She Treads Softly: What My Sister Knew

Thursday, June 21, 2018

What My Sister Knew

What My Sister Knew by Nina Laurin
Grand Central Publishing: 6/19/18
eBook review copy; 384 pages
ISBN-13: 9781455569045

What My Sister Knew by Nina Lauri is a highly recommended psychological thriller.

Andrea "Addie" Warren has just been in a car accident and the circumstances surrounded it are all hazy. Did she really see a man by the side of the road? At the hospital, her foster mother shows up to take Addie to her home, not Addie's, and it becomes clear that something else is going on, something Addie doesn't have a clue about. At her foster mothers she manages to catch a TV news clip and sees that her twin brother, Eli, is back in the news. What did Eli do this time?

Eli killed their mother and stepfather by burning down their house fifteen years ago, when they were both twelve. He was locked up, and when he was finally released it was under the condition that he does not contact Addie. A sensational book was written about the horrific crime so Eli's name is relatively well known. Now a woman has been found murdered in his apartment and the police are searching for him. Naturally, they are interested in talking to Addie too.

The narrative switches between current events and the past. Included before some chapters are excerpts from the true crime book written about Eli. These excerpts along with Addie's recollections about her childhood help create a picture of the childhood of the twins before the murder. We also learn about Addie's current life and the struggles she has been trying to overcome. Do the twins really have a connection, as the police suspect?

The writing is quite good and Laurin provides some twists and surprises along the way. Perhaps you will guess the twists, but, honestly, it's my opinion that Laurin wants you to fear Eli is back to torment Addie. Why else would she have Addie see a mysterious figure during the car crash right at the opening? Laurin does spend some time developing her characters, especially Addie, which adds a depth to the novel and helps intensify the suspense. This is a satisfying, albeit somewhat disturbing, thriller. Addie's scrambling in the middle might go on a tad too long, but, ultimately, What My Sister Knew held my attention and the ending was satisfying.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.