The Second Sister is an unsettling suspense thriller of two halves. First we meet Ella and her family, still searching for answers following her sister Miranda's disappearance ten years earlier. I really warmed to Ella, a young woman who channels her grief at losing her beloved elder sister into helping others. We meet her controlling mother, driven by her desire to keep what's left of her family safe. Her caring father, who does what dads do best - mediating between mother and daughter. And Miranda's mature and sensitive ten year old son, Luke, who is a wonderful young lad, coping with the loss of his mum as best he can. We are also teased with the possibility of romance for Ella, but it's the mystery of what happened to Miranda that remains central to the plot. What begins as a slow burning reveal of the cast, soon accelerates until the reader is taken on a thrilling, chilling, whirlwind ride with twists and turns aplenty. Thanks to HarperFiction and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the storyline was fluid and it kept me gripped. Has a fantastic ending and I didn't guess what was going to happen. I'd definitely recommend this book to friends and will be looking up the author's other books

Claire Kendal's new psychological thriller The Second Sister had me hooked from the start. I really enjoyed reading this book and found it thrilling, exciting and chilling. I could not put it down. I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Second Sister by Claire Kendal is a real riveting page turner that had me hooked and guessing from the start. It is a contemporary psychological thriller that had my heart racing and my mind turning. Written in the first person, I became totally immersed in the action.
The novel is about grief and loss. Ten years have passed but the raw grief remains. Bonds formed over a lifetime cannot be broken. "Even without you here, my closeness to you hasn't stopped." Love links the two sisters. Conversations still occur. The adage that time heals is a myth. Loss is still loss no matter how many years have passed.
Loss brings regrets. The past has gone. Regrets have only the power we give them to rob us of our present and future.
Family ties bind. Following a loss, family will cling to each other, sometimes suffocating in the process. Loss can bring feelings of anger but ultimately the ties of love bind. A family united together will survive, a fractured family will fall apart.
With loss comes questions. The questions will always continue until the truth is uncovered. People always want answers even though the fact remains that they still have loss. People need closure.
There are the themes of guilt and forgiveness. Loss always brings feelings of guilt associated with what we should have done or what we did do and shouldn't have. Forgiveness needs to be given, if only to ourselves.
The novel explores human nature. What makes a monster? Is there a little bit of monster in all of us? Is there any humanness in a monster? Where does a decent human being end and a monster begin? Are we all a fine blend of both?
The Second Sister was an incredible read. No way could I guess the outcome. I warmed to the leading lady - a mixture of strength, weakness and determination. The Second Sister will have you guessing and gasping as your pulse rises and heart rate increases. It really is a cracking psychological read.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Very Good book really enjoyed it well worth a read xxx

This is a very good book and I did enjoy reading it a great deal. I gave it 4 stars however because I think the author over complicated things towards the end and it became a little far fetched.
The book begins with Ella (real name Melanie, Ella is nickname) feeling a presence and a suspicion that she is being watched and that as the sister of a missing woman that she also may be in danger. Ella's much loved and look up to older sister went missing ten years ago not long after giving birth to her son Luke. Ever since there has been no word from Miranda and no body to show that she is no longer alive. Luke lives between Ella's parents home and Ella's.
The over riding theme of the book is secrets and the feelings of those who feel left out of those secrets. Ella's father has requested Mirandas belongings and the criminal file back from the police; why? Ella is no longer close to Ted her childhood friend, turned first love who married someone else but is now divorced. Mirandas secret was the identity of Luke's father. Ted is a policeman, what does he know about the investigation into Miranda's disappearance and why is Ella's relationship with her Mother strained?
Into all this domestic drama enter Jason Thorne the serial killer. Ella suspects he has something to do with Miranda's going missing but the police are satisfied that there is no link and Thorne himself denies it. Then Ella meets Dr Alan who works at the secure hospital where Thorne is being kept. Alan is handsome, thoughtful and just about manages to keep Ella's thoughts and desire from going back to Ted. Ella's meeting with Thorne is reminiscent of Starlings visit to Dr Lecter but not a copy of it and very skilfully written. The tension was wound so tightly that action in the scene did make me jump at times. The interaction of a victim of crime with a serial killer is far fetched and shouldn't work, but it does. Sadly however, other parts of the plot really don't. Sadie a friend of Miranda and Ella's suddenly turns on Ella in a fit of jealousy at a party early in the novel. Without any context of how close the friendship was, of which sister she was the better friend with, of what her usual behaviour is like this rage feels unwarranted and melodramatic in the extreme. Sadie turns up at various points in the novel behaving in a similarly unnatural way and it just doesn't fit. Why would Ella be hanging around this weirdo? Why would anyone! It just doesn't work in my opinion.
Another bit part character is Mrs Buenrostro who Ella meets along the way in her quest to find Miranda. I can not believe that a smart girl like Ella wouldn't have thought that this character had an agenda and tied into the story so it is frustrating to go along with the author expecting both Ella and us readers to believe that this is simply a lady who lives behind a door she knocked on.
I noticed with Claire Kendall's other book "The Book of You" that she handles domestic situations so well and some of her characters are so well thought out and so human. But she seems to rush the plot as the book hits the final third and gets carried away and unrealistic which is a shame as both books are close to being really, really great novels.

Absolutely loved this book, a real page turner and I didn't want to come to the end.

