30 Sep Blood Sisters by Jane Corry – Review
Hey amigos, greetings from Greece! As you read this I am working on my tan and enjoying the beautiful weather and amazing books! Hope you’re enjoying summer and are having a nice and relaxing day. Today I have the absolute honour and pleasure to post a review of Jane Corry’s amazing thriller BLOOD SISTERS as part of her epic blog tour. If you haven’t already read it or don’t have it on your reading lists, I seriously advise you to add it cause it’s FUCKING BRILLIANT! Many thanks to guys at Penguin for my review copy and the chance to be part of this cool event! Cheerio, the beach is calling me!
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Blood Sisters by Jane Corry
Published byPenguin Random House UK
Published on 29.6.2017
Genres: thriller, psychological thriller
Pages: 464
Format:paperback
THREE LITTLE GIRLS SET OFF TO SCHOOL ONE SUNNY MAY MORNING.
WITHIN AN HOUR, ONE OF THEM IS DEAD.From the author of the Sunday Times Top Ten and Kindle bestseller MY HUSBAND’S WIFE, comes an even more addictive, page-turning and powerful novel about two women bound by a deadly secret. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Erin Kelly and BA Paris.
Kitty lives in a care home. She can’t speak properly, and she has no memory of the accident that put her here. At least that’s the story she’s sticking to.
Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. When a job in a prison comes up she decides to take it – this is her chance to finally make things right.
But someone is watching Kitty and Alison.
Someone who wants revenge for what happened that sunny morning in May.
And only another life will do…
Last year Jane Corry made a HUGE boom on the thriller scene with her debut, ‘My Husband’s Wife’. Ever since I read and thoroughly enjoyed that book I made a promise to myself I’ll keep a close eye on everything Jane writes as I was totally blown away with her writing skills. I still can’t believe someone so talented as her was ‘in the shadow’ for so many years, but boy am I glad she finally started writing and gave us TWO fascinating psychological thrillers so far. Having said all of this, you can tell I am a huge fan, right? Naturally I was over the moon to get the chance to read BLOOD SISTERS and once again see Jane in her full brilliance. Did I have huge expectations? You bet I did! And Jane delievered completely and proved to me once again she’s a damn brilliant writer.
Blood Sisters is a gripping story involving sisterly rivalry, lies, guilt and even the topic of disability, all told in a fantastic and sensitive way that will make you feel every emotion from compassion to anger. The story is told from multiple POVs, that of Alison and Kitty and their story spans from 2001 to 2016. As the blurb says, one morning in May three girls are off to school. Shortly after, one of them is dead, the other one ends with brain damage and one of them is full of guilt. One event can change so many lives in such drastic ways. Fast forward 15 years and we see Kitty in a care home, with severe brain damage that she doesn’t know even why she’s there. Alison is an artist trying to make ends meet and gets a job as an art teacher in a prison. Once I read this I knew it’s going to be a brilliant book, as was the case with My Husband’s Wife, due to Jane’s experience in working in a men’s prison and her great knowledge and experience in them. These parts when Alison is doing her job in the prison are brilliantly told with loads of authenticity. 15 years ago a tragic event happened, however even after 15 years the half-sisters are not safe. This is a gripping story that will hook you from the start and despite the slow start, you won’t be able to put it down.
I absolutely enjoyed ‘Blood Sisters’. It’s everything I expected it to be and so much more. Jane really knows how to create that perfect balance between suspense and revealing bits about her characters. The slower pace at the beginning proved to be very beneficial for me cause it really helped me get to know the half sisters and their history. Gradually we get to see the bigger picture, yet still I wasn’t able to predict where the story would lead me next. Jane knows how to throw the perfect twist just when you think you got it all figured out.
The characters are brilliant, so diverse and complex. I wasn’t particularly fond of either of them, and yet in a weird way I was soooo interested in their stories and in them. Kitty and Alison were such a mystery to me and I was anxiously turning the pages to see why are they in their situation now. Just now, while I’m writing this review I started pondering on how I could enjoy the book so much while not being able to relate to any of the characters. It’s strange, but Jane’s writing and sensitive approach to rivalry and disability made these characters so vivid and real. It’s like they were in my head and mysteriously found their way under my skin.
Blood Sisters is definitely a fantastic psychological thriller, so don’t miss out on it. Fantastic research and experience in crimes/prisons add another dimension and quality to the book making it truly one fantastic ride. This book is another proof Jane Corry is an excellent writer and I’ll most definitely be reading everything she writes in the future. I hope there will be plenty exquisite thrillers just like her two ones now
About Jane Corry
Jane Corry is a writer and journalist who has written regularly for numerous newspapers and magazines including The Daily Telegraph Weekend section, the Mail on Sunday and Woman. She has spent time working as the writer-in-residence of a high security prison for men – an experience that helped inspire My Husband’s Wife, her début thriller. ‘I love twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end! My husband says I’m a nightmare to watch dramas with as I love to work out who did it before the final revelation!’
Jane runs regular writing workshops and speaks at literary festivals all over the world, including The Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy. Until her recent move to Devon, she was a tutor in creative writing at Oxford University. She is also an associate member of the Royal Literary Fund.
Many of Jane’s ideas come during her morning dog-jog along the beach followed by a dip in her wetsuit. (She’s an all-year-round swimmer provided the sea isn’t dangerous.) Jane also loves tennis, walking, reading, yoga, the ‘Quiet’ train carriage (a great ‘office’ for writing) and her family. She’s still coming to terms with being an empty-nester but makes up for it with lots of long-distance nagging! Jane’s second husband was a bachelor family friend who is also Godfather to her children. He makes her laugh every day although they can’t agree on how to load the dishwasher!
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