(87)The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

Tuesday, October 7, 2014


Riley MacPherson's has come home to New Bern in order to settle her father's estate.   She doesn't really want to shoulder this responsibility all alone, but she really has no choice.  Her mother died seven years ago. her older sister, Lisa, committed suicide over twenty years ago, and her older, Danny, is fighting a losing battle with PTSD,  So it falls on her and as she goes through the motions she starts to uncover all sorts of secrets about her family. Like before committing suicide her sister was accused of murder.   Like the fact that she may have been adopted.  Like the fact that her father used to be a U.S, Marshall, and her sister may actually still be alive?  Riley is completely overwhelmed by all of the information she has uncovered and she digs deeper she finds out even more information to rock her to her core and changes everything she ever thought about her family.  Will Riley be able to wade through all of the secrets to find the truth and what will happen if she gets exactly what she wants?

Diane Chamberlain knows how to make a girl want to read.  The Silent Sister is such a captivating read, I didn't want it to end.  Riley is a great character, she has her life together and we first meet her as she is just starting to deal with her father's estate.  The funeral is over and now she has to deal with his collections, his house, his RV park, and everything else you have to deal with when a parent dies. Riley wants her older brother Danny to be the kind of brother that helps her shoulder the responsibility, but he is not that kind of guy and instead it is an old family friend, Jeannie that helps Riley. It isn't until Riley starts uncovering the secrets that she realizes her entire life has been a lie.    At about the halfway point in the book we get to see another side of the story and that sheds some light on the truth. Is it her Dad's view point?  Her brother's view point?   I don't want to give away too much here, but I will say that it really heats things up and gives some validation to Riley's new feelings of complete betrayal.

Bottom line, Diane Chamberlain is skilled at creating stories that just captivate her readers.  She seamlessly weaves in and out of the past and present, slowly uncovering the whole story for her readers and then allowing them to decide for themselves if what happens is justified or not.  The Silent Sister is definitely one of those books that will generate some conversation, so add it to the list for your next book club!

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