Dear reader, lately I have discovered a trend in my reading. Books that I have read recently seem to have the similar theme of sisters being separated but finding closure or reigniting their relationship. This is not a theme that I set out planning to explore, the books I have chosen to partake in were pure serendipity. A bit about me: I do not have a biological sister. I have two stepsisters that I love and enjoy spending time with, but we did not become close until adulthood as we did not grow up together. Do I wish that I had a sister? I do not know. I have close female friends I consider akin to sisters. I think that is enough for me. I did enjoy reading these books (mostly thriller) that explore sister relationships. I hope you also enjoy traveling down the dark twisty roads of the bonds of sisterhood in the following novels!
The Clinic by Cate Quinn
If you read my last month’s blog post you will remember that I was awaiting The Clinic to come in. After much anticipation and excitement my hold finally arrived! Was it worth the wait! Oh yes, very much so. The Clinic was so good I read it in a week.
“To solve your sister’s murder, you might need to solve yourself.”
Meg and Hailey did not have an easy childhood growing up with an abusive famous mother. As an adult Hailey became a famous country singer. Meg took a security job at a casino. Both became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Hailey wanted to change and get clean so she enrolled herself in a new treatment center: The Clinic. The Clinic is a specialized place that the rich and famous can come to get clean. It is incredibly fancy and costs a fortune to attend in-patient treatment. That picture perfect image is shattered when Hailey is reported dead from an apparent overdose.
Meg knows her sister. Hailey would not overdose or risk her life like that. Facts about the case just do not add up. Suspicious, Meg decides to go in undercover to get to the truth about the goings on inside of The Clinic. Meg quickly realizes that in order to solve her sister’s murder she must get clean and solve her own childhood trauma first. The Clinic kept me guessing at every turn. I had no idea who could possibly be the killer. Usually I have an inkling. This one is full of unexpected plot twists. The setting is also chef’s kiss. The Clinic is no ordinary addiction treatment center.
I feel it is worth noting the author’s note in the beginning of this book. Cate Quinn confesses that this is her first novel written completely sober. Many of the ideas she got for this novel come from her own treatment for the conditions of alcohol abuse. She says that this is the novel she is most proud of. After reading it, I must say she has a right to be proud.
Click HERE to request The Clinic!
The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
Are you afraid of deep water? Do you wonder what is lurking down there just waiting to grab your submerged ankle? Yes, I have these fears, but when I am reading a horror novel I like to indulge in what scares me. The setting for The Drowning Kind is a deep black natural spring in the hills of Vermont. The perspective is split between two timelines. One is in the past where a grand resort has been built around the spring that is said to have supernatural healing properties. The other is in the present where the spring serves as a swimming pool of a family home called Sparrow Crest.
Jax and her sister Lex practically grew up at Sparrow Crest. They spent every summer with their grandmother swimming in the deep dark spring that served as a pool. Lex was an amazing swimmer. Years pass. The sisters have drifted apart. Lex moved into Sparrow Crest after their grandmother’s death and Jax moved away to become a child therapist. Jax’s world shatters when she receives a call that Lex has been found drowned in the spring. How could this have happened? Lex was always a strong swimmer and practically lived in the water. Jax returns to Sparrow Crest to unravel the deranged clues that her sister left. Lex’s sanity was slipping before her death. It seems she was looking into the past of the property and measuring the depths of the spring. But why? Could there be a link between the spring and Lex’s death? Who is the strange woman Lex sketched in her sketchbook?
Years before Jax and Lex were born, Ethel is struggling to get pregnant. All she wants is for her and her husband to have a child. Her husband thinks that a trip to the new Brandenburg Resort is just the romantic getaway they need. While there, Ethel hears a rumor that the springs the resort is famous for have healing powers. If you whisper your deepest wish to the springs they will give you that wish. After making her wish Ethel finds herself pregnant. Her wish was fulfilled! But not everyone is thrilled with the magical abilities of the springs. Townsfolk whisper that “The spring gives and the spring takes.” What is the cost of a wish?
Will digging up the secrets of the past lead Jax to uncover the secrets of the spring and the mystery behind her sister’s death?
Click HERE to request The Drowning Kind!
Conceal Don’t Feel by Jen Calonita
Elsa and Anna may be the most recognized sisters in popular culture today. But what if they grew up separated with no memory of each other? In this twisted version of the popular Frozen Tale, Elsa and Anna are separated for their own safety. Remember that scene in the ballroom when they were little? Elsa hits Anna with a bolt of frost by accident. The family hastily takes the sisters to the trolls to save Anna. In this version Elsa’s ice bolt did something different. The bolt caused a curse to take effect. If Elsa and Anna were together for any amount of time Anna would turn to ice. The parents decide that the only way to save both daughters is to separate them. Anna is sent to live with friends of Queen Iduna in the mountains. All her memories of Elsa are wiped. Elsa’s memory of her sister is also wiped clean along with all knowledge that she has magical abilities. (The people of the kingdom also have their memories wiped of Anna’s existence so the plot can work.)
When Elsa receives the news that her parents have perished in a shipwreck, her powers reawaken along with snippets of memories of a mysterious girl. Who is this girl? Why do memories of her make Elsa feel warm inside? With Olaf at her side, Elsa sets out to solve the mystery behind her powers and snippets of memory. Finding Anna may be the only way to save Arendelle from eternal winter. But will Anna survive reuniting with her sister?
Mead Public Library Blog 