Sister Dear Blog Tour

TITLE: Sister Dear
AUTHOR: Hanna Mary McKinnon
PUBLISHER: MIRA
PUBLISHING DATE: May 26, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

Beauty. Wealth. Success. 

She’s got it all. 

And it all should’ve been mine. 

When Eleanor Hardwicke’s beloved father dies, her world is further shattered by a gut-wrenching secret: the man she’s grieving isn’t really her dad. Eleanor was the product of an affair and her biological father is still out there, living blissfully with the family he chose. With her personal life spiraling, a desperate Eleanor seeks him out, leading her to uncover another branch on her family tree—an infuriatingly enviable half sister. 

Perfectly perfect Victoria has everything Eleanor could ever dream of. Loving childhood, luxury home, devoted husband. All of it stolen from Eleanor, who plans to take it back. After all, good sisters are supposed to share. And quiet little Eleanor has been waiting far too long for her turn to play. 

MY THOUGHTS: I'll be honest, for a while in the beginning, I was questioning how Dear Sister was classified as a thriller.  I found it a solid story but a tad slow-paced.  However, the ending!  I've read a lot of thrillers this year and love to theorize about what is going on and this is one ending I never saw coming at all. 

The book is told from Eleanor Hardwicke's perspective.  Early on we see her father, whom she dearly loves, pass away.  Because of the circumstances around the death, Eleanor is particularly hard on herself.  In addition, while on his deathbed, Eleanor overhears a horrible secret between her father and mother - she is the product of an affair and the man she loves more than the world itself isn't her biological father.  After this occurs, we then begin to learn a lot about Eleanor including that she has never been accepted,and one might say even liked, by her mother and sister and that she has extremely low self esteem.  We also see Eleanor start to grapple about what to do with her new knowledge, contact her father or leave him alone.  However, her desire for a family wins.

I have to say that I went through ups and downs with the majority of the characters. At times I found Elearnor endearing and I was really cheering her on, and during other times I thought she was acting psychologically unhinged.  One this is for sure, Eleanor's mother and biological father are both despicable people and I can totally see why they hooked up.  They had to see themselves in each other.

I have to admit that I actually liked Victoria a tad bit more.  She didn't initially come across as the spoiled brat that she should have been given her upbringing and I desperately hoped for a happy ending for her and her half sister.

But as I eluded, this is a thriller so you'll just have to pick it up to see if I my wish came true.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.


RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favor of writing, and is now the author of The Neighbors and Her Secret Son. She lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons, and is delighted by her twenty-second commute.