One thing is sure, nothing is at it seems in this book. As the story progresses do we learn more about Geraldine and Marie's childhood. About how their father poisoned their life, not to mention their mother's life. We also learn that not everything is what it seems that the characters in this book have deep dark secrets. THE OTHER SISTER is a book about a very dysfunctional family. Martin Monroe is not a man you feel a bit sympathy for, vice versa actually. He's rotten to the core. And, his daughters are planning his downfall. Will they succeed? Or are the secrets they keep from each other to great for them to work together?

THE OTHER SISTER was an interesting book, although I felt it was a bit uneven. Sometimes it captured my attention and other times I felt that it dragged on a bit and I wished I had connected much more with the sisters. I feel that it was good enough to read and I wanted the ending, wanted to know how it all would end. And, yet I felt a bit disconnected with it, the story never really took flight. I wanted to feel more for Geraldine and Marie. It's a good book. Just not really thrilling.

THE OTHER SISTER is a book that I felt worked on some levels for me. I liked the last part the most when the big confrontation between the sisters and their father occurs. The story had its ups and downs, and ultimately I felt that it's an OK book. I have to admit that there were moments at first when I doubt that I would finish the book, but it got better as the story progressed. So, I'm glad that I did not give up because I did end up enjoying the book, despite all the ups and downs.

I want to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

It’s a psychological thriller featuring the dynamics of twisted dysfunctional family. The sisters...Geraldine and Marie …. grew up in Michigan in an emotionally abusive family with a manipulative and cruel father, and an alcoholic mother. Geraldine left town twenty-five years ago after her mother died under mysterious circumstances...she was thought of as “the bad sister”. Present day finds that she is a lecturer at a college....and very rarely ever returns home.
The other sister...Marie...stayed in their hometown and became her father's assistant. The father is now wealth and entirely “in control” of his entire family. He has also managed to become a respected member of the community. Marie is the good daughter/sister, in the eyes of the community. She follows her father's every direction and command. Marie has asked Geraldine to come home for her son Robbie's graduation party....and their plan is now put into motion. The novel follows multiple timelines and points-of-view as the past and the present are both revealed. The relationship between the sisters is to put it mildly...complicated. Neither of them is completely reliable, or believable.... but they need to trust and believe each other...the questions is...can they? Which of them is really the good sister and which is the bad, will fluctuate as the novel reveals an intricate web of embedded secrets of their earlier years and those from more recent events. The characters are very well drawn... but as I have stated, none of them are reliable or likeable. Sarah Zettel has done an excellent job with the dialogue and creating a distinctive voice for each character ( )

Please see all of my reviews on my blog at www.robinlovesreading.blogspot.com.

4.5 Stars

In this story we are presented with the fact that Geraldine is the bad sister. She has is arriving at her family home in preparation for her nephew's upcoming graduation party. Geraldine disappeared twenty years ago after the strange death of their mother. Oh, she has been back from time-to-time, but this visit will be different than any others.

Marie has always been deemed the good sister, the apple of their father's eye. She is the mother of Robbie, who is the one about to graduate. Although Marie knows her sister's visit will bring a lot of trouble, she also knows the visit is inevitable. Her sister cannot deny her nephew's desire for her to attend, even though her father and other relatives are very wary. Her father, Martin Monroe, is a case, a very hard man who rules the entire family due to his money and coldhearted nature. Although very wary of Geraldine's visit, he is confident that Marie will continue to stand by him and resist any machinations that Geraldine will inflict upon the family.

What Martin does not know is that Geraldine and Marie have made a strong plan to right the wrongs of the past. What is more is the plan that the sisters have concocted. But they must be very secret, and very careful. As time progresses, the situations continually change and then everyone, including Geraldine and Marie, are not sure if they can trust anyone, even each other. As children, they were torn apart by their parents. As adults, they are forced to come together. But, will it last?

The Other Sister is told in varying timelines and points of view. The story brings the past and the present together at a pace that flows rapidly. The twists and the turns are shocking, scary and kept me turning pages as fast as possible. There was so much darkness, so many revelations and secrets that I just had to know what was going to happen.

I have never read a book by Sarah Zettel before, and I must say, she is a fabulous writer. She manages to keep the story utterly riveting, terrifying and, at times, heartbreaking. The Other Sister refers often to dark fairy tales and consistently brings in several parallels. This adds to the intensity of the story. The plot is evil, the story is riveting, and the conclusion is shocking. If you pick up this book, I dare you to try and put it down. I couldn't.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

The Other Sister by Sarah Zettel is a highly recommended psychological thriller featuring the dynamics of twisted dysfunctional family.

Geraldine and Marie Monroe are sisters with a plan. The two grew up in Michigan in an emotionally abusive household with a manipulative, cruel father, Martin, and an alcoholic mother, Stacy. The younger sister, Geraldine left town twenty-five years ago after her mother died under mysterious circumstances. She was labeled as the bad sister, Now she is a lecturer at a college, specializing in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, and very rarely returns home.

Marie stayed in their hometown and became her father's dutiful assistant. Martin is now wealthy, in control of his whole extended family, and a respected member of the community. Marie is the good daughter in the eyes of the community as she follows her father's every direction in his successful real estate business. Now Marie has asked Geraldine to come home for her son Robbie's graduation party - and to put their plan into motion.

The novel follows multiple timelines and points-of-view as the enigmas of the past and the present are both revealed. The relationship between the sisters is complicated. Neither of them may be completely reliable narrators. They need to trust and believe each other, but can they? The perception of who really is the good sister and the bad sister will fluctuate as the novel reveals an intricate web of embedded secrets of their earlier years and those from more recent events. The characters are well-developed, but none of them are reliable or likeable. Zettel does an excellent job with the dialogue and there is a distinctive voice for each character.

At the beginning of each chapter is an analysis of various fairy tales by Geraldine which serves to compliment the plot. Contained within the narrative are multiple mysteries and secrets, and the analysis of the fairy tales can be an interesting juxtaposition in comparison to the narrative. The plot does move a bit slowly at times, but Zettel has packed a lot of depth into the novel making this an interesting psychological thriller.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/08/the-other-sister.html ( )

I liked this book. Both sisters, Geraldine and Marie were equally good. Although, the story tried to make Geraldine out to be the bad sister. Once, the secrets were revealed, it ends up that Geraldine was just misunderstood and she got the short end of the straw. Not to say that Marie was the "bad" sister. In fact, there really were no winners in this story; other than Geraldine and Marie. A sister's bond is really strong.

The family secrets revealed were just as strong a part of this story. In fact, I might have liked it a little more than the present. Yet, as much as I really liked this book, something held me back from fully embracing the characters. Plus, my tone with the book was medium. Still, this is a good read. ( )