Sister

I have been a very bad blogger of late.

Two books I have read lately that were very different from each other but were both good - not amazing, but I did enjoy both.

Firstly, Sister by Rosamund Lupton. I had been seeing this book in several book shops and finally got around to buying it - and reading it.

Its a great mystery, crime story involving two sisters. At the premise of the story is the notion of 'how well do you really know your sister / brother etc'? The book has a great twist in it, that I didn't see coming and it was a very enjoyable, easy read.

Nothing can break the bond between sisters ...When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face. The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.


I would recommend this book - not overly intellectual or trying, just a hard to put down page turner.


The next book I read was the Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. You may remember I reviewed her previous book, The Shifting Fog and had enjoyed the romantic, English setting and the easy story.


I think this book, the Forgotten Garden was better.

The brief outline of this story is that a young girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She is raised in Australia and on her twenty-first birthday the family she thinks of as her own explain the truth. "Nell" then sets out to discover who she really is and how she came to be abandoned. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the quest that the mystery is solved.


It was a lovely book with lots of whimsy, mystery and a multi-generational saga to keep the pages turning. Once again, not an overly intellectual read, but a lovely escape. 


I'm sorry these are terribly short reviews of these books and I did have great thoughts about discussing the bonds of sisterhood etc, but I just don't seem to have the time at the moment!


I am now reading a book that I am REALLY struggling with - The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. God knows what possessed me to buy it as I'm finding it very hard going and I am however perservering as it has won literary awards so it must be good... I will let you know how it goes and whether my opinion changes!