Courtesy of Goodreads.com

Book Title: My Sister’s Secret
Author: Tracy Buchanan
Series: None
Genres: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Drama
Goodreads

Date Read: 06/11/16
Pub Date (US): 06/30/16

4 STARS

Everything you’ve built your life on is a lie

Willow’s memories of her parents are sun-drenched and full of smiles, love and laughter. But a mysterious invitation to a photographic exhibition exposes a secret that’s been buried since a tragic accident years ago.

Willow is forced to question everything she knew about Charity, her late mother, and Hope, the aunt she’s lived with since she was a child.

How was the enigmatic photographer connected to Willow’s parents? Why will Hope not break her silence?

Willow cannot move forward in her life without answers. But who can she really trust? Because no one has been telling the truth for a very long time.

*I’ll be including genres other than just MYSTERY/THRILLER/SUSPENSE on this blog; excited to expand my reviews and hope you join me for these new ones as well!

This was one gorgeously written story. The blurb above does a great job summarizing and giving you just enough to go on without spoiling all the good stuff. There are multiple POVs as we jump around to piece together what Willow discovers of her parents, but its also a story of the three siblings and their loss of one which causes a tragic divide between the remaining two. The story includes a good bit of Willow traveling the world as she begins to form a tale of deep emotions.

I think one of the best aspects of this book is the depth and connection the author was able to create with these characters. By the end of this book, I felt like I had become attached to this makeshift family and their dysfunctions felt as if they were my own. There were a few sections I felt were a bit padded and could have been slimmed down a bit, but it still was an extremely compelling read that caused me to want to pick it up at all hours. Loads of emotion in this one, but it wasn’t all sad. I found myself rejoicing with our characters during happy moments and sharing in their sorrow, especially during the struggles with the three siblings. The main theme I took from this book was how secrets, big and small, can rip apart generations of a family and cause more heartache for others than we realize in the midst of our immediate actions. This is a FANTASTIC read for the summer; I can particularly see this being a big hit at the beach. I look forward to more from this author and would recommend for fans of Diane Chamberlain and Carla Buckley; this totally had the “domestic fiction with a tinge of suspense” thing going for it.

*Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing my copy of this new to the US release in exchange for an honest review.