Ella's sister has been missing for ten years. Ten years since Miranda dropped her baby son Luke at their parents house and drove seat never to be seen again.
Ella has never been able to let go of her sister and with the encouragement of her now 10 year old nephew Luke Ella steps up her own investigations to find out the truth of what happened to Miranda.
There are so many people to suspect and so many twists and turns that you are completely drawn into this book. Though at times I did find Ella slightly annoying overall she is a charachter I really warmed to.
The plot draws you through a serial killer that holds some secrets, a stalker, a manic ex friend and a seemingly harmless old lady....all of which convene in a cracking finale. This is a fantastic book.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book and managed to finish it in one day. A great read for on holiday!

I'm finally back into the crime/mystery genre and this was the perfect welcome back.

The Second Sister introduces us to Ella who ten years later is now the same age as her older sister Miranda when she disappeared. What I loved about this book (and any other good mystery book!) was how it left you with enough clues to maybe work out the mystery yourself but also not enough for you say "I've solved it for definite, I'm going to put it down now."

I think most crime novels really take their stock from the fact that women are inherently wary of unknown men and recent novels and TV shows (hey Criminal Minds 👋) have shown just how charming your average sociopath can be.

Whilst I guessed a couple of the twists ahead of, it absolutely didn't take away my enjoyment of the book, especially as Claire took the time to think about her characters motivations and the enjoyment of the things we had yet to know. I really loved the aspect of Ella and the family letting this potentially horrific event (they've never found a body and as such, can never be really sure that Miranda's dead even though they all think she would never willingly leave) shape them permanently, but also in doing so helping others. They set up a charity for women and a counselling group and it was just amazing to see tragedy shape people so tremendously.

I really felt for Ella and the loss she had experienced as a result of not knowing what had happened to her sister. Her sister was 10 years older than her and thus played a perfect role between sister and "special parent". I loved the glimpses we saw of Miranda and Ella's relationship and how it seemed to ultimately define Ella's relationship with everyone else too.

Now the juicy stuff: the mystery. I was a fan of the execution (no pun intended I swear!) of the mystery plot line and I loved how many suspects were sprinkled across the book in order to keep us all on our toes. I loved how I went from "He did it, No she did it, Oh wait, he's suspicious" right back to *narrows eyes* "Was it you????". I thought the reveal was not only good but it was logical to the book that I'd been reading and there's nothing I love more than a mystery you can piece together earlier once you have all the pieces.

I finished this book at 6am as I found myself unable to put it down. I felt as though my heart had broken ten times over during the book with just enough of a fear factor to make me scared of the dark at my big big age of 22 😂. Cannot recommend it enough.

Rating: 5 stars

Not my kind of story,failed to keep me interested.Basic idea good just too slow

Wasnt too sure when i started reading this book but it really surprised me. What a great read that kept you guessing all the way through.

I enjoyed the premise of this book although it was ultimately very far fetched. I still needed to race through it to see what had happened. A good reflection of our how the living can feel survivors guilt and get overlooked.

Ten years ago Melanie’s sister Miranda disappeared and til his day everybody in her family lives in uncertainty. They wait to her to comeback or the police o find her body. But neither of this happens and Melanie decides to find her sister, for her own sake and the sake of Miranda’s son Luke. On top of her suspect list is Jason Thorne a known serial killer, convicted 10 years ago and sent to a psychiatric hospital and treated for severe psychological problems.
After a slow beginning the book picked up and I had a hard time putting it down. There are a lot of suspects and a few people, besides Thorne, with major issues. I liked the internal dialogue Melanie had with her sister, it gave some depth to her and hers sisters character. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming and it proves once again that real psychopath are very smart and hard to get caught. I’m not sure if there will be a second book about Melanie, but I feel there is room for it. There are a lot more questions about Jason Thorne I would to know like the answers to and with him missing and being a bit obsessed with her there could be a new story. I for one would love to read this story and I’m sure it would be great. “The Second Sister” is a highly recommended read for psychological thriller fans.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!

Miranda disappeared 10 years ago leaving behind a young boy and no clue was found as to what happened to her. This tale is set around 10 years later with her sister Ella along with their parents looking after the young boy. Ella's life has been overshadowed by the loss of her sister and the book details her renewed efforts to discover what happened to Miranda at what turns out to be great personal risk to herself and uncovering ever deepening mysteries about her sister.

The book start off pretty slow but perseverance with this is paid off with the various reveals throughout the book. Reminiscent of "silence of the lambs" and "the vanishing" in many ways. The film actually makes reference to the film in the later chapters.

A worthy read, just a shame the pace begins so slowly.

After reading the narrative for this book I was keen to start reading however, for me, it did not live up to expectations.

I felt the first half of the book progressed incredibly slowly introducing characters and side-plots that I felt had no relevance to the main story. The second half of the book picked up pace however, the storyline and ending for me were weak and non-believable. I didn't really like or care about any of the characters which made hard reading.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book hooked me from the very beginning and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was written in an unusual and interesting way that made it stand out from most other thrillers. In parts it did seem somewhat far-fetched but Melanie was a likeable and empathetic character and it was heart-breaking to realise how much her life had been changed and damaged by her sister's disappearance.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Second Sister. The plot was great with some really good narrative between Ella and some clearly psychotic individuals.

The strength of the family bond was clear throughout the novel and Claire Kendal did a great job of portraying a sisterly relationship that was not perfect, but could never be questioned.

I must admit that I felt a little sorry for Ella at times. She dedicated so much of her life to the truth, with such unwavering conviction (even if it was in the periphery for most of the 10 years) that she lost out in a lot of life. Outside of her immediate family that is.

Regardless, her conviction paid off and the dividends far exceeded anything lost in her quest for the truth.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author.