

A remarkable, intelligent and engaging story which is also, very sadly, most apposite.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of Little Sister.

‘Little Sister’ is a remarkable book - and also a very brave one. It is the fourth in the Jonah Sheens series and matches the others in terms of a fast-moving and compelling story. It also develops the personal stories of Jonah Sheens and his team, which remain a powerful reason to stick with this series.

But what makes this book special is the genuinely original way in which Gytha Lodge approaches some of the most sensitive issues of our time. The novel focuses on abuse and the investigation has to make sense of some contradictory background information. It begins with an unusually confident teenager whose presentation of the facts seems immediately unreliable.

Gytha Lodge structures the story so that we are not quite sure who to believe and allows the clues to accumulate in a way that mirrors real life. It isn’t clear who is manipulating whom as we try to distinguish victim from villain. She shows how good people view the same set of circumstances differently and how personal issues influence even the best professionals.

The novel is much more than a thriller. It draws on the way children interact with each other and with adults; and shows how adults react when their expectations of young people are challenged. It also shows how both adults and children make and break relationships to exert power and attain control. The psychology of Lodge’s characters is faultless.

Ultimately, this series has legs because all the characters have significant flaws, including Jonah Sheens, the senior detective. We see their personal mistakes and the impact of their decisions as each book develops the individual stories of the team. The interplay between this investigation and their wider lives makes this a truly memorable novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for making an advance copy of this book available to me in return for an honest review.

Excellent book that immediately pulled me in. I love the Jonah Sheens series and this is a great addition. I liked the idea of a story told by a character with clues hidden in the tale. It was a story within a story and worked really well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

As the book's cover copy says "Two sisters went missing. Only one of them came back.."

At the start of the book we meet Detective Jonah Sheens, on a day off, enjoying a drink outside a local pub - and then a red-haired teenager wanders out of the woods, covered in blood, and the Detective has a very strange case on his hands.

I found this completely gripping - a real page-turner - but, despite that, it also became increasingly far-fetched. It's difficult to explain why I thought this without giving away plot spoilers but there were perhaps one (or two, or three) too many twists and turns for it to be believable. I enjoyed it but would be hesitant about recommending it without reservations.

This was the first book I decided to read in 2022 and I’m glad I did. Police detective thriller did you say!? Yes please! This is the first book I’ve read by Gytha Lodge but ironically the fourth book in the series, I know I always read books out of order. I really enjoyed learning a bit about the detectives but the crime itself was a little tough to read in places. The case is mainly about children being abused in care or by there foster parents so if this is a trigger for you I don’t advice you read this book. I felt like the book flowed very well, the pace was just right and I really had no clue where it was going. So all in all a great book and can’t wait to read more of this series.

Another fantastic book by Gytha. It is a faced paced story with many twists, it had me gripped from the start . Thank you

It's going to be a while before I forget these sisters.
There are twists and turns a plenty I this book,and things that really did make me go "ooohhh"
I wanted to stay up WAY late and finish it in one go... the tension and pace does not let up.
As book 4 of Jonah Sheens,I think it works well as a stand alone, so even if you've not read him before (and why haven't you?) ,this book will get you hooked.
The best one yet.

My last incredible read of 2021. I started my year with a Gytha Lodge read so I thought what better way to end it then on the same note?
I devoured this fourth book in the Jonah Sheens series. Honestly, they are getting better and better and the cases so complicated that it's so difficult to guess the outcome
.
Little Sister is filled with twists and plots, chilling and proper addictive. I had so many theories about this case, I put my detective skills to the test and miserably failed. I couldn't solve it. Lucky I am not the real investigator here because I would have disappointed lots of people if I were

Don't worry if you haven't read the first three books in the series. Best part is that you can read each and one of them as a standalone and you'll still love it

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an ARC of this book. Having read previous books by this author I was really looking forward to this one, and I wasn't disappointed. Great characters and lots of twists, just when you thought you had it worked out, it took a different turn. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

I didnt realise that this book was one out of a series however I still enjoyed reading it and that didnt take anything away from the book.. It had such an interesting storyline that was full of unpredictability and twusts, suspense and mystery. I really enjoyed it.

I did not realise that this was part of a series. Nonetheless, it was easy to follow and I enjoyed the little twists throughout.

This is the first Gytha Lodge book I’ve read so the characters were new to me but it was easy enough to understand their background and dynamics. The story is intriguing, two sisters go missing from their foster home, one turns up covered in blood but refuses to reveal the whereabouts of her younger sister until the police listen to her story based on their experiences whilst in the care system. The insistence of the elder sister telling her story in parts whilst the police investigate it in between made for an unusual way of telling the story and it was difficult to know what to believe and their were definitely some twists and unexpected developments. I liked the main police team they were good characters who worked well together and the sister was unlikable but brilliantly complex. This wasn’t the easiest of reads but it was certainly intriguing.

I'm a big fan of this series. It brings something fresh and exciting to the police procedural genre with a team full of personality and genuinely fascinating cases with lots of twists and turns.

This book was another great instalment with a very interesting storyline and twists which really got me! All the characters were well fleshed out and believable, and I enjoyed the constant misdirection.

I did think the book was a little bit too long - it was a very interesting case but I feel like it dragged on a little bit and could have been more effective if some superfluous content was cut. I did also have to suspend disbelief a bit about how two teenage girls could run rings around the police in the way they did, and not even get charged with wasting police time at the end!

Overall I did really enjoy this book and was definitely hooked. It was probably my least favourite in the series so far but that says more about how amazing the others were than anything negative about this one